How to Activate iPhone IMEI Blacklisted and Blocked
Many mobile phone repair stores offer phone buyback programs to their customers and end up buying back a phone that they’re unable to activate due to a bad IMEI phone number that’s been blacklisted by the carrier.
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UPDATED 2017: Where to have your IMEI/ESN cleared off blacklist by carrier.
Read article below for alternative methods that might also work out for you.
Bad IMEI/ESN Cleaning Services
- Sprint (links to eBay)
( True IMEI/ESN Remote Cleaning)
- AT&T (links to eBay) ( Swap Bad IMEI/ESN Phone for Clean One + Remote Cleaning Options)
- T-Mobile (links to eBay)
( True IMEI/ESN Remote Cleaning)
- Verizon (links to eBay)
( True IMEI/ESN Remote Cleaning)
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This can often happen when the initial check at the time of the buyback resulted in a clean IMEI number.
This can be very frustrating knowing that the value of a blacklisted IMEI phone is often significantly lower than non-blocked IMEI phones. Fortunately, you still have some options and, in most cases, you might not end up losing any money.
Of course, the best precaution to buying back a blacklisted IMEI phone is to check before you buy it. There are plenty of IMEI and ESN check websites on the internet that are free and instant.
You must be careful as some of them work better for certain carriers and while they’re pretty reliable, they can never be 100% correct.
- Identify Hybrid CDMA/GSM Phones. If the phone is unable to activate on a CDMA carrier such as Sprint or Verizon, the blacklisted IMEI could still have the ability to be used on a GSM network. Many of the phones manufactured lately come with a GSM standard, micro or nano SIM card slot and have GSM radios allowing for use on a GSM network. Likewise, many of them come factory unlocked, even if one of the major providers sold the phone.
Such an example is the iPhone 5 from Verizon. If you happen to have a bad ESN iPhone 5, you really don’t have a problem – it comes factory unlocked! You won’t be able to use it on Verizon again, but you should have no trouble using it on another GSM pre-paid carrier in the USA or Internationally.
In fact, a phone sold as unlocked has a 15-20% better value than if you sold it on Verizon. One of the first models of this type was the Blackberry Storm several years ago.
I remember customers wanting cash would offer extremely an low price knowing it had a blocked ESN number with Verizon – but not knowing that the phone came factory unlocked and was good for AT&T or T-Mobile. All that was needed was a setting change to deactivate the CDMA radio and activate its use on a GSM network.
Lastly, make sure that the bad IMEI phone that has a GSM SIM card slot actually has a radio and the correct cellular bands to allow service. Some phones, such as the original Nexus, had a micro SIM card slot, but the radio connected to it was only connected to the 4G network, not the GSM quad band network.
Paid ESN/IMEI Cleaning Services
There are companies who have back door access to clear your IMEI/ESN issues, for a price. You have two options. Pay a flat fee to one of these providers or you can pay to have your device swapped for a clean IMEI/ESN unit.
Not every time will these be successful but in the event that their not the seller will refund you in full and only takes a few hours or days at worst.
Bad IMEI/ESN Cleaning Services
- Sprint (links to eBay)
- AT&T (links to eBay)
( Swap Bad IMEI/ESN Phone for Clean One + Remote Cleaning Options)
- T-Mobile (links to eBay)
- Verizon (links to eBay)
- Just because a phone is blacklisted, on a lost or stolen list, or has a blocked IMEI, this doesn’t mean that the phone was stolen or that it’s illegal to buy it back from someone.
- It is a crime to knowingly buy back stolen product. Ask your customer how they got the phone in a polite way if you find it on a blocked IMEI list before buying it back.
- Never buy back a known bad IMEI phone.
- Make sure to ask your unlock supplier if their service covers blocked IMEI devices. If so, make sure it’s covered for various originating carriers and if any additional charges or unlock commitment times are different.
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can my s7 active be taking off the blacklist? at&t was carrier
i seem to be facing a major challenge, i have no idea whether you can be able to help me with my issue!
I bought a phone from a guy on the street simply because it’s the cheapest place for me to buy it but not taking into an account the phone i had just purchase is blacklisted and the network has been blocked. The are [0] trial to unlock the network meaning i can’t even unlock it using the codes. When i try looking the guy who sold me that phone, he is no where to be found, and i am there sitting with a phone which doesn’t work and i have paid money for that phone, throwing it away is no longer an option. Will you be able to help me solve the problem, i really have no idea on what to do because i really want to use that phone, despite the fact the it’s been blacklisted.
My phone model is Sony Xperia C2305
i am from South Africa
Hello, my phone is blacklisted and I can’t use it with a carrier provider. Do you know where can I clean the IMEI?
Hey I bought a iphone 6s with a t-mobile USA lock on it
Is there a way I can unlock it for free?
The phone is reported stolen in america, but I live in the netherlands and never been in america before (I bought it here from a phone store).
i have a verizon moto droid turbo2 thats blacklisted what can i do?
I bought a Galaxy Note 5, found out it had a blocked IMEI. Cant locate the person I purchased from. It was on TMobile and I’m with TMobile. Can I get it unlocked, use another provider Sim card to unlock it and then use my TMobile Sim card and still use it on TMobile?
I currently use a Galaxy s6, my friend gave me an old iPhone of hers, I took the sim card out of my galaxy & put it in the iPhone, but now when I try to make calls on either phone with the sim card installed it says, “We’re sorry but this device has been blocked from network use”. What do I do??
So I can go buy a sim card for straight talk and the LG phone I bought yesturday that on t mobile website said was reported stolen I would be able to use???
hi i have a blacklisted blocked lost/stole phone i purchased through gumtree seller site in australia can not find the seller what can i do?
I bought a phone from Craigslist. it was not blacklisted.everything clean.weeks later I checked the imei and it was blacklisted
Hey I found a S7 from t-mobile that is blacklisted, what can I do with it to connect another company maybe?
Long story short , I bought an iphone7 and it got black listed , is there a way I could un black list it ?
My problem is i bought a phone off of Facebook and the person that sold it to me lied when i asked if it was stolen and or paid off. She had told me it was paid in full and definitely not stolen. I activated the phone through cricket with no problems and now 15 days later my account get suspended because im using a blacklisted phone. Is there anything i can do? I have tried getting ahold of the seller and she has blocked me on facebook so that is not an option.
Hey I lost my phone and got a new one through insurance. I have since found it and the phone has been blacklisted by t-mobile. What are my options?
If it’s asurion then you need to contact them and have them send you a shipment label to send it back to them.
If not then contact T-Mobile to discuss your options
Wow..I can not believe that everyone thinks that blacklisted or lost or stolen phones cant be activated! I do it for people all of the time that were in the same position..buying a phone that they didn’t know was blacklisted for one reason or another. No charge. The only thing you have to worry about when buying an I phone is an Icloud apple lock on the phone. No way to beat that. But if it is not icloud locked you are good. Buy the way..the phone does not have to be unlocked by the carrier. It doesn’t matter at all if you do it the way I tell you to.
I would love to know more about it, jayson miller! 🙂 been searching for a while, for my bad esn samsung cell!
I just bought a samsung s4 and it turns out its blacklisted. Can you help me out . I’m a pensioner that just got ripped off. Can you unblock it for me or tell me how please.
Wrong!!!! you can not used a T-mobile phone on straight talk with the AT&T straight talk sim. you could use the straight talk T-mobile sim. but in my area the T-mobile towers suck. plus if you unlock a T-mobile phone and use it with ether Cricket wireless or straight talk on AT&T the data comes unlocked that you can share it to other devices like your laptop or other wifi devices. The price for Cricket wireless is cheaper then Straight talk. you can get 5 lines of unlimited service with the data for 100 a month. so that works out to 20 dollars a line.
I bought a samsung galaxy s7 that was clear an hour later it was blacklisted I’m out 450 and angry can i still use this phone or am I lucked out
I bought a samsung galaxy s7 I checked the ime thing and it was clear an hour later it was blacklisted I’m out 450 and mad please tell me I can still use it it’s with sprint carrier
Jason your preaching to everyone on here, you have the 100% correct answer so far, you have said it at least five times, and sad enough you could say it fifteen more times yet many will still be wondering what to do. That said, for myself and the others who have read your post I must say Thank You!!
Help me pls?
Jayson,
I have a I phone 7 which has been unlocked . But Sprint has blocked the phone has it marked as lost/stolen. Can this phone be activated? If so would you give me a step by step process. Thanks
Thank you man I’m doing this today I have a Verizon iPhone 6s the line is suspended am going to go by a go phone AT&T SIM card and switch it thank you for the advice
Hi. I know I’m posting this on an incorrect place but it will not let me start a discussion and I’ve never done this. Here’s my issue: someone left an att phone at a friends house and they’ve never been able to track down the owner. They gave it to me since I’m having major trouble with my phone. It has a clear imei (I checked) and I have a new active SIM card I JUST put back in am old phone but it is giving me trouble too… Calls voicemail, on messenger etc but won’t connect direct calls…. Can’t even get thru to 611! …So I want to use this saying they have me but it’s telling me I have to enter the acct info for a google acct the phone was previously synced to and that’s impossible since the owner cannot be found. What can I do, please??? I am missing calls left and right (this is my business phone #too) and can’t use the phone! Please help!!
have you unblocked a Nexus 6 (verizon) before thats blacklisted?? if so i could use some help, You can reach me @ gerland.hardin@gmail.com my name is Gerland, Thanks in advance!
I found a phone on the street.. run over by a car or something.. fixed it cost me 250, once fixed the owner contacted me said he wanted it back but wasn’t going to reimburse me for fixing it.. what are my options, its reported as lost/stolen. probably blacklisted with ATT
Tell him to reimburse you for what you fixed or you’ll sell it.
I have a iphone 6s plus that is blocked from t-mobile. Is there anyway i can unlock it? Gpp way? I need an answer please someone help me. What do i need to do im not good at this no clue. Anyone?…
YES!!!!!!!!!! READ MY ABOVE POSTS!!
I have an iPhone 6s+ through T-Mobile. They have blocked the device, because the account holder whose name it was under went bankrupt. Now I am stuck with no service. Is there anyway around this without having to pay the remaining balance on the phone? And get phone service again?
LOL…SELL IT TO ME! ILL HAVE IT ON IN 5 MINUTES LIKE i SAID ABOVE
So Jayson, I bought an iphone 7 and it is now reported as stolen. ATT has suspended service and I can no longer use it on the ATT network. Are you saying to get an ATT straight talk SIM and plan and it will work? Or do I choose another straight talk carrier? Will another carrier work with the ATT device?
but you can use blocked (bad financed) phones on other networks within the usa, but not blacklisted(lost or stollen) . Like you can use a t-mobile or metro pcs phone on att or cricket wireless , att prepaid , (straight talks att sim) and other GSM networks within the usa after being unlocked if they are blocked or have a bad finance on the original carriers network. T-mobile is making it harder to do that these days as now they have an unlock app on the android phones. You can still find companies that will unlock them but it cost more to unlock them and you just run the app and it will let you unlock them. you can also use At&t blocked network phones on T-moblie , (straight talk t-mobile sim) and metro pcs as long as they are just blocked and not blacklisted.
I have been using blocked (bad financed) T-mobile phones for years on AT&T’s network without issue. I just can’t use them on T-mobile.
how do you use a blocked Tmobile phone(bad finance) on straight talk? do I have to unlock or root it? I read on another site you can change the IMEI but not sure if that will work.
Your wrong
Yes you can
It may work for a short time, but cell phone companies share their black listed list and will block a lost or stolen phone on all networks, some times it can take a year but in time they will get blocked. and again it depends on why it’s showing up as black listed. some web sites will show blacklisted when in fact they are not blacklisted but are bad financed, If it’s just a bad financed then just need to pay for an unlock code (unless it’s Verizon as most come factory unlocked) and use them on another network. I know what I am talking about and guess what my name is. Jason Miller. not spelled the same as your first name, but still kind of funny.
Hello,
I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S2 tablet through a reputable seller on ebay. It’s a GSM tablet from t-mobile. I put in my t-mobile sim card. The device worked on mobile data for a day, then stopped working. I spoke with a rep from t-mobile – she advised that the IMEI was block because the original owner has an outstanding balance on the device. They would not tell me what the balance was, nor would they even allow me to pay off the balance. I contacted the ebay seller, but haven’t heard back yet. i really like the device, but it’s useless to me without being able to use it on the t-mobile network. Is there any way to unblock the IMEI #?
I have an iPhone 6s plus blocked by T-Mobile over a dispute. Rose gold brand new. Can I unblock it for other carriers
yes. read my posts
Hi Jayson, how do you unblock a blacklisted phone. I was purchased a iPhone 6 on line and got ripped off the phone is idmi blacklisted lost or stolen i payed a lot of money feel totally sick about it.
I’ve learned my lesson, buy new.
I just purchased an iPhone 6 that I later found to be on a lost/stolen list. I spent nearly $400 for the phone, case, charger, and screen protector. I Haven’t had a phone for months, and thought I would get something I actually wanted. I have the receipt as proof of purchase but Verizon says they can’t do anything for me. Would AT&T be able to activate it or would it have to be a sub provider like cricket??
Bought from who? The drug dealer down at the park. These things don’t just happen. Quit buying stolen property.. it comes with bad karma attached to it. Do you know what people have to go through to replace a stolen phone? It’s expensive and a hassle and they are out a phone and they have lives. And you go buy from a loser piece of sh_t drug dealer who next week will steal your mothers phone and eventually the one they sold you and these guys never live well they always broke and their dope number one in their life. You get no watranty on these phones, , you can’t insure them. By buying the stolen property you keep the cycle going. Have you looked up the charges for receiving stolen property? You better. There’s sting operations too where losers who buy stolen property go to jail. Cuz you know you ain’t buying it legit. You’re well aware it’s stolen. Integrity people!!!!!!! Don’t know what that is? Oh yeah that’s why you’re on here.
kymkat will you shut the f*$# up already…? im here trying to figure out how to fix a phone I purchased not knowing it was stolen and every other comment I have to here you rant and rave your BS that is only a combination of fictitious stereo typical assumptions . so please stop.
Great, so the a hole who stole my new phone at Christmas time and caused me a lot of hardship replacing that phone can make that phone work and use it? I mean if a phones reported stolen and blocked it should never be able to be used. I wish the phone would blow up in their hands. I really hate criminals so much. I pay full retail while they just steal it and none of the blocks to use it again work really for me and I lose while they gain always. Does anyone ever go to jail for stealing and selling to unsuspecting buyers another persons property?
I have blacklisted iphone7 rose gold still in the box is there anyway I can get it sorted plz x
I bought my daughter a rose gold iphone7 for Christmas and she has never used it as it’s imei number is blacklisted paid hundreds but the person must have sold it on contract then reported it stolen or lost please help me
Contact the police and file a report. Then do a claim on your car insurance or homeowners claim
Just pop in an at&t straight talk sim and activate the sim. Then its on
Here’s my question I own two galaxy’s, s6 and note 3. Also a iphone c5. They are all locked because of an ongoing dispute with t mobile. Totally lied about the monthly bill, didn’t pay my Sprint bill as promised it went on my credit and wouldn’t talk to me at all about the issues. Two months later our phone numbers were given away. I was devastated I had my number for 14 years. I traded in a a iphone 5c and a galaxy s5 that were just a few months old that I paid cash for. Now I have these phones I cant use. Is it possible to unlock these and use them with sprint, cricket or At &t? Can I unlock them with unlockscope and a new sim card?
check IMEI on t-mobile’s web site. do a google search for T-mobile IMEI. if they come up as blocked or bad financed you can unlock them to use with cricket wireless or at&t. you can find companies on ebay selling unlock services for the phone. T-mobile has an unlock app and it cost more to unlock the newer phones. you should be able to do a search by the model of your phone on ebay and unlock service and see them come up. you can also find other web pages as well. I have a LG V10 and it took like 2 days for them to get my unlock ready to use the unlock app on a blocked t-mobile phone. been using it with cricket. they offer 5 lines for 100 a month including all the taxes and fees.
Yes on any apple just pay 98 cents for a at&t compatable straight talk sim card and pop it in. then activate the sim online or over the phone with straight talk 45$ or 55$ plan restart the phone and it will be on. I have done 6 iphones in the last 2 months. Its that easy. No need to change anything. You also get the LTE. If anyone tells you any different they are wrong. I do it all of the time. I just activated a blacklisted sprint, and a blacklisted tmobile
I call B.S.
My ex and I were on the same line and when we broke up he blacklisted my phone, reported it as stolen, because I wouldn’t talk to him. Its a tmobile 6s, I put my straight talk sim in-did not work. It’s wifi compatible, for sure. Will not work on any other service until unblacklisted.
Hey dumb dumb, we aren’t talking about a T-Mobile phone’s IMEI/ESN blacklisted.
This is why you don’t enter into a phone plan with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Does this work in Canada? I bought an iphone that turned out to have a blocked IMEI.
Hi! Can you do this with the iPhone 7+? My family switched to another plan, and left the $700 bill they hadn’t paid. So I have a phone I thought I was paying on and can’t use it. Not really sure what to do! Thank you.
Does this work for samsung phones?
I have a I phone 6 plus it was from Verizon now on black list. Can I buy a prepaid SIM card for it?
Ok I have a question sorry I bought a iphone 7 plus in the street and the next day it got reported stolen how I go about getting it back to working again
Could you expand more on this App you mentioned?
thamks this really helped i got my phone back on works good as new
I have a att galaxy s6 edge plus phone. Purchased 3 months ago and have been using it through att prepaid. But recently they started locking it because someone reported it lost or stolen. What do I do? Anyone know if I can fix this or just transfer to another plan?
I also have a galaxy s6 in mint. Wanna trade? Lol
I found a iphone6plus and it is blacklisted. It is from Canada no way to contact owner,. I tried. So want to use it can I locked and blacklisted I found out.
It’s not your phone. Take it to police tell them where you got it. KARMA PROPLE KARMA !!!!!!!! You think that ain’t real? Trust me it is very real.
So I bought a cricket LG Stylo and broke 3 months later through the charging port. I got it fixed 2 weeks ago and reconnected it to my cricket service. 2 days later it stopped working. Apparently it had been reported stolen. I’ve been the only owner to the phone. Ended up being that cricket hadn’t even reported it stolen. MetroPCS did apparently as it said on the blacklist. Called MetroPCS and no one has an answer… How can I remove it from the blacklist?
It’s stolen or a cloned phone
Look on Craigslist, there ate plenty of people that can “unblacklist” it.
I just got mine clean for $65 I’m Arlington TX,
I just bought a Verizon lg g4 and its black listed 🙁 can is there any way to activate it??
I have my code what do I do now
if i unlock my iphone, will it change the imei?
They just gave me an iPhone 6 plus but when I turn it on it says the phone has been stolen. can I get it unlocked to use? Please help
I bought a iphone5s the imie 352084071797862 is blacklisted and locked to i cloud what can I do to change the imei and icloud lock seller is not reachable
i have a s7 tmobile reported as blocked, can i unlock it for use on international country?? because tmobile are only unlockeable by app.. this will work or tmobile will refuce the unlock request?
Let me know how this turns out!
hey do u still have the iPhone with the bad imei
I have a S6 Edge+ that isn’t necessarily blacklisted. But I was told it was financed through Sprint, but neverather active with them. It has a good IMEI, but doesnt have a phone number attached to it. What am I able to do with it?
you need buy a sim of other company and activate this 🙂
I recently bought a brand new Iphone 7 + Sealed in the box from someone, and I am 100% sure it was stolen.
I have not attempted to activate it or even plugged it in yet, what are any options i may have? I travel internationally alot, but do not want to sell the phone. If i use pre-paid SIM cards will I be able to make calls?
you can check the imei without trying to activate or plugging it in. it should be on the bottom on the back of the phone. you can get it unlocked if its locked to a carrier. i just did the same with a 6 plus. imei now shows as clean with most sites but I’ve heard you need to activate within a couple of days to avoid risk of it being blacklisted again
How did you get it in blacklisted
Would also be interested in this. Let me know how you got on.
I have a i phone 5 SE locked to a Rogers network! My baby’s mama put me on her family plan contract with Rogers. Then 6 months later when we broke up she called into Rogers and black listed my phone that I owned way befor I went on her family plan contract through roger!!! Can I still unlock my phone? What can I do????? Please please please!!!
I bought a Iphone 6 in Canada from a person. All of sudden the IMEI was blacklisted. I’m in Brazil now, according to this article it was supposed to works in another country. What it isn’t?
MY IPHONE BLACKLISTED IN UK ITS BEEN BLOCKED IN BRAZIL ASWELL AFTER 7 MONTH!
I read all verizon phones are unlocked. Thats what it says on the website. I have a blacklist phone that was given to me and you cant even use it on straight talk.
Yes it is unlocked but that doesn’t mean it’s not on the lost/stolen ESN list. This will bar it from being used on most domestic carriers including prepaid ones. StraightTalk is basically AT&T just rebranded and the carriers are sharing the information across carriers now for the lost or stolen list. That doesn’t mean it can’t be used or sold in a way to get the most value out if it. You have 2 options:
1) Pay to remove the bad ESN status. You can try eBay or some other unlock providers but will probably cost $50-$100.
2) Sell the phone on eBay but specifically state that the ESN is bad. Make sure to select that you will let eBay fulfill the order to international countries. In other countries, the carriers won’t sync with the domestic ones so even if it has a bad ESN it will be able to be used on the international carrier with no issues (As long as it’s not Rogers in Canada)
Who do you call and get it working again? My Aunt bought a Samsung Galaxy S7 off of someone and I work for TCC Verizon. I told her I was 100% sure the phone was stolen. She can’t get ahold of the person who sold her this and she is older and didn’t know to check the IMEI number and see if it was stolen and now she is out of $250. How can she use this on straighttalk service and get it out the lost and stolen? I’m a little confused lol. It’s a Verizon phone but she bought it with the help intention on using it on straighttalk. Any help will help! Who would she contact to pay to get it unlocked or whatever and how much does that normally cost?
I have an unlocked Verizon iPhone that my friend who bought it for me just reported stolen after we had a falling out I called Verizon but they said bc he removed me from the account there’s nothing I can do. I live in Canada do you know what other networks it would work on Wind mobile is my carrier but it’s not working
I have a 6s that got stolen I’ve done everything I can do just waiting for the police to do their part. I don’t understand how Apple can’t gps a phone
Shitty. I recently just bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from local classified KIJIJI and it was working great. However, a month later the carrier added the phone to the blacklist saying that the original owner are behind on her payments. I called the carrier and they said unless the original owner are up to date with her payments they will not remove it from the blacklist.
Unfortunately I don’t have the number of the person that I bought the phone from so I can’t reach her.
The annoying thing was I did my checks at the time I bought it to make sure the IMEI numbers is not listed on the black list, also did some test on the phone to make sure it’s real. Who knew that a month later the girl don’t pay her bills can affect me.
Apparently the carrier REP told me that lots of people apparently also sell their phone then report it as stolen afterward as well.
I find that is BS because what the original owner do shouldn’t have any impact on me as a third party consumer. The carrier should go after that person through other means like collections to get it back not add the phone to blacklist.
I might have to sell this device overseas like you suggested (I’m in Canada). Is there a list of countries that this phone would still work in? Some people on another forum that I read said that it may have been international blacklist now, not national like it used to be.
I ordered 4 phones and a smart watch from AT&T. When I got the shipment I realized that a 5th phone was in there. The receipt in the box had nothing about the 5th phone on there. I’m about to take back the 4 phones and the watch because I decided to stay with my other carrier. What can I do with the extra phone? If it’s never been opened I can’t imagine that it’s associated with any person’s account. Is it able to be unlocked?
I bought a T-Mobile galaxy s7 edge brand knew and I check T-Mobile website and it was lost or reported stolen. Is there anyway I can unlock it and reuse it on a different network.
I bought phone off eBay store 8 months ago. Worked perfectly till yesterday when it was blocked by my T-Mobile carrier. Why and how does it take 8 months to get reported as lost/stolen or nonpayment per original contract. Who waits 8 months to report it stolen and in a day and age that everything is electronically managed how do multiple companies with an agreement as Verizon sprint and T-Mobile do, not see instantly that this is contracted to another person on another network that is not free to sell it. They cant tell me why after 8 months exactly the reason, stolen or nonpayment, because its not my account. After 8 months I feel like its more a scam by major cell phone carriers than by the eBay seller with 4000 transaction history.
bought an iphone 6 plus didnt know it was locked to icloud… i ordered an unlocked online but they said they cant unlock it since it is reported at Lost/Stolen so it is blacklisted.. is there anyway to fix this?? coz this phone is Fuc&%$W useless….. got scammed!! 🙁
What’s the serial number? It might be the one that was stolen from me, lol
HAHAHA….. i tried to repair it via iphone uk unlock i think and got scammed again…. ill just throw it away.. it gave me badluck.. u can have it for free lol…
i have also that problem.. will any one help me also…??
My daughter bought an iPhone from someone they lied said it was unlocked it’s not the phone place we went to said it was black listed is there anything we can do
Not unless you got a signed paper from the seller telling you exactly what they said or it’s a he said/she said situation and will not hold up in court.
Where in Miami are you located, I have a few that I need to unlock before going to Haiti.
I have locked iCloud on a iPhone 6s Tmobile and they made a trade with me and I searched up the IMEI # and it says blacklisted in order to activate idk if it is actually stolen in trying to activate it.
I bought a iphone6s the imie is blacklisted what can I do to change the imei seller is not reachable
Nothing. Try and activate it on another network.
I just bought a Verizon iPhone 6 Plus yesterday and I checked the iemi and it was clean but about 6 minutes later when I got home it was reported stolen.. Do you think I can still connect it with cricket ?
No take it to the police and make a report. The seller knew it wasn’t gonna work for you and they ripped you off. You been had. Now go to police and tell them where and from whom you got that phone.
kymykat…your wrong. It can be activated on straight talk in 5 minutes with full capability and on lte
read my post above….straight talk…pop in the at&t straight talk sim and buy the 45 or 55$ plan and activate the sim then restart the phone. You will be on immediately. I just did this to my 6plus that I bought from someone. everyone told her that the phone she bought was not possible to activate…It took all of 5 minutes.
Not always true. A friend of mine had her AT&T bad financed phone that AT&T wanted money for when she canceled AT&T and they blocked the phone. she had her straight talk AT&T sim card in the phone and used it for like a month and a half and one day it stopped working. Here AT&T blocked it from their towers since she still owed money on the phone.
Losers. Can’t you do anything nice and legit in this world?
Help pls.. i bought an iphone 7 and unfortunately it is blacklisted. how to activate it? help plssss
same here… blacklisted… and locked to i cloud..
well, there is no way around the icloud lock.
pull apart and disconnect motherboard from battery
completely wipes iphones youll just need to put everything back on it
unless theyve found a way to stop that now also
Take it to police
I have a iphone 6i bought my son on
craigslist and its with t-mobile/metro which is who I’m with ..they told me it shows it was list or stolen /blacklisted I guess…is there any way possible around this so I can use it with metro? Clean the imie #? Or anything? Or do I have to wait a certain period of time for it to be un blacklisted or am I just out the $ I spent on it?
its useless, might as well sell it for parts – ill buy it
i have a iphone 6s rose gold that was sold to me but its black listed what do i do i cant reach the seller cuz it was off craigslist and cant contact him dont no who he is only met him once
It’s just an electronic brick now. Nothing you can do with MetroPCS, Verizon or Sprint.
iPhone 6 Gold s/n DNVPVGJAGSMC is stolen. It was stolen by some high school punk. IMEI 352018071233296.
hey
do u still have the iPhone 6 plus??
Hi i have this samsung galaxy s7 that i bought online that is blacklisted, i was wondering where can i get it unblacklisted? Also, does the phone being blacklisted makes it have a bad imei? Please answer my question. Thank you
If it’s blacklisted, the IMEI is bad. You can’t unblacklist it. You can try and go to the carrier and explain the purchase and find out if they can work with you. Highly unlikely it’s usable on that carrier or the network type that it’s on.
It’s possible to change an IMEI.
How?
Just root your Android device and flash on specific software capable of changing your IMEI. It’s not legal but unless your neighbourhood is patrolled by the phone police you should be fine. YouTube how to root your current device. Once that’s done you’ll be able to locate software that gives you a new number. And there you have it people! It’s your best option. I bought an S7 off an online selling site and within a week the number was blocked. Figured it out eventually and now it works fine.
can you please email me your instructions more specifically?
Hi! I have LG k10 LTE and my IMEI is blocked, please help me, contact me facebook or whatsapp ( +37126926928) . I have rooted, but what i need to do next
google, “XDA forums”… Best “FREE” service to learn and figure out what you need to do.
What is the software name used to change the IMEI? Can you please help me out I recently bought a galaxy s6 AT&T from Devices-Now….IMEI was clean when I checked I used it for about 3 months until recently phoned wasn’t able to make calls or txt and I checked IMEI again and it showed blacklisted
It’s not that simple. Few things I would suggest.
1. If you have NO experience with flashing kernels, modems or firmware of any sort, don’t do it. READ!
2. XDA forums is a perfect place to learn a bit about what you’re getting yourself in to.
That said, you could render the phone totally useless if you have no clue what you’re doing.
I have a galaxy 6s black listed please help me asap.
I have a blacklisted note 4 from t mobile that I bought from Craigslist. I have no clue where or who this person is or how to find him again. Anyways how do I get it unblacklisted. I was able to unlock the phone but the imei is bad.. can someone please help?
Hi, I am in a similar situation. Did you get it removed off of the blacklist?
Did they tell you what carrier it had? Take it to that carrier and talk with them. Explain to them what happened, that you bought it from craigslist. More than likely, you’re screwed but you might get someone that knows how to work the system (highly unlikely). As the OP said, try another carrier on a different network. Most pay by month services take bad imei’s. I had an LG G4 phone from Sprint that I took to another network and it had a bad imei. I didn’t finish paying it off because Sprint service is total crap and they wouldn’t help me. My kid uses it now and is very happy.
I have blocked samsung a3 I’m on ee and sty in uk can I still use this of I gt it unlocked
After reading that I am more confused. But it looks like they are saying stay away from those phones.
Hello admin, pls. Answer me this……
I bought a brand new t mobile note 3 in dec., 2014. Came with case, charger & all. The seller actually imported some units to sell in my country. I later noticed the phone was rooted, but apart from that has been working superbly over past 18 months.
The problem now is that 18 months later, i want to upgrade to lollipop but i discover that the imei on dialling *#06# is not thesame as the one behind the battery. I check the imei on t mobile site and it says its blocked.
Now im afraid to upgrade bcos i dont know if lollipop ugrade will reset the imei & all, and then i end up with a useless phone. Pls advice.
The phone was flashed. go to the following address:
http://www.imei.info/
Put the IMEI # in there. It will tell you everything about it.
Go to the XDA forums and look for that model #. You will find firmware and updates there that can be flashed. Make sure you follow ALL instructions.
I cleaned bad esn on T-Mobile iphone through a seller on eBay. After that I sold the iphone. Will the buyer have any problems when activating the phone on T-Mobile? Is there any tricks that he can’t do to avoid blocking the phone again. Like skipping updates.?
Yes.
Hello my son had supposedly lost his phone in my brother’s car, we ordered another one and paid the fee. My brother found the phone 2 months later, the phone just sat, fast forward almost a year ahead I need to use the phone due to mines being broke. We switched carriers and the phone was given back, but we still have the “lost/stolen phone, I tried to get it unblocked and they said no because we received a replacement. But we gave the phone that was the replacement back? What can I do? Thanks
Well, any person with ethics would return the old phone too. The phone is pretty much useless. You can try and activate it on a prepaid system. You might want to go to one that doesn’t backbone the provider it had.
Here is a good list of MVNO’s that show who they backbone off of.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators
If my unlocked iphone was blacklisted due to non payment can I still use it on a prepaid carrier ?
I have a iPhone 6 Plus from T-Mobile and I fail Behind on payments and now it’s blacklisted. I am traveling to Haiti, would I be able to use it their with a SIM card?
Yes, as long as it’s not blacklisted in Haiti you can use it all day execpt for the US where it was blacklisted. These people still get a percentage on lost/ stolen none payment blacklisted phone that’s why they are allowed to unlock the phones without it being a crime.
how can I get my phone of the blacklist ?
There’s a lot of sellers on eBay with 100% feedback who clean bad ESN. I paid $20.00.
Other option is an i”Phone swap” you can find it on eBay too.
You send them yout blacklisted iphone and they will send you a new one clean. I really don’t know how they do it. But apparently works b’s they have good feedback. Other option is to sell it in offer up (you can download that app) “as is” blacklisted for international buyers.
Hey they sell me a phone apparently I guess they bypass iCloud I connected it but the calls is not going through the and its saids no service I think it has to do with the imei help I pay my plan bill
How can i unblock a bad imei?
Got a problem galaxy 4note been blacklisted can I get new imie # & how do I get it ? Or am I just screwed?
Hello, what carrier is it branded to? if possible we can assigne a new IMEI to the phone.
I have tmobile phone can u assigned a new IMEI?
Verizon. Can you help Francis Mbulo?
Ill buy it from you. Are you in New York?
I lost my Samsung Galaxy,A3 which was on contract with virgin mobile.as I had insurance I was able to get a new one sent to me.but about6 months later I found it and called virgin mobile but they said it has been blocked. Do you no how I can get it unblocked
You no longer have permission to use the reported device. I’d imagine it’s illegal to to just “find and use” your old one with the claim on it. And I’m sure Virgin Mobile would like the old one. (I despise VM, BTW. So don’t give them s**t. Lol.)
I think your best bet would be to use the old one as a multimedia/WiFi device. Or sell it as such. Wich also may be illegal. 😛
But yeah, there’s no way VM will unlock it unless you return the new one.
Hi. Just bought an iPhone 5c blacklisted on sprint in the USA. I live in Norway is it possible for me to use it here?
Yes. As long as it’s also been UNLOCKED and the network bands of the device are compatible with your international carrier.
Blacklist and unlocking a phone are 2 different things. If a phone is blacklisted for stolen you will not be able to use it on any carriers network. Not sure about international but definitely not in the U.S. Unlocking it is providing you the option of using it on another carrier (unless it is blacklisted) in the U.S. 2 very different things.
Exactly. This is the hardest concept for consumers.
Just because it’s been blacklisted doesn’t mean it can’t be used. Sometimes it’s just blacklisted on a certain domestic carrier and other times across all domestic carriers. It won’t be “blacklisted” internationally but the consumer still has to UNLOCK the device (probably paid at that point since the carrier won’t do it themselves if it’s blacklisted) AND the device network bands have to be compatible with the international carrier.
If people would just go to a store and buy it there would not be a problem. Seems everyone is trying to cut corners and think they can save a 100 bucks by not buying legit, and then they loose everything. Stupid is as stupid does. Lmao… People are so ….yep. I don’t feel sorry for anyone who bought a phone off Craig’s list or ebay with a bad imei. You should have know better.
Don’t be a dip S .A lot of folks can’t afford phones so the alternative is to buy from eBay or CL .Hate when folks call others dumb for trying to work within their price range or can’t afford big cost phones like others . Mind you I can and do own a high end phone but don’t mean yah have to shit on other peoples means.
Foreal. Just because he wants to pay outrageous prices to the big 4 in the u.s. doesn’t mean everyone does or can. People should stop being scumbags selling stolen or not paid for phones and a big portion of the problem would be gone.
Buying a used phone is recycling — Nothing wrong with that.
I feel sorry for you, your callous attitude, and the people you interact with, daily. *smh*
Hello My name is Eugene. I live in Moscow. 03/03/14 I bought the phone on Ebay. as the goods delivered in Russia, I arrange delivery to my friend in USA. he sent me a phone in Russia. Today I received a phone, but it was blocked. I can not get it back, as has already been a long time after purchase and the seller no longer registered on the site. what can I do to unlock this phone? I am ready to pay for unlocking.
after a call to the operator t-mobile, I learned that the phone is stolen and blacklisted.
He boxed as new ..
When you say “blocked” what do you mean? You were able to load the phone to main user menu, insert sim card and the phone read the sim card but your carrier said it was blocked?
What model iPhone was it?
In anycase, it’s always best to buy items on eBay with the funding source of your credit card as your CC company can usually issue a dispute and fight for you months after a purchase.
Hello My name is Eugene. I live in Moscow. 03/03/14 I bought the phone on Ebay. as the goods delivered in Russia, I arrange delivery to my friend in USA. he sent me a phone in Russia. Today I received a phone, but it was blocked. I can not get it back, as has already been a long time after purchase and the seller no longer registered on the site. what can I do to unlock this phone? I am ready to pay for unlocking.
I have a note 2 on att that I had factory unlocked to use on other carriers but I didn’t finish my 2 year contract since it is already unlocked and my account is in collection will they be able to lock my phone it is not on the blacklist??? Please help
As long as you use it with a carrier other than ATT or an MVNO using ATT network you should be fine.
hello,
Can someone tell me how to unlock AT&T NOKIA LUMIA 1020 which has a bad IMEI number?
I want to use it in my country (not in USA)
thanks in advance
i have a note 3 that was on a friends acct we had a falling out and she turned my phone off i started my own acct and tried to use the same phone when tmobile told me she reported my phone stolen is there anyway i can still use my same phone on my new tmobile acct if i get the imei unblocked
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for Sprint off of Craig’s List. Turns out it’s stolen? Anything I can do to still use it or something I can do to sell it and it be able to work for someone else? Thanks!
You can find owner and give it back, or if you want to sell it then sell it in another country which will make your phone work if first option is not workable.
This method may indirectly contribute to phone insurance fraud as people report their old phone stolen and sell it for profit,I recommend surrendering the blacklisted phone to the police as they may investigate it and do not sell it
Your a loser like someone is just going to give away 600 bucks.. Where’s your brain
Curious, I have been reading that a iPhone with a bad IMEI actually makes a good iPod touch alternative. Can you offer advice one way or the other? I actually do not want (nor ever will) the phone functionality, so I don’t care if it is blacklisted. But I do want it to work in all other aspects (ie, connect to wifi, stream videos, listen to music, use apps, etc).
Thanks!
Hello Dustin, I bought a t mobile samsung galaxy note 3 from a guy in a mall. But it stopped working after two days I bought it. I checked it with t mobile and it’s blocked. Then I tried unlocking it and sell it to my friend in other country, but it’s not even unlocking. I m really stuck like paying 600$ cash for a phone n stops working within two days. Plz Dustin if u can help me out.
Make sure you take it t I a guy who knows what hes doin , they will charge you 40 – 80 dollars and will unblock the imei and install a chip to block the old carriers blovked signal for you but the thing is you probably won’t be able to use it in its old carrier so you might have to swith your carrier,
I have a US Cellular S4 and a Mega and I want to use the GSM band on the device. How do I open that usage up?
i have a bad esn Galaxy Nexus for sprint that mistakenly bought From ebay….how sure are you that this phone can be unlocked…i dont think it has a sim slot…any recommindation
Hi,
I bought a note 2 a month ago and just last thursday i cannot use the phone anymore. I checked with the third party repair man and told me that the phone is reported stolen. How can it be stolen if the phone is with the box and everything sealed like brand new when I got it. The same IMEI on the box. Found out that bell mobility here canada offers insurance to customers. so that seller will get another note 2 and sell it again I guess. The phone is in the National Blacklist of Canada. Do you think it will stil be fixed? Any advice? Can I use it on another country like the philippines when I am going to go on a vacation? The phone is unlocked to work on all the carriers here in canada and abroad.
I hope to get a response. thanks !
just bought a galaxy s3 from metro for 300 it doesnt work just found out the imei number is bad how do i fix it i really need me a phone and 300 is a great lost HELLLLLP PLEASE!!!!!
I just had my $750 Samsung Galaxy S4 32GB phone with a 64GB SD RAM card and a $80 otterbox case stolen after just 3 months into a 24 month contract. So not only am I out the $880 spent for the phone I am on the hook for another 21 months at $103 a month. So I just got taken for over $2000 and you are telling people that steal phones how to get around blocking and black listing. You are a PIECE of work.
Not everyone who receives or has a phone that has an imei block stole the phone.
Maybe so but they bought property for that they knew most likely was stolen.
or like me they bought it new on ebay and were able to activate it on a prepaid mvno for verizon and 5 months later during a line update verizon decided to block it. I am out $410 for a phone I already own and don’t know who to even go to so I reallly appreciate that there may be an option for me.
if you spent that much money on your sell why not pay $8 for insurance? youre either lying or really stupid…
Hey I just lost $800 buying a “clean esn” Note3 and two days later blacklisted as stolen
I’d worry more about how you spell, “Victim”…
You’re stupid! Don’t you have any heart? Oh no I forgot you’re on here cuz you’re the piece of sh_t person who steals for his drug habit and still never has anything ever for all the stealing you do against other people. I bet you’re the person who say” I never steal from friends” right!! Anyway, all you care to add to this discussion is about spelling? What a loser!
Stop being a b****. My phone was blocked by tmobile after I switched to metro. I would rather throw my phone in a bonfire than ever pay tmobile another penny. There are plenty of services out there who can unblock it in a matter of hours.
I didn’t have insurance ethier I had a 90$ life proof case on my iPhone 6s I didn’t think it would end up stolen. But I thought the person that put it on the blacklist where the only ones who could take it off. Apple was supposed to notify me if it became active
I got the bad guys sending me fake apple notices about someone using my stolen phone so I’d sign into iCloud to see where it was. I called Apple in stead of clicking on link and it’s a good thing I didn’t click on the link. Nothing’s safe out there anymore..
I agree. I’d be pissed off too. I am pissed OFF but I had I insurance. 250.00 later on a phone that retails for 1289.00. If you didn’t have insurance do you have homeowners insurance. ?
Who the heck spends so much on a phone….and you can’t get upset at this informative article….I’m glad it’s here….I bought a phone and wasn’t aware that it was blacklisted but after reading this I can make better decisions before purchasing used phones…I also learned that I can ask other carriers if they accept blacklisted phones….I have to try before throwing my hands in the air and giving up….after all I did pay for the unknowingly blacklisted phone…I really hope I can find a carrier that will accept this phone I really don’t have any more money to spend on a new phone after buying this one….and no it was not 880….ridiculous
You can’t even spell “victem” right
i bought an At&t I Phone 5 on ebay. turns out it was stolen . what do i do ?
Was there a returns policy?
Did the seller say everything was fine with the phone?
What funding source did you use on paypal?
Run for the hills
I recently bought 2 iPhone 5s Sprint and an ATT its says it has a bad esn and the ATT is bad imei now i live in the caribbean and i was wondering wether i am aboe to unlock those devices for use here in the caribbean
I bought a galaxy note 2 today from a guy I literally met in walmart parking lot. I looked it uo and it says it has a bad esn. what can I do to recoup my losses. can I unlock it to use on Verizon wireless or what? thanks
Yes. You’re in luck with Verizon phones. Their required by law because of the spectrum they use to have the phone unlocked. Go on eBay and sell it (saying it’s bad ESN of course) and Verizon and someone who knows what their doing with it will unlock it and use it. A bad ESN verizon is actually more valuable than an AT&T locked non bad ESN/IMEI phone.
I have a galaxy s4 which is locked to at&t if it is blacklisted can I u lock it and use it outisde the US on a prepaid network ?
Yes. That is possible. Just now the unlock situation for AT&T phones is a bit hard to get unlocked. A month ago it cost $1, but today it’s towards $100 and somewhat unreliable.
In summary, yes you can use a blacklisted IMEI phone in another country if you can get it unlocked.
– What model iPhone is it?
– If you just extended your contract for a discounted or subsidized phone, you can try to call tmobile and tell them you’re going overseas and would like to unlock you device.
They usually want the specific phone your trying to unlock to have fulfilled it’s 2 year contract obligation but I’ve heard of many customers where these requirements were not meet and we’re able to get the phone unlocked.
You might have to try calling into tmobile a few times if they say no initially until you get rep who will make an exception to their standard policy.
If you’ve been a tmobile customer for a while (at least 10 month), you’re chances should be significantly higher.
The policy is in place to prevent those who will leave and not fulfill their contract obligation from being able to easily sell their phone (since they still “owe” tmobile). Unfortunately, having such a policy crosses over to those long term good value clients that pay their bull on time and actually have a legitimate use case for unlocking the phone for personal use and after returning, will still be a paying tmobile customer.
The above suggestion is for current tmobile clients and free if you can get them to make an exception.
– If you you bought the phone from somewhere else like ebay, craigslist or from someone else you can try to ask someone who is a t-mobile customer to call in for you and request the phone to be unlocked. Provided the phone you purchased is not on a lost or stolen list and the IMEI is clean, you could get a friend or colleague to submit for you under their account for free. Usually the carrier (T-Mobile and AT&T) will allow 5 unlocks per account per year, regardless if the phone trying to be unlocked was one associated with a purchase to one of the account holders users.
Lastly, if you don’t have someone who might be able to submit and get the unlock for free, you could try searching eBay for a seller that provides
T-Mobile IMEI unlocking services for a chargeHello Dustin.
I bought a tmobile iphone on craigslist with out knowing that the imei have been blacklisted…. but i will be traveling over seas soon and i am wanting to get it unlock still to use it over there…. do you guys provide a unlock service for tmobile iphones?
Dustin
I had a phone I paid for in cash.my ex cancel the line 3 months later it stops working with my new sim card both from att . What can I do. I have the recipt. Note 3
You can unlock the phones. I had to do this when me and my wife got sick of AT&t and ported out.