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Verizon iPhone Bad ESN Activate

D

dissizitt

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 16, 2010
67
0
A person is selling a iPhone 4 Bad ESN on craigslist for $300 and I was wondering if I purchase it, can I restore it and activate it? Since it is ESN I am not sure how the process works.

I know for a fact with AT&T iPhones you just slip any sim card to activate the phone but don't know anything about the Verizon iPhones.


PS I want the GPS feature thats why I rather get an bad esn iphone then a iTouch
 
dissizitt said:
A person is selling a iPhone 4 Bad ESN on craigslist for $300 and I was wondering if I purchase it, can I restore it and activate it? Since it is ESN I am not sure how the process works.
Click to expand...
The ESN is hard coded in the phone. It's probably a lost or stolen iPhone that's been blacklisted by Verizon, so you won't be able to use it.
 
i got screwed over on CL like this.

the person had just bought the phone, and had not activated it yet. sold to me for 575...then they reported it stolen. so verizon gives them a new one, and they bad esn this one. luckily a dev bought it for half of that.

i just don't use CL to buy phones anymore. its worth the extra 50-100 to get the real thing at the store. piece of mind is priceless.
 
rick snagwell said:
i got screwed over on CL like this.

the person had just bought the phone, and had not activated it yet. sold to me for 575...then they reported it stolen. so verizon gives them a new one, and they bad esn this one. luckily a dev bought it for half of that.

i just don't use CL to buy phones anymore. its worth the extra 50-100 to get the real thing at the store. piece of mind is priceless.
Click to expand...

I prevent this by meeting the seller at a Verizon store and activating it on the spot. People think they're safe when the simply call Verizon to confirm the ESN is clean. If you don't activate on the sport, nothing prevents the seller from reporting it stolen the moment he walks away (besides morals).
 
or a unpaid bill Verizon will simply turn the phone off. The best way too buy any phone off cl to meet them at the cellular store. That way you are save and all transfers can be made at that time. And you can feel more comfortable with your buy. I honestly think that's the best way to buy a used phone.
 
bassett700 said:
I prevent this by meeting the seller at a Verizon store and activating it on the spot. People think they're safe when the simply call Verizon to confirm the ESN is clean. If you don't activate on the sport, nothing prevents the seller from reporting it stolen the moment he walks away (besides morals).
Click to expand...

i did this. it was clean cuz he just bought it and had not activated it yet as i stated. nice lil scam.
 
Applejuiced said:
You didnt do this.
If you activated it on the spot at the VZ store under your account you wouldnt have that problem.
Click to expand...

lol...i DID activate right on the spot. worked. actually took a week, then verizon killed it, saying it was reported stolen. nothing i could do.

i went back to the verizon store, and wanted them to go through the surveillance, but they denied me that. f'n scammer got me.
 
rick snagwell said:
lol...i DID activate right on the spot. worked. actually took a week, then verizon killed it, saying it was reported stolen. nothing i could do.

i went back to the verizon store, and wanted them to go through the surveillance, but they denied me that. f'n scammer got me.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that Rick.... Good lesson learn for all of us. I never know that they can deactivate your phone after been with them for while. I guess when they activated your phone, they did not change the owner name of the phone into your name and whoever was registered to that phone can call in to report it is stolen.
 
Crystal-RX said:
Sorry to hear that Rick.... Good lesson learn for all of us. I never know that they can deactivate your phone after been with them for while. I guess when they activated your phone, they did not change the owner name of the phone into your name and whoever was registered to that phone can call in to report it is stolen.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking too.
If that was the case then everyone would be selling cdma phones and then reporting them stolen a week later. There's gotta be a way to prevent this.
 
i was shocked. i had my call escalated many times with VZ. they activated my phone for god's sake...their fault!

it was a couple too, round 25 -30 yrs old, they had the VZ bag, with receipt and everything, a nice case. i got scammed hardcore, and im a paramedic who knows BS when i see it. was def taken back on this one...and thank god i got $250 back from teh dev that bought the brick.

----------
labman said:
Wow I always though that was the best way.. I figured the store would check it out fing scammers.. :mad:
Click to expand...

labman, atleast at my local VZ store, they are morons and only care about the sale...=commission.
 
if you have a bad esn phone, and take it to apple for a replacement, do they replace it with another bad ESN iPhone?
 
iMrNiceGuy0023 said:
if you have a bad esn phone, and take it to apple for a replacement, do they replace it with another bad ESN iPhone?
Click to expand...

They wont do it if you tell them it has a bad ESN.
But I heard people bringing them in and saying there's a hardware issues with the phone or battery sucks or something else and the replacement they received had a good ESN.
 
Applejuiced said:
They wont do it if you tell them it has a bad ESN.
But I heard people bringing them in and saying there's a hardware issues with the phone or battery sucks or something else and the replacement they received had a good ESN.
Click to expand...
This is true. My friend got scammed on craigslist and he went to apple and they exchanged it for a new one. Walked out the store and says he activated it at the sprint store in the mall right after the exchange. He told them something about the battery being bad and they bought it and they exchanged it for him. This is kinda grimy though. Soon enough they will catch on.
 
I would not recommend it. If apple finds out they might charge you for the replacement plus tax. It happened to buddy of mine but he got it fully knowing phone has bad IMEI but he figured it's a cheap phone and apple will replace it. It worked but two weeks after he got email from apple they charge him $199 plus tax.
 
vonWachtstain said:
I would not recommend it. If apple finds out they might charge you for the replacement plus tax. It happened to buddy of mine but he got it fully knowing phone has bad IMEI but he figured it's a cheap phone and apple will replace it. It worked but two weeks after he got email from apple they charge him $199 plus tax.
Click to expand...

How would they charge him for something having no idea who he is or where to charge him at?
If you just walk in there having someone elses bad ESN iphone that you bought off ebay and replaced at an apple store how would they track you?
 
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