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I know what you mean about the risk, but if they activated the phone for me first, then it was reported lost/stolen after, isn't that on them?

Yep, its on them for being shady but then you're the one stuck with it.

Are you saying there is no risk for used GSM devices?

For GSM devices its way less risk. All you do is pop in a new sim and you're good.
 
Not true. The device could be reported stolen and blacklisted.

Yes, only by the original owner that signed the contract with that particular phone.
And even then most of the times AT&T doesn't even do that.
They just give you a new sim and send you on your way.
Not like Verizon that if you're late on your bill they block your device.
 
Yes, only by the original owner that signed the contract with that particular phone.
And even then most of the times AT&T doesn't even do that.
They just give you a new sim and send you on your way.
Not like Verizon that if you're late on your bill they block your device.

If you report it stolen att will block it. I know this from experience.
 
So what is the point of reporting it stolen then?

Lol:D
I don't know, I don't work for AT&T.:D
They disable the old/lost sim and just give you a new one and tell you that you don't qualify for another subsidized device till so and so date:D
Then some tell them how angry they are that they wont get another $199 phone and that they will close the account and then AT&T tells you that you will need to pay the ETF or they will take legal action against you and so on.
 
Lol:D
I don't know, I don't work for AT&T.:D
They disable the old/lost sim and just give you a new one and tell you that you don't qualify for another subsidized device till so and so date:D

No, they will blacklist the stolen device, someone on this forum lost his phone, called att and that's what happened. Do a search of att blacklisting phones.
 
No, they will blacklist the stolen device, someone on this forum lost his phone, called att and that's what happened. Do a search of att blacklisting phones.

Read what I said above, I'm not trying to argue with you.
I agree that's what they should do but they don't always.
My friend a week ago reported his daughters 4S lost/stolen to AT&T. They disabled the sim gave him another one and so on and they went and bought her another one the next day from Apple using another line they had open for subsidy.
A week later she found it and stuck an AT&T and works fine still.
Even though it was reported stolen and supposed to be blacklisted by AT&T.
 
A week later she found it and stuck an AT&T and works fine still.
Even though it was reported stolen and supposed to be blacklisted by AT&T.

Where the heck did she lose it that she was able to find it a week later?

I'd be pissed if I was her father.
 
The only thing I'm afraid of now is calling Verizon at all. I want to see what they say. I'm not expecting anything, just curious how this happened and if the old owner got caught. But I don't want them to switch my service off on this phone.
 
OP. are u talking about trading in phones at official verizon store or "authorized verizon store?"

Big difference between the 2. Many authorized verizon stores have employees who do shady side trades from returned phones within a 180 day period.

Because they get charged back. They need to try to off load these phones.
 
OP. are u talking about trading in phones at official verizon store or "authorized verizon store?"

Big difference between the 2. Many authorized verizon stores have employees who do shady side trades from returned phones within a 180 day period.

Because they get charged back. They need to try to off load these phones.

No, I've never used an authorized dealer, only corporate Verizon stores.

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Great idea, genius. And what if the other guy had nothing to do with it?

:rolleyes:

Exactly.

On another note, I went through my online statements from Verizon and found the guy's phone number I traded with. As soon as I started to type a text, the send button turned blue, meaning he's using an iPhone again. This may not mean anything, but it seems to me that he may have sold the note 2 and got his replacement iPhone and used it instead. I still haven't sent a text to him, not sure if I want to. It may just get hostile, not from me, but possibly from him getting accused of doing something wrong when he may never have.

I wonder how long it takes for the computer systems between asurion and Verizon to match with a bad esn after reporting a phone lost or stolen to asurion.

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It does seem a little crazy. Why switch so often?

I'd say try to work things out with the previous owner, see if they can do anything from their end. If not, try to sell it on ebay. You'll get less for a phone with a bad ESN, but at least you won't be out all your money.

I switch so often because its just a free hobby, play with new phones when they come out. I have everything I use backed up in cloud services so its really easy to switch platforms once in a while.

I may sell it on eBay like you suggested after I get a new phone. But I'm not sure, I have an iPhone 5 that works perfectly fine, I should probably just cut my losses and use this phone for the next 16 months of my contract.
 
Called Verizon today. They said that whoever input the esn number in the system input it wrong. They made the correction and my phone now has a clean esn. I verified by checking the Verizon wireless website esn checking tool, it shows its good. I checked it yesterday and it said it was not eligible to be activated. Got lucky I guess.
 
I don't get it, so what if I were to trade my black iPhone for a white iPhone through Verizon I have a chance after the trade for my ESN to be called in and be bad?
 
I'm someone who trades phones a lot. It's free and I can play with new phones every once in a while. I always do the trades at Verizon corporate stores to avoid problems.

2 months ago, I had a galaxy note 2 that I traded at a Verizon store for the iPhone 5 I'm using now. I've been using it since then with no problems. Today I went to a Verizon store to trade again, back to a note 2. When trying to so the trade with the store associate, he said my phone had been reported lost or stolen after getting it in the trade. For some unknown reason the phone still works, but we obviously couldn't finish the trade. My phone still works fine for me, but apparently will not ever be able to used on anyone else's line.

To most people, this probably doesn't matter. But to me, it's a problem for two reasons. One, I can never sell this phone for the value it would be if it were not reported lost or stolen. Secondly, I could never trade it for anything else or give it to any family member to use later or as a backup phone for myself.

What would you do? Call customer service and ask for a new phone? Call and say something isn't working to get a warranty replacement? Just keep it? Just curious what your thoughts are. In my opinion, they owe me a new phone since they moved my esn number to lost/stolen AFTER they activated it for me.

iPhone 5 for Verizon is factory unlocked so you can re-sell it to someone who will use a gsm carrier or someone who will take it over seas
 
Called Verizon today. They said that whoever input the esn number in the system input it wrong. They made the correction and my phone now has a clean esn. I verified by checking the Verizon wireless website esn checking tool, it shows its good. I checked it yesterday and it said it was not eligible to be activated. Got lucky I guess.



Glad it worked out for you
 
I don't get it, so what if I were to trade my black iPhone for a white iPhone through Verizon I have a chance after the trade for my ESN to be called in and be bad?

Basically, yes. But if you trade in the store, from what has been talked about here, you have a little bit of help from Verizon if things get weird. They will have a record of you being there with the previous owner and can help you like they did me if you have any problems. Of course this is all dependent on my situation and someone else's situation could be different or have a different outcome than I did.

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iPhone 5 for Verizon is factory unlocked so you can re-sell it to someone who will use a gsm carrier or someone who will take it over seas

Did you read the end result? I got the phone working on Verizon.
 
I'm someone who trades phones a lot. It's free and I can play with new phones every once in a while. I always do the trades at Verizon corporate stores to avoid problems.

2 months ago, I had a galaxy note 2 that I traded at a Verizon store for the iPhone 5 I'm using now. I've been using it since then with no problems. Today I went to a Verizon store to trade again, back to a note 2. When trying to so the trade with the store associate, he said my phone had been reported lost or stolen after getting it in the trade. For some unknown reason the phone still works, but we obviously couldn't finish the trade. My phone still works fine for me, but apparently will not ever be able to used on anyone else's line.

To most people, this probably doesn't matter. But to me, it's a problem for two reasons. One, I can never sell this phone for the value it would be if it were not reported lost or stolen. Secondly, I could never trade it for anything else or give it to any family member to use later or as a backup phone for myself.

What would you do? Call customer service and ask for a new phone? Call and say something isn't working to get a warranty replacement? Just keep it? Just curious what your thoughts are. In my opinion, they owe me a new phone since they moved my esn number to lost/stolen AFTER they activated it for me.

since you got it from a trade you can't get a replacement and with it being reported lost/stolen I doubt they would do anything through verizon or even apple since I am sure they would consider the warranty void now.
 
since you got it from a trade you can't get a replacement and with it being reported lost/stolen I doubt they would do anything through verizon or even apple since I am sure they would consider the warranty void now.
Read the thread. Not just the first post. You're wrong.
 
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