Every day thousands of used and new cell phones make their way to Craigslist to be sold. Most of the time, the seller has gotten a new phone and wants to get some cash back for the old one, the transaction goes fine, and everyone’s happy. Seller has cash and the buyer has a new usable phone with no 2 year contract. The last thing anyone wants to do is get cheated or scammed, shell out $300-$400 on a shiny paperweight.
In response to the hundreds of emails this post has generated – we now offer a discount on the checkmend service at our website. http://www.mobilelizard.com. Here you will be able to enter your phones esn/imei/meid or serial number to get the report which will tell you definitively whether or not your phone is currently blacklisted.
Before we get into anything else, a little primer:
In the USA Sprint and Verizon phones operate on the CDMA using ESN numbers (sometimes called the MEID#) to identify each individual phone active on their network. AT&T & TMOBILE operate on the GSM network . They use IMEI numbers to identify each phone. (These phones also use sim cards) For more of an indepth explanation on these systems – see the following link to an article at diffen.com
Cell phone companies can Blacklist (Block) any ESN or IMEI number, rendering the phone useless. Once a phone is blocked it will be problematic to get it activated. Prior to 2011/2012 it was fairly unusual for phone companies to block phones for any reason other than non payment. However with the popularity of the more expensive iphone and samsung galaxy models , Verizon and Sprint began to actively block ESN numbers due to a high incidence of fraud. Tmobile and AT&T joined in the activity to block IMEI numbers as well, and as of 2013 AT&T and Tmobile have been sharing a ‘blocked imei list’. This means its no longer possible to unlock a blocked AT&T phone and use it on a different network: Tmobile, simple mobile etc. Neither is it possible to unlock a Tmobile phone to use on any GSM network inside the USA.
There are Bad people on Craigslist:
Unfortunately there are others who prey on buyers’ lack of this knowledge for the sole purpose of getting quick cash.
These sellers usually have one of a few different scenarios going:
1. Individuals who bought bad esn phones themselves and are trying to pawn them off on others.
2. Individuals who have a large outstanding balance on their cell phone bill. Instead of paying it, they sell the phone, collect the cash leaving unsuspecting buyers to deal with the outcome.
3. Individuals selling stolen smartphones or smartphones they found.
4. Organized re-sellers – Individuals who earn extra cash by buying a brand new smartphone with a 2 year contract at a low price (usually one of the top sellers – iphones/ Samsung galaxy phones) then selling it at retail value, then reporting the phone lost or stolen to the phone company.
In each of these cases, if you’ve bought one of these smartphones: Past due balance on phone/ Phone Reported Lost or Stolen, you may find the phone works for a short time, but will cease to function shortly after purchase. When you call the service provider to find out what the problem is you’ll be told by Sprint or Verizon that your phone has a BAD or BLOCKED ESN number, or in the case of Tmobile and AT&T the phone has a BLOCKED IMEI number
If you have bought a phone with a bad esn or bad imei number chances are you have a very expensive brick /ipod/extra drive on your hands. 9 times out of 10 the buyer will not respond to your emails or calls. Plus the cellphone companies are not exactly the most helpful when it comes to this scenario. You’re pretty much on your own.
How to avoid buying a bad/blocked smartphone:
There’s no 100% foolproof method of avoiding the bad smartphone deal on craigslist, but there are a few ways to ensure you don’t become a willing victim.
1. Do your research. As the old saying goes, “if its too good to be true…” If a brand new unlocked samsung galaxy s4 costs $700 retail at new egg or amazon/ebay and someone’s selling one for $500, . Many buyers fail to realize they don’t pay the true retail value of a smartphone at sprint/verizon/tmobile/at&t . Their price is subsidized. Don’t jump at the deal because the price is great. If you want to know what the real cost of the phone is a little research will help. Look around at new egg or online retailers to see what the lowest price is. Then see if the seller’s price is inline with that. If you ask for $100 off and they agree, there is a chance something may be wrong with the phone
2. Ask the seller questions: If the phone is brand new – ask for the carrier details and more pictures. If its used , ask for pictures to show the condition, whether there is water damage, why they’re selling phone etc.
3. Try to buy from a reputable person on craigslist. Ask your friends for a referral. If the seller has posted a website or store name/phone number google it to see what’s been written about them. Email or call directly.
4. Make sure the serial number on the box matches the serial number on the phone
5. Check blocked ESN and IMEI lists to see if the phone you plan to buy is on it. Calll Sprint/Verizon/Tmobile/ATT to check the number and see if there’s any outstanding issue. You can get the ESN or IMEI number from the seller . Some sellers will provide the number without an issue. Some will not to prevent being found out, or to protect themselves from scammers and cloners looking for clean ESN and IMEI numbers.
6. If the seller will not give you the IMEI or ESN before hand you can run a check when you meet up, but before you pay either by calling the service provider or using the following tool : CHECKMEND. – Available at our website<
The fix is IN
At mobilelizard.com we get daily emails from craigslist and ebay buyers all over the USA who’ve found themselves with a blacklisted smartphone. Bad news first: There is no known ‘legal’ fix for a bad IMEI number that’s going to make it golden once more. You can unlock the phone for use outside of the USA, or sell it to a repair shop for parts. We provide unlocking services for most GSM phones on Tmobile and AT&T – iphone 5, iphone4s. All Samsung Galaxy models and Tabs, Blackberry (inlcuding Z10 and blackberry Q10) , Nokia, HTC, LG, Huawei, Alcatel etc. We also unlock providers in Europe/ UK/ Latin America/South and Central America and the Caribbean.
For Verizon users with Blacklisted ESNs – there is some recourse . Thankfully, we can help to clean and clear bad ESNs and IMEIS in some cases. Email us for more info.
We hope this has been helpful!
Let us know if you’d like to hear more!
Bought a iPhone 6 -A1586; I put my Sprint sim in it and also got the sim for the iPhone. They were just about to take the phone from me at the store because it has a bad IMEI/MEID (previous owner owed bill and phone was under contract still). When I put my sim in it would allow me to set up the phone for a little bit then it would say, “sim locked” or “unable to read”.
Now the guy at sprint allowed me to keep the phone and told me that I would be able to activate it with them in 6 months…is there anything that I can do before then…? I have already tried to take it to PagePlus and they were unable to do anything as well.
***if you look on the apple website it states that the iPhone 6 model A1586 is a phone that was bought directly from apple without a sim
Thank you. I’ll be looking for your response
Wait the 6 months. About that time sprint’s new programs should be up and running. They have been forced to make their phones unlockable, and their sims will likely become compatible with GSM phones, like Verizon’s.
I bought a BlackBerry Q10 with bad IMEI (AT&T) from Ebay. Is it possible to unlock this and use it outside the United States?
Yes, its possible. We do have the unlock available at our website – http://www.mobilelizard.com
I have bought two new looking us cellular samsung galaxy 5s phones for myself and my wife not understanding the whole blacklist deal. I brought them both to be hooked up and was told they had BOTH had bad IMei numbers.I paid close to retail.Is there anything that can be done besides let my son use them as backup tablets?
You can try finding someone who flashes us cellular. Your carrier options will be limited.
So I was one of the not so smart individuals to buy a phone off of Craig’s .. I went to activate and it told me it was a lost/stolen phone. I have no idea what to do with it now. Its a note 4
Email us at – unlock@mobilelizard.com for more information
I bought a iPhone 5s off of Craigslist back in june and it stopped working in July on my birthday actually and I went into t-mobile and they told me that the person whom sold me the phone didn’t pay the balance and that if I had any information to give apple I may be able to pay the remaining balance and I didn’t end up having any information left over. Now I’m stuck not knowing what to do or what my options are….or even how much I could get out of the phone for parts is pretty much brand new no scratches or any cracks.
That is a tough one – Try ebay to sell for parts or as is.
Hey so I just got an IPhone 6 for sprint, the seller told me that nothing was wrong with it, but when I went today to activate it, they told me that it’s not reported stolen but that it’s still active and that it’s suspended, what should I do? I’m trying to contact the seller but he hasn’t replied. Is there anything I can do?
There’s not much you can do in this case unfortunately. Try speaking with sprint – let seller know you’re getting law enforcement involved.
I believe I still had 5-8 months with three of my S4 before my 2 year contract ended with Verizon. Some financial difficulties came up. My S3s were month to month. I got some collection letters 3+ months ago. Now, Swappa and Verizon’s website shows a clear ESN on all phones. I heard Sprint autoclears unpaid account bad ESNs. Is it possible Verizon did the same? Is it cool to sell the phones now? I tried calling Verizon but the rep said he couldn’t tell. Not sure if he was just uninformed or not.
Sprint autoclears bad esn’s? News to us. Verizon definitely would not. Only way to tell is to walk into a store.
I bought an iPhone 5c off of eBay for verizion with a clear esn should I have anything to worry about ?
Not if it remains that way, no
I bought a straigt talk phone from an individual and when I tried to activate it invade was told it could not be activated bc it was not scanned in and I can’t get ahold if person I purchased it from. What are my options? Can I use it on Verizon prepay service or any other service? Can it be flashed over without problems from did carrier I’m trying to use it on? Thanks
hello. Sorry but there’s no solution that we know of for this. Straight talk is a sub carrier and as such will only work on their network(s). If the phone isn’t scanned it was likely stolen and won’t register in their system.
I bought a tmobile g3 has bad imeid number what can i do
Email us directly unlock@mobilelizard.com for more information
I lost my straight tslk phone and reported it stolen and now I’vefound it and have been trying to get it removed for 2 weeks bc there waiting on verizon to onlock it can I go around straight talk and get it unlocked any quicker
very unlikely straight talk is proprietary under the tracfone umbrella. No one else will be able to take care of it.
Hello,
I purchased a galaxy s4 that was connected through Sprint. Tried to use it-bad esn. My sister has service thrpugh metro pcs…can she get it flashed to work for her through metro?
Its got a bad esn, so its going to be difficult, but its not impossible. Maybe not to metro but to something else
hi I bought a iPhone 6plus from my friend the carrier is us cell. I just found out she’s owes a bill on it. She bought the phone out right but has an unpaid bill can I still have it switched to my name on us cell prepaid?
That’s not a question we can answer. Every carrier’s policies are different. However, it helps if you think of it like buying a car. Difficult to sell a car you don’t completely own.
Bought a beautiful iPhone 6 (Sprint) that was suppose to be cleared for activation on Ting, but there is a balance on the account. I had been in touch with the owner who was “working with me” to get it a cleared up (which is actually quite easy, you can put a cheap non-smart phone onto that existing account to release the sold phone). I even offered to take care of it, I just needed her PIN number and security answers which she could change immediately after the switch and she still didn’t do anything.
Sprint says call the police, the police say it’s not a criminal case and I’m sick of all of it! Anyway that you know of to get Sprint to release the MEID for the iPhone or to get them to let me make the change? I have FB conversation showing she knew the problem and was promising to fix it. HELP! I need a working phone adapt…thanks!! Lori
Hello, sorry we are not aware of any measures that will help to clear your situation up. Thanks for listing the non smart phone option.
Hello, I have a galaxy note 4 I’d like to sell the imei is clear but it has a balance, is there any way I can clear that to sell it. I don’t want to be a crooked salesman
Hello
email us at – unlock@mobilelizard.com for more info
Hi i bought a brand new Verizon iphone 6 from Craigslist had a clean imei had it activated with consumer cellular a few days later the phone was blacklisted is there anything i can do?
Thanks
James
Yes, there is the verizon iphone 6 can be cleaned- Email us directly at unlock@mobilelizard.com for more info.
Bought a new Lg g3 tried installing SIM doesnt read. took it to t-mobile and they told me it has a bad Imei. I bought this phone in different country. I can only use it on wifi thats it not as a normal phone. Is there any way i can clean the imei so i can use it?
What is the original carrier on the LG G3?
I got ripped off on Craigslist by a lady..sold me a samsung note 3 still under contract. .she wont pay the bill. .is there anyway to help me …i am out 200.00..she won’t answer my calls the IMEDI number is [info erased]
Yes, we can help you with the note 3 – email us unlock@mobilelizard.com
I bought an iPhone 6plus T-Mobile from a lady on Craigslist who said it had a a clean esn. I went to metro to activate but then was told it was on a negative list (someone reported stolen) -300 :'( I wounder if I could still sell the parts or something because I just lost 300
Hello, unfortunately there is no fix for blacklisted Tmobile iphones. There is also no longer a working unlock for blacklisted or bad imei tmobile iphones. Sell for parts
Bought an iphone 6 plus off craigslist
Found out it was thru tmobile with a balance owed on it.
Can i fix this or should i sell it for parts?
Thanks!
Sell for parts
Bought a iphone plus from a seller and couldn’t unlock as there is pending payment on that att next account. Can i use with an att line or Will it be black listed?
It can be unlocked. It just won’t work. So, no you can’t use with at&t or any other us carrier.
I bought a Black listed Galexy 4. The carrier is Us Celular. Is there a way to get it activated still??
You can check in your area and see if anyone is flashing us cellular.
No we cannot.
Bought a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from someone but it was blacklisted can it still be used ?
Depends on the carrier – we’d need more info to make a determination on this. Thanks!