Question About A Purchased Tmobile iPhone 5S.......

[Neverbepeace]

My brother just bought a 5S off craigslist. Sealed.....brand new. My question is:

I checked the imei and it hasn't been activated yet on any service. I check apple warranty and it hasn't been activated there as well.

Can the phone still be reported lost or stolen if it isn't activated? I'm assuming it was bought straight out without any monthly payments attached to it or anything.

 

[JOSE891]

My brother just bought a 5S off craigslist. Sealed.....brand new. My question is:

I checked the imei and it hasn't been activated yet on any service. I check apple warranty and it hasn't been activated there as well.

Can the phone still be reported lost or stolen if it isn't activated? I'm assuming it was bought straight out without any monthly payments attached to it or anything.

No they can't because the IMEI was never registered or used on there account unless they bought it with EIP.

 

[rockitdog]

If the person bought it on an EIP plan and decided not to activate it, the minute it's activated they can report it stolen and it can be blacklisted. Buying used phones off of craigslist is a bad, bad idea!

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I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is to buy a used t-mobile smartphone via CL! They have set up a culture of fraud with their new Jump! and EIP program.

 

[JackieInCo]

I would rather just buy a T-Mobile iPhone using the EIP plan then risk buying one on Craigslist.

 

[CEmajr]

Well if it's sealed and has never been activated then they can't report it stolen. In order to use insurance and report a phone stolen, the owner has to have put their sim card in it and use it for at least a day so that it shows up in T-Mobile's system as being active on their account.

Now if they bought it using EIP and never finished making payments on it, then it will be blocked if they decide to stop paying for it.

 

[Neverbepeace]

Well if it's sealed and has never been activated then they can't report it stolen. In order to use insurance and report a phone stolen, the owner has to have put their sim card in it and use it for at least a day so that it shows up in T-Mobile's system as being active on their account.

Now if they bought it using EIP and never finished making payments on it, then it will be blocked if they decide to stop paying for it.

Thanks everyone. I called tmobile and obviously the phone is fine. They did mention that if the phone was bought on EIP, the phone would of been activated and opened in store as they have to activate it when buying with EIP.