iPhone 8/Plus What happens to AT&T phones that are financed but not paid?

[ibuyufo]

Well, put me as one of those people who unknowingly purchased a used iPhone 8 plus that's financed with AT&T. The seller never stated it was financed but was locked to AT&T. I only found out it was financed when I tried to unlock it.

My questions is what could happen to this phone if I do keep it and use it? Will AT&T suspend my phone line and deactivate the device?

 

[Banglazed]

You won’t be able to unlock it directly from AT&T unless it is paid off or use 3rd party unlock services. Also, it can be blacklisted if original owner report it lost or stolen or can be blocked or barred if they default on financing/fraud.

 

[ibuyufo]

Thanks! I was afraid of this. Too much risk to keep it from what it seems.

 

[pirarre]

I do not think a financed phone through ATT can be blocked or barred if it is not paid off. At least that’s what’s a friend of mine told me that works for ATT. He said that the only thing could and would happened is that the original owner would be charged the remaining amount for the device if they didn’t pay their bill or cancel the specific line that that the device was originally for.

The device just cannot be carrier unlocked until it is fully paid off.

 

[Brandonjr36]

I talked to at&t a couple of times about this. They said you will still be able to use it on at&t no matter what, just can’t take it to any other carrier.

 

[bjrjar]

I talked to at&t a couple of times about this. They said you will still be able to use it on at&t no matter what, just can’t take it to any other carrier.

I ran into this with a 6s plus I bought online. AT&T would not unlock it, I did not want to use AT&T — I complained to Amazon and they forced the seller who sold through Amazon to refund my money when I returned it.

Bob

 

[ibuyufo]

I took the iPhone to the AT&T corporate store and they could not see how much was owed. He said that it was purchased through an authorized reseller. I was also told that I can just swap the SIM card into the phone and I should be fine. He also said if it ever gets blacklisted that I can call AT&T and tell them my story. I'll take that with a few grains of salt.