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iPhones with Bad ESN numbers selling on ebay?

fiddysent

fiddysent

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 11, 2010
90
72
Rock Hill. NY
My wife has an iPhone that was originally on Verizon that now has a Bad ESN, but that she is able to use on straight talk wireless. We brought it to a Verizon store and the manager told her to keep it and use it as an ipod as they didn't have any use for it and nothing came up on a database search of bad esn's. Out of curiousity I looked up iPhones selling on ebay and I was shocked to find that people pay big bucks even with the Bad ESN??? iPhone 6s Pluses sold for at least $500 and anywhere up to ~$800??? I am wondering why people buy them and pay so much? There is even a company that will give you a new version of the iphone you send them with a bad ESN for $100. I am thinking about sending my wife's iPhone 5 to them and getting back a new one for the $100 upgrade fee. Does anyone have any insight into this market? Thanks
 
Mainly because changing the electronic serial number is quite easy to do. As I understand it - it is also illegal. But that doesn't stop people with the chops from doing it.
 
fiddysent said:
My wife has an iPhone that was originally on Verizon that now has a Bad ESN, but that she is able to use on straight talk wireless. We brought it to a Verizon store and the manager told her to keep it and use it as an ipod as they didn't have any use for it and nothing came up on a database search of bad esn's. Out of curiousity I looked up iPhones selling on ebay and I was shocked to find that people pay big bucks even with the Bad ESN??? iPhone 6s Pluses sold for at least $500 and anywhere up to ~$800??? I am wondering why people buy them and pay so much? There is even a company that will give you a new version of the iphone you send them with a bad ESN for $100. I am thinking about sending my wife's iPhone 5 to them and getting back a new one for the $100 upgrade fee. Does anyone have any insight into this market? Thanks
Click to expand...
Bad/Blacklisted ESN doesn't matter so much outside the United States…
 
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Applejuiced said:
A bad esn Verizon iPhone 6 will not work on Verizon but it will work on straight talk as you can see and any other GSM carrier domestic or international.
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Weren't the carriers (at least domestic ones) supposed to share the blacklist?
 
Elisha said:
It's not in their interest cause they are alienating a potential customer.
Eventually there may be a national blacklist.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure it's been in place for a little while. As to how well it works (and if it all applies the same way to stolen vs. non-payment devices), I guess that's perhaps more in question.
 
A year ago I bought A new iPhone 6 with the sales receipt provided, off of someone on CL. Unfortunately, it had been bought with a stolen credit card and when I went to activate it, I was informed that it had been been blacklisted (canadian blacklist) and was completely useless up here in Canada. I was told by the provider to sell it for parts.

I looked into bad IEMIs and what if anything could be done. The only solution I came across that supposedly worked, was in fact, that same service you referred to on eBay. I took a chance and shipped it off to someone in the States. Approximately 2 weeks later I received a new phone.

I wasn't sent my original phone with the serial number electronically changed, but a completely new, unused phone sporting the sticky plastic screen protection every new phone comes with.

Was my phone switched out for another regionally blacklisted phone from another part of the world? Probably. It's the only way I see the swap working.
 
C DM said:
Pretty sure it's been in place for a little while. As to how well it works (and if it all applies the same way to stolen vs. non-payment devices), I guess that's perhaps more in question.
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The Canadian blacklist is national. But this is not the first time I'm hearing about a blocked Verizon phone that works on other US carriers.
 
anybody have experience doing the esn swap thing on ebay? they seem to charge 40-90 dollars and supposedly send you a new unused phone for your bad esn phone? no box or accessories though
 
fiddysent said:
anybody have experience doing the esn swap thing on ebay? they seem to charge 40-90 dollars and supposedly send you a new unused phone for your bad esn phone? no box or accessories though
Click to expand...

Uhhh… see my post above.
 
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