Hey all! Due to the overwhelming email response to our craigslist bad esn blog post – We’re putting up the solutions for all to see.
Situation 1. – BAD IMEI or Blocked IMEI phone:
Bad/Blocked imei phones are those that operate on the GSM networks. The main 2 in the USA are Tmobile, and AT&T.
- Mobilelizard does provide a service for users of Samsung phones which have been blocked. To find out more, head to our website http://www.mobilelizard.com and look at the imei repair service.
- Sell to someone that will use outside the USA only . A bad/blocked imei phone is useless in the USA for the most part. AT&T and Tmobile have a combined blocked imei list . That phone is blocked in the USA. However, if a blocked imei phone is UN-locked (carrier block removed so it can freely accept other sim cards to work with the phone) and taken out of the USA, it usually works when a foreign sim card is placed in it. This may change in the future, but for now it still works.
- Sell to any repair store for parts. Don’t expect to get the replacement cost of your phone here, but at least you’ll get some money back.
- Some customers have mentioned they have craigslist sellers sign a document saying they’ve sold the phone to someone else. If anyone’s done this and had success forcing the carriers to turn service back on to their phone – or even gotten feedback on what the phone companies are saying when presented with the documentation post in the feedback.
Situation 2. – BAD ESN or Blocked ESN phone:
This refers to blocked phones on Verizon/Sprint/Boost/Nextel/Cricket/MetroPCS and all phones on cdma networks.
- Sell to any repair store for parts.
- Sell to someone that will use outside the USA . This only works if the phone you bought has a sim card slot for GSM usage. Surprise!!! The rest of the world uses sim cards. They’ll have to get the phone sim unlocked. For iphones, gevey or RSim provides a fix.
- Flash the phone to another carrier. This is a great fix for anyone who doesn’t mind changing carriers. In many cases the plans are less. As long as the carrier you are flashing to will accept the phone you’ll have a fully functional phone once you’re flashed over. You may have 3G instead of 4G in some cases, but that’s a better alternative to a paperweight.
Thanks for reading and as always feel free to add your feedback!!
In recent months, we have been contacted by hundreds of persons asking for help. We offer services that will help people stuck with a bad imei phone but this service is not free. The most often asked question is ‘does it work?’ followed by ‘ how can I trust you?’ Yes, it works. While we don’t often post all the THANK YOU! feedback we get, we are not in the business of ripping anyone off. Its pretty easy to research our trustworthiness. Online, your reputation is all that you have.
Hi there,
i have a t-mobile usa iphone 5, i want to unlockit to use in spain carrier. i try to unlockit in cellunlocker.com and no possible becouse the phone is blacklisted. Its no pay bills in usa NO SOTOLEN. Its possible to unlockit?
Yes, you need a special unlock – Please email us directly for information – unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hello,
A friend of mine is selling me an iPhone 5s with bad ESM that was used in sprint. If I flash it can I use it on t-mobile? I currently have t-mobile and need a new phone. Also I found that buying an R-sim will fix the problem. Can you explain that?
Sprint iphone 5 series is difficult to unlock with the Rsim inside the usa. A bad esn just makes it twice as difficult. Skip the bad esn purchase. Skip sprint altogether.
Ok so I bought a Nexus 5 (which is unlocked as all the nexus) from a guy, the problem is that after 2 days of usage the phone was blocked I do not know with which company it is originally but is there a solution for that? much appreciate for answers
check the imei at one of the many checkers online. To the best of my knowledge only contracted phones can be blocked. If you don’t owe your mobile service provider any money, then the problem is the phone.
Hello. I purchased a note 4 T-mobile off of Craiglist. Found out it was blocked. Paid to have the imei changed and currently using on Simple Mobile network. It worked for about a month and then it said not registered I believe so I was unable to make calls,send messages or use the internet. Took it back to the store and they put another imei. I’m able to make calls but no 4g,picture mail or internet access. Looked up the imei on the back after I removed the battery and it’s showing good. However when I use the *# obtion to look up the flashed one it says not found. What can I do? Very frustrated.
Go back to the store if you have questions. Without knowing exactly what they did technically we aren’t able to help.
I purchased a Lumia 1020 for ATT and tried to get it unlocked, but it was denied because the previous owner has not finished paying for it. Does this mean it has a bad ESN or IMEI? Is there any way around this, or should I return it?
Return it. Even if unlocked you couldn’t use it in the usa
I have an at&t lg optimus e980 that I got the unlock code for and apprrintly at&t said it worked cause it is no longer locked to their company. But when I put my Sprint pre paid sim in it, it doesn’t do anything . Any suggestions?
sprint service/sim cards are incompatible with any other phone but sprint at the moment.
I got an AT&T Samsung note 4 on Craigslist and it was reported lost or stolen, could I get the phone to work again?
Please email us directly for information – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I have a galaxy s5 got it through verizon and my contract phone plan got suspended. Can I unlock the phone so I can use it as a prepaid through straight talk?
Its already unlocked. As it is your phone, there’s not much you can do except be current with verizon
I bought a iphone 5c with a bad imei due to unpaid bill. So can I still have it turn on by metro pcs
If its a tmobile 5c probably not.
I just brought a note 4 today from someone on craiglist n when i put my sim card in it ask for a code. I called att cuz thats who the phone was with to get the unlock code and they ask for the imei num n come to find out the imei is blacklisted?!!??? Smh after reading this i now know what blacklisted mean smh.. And i dont know what to do now im stuck with a phone is there any way i can use it…?? At all??? I have family mobile its thru tmobile.
Note 4 ATT? Theres a slim chance you may be able to use it Please email us directly for information – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I found a iphone 6 plus,can it b used in nicaragua if i sent it to a friend
I think it’s probably reported lost by know, can it be used in nicaragua
You could also try turning it in to the carrier. If they say its been reported lost and refuse it, youre free to do what you like. If you get it unlocked at that point you can use it outside the usa
Hello,
I recently purchased an iPhone 6 which I use on AT&T. I have prepaid service. After using the phone for a few months my phone is due for an update. After updating my phone to IOS 8.1.3 my service is blocked. I couldn’t make or receive any calls or texts. After contacting my device provider my phone was turned back on. Later on my phone was blocked again. After a long frustrating conversation AT&T explained to me the this phone was sold lost or stolen and I could no longer use it! I spent enough money on this phone to now have to get another phone which is going to be a downgrade!!!?!? I payed good money and now this bull**** I can’t believe this how can they just block me. i began researching unlocks methods but realized there was no hope for my blacklisted lost or stolen iPhone 6 …. Can I downgrade my iOS back to 7 ??! And then restore it? Or will I still be blocked out of my service. If I unlock my phone can I ise it under a different service. And is there some smart intelligent person who is a genius and can unlock blacklisted phones in the US?!? Please someone help me I have a $600 phone which I am using as an iPod! There are so many scam artists and i don’t really trust anyone. What can I do please tell me something positive!!!?!?!!!…!!.!.!.!.!.
Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately you cannot downgrade to ios 7. No matter what you do at this point that phone is blocked. As its an att phone there’s not alot that can be done.
I bought a galaxy s4 m919n white frost metro pcs phone at a local Orange county swapmeet I paid $200 .00 no receipt… I checked the IMEI it was clean and phone is awesome…I am a metro pcs customer since 2008 …a few days after I bought it I went online to switch my phone to it …ok phone reported lost .. NOT stolen….so I was denied by metro pcs/T-Mobile to activate it….Now it’s blacklisted as
reported lost …I can’t even track down the dude who sold it to me…so now I have a $200.00 toy …what can I do to remove it from the blacklist and use it like intended?
Please email us directly for information – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I have an at&t samasung Mega that has a blocked/stolen imei that I recently purchased from someone off Craigslist. I’m trying to use with straight talk. I was told u can replace the motherboard and it will work. Can it be fixed or do I just sell it?
replacing the motherboard with another that has a good imei is one way around this problem
I also have the same problem and the same phone Samsung Mega..i need help as to what I can do to be able to use this phone if possible? Thank you
Hello, we get hundreds of email per week. please be specific in your questioning we will try to answer to the best of our ability.
Someone is selling a unlock Verizon lg g2 cellphone they said it is under contract my question is I want to buy it to use my straight talk carrier on it but my concern is will it be locked if they terminate their contract or would I still able to use it I already called my carrier they accept that phone just don’t want to buy if it gets locked or blocked.
Hello, If you purchase a phone that is still under contract and the contracted owner does not pay their bill or has an unpaid early termination fee on the phone it will be blocked by the carrier.
I just purchased a sealed and unopened iphone 6 for verizon. Tried signing up for cricket wireless, typed in the imei and said it was reported stolen. Can i use a prepaid sim?
Depends – try sticking a cricket wireless sim in, and see what happens. Whatever happens with that sim will happen with others. If you would like a solution Please email us directly for information – unlock@mobilelizard.com
You have provided great information here. I have read through pages and pages of posts and your replies.
I have come to the understanding that if I were to purchase an iphone from a third party seller online such as ebay or craigslist, I should look for an ATT (GSM) phone or an unlocked phone in order to be able to correct potential issues with blocked IMEI?
I ask this to be clear as I am looking to replace three phones for the family and we are using Straight Talk.
Thanks so much for your help. I have seen so many posts where folks getting screwed when they are just trying to get a decent price. You guys rock!
Thanks for the kind words. Our advice is really never to buy a bad imei phone. It costs money to correct issues if they in fact are correctable. Depending on the make and model it can get expensive. Some bad imei gsm phones can be got as a bargain if you intend to unlock and use it overseas only. The entire situation with bad esn/imei phones is constantly in flux and can change at any moment, rendering any fix useless. There are plenty of affordable unlocked phones available at amazon and in retail stores that are new and have good imeis.
Do ya’ll sell phones and would you have a price break for someone looking to buy three?
This reply is a little late – but try amazon.
hi , i buy a Verizon LG g2 ,before buyed i check the emei and was clean evrethng was ok, when i try to activate n another carrier they tellme the phone still active n verizon , i dont see the owner again , you know how long they take for put out of the system or what i can do now , thanks guys
Hello – the only person who can remove a phone from an account is the the named person on the account. The carrier (in this case verizon) will not allow anyone else to remove it from the account.
Just to let you know, Tmobile BAD IMEI phones seems not working anymore in Mexico or at least not with Movistar carrier doh!
I bought an Verizon lg vs45 and it won’t activate what can I do since I don’t have the paperwork to go to the store they said it needs to be scanned
You likely bought a stolen phone – never scanned in store. There’s not really anything you can do to get it on verizon that we know of. You could see if there’s some store locally that might be able to put your phone on another carrier.
Id like to know if a Samsung S4 from Tmobil can be used at MetroPCS (my current provider) if has been reported “lost or stolen”
I bought the phone of a guy and I have a feeling wasnt his but since I spent money on it, Id like to use it.
No. Metro PCS runs on tmobile’s network. The first thing they’re going to do is check your phone for blocked/blacklist status
I found a t-mobile iphone 5 on ebay with a blocked imei. Is there anything I can do to make this phone work in Jamaica?
If you can find someone to unlock it, it should work just fine.
hey I bought a note 2 from ebay and it has a bad esn because it was reported lost/stolen. Could I flash it to another network perhaps to make it work?
depends on the carrier, but it is possible in some instances.
Hi,..so I bought this Verizon 4g lte from a friend and I was actually really excited because it’s a really nice phone so I decided to go to a cellular place where they flash phones,I put my cricket SIM card in there ,just the messages and calling worked so they just helped me get internet ,an hour later I couldn’t receive call mags or anything in that matter so I called cricket and told me that my service got suspended because my phone was reported lost/stolen. What do I do now I mean is there anything I can do ?please tell me there’s hope
Your ‘friend’ called the phone in lost or stolen. Get your money back if you can.
I have T-Mobile and I was wondering if I buy a a phone with a“BAD ESN/IMEI: This phone is blocked by the carrier and cannot be reactivated” the carrier for that phone Is T-Mobile, so would my sim work in that phone ?
No. It would not work.
I have a Galaxy S3 from Sprint that I purchased from a Sprint customer (now former customer). Before selling seller made sure to ask if phone could be sold. Seller was told yes. The esn is clean but I am having trouble activating. Now I am being told until payment arrangement I s paid phone will not be unlocked. Can anything be done?
At the moment Sprint phones have an issue being moved to other sprint based carriers (mvno’s) phones are coming up at not financially eligible even if they are 100% clean. No one but sprint can correct this issue for you. Or, you can wait until they resolve the issue and your phone starts coming back as clean on checklist. No one knows when this will be.
hi i just bought a iPhone 5c here in mexico but its blacklisted in usa for non payment and in i dont seem to find anybody to do the unlocking if i knew it had that report i wouldnt of bought it
We are able to unlock sprint/tmobile/att iphones regardless of the situation. email us @ unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hi i have a locked sprint moto x with a bad imei number but when i put it in to crickets new imei check it said i could use this on my new cricket plan will the bad Sprint imei number effect the phones activation? And if it will what if anything can i do to get cricket to accept this phone for my service?
Thanks
Sprint phones are not equipped to work on cricket’s new network. The technologies are not compatible. It will never work on cricket.
I recently purchased two t-mobile S5’s from Craigslist. I tried putting in a new prepaid simple card and it said it had a bad imei. I when to a t-mobile store and they said it was blacklisted due to outstanding balance. I spent good money for these phones and of course I can’t find the person who sold them to me. Is there anything I can do.
Yes. email us directly – unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hi I have a blackllisted phone was reported stolen threw verzion I thought it was stolen got another one and it pop-ed up question is can I still get unlock code an use it to another career I’d like straight talk or anything is this posible?
Sure – just tell verizon you didn’t actually lose it.
Hi,I bought a sprint iPhone 6+ on Craigslist. Took it to sprint and was said to be lost or stolen,so can’t work on any network .Can it work for international use
Yes, it can – email us for the sprint 6+ unlock info – unlock@mobilelizard.com
Its never a good idea to buy a bad esn/imei phone on purpose. Even if you pay 1/5th of the value you may still end up with a useless brick. The answer to your question is NO on the sprint s5, and possibly on the verizon – however you would end up having to pay someone to fix it for you, and it may not be worth it.
I have a galaxy s3 phone from cricket i want to flash it to be used with a mexican cell phone provider is it possible to do?
Don’t have specifics on the cricket phone? gsm or cdma? mexican provider – cdma/gsm? You’ll need to find someone in mexico who does this to let you know.
i have an iphone 6 plus from att with a bad imei, can i unlock it to verizon? would that work?? if not what can i do? i need a fix asap
No. Theres’ not much you can do with a bad att iphone 6. If it is unlocked it can be used outside the usa.
I know by default most newer Verizon smartphones are unlocked by default for GSM carriers. If I buy a Verizon phone that is factory unlocked and has a bad ESN through Verizon, would it work on T-Mobile/AT&T since they’re GSM and it accepts GSM SIMs by default?
It may work for a while, its likely to be shut down after some time.
I bought a Galaxy Note 4 from craigslist and when i tried to activate it, it said the phone was reported lost….its on the sprint network. Is there any way i can have it unlocked or flashed over to my straighttalk account?
Try a local phone or repair store that does flashing they will have an answer
Did it work? Ware can I have my s4 mini flashed
??
Hello, we are not experts on the canadian carriers. Before spending $75 on the unlock I’d check with a local phone repair store.
No fix for this.
I bought a galaxy s3 about a year and a half ago, the internet worked in Tennessee somewhat (but not great) I moved to Austin and was unable to use the internet it does not work here for what reason I don’t know. The guys at Metro said that I could not use for internet here, but maybe in waco TX. ????? They did not tell me it has a bad esn or IMEI nor did they say it was black listed. Of course I bought one from metro as I needed GPS. I did take it to another Metro store letting them know I all ready had service with them with another phone.( so they wouldn’t try to sell me another phone ) What on earth can I do?
Help
Warmly, Kim
Hello Kim,
without knowing the history of the phone (original carrier) or current tower situation in your geographical region we are unable to provide a specific response. Generally speaking however, its possible if you had an unlocked non-tmobile/metro phone it did not have the band capability for their higher end services (4g/LTE). This would effectively shut down your data service.
I’m looking to purchase a verizon note 4. The owner states that they are under contract and stopped paying their bill. I’m assuming that it will be blacklisted soon. am I able to just swap the sim in my Verizon note 3 and go undecided?
No – you are correct it will soon be blocked. if you put your note 3 sim in a blocked phone the sim may get blocked as well.
I Have A Problem
I Took iPhone 5s Off Ebay Which said tmobile unlocked but when i received it i found it out to be Tmobile locked.
I Don’t want to use this iphone in united states i want to use it in india? Can i use it by purchasing a r-sim because now t mobile wont unlock unless i pay the dues of the previous owner. please reply at the earliest.
you’ll have to rsim to unlock it
Hi
i bought a sprint samsung galaxy note edge off craigslist.org i believe its been blacklisted can i use it on tmobile?
No, unfortunately.
Hi !my have iPhone blacklist unlocked can use AT&T but put t-mobile sim not working i can user this phone overseas yet
Thanks
It can be used overseas.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 that has a bad esn for “us cellular” What do I have to do to be able to use this phone on straighttalk or any other network??
try looking on cl for someone to flash it.
is the esn a part of the phone or the sim card? I might be buying a bad esn t mobile iphone and then manually inserting a us cellular sim instead to put it on my plan, and want to know if that will work
Buying a bad esn/imei phone deliberately is not advisable, however Glad you asked. The esn or imei is like the phone’s fingerprint. Its embedded in the phone. It identifies the phone to the cell towers and networks. No matter what sim card you put in, they’ll always see the phones imei/esn. The sim card may be good, but if the imei/esn is bad the tower/network will reject it.
I bought a motorola x and it has a bad esn its with us cellular can i flash it to straighttalk
Not sure. Check with your straighttalk dealer if there’s one available.
Bought a US Cellular Iphone 5s on CL. Turns out to be blacklisted. Will this work on any other domestic carriers?
hello there is no fix for an iphone that has been reported stolen or is blacklisted/blocked
Hello, I live in the US and I bought my Sprint LG G3 on craigslist and of course I didn’t check if it was stolen, which it is… Can i flash my phone and take it to Straightalk or some BYOP? Thanks
You can. Don’t think there are any byop’s that will take it. But try looking on cl for someone to flash it.
I have a Samsung Galaxy 5 that I purchased off Craigslist and wanted to find out if it was blacklisted, stolen, or whatever it is called before I put my sim card in. Can you help me?
you can run the imei on any of several sites available for free online – call the carrier directly. Some carriers have a search functions on their sites for this purpose. tmobile/verizon.
Understand that this only gives you the status of the imei at the time that you run it. It can go bad later due to unpaid bills, or the owner calling it in lost/stolen.
“Your device is blocked and will not work on T-Mobile’s network”. When I checked with T-Mobile web site with my iPhone 5s imei number i got this, is their any other way to activate in india. OR I need to change the Imei number of the iphone and shall I use, if i do so will it work or not?
Please give me your comments and suggestions on this.
There is no way to change the imei on an apple device.
Just bought an Iphone 6 originally from tmobile and it recently got Blacklisted is their anyway possible to use the phone in any other prepaid company like cricket or at&t gophone if i get it unlocked from the carrier?
No carrier is going to unlock a blacklisted phone. If it is truly blacklisted i.e. reported lost/stolen, it will not work in the usa even if unlocked.
I recently bought a sprint iphone 5s, tried to get it activated but apparently the owner owes money. I can’t seem to find him, please help. Would I be able to unlock it or flash to activate it under T-Mobile? Please let me know, thank you.
Sorry the answer to both questions is no.
I have a Blacklisted/stolen verizion HTC someone said my local phone store can flash it with a new MEID is that true can they replace it and get it to work on pageplus. Page plus would not activate it cause the MEID being bad.
Only way to find out is to purchase that service.
the local repair store said they could change the MEID on a verizion blacklisted phone its not stolen it has a disputed bill on it. never the less they said they could put it on pageplus I thought that was verizion. can they just change the MEID to get it to work?
That’s something only they can answer.
Hey do bad esn iphones display stolen on apple imei checker???
No. You have to check with the carrier.
I bought an iPhone 6 plus off someone on Craigslist, I’ve been using it for about a month now but today it went on no service all day and when I called tmobile they said my imei number has been blocked due to unpaid dues with previous owner. How can I fix this? Can I just switch my carrier to simple mobile or something?
No. There is no fix for this.
Hello I purchased the Deal of The Day from Groupon a refurbished iPhone 6 on the T-Mobile network and it lasted 22 days!! Now it says no service and Groupon has explained their vendors rules are 10 day return policy on all purchases! So I have a large nice iPod! I have contacted T-Mobile they say the phones previous owner has a huge outstanding balance and that’s why they blocked it! Is there a way a place to unblock it, so I can use it on another carrier? This can’t be legal, I have contacted the BBB, any advice!!?!?!?
Thank you
Fleenor Family
Sorry there is no way to unblock it, and yes – I’m afraid it is legal. Its likely the sellers did not know the phone had an issue since it did not manifest until after you bought it. The imei would display as clean until suddenly, its not. You can try to recoup your money by selling on ebay.
Hi, i brought a lg g3 us cellular its had bad esn would it would in canada for rogers
No. Us cellular is not a gsm carrier. it will not accept rogers sim, and cannot be unocked.
Hello I currently bought an iPhone 5s off craigslist and when trying to put my SIM card in it still said no service!! So I called t mobile and checked IMEI and they stated it had been black listed.i spent good amount on phone is there any way to still use the phone?
No, there is not.
I have a iPhone 5s with a bad imei. It is blocked by tmobile . if I get a gevey sim tray for a tmobile SIM card,would it be able to connect?
No. you would still be blocked off tmobile towers.
I bought a 10/10 excellent condition Verizon Galaxy s5 (private sale). for my wife as a mothers day gift I am the only one that works in my household she stays at home with the baby. trying to save money I thought I could buy a Used Verizon Galaxy s5. call Verizon to activate the phone and they tell me it has a bed imei? is there a way to fix or anything I can do or am I out the money? thanks a lot for your time
hello. email us directly for assistance – unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hi! Boyfriend bought me a Verizon note 4…he says at time of?rchase he checked imei & it was vlean…now its showing up blacklisted and of course the owners aren’t answering the phone. This Verizon phone uses a sim card and I already have an at&t note 3 that was flashed to metropcs for me…can I do the same thing with the Verizon phone or am I now sol? Please help me. Im not sure what to do next. (Please excuse my grammar I am quite irritated right now) PLEASE HELP
email us directly – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I recently bought a used lg g3 and tried to activate it on metro but i realized that the imei is 0 and wont let establish connection. help please
You will need to find professional help to re-establish an imei. In any case, its likely not worth it as metro must register each imei in their system. You’ll need to switch carriers if you ever want to use this specific phone.
Hey guys , was looking at buying a galaxy s6 edge with bad esn imei from sprint . What would i have to do to get it to work in australia ? Any services you recommend if needed .
Thanks
Do not buy bad esn sprint phones. There is usually No unlock for them and they are not gsm compatible out the box.
Hi, I just bought an iPhone 5c from eBay that is blacklisted on the U.S. I’m from Costa Rica and the phone is factory unlocked, will it work here?
If the phone is truly factory unlocked it will work fine in costa rica
Hello i have purchased a iPhone 6 originally on T-Mobile’s network, but it is has a blacklisted IMEI .
If i unlock it can i use it on Verizon using a Verizon nano-Sim in the United States?
Also once unlocked can it be used in India on the (Vodafone or Air-tel Networks)?
Also which unlocking service would best fit my needs?
Please help me out.
There is currently no factory unlock available for blacklisted tmobile phones. If you did unlock it, you might be able to use a verizon sim, but you would not receive all phone features. tmobile phones are not manufactured to run on verizon’s 4g lte towers.
i lost my iPhone 6 plus well I thought I did and I reported it lost. I got a replacement for it but then I found the original phone. Can I call Verizon and they removed it from the blacklist
Hello,
you can try – but in the past they have reluctant to do so.
I’m thinking about buying a sprint s6 with a bad esn. Can it be flashed to any other carrier like page plus or boost mobile?
You may be able to get it flashed – I’d check with local flashers before buying
Hi,
I am planning to buy a samsung galaxy s5 from ebay but not sure which service provider that will work here in Canada ( wind mobile). If i buy any S5 from US and unlocked, can i use it in any carrier here in Canada?
Please advise.
Thank you.
Ed
Hello, yes an unlocked att or tmobile s5 will work fine in canada.
Purchased a phone that was reported lost from Craigslist. Can I use this phone for any prepaid service?
It depends on the type of phone, the carrier and the situation. The phone being reported lost means at the very least you’ll have to pay someone to get it working on any carrier.
Hello everyone ;)) please can you tell if I buy an iPhone 6 or galaxy s6 or s6 edge blocked one or BAD ESN IMEI from USA and let say from eBay as they’re cheap and use it in the UK will it work here ? or somewhere else abroad or not many thanks
hello. If you are specifically looking for bad imei phone to buy – stick to ATT and tmobile samsung/lg phones.
Someone wants to sale me a note edge that’s locked to AT&T, which is fine but it states that the ESN is bad, would I be able to use Straight Talk or AT&T ?
Hello, no you would not be able to use this phone on any sim card carrier.
I acquired a galaxy s5 it was originally from a cdma company that I don’t have in my area (c-spire) it is unlocked, is it possible to switch to a gsm company? Since it has a Sim slot? Or what companies (prepaid) cold I activate it on? Do u provide unlock for Sim? Thanks
hello, we don’t provide unlocks for c-spire but you may be able to find someone in your area who can flash it to a regional carrier.
I’ve got an iPhone 4s from sprint. I am the sole owner of the iPhone, however at the time i couldn’t afford the contract so i stopped paying the bill. Now I would like to try to take it to t-mobile because Sprint’s coverage sucks from where I live. Is that even remotely possible or am I stuck with a glorified iPod?
it may be possible. If you can find someone who can do an rsim unlock you might be able to move to tmobile, however its not 100% guaranteed the phone will be able to functions properly
My Verizon note 3 was switched to page plus it works but the imei is blocked and or lost/stolen what can I do to factory unlock the phone and is it safe
A note 3 from verizon comes factory unlocked, however when the phone is reported lost/stolen Verizon will rescind the unlock. Since you have moved over to page plus, there really is not simple way of unlocking it, as verizon no longer has the phone in its database.
Can i change my sharp 306sh to a pre-paid carrier other than boost or virgin?
Not certain. Sharp isn’t a phone manufacturer most stores see very often. If you can find someone who specializes in flashing they may be able to do this.
Hi I just buoght an iPhone 6 sprint with bad esn from eBay. Will it work in Australia? Thanks
Once unlocked it will work in Australia, the problem is usually unlocking it. This can be challenging. Good luck
I recently purchased a s5 with a bad imei. It was working fine until it was working fine until that happened… It’s with AT&T.. what could I do to use it.. I’m in the U.S.
Unless the account holder/phone owner clears up whatever issue caused it to be blocked the phone will no longer work in the usa
I bought a Samsung galaxy note 3. It says out had clean esn and it isn’t on blacklist. Sprint says it is Active on another account. They can do anything until that is fixed. What ate my options. Just wanted good data plan
If the owner of record on the contract removes the phone from the account you can move forward with Sprint. If not, you’ll have to find someone to flash it to another carrier
I bought a t-mobile s2 on eBay that said it was unlocked and it wasn’t. When I took it to the store to unlock it he said he’s unable to get the unlock code because the phone imei is blocked. Is there any way too unlock it??
Hello, The unlock code for tmobile s2 is available however, it may still not work in the usa once unlocked. You may have to use outside the usa if you can.
Please i got iPhone 5 from the states locked to T-Mobile. it has been blacklisted. can i use it down here in africa and how do i do it?
Hello – if you have access to an rsim it may work for the tmobile phone.
Hi, i bought a iphone 6 plus at&t on craiglists before purchasing inchecked the imei on it on swappa abd everything was good so i purchased the phone a couple hours later i could not make any calls or use the internet on it and everytime i tried making a call i got a massage saying this device is blocked by the carrier, so inchecked the imei on it again on swappa and it says it was blacklisted can inflash the phone? I tried calling the guy who sold me the phone but it seems like he blocked my number idk what to do from this point i spent a lot of money on this device and selling it for parts wont do for me.
Hello – We just did a blog post on this very scenario, A Guide to buying used iphones, & Samsungs – from Craigslist to the Street in your case – you checked, the imei was good. The seller turned around and burned you by reporting it lost/stolen. There really isnt a fix for a blocked at&t 6+ Since you don’t want to sell for parts your best bet is to unlock it and sell it on ebay to someone overseas (the unlock is available on our website – mobilelizard.com) it will have more value to overseas buyers.
I was interested in trading my lg g2 sprint for a bad esn galaxy ss5 from sprint…can it be repaired for verizon or any other carriers? Thank you
Its possible but your carrier options will be limited to a few.
hello, it cannot be repaired, but it may be able to be flashed. However, your carrier options will be very limited.
Well I just bought a verizon galaxy s6 and it didn’t say it had bad esn until I was going to connect it 1 week later . Can I still connect it to any carrier? Will I need to flash the phone? Thank you in advanced .
You will need to have the esn cleaned in order to connect to a carrier.
as same situation with others I bought verizon note 3 on craiglists and now it is blacklist. I want to use it with t.mobile carrier can you help me to flash it or give me advice what to do.
thank you
flashing will not fix this problem, but if you do wish to use it email us – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I bought a iphone 6 plus and it’s blocked to T-mobile USA, I tried to get factory unlocked but waist of time because is still locked due to blacklisted iphone. I from South America and I’m trying to use the cellphone on my country (Ecuador), I read that can be used outside the country (USA) but how do I get this phone unlocked and with good ESN?
we now unlock the blacklisted tmobile iphone.
I have a T-mobile phone that will be blacklisted once I stop paying for it because I am moving to Mexico from the US, next month. If I factory unlock it now, can I use it in Mexico with a Mexican carrier ? Or will the blacklist affect the ability of my phone to function in Mexico also ?
Thank you
Hello, we have gotten reports that tmobile phones do not work in mexico once unlocked if its blacklisted. Your phone will be Blocked, which is different – but it is possible you may still have issues.
Hi I bought a phone off of craigslist it’s a T-Mobile Galaxy s6 and the imei is blocked how would you guys fix that
Please email us directly at unlock@mobilelizard.com for the Tmobile galaxy s6 unlock or unblock
Hello
I have purchased a sprint LG g3 with a suspended account (which I found out after paying for the phone). The phone is in mint condition. I want it to be unlocked for tmobile. is there anything I can do to have that resolved being sprint is so hard to deal with?
hello,
unfortunately there’s no fix we know of that will allow you to use this with tmobile, especially since it is a suspended phone. Its possible you can get it flashed to work with another service such as boost or page plus/selectel.
I was wanting to know if you bought a bad esn us cellular would it work on straight talk by just putting in SIM card have from straight talk
Hello Holly,
No thats not likely.
I have bough a smartphone from verizon( note 4), a few days after I activated with metro pcs, someone reported lost/stolen, at the very beggining I didn’t know what was happening with the phone so I went to a metro store and they told me it was on the blacklist, then contacted the person who sold me the phone, he called to verizon and they took it out from their blacklist, but I don’t know why still appears on metro and tmobile’s blacklist. please help me as soon as possible!!!
hello – email us at unlock@mobilelizard.com for more info.
I bought a cell phone in Craigslist now is not working no more cuz the IMEI I is blocked do you know what can I do to make it work again or any advices cuz this means the seller claim the insurance pls any help cuz I don’t want to loose my money 🙁 …
hello you will need to tell us the phone manufacturer and the carrier it came from – eg. samsung s4 at&t
Hi i just bought a us cellular lg flex 2 and was buying it hoping to unlock it and use it in metro pcs cuz us cellular said it cannot be activated and that they would not disclose why. And i just took the back off today noticed it says “Not For Sale” on the battery which i don’t underatand cause its not limited like a store demo phone or anything. My main question is can i have it flashed to metro pcs still or have it unlocked to use with different carriers?
Thanks for yoir time and help ahead of time its much appreciated.
-Chris
hello. us cellular is a cdma company. Very difficult to move that phone to tmobile
Hi, I happened to buy a FACTORY UNLOCKED (T-Mobile) BAD IMEI Iphone 6. I wonder if I can use it with a carrier in Vietnam?
Thanks
Ken
if it is truly unlocked after going bad, then yes you will be able to use it in vietnam
I have a bad esn Samsung note 4 my friend lost it and reported stolen, he found it when he moved. He gave me the phone can I flash it to different carrier
Your lost/stolen samsung note 4 may be able to be fixed. email us directly unlock@mobilelizard.com
I bought a phone from someone recently and tried to turn it on. The phone plan carrier said it can’t be activated because someone reported it lost. Is there anyway to flash it maybe so I can use it or is it useless?
without knowing what make model and carrier we aren’t able to answer your question
I just bought a Sprint iPhone 6 off craigslist and come to find out it has an unpaid balance. I use Verizon anyways. How do I get it to work on my Verizon service.
If you unlock the sprint iphone 6 it’s possible it may work on verizon’s service.
Hello Admin, im just wanna ask. I have a Samsung galaxy note 4 from Verizon and it’s been reported stolen bought it from CL and now it’s blacklisted. Do you know if i can still used it in asia? Thank you..
hello. once blacklisted, the verizon phone becomes locked to verizon. You will need to have the imei cleaned or unlock it to have it work in Asia.
yeah hey adming i purchased a motorola droid turbo off from offer up also reported lost/stolen or blocked by one carrier verizon, how do i get it cleaned or unlocked to use here in the USA?
If the verizon phone is blacklisted – ie reported lost or stolen, it can be used under certain conditions. Email us for more info – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I got a iPhone 5s for Verizon can I get it to work for cricket, and how with a bad esn.
You will have to email us directly -unlock@mobilelizard.com
I have a lgg3 u.s. cellular phone that is locked because of an unpaid bill. Can it be unlocked and used again?
Not unless us cellular does it
So like most people I have recently bought a note 4 from a third party and it stopped working out of nowhere and said not registered on network I looked up the imei number and it has been reported stolen.. The carrier is T-Mobile my question is if I was to pay for an unlock code online can I use it on at&t service? Thanks shawn
You will have to email us directly -unlock@mobilelizard.com for information on how to fix your blacklisted Tmobile note 4
I bought a iPhone 5s (t-mobile carrier) with a blocked imei. I want to use cricket as a new carrier and they made me put my imei number in to see if I’m eligible for service and they say it is eligible for the service. Is this to good to be true?
There is no way to unlock a blocked or blacklisted tmobile iphone at the moment.
Hey, im looking into buying a galaxy s6 active thats originally ATT, but has a blocked imei(reported stolen or loss imei) can you fix that so I can use for tmobile? Would be great
It is doable. probably better not to buy these phones, save yourself the trouble.
I ended up buyin a sprint iPhone 6 plus with bad esn because wen I checked the imei on swappa and it said it was ready for activation … Is it anyway I can flash it to another coma on I don’t care which company I jus want to use it, I’m in the U.S. … Thanks
hello. If your sprint iphone 6 plus can be unlocked it may be possible. We would need to know what carrier it is on. email us at unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hi..I have a Galaxy note 4 bad esn from us cellular..Is there a fix for this phone..?
Try your local cell phone repair stores, its possible someone will have a fix.
I found an iPhone 6 plus in my yard, it is with Sprint, its been completely reset, I took it to Sprint and they had no interest in helping find the owner I called and gave the customer service line the imei number and they said it was reported lost, is there any way to use this phone? It takes a sim card.
There is – email us unlock@mobilelizard.com
I bought a samsung galaxy s6 edge t mobile. But it’s blacklist. I want to know if i can activate it with another carrier. Ex cricket
-email us at unlocka@mobilelizard.com for more info
I did a switch with someone off the internet i had a verison galaxy s4 that i was using a prepaid card from walmart she gave a sprint galaxy mega that she said was unlocked but unfortunately it isnt ive put a cricket card and t-moble card and it says invalid sim card i dont want to go pay the verison bill if its not gonna work i dont know if the phone is bad but is there a way that i can get it unlocked and use it for verison prepaid card like i did befor and be able to text and call i really dont want any other carrier
Sprint phones are difficult to unlock. Think you got the rough end of this deal.
Hey I Baught a sprint galaxy note 4 from online and it was blacklisted…. And is not unlocked is there anyways I can use the phone?
It will be difficult to use a blacklisted sprint note 4 in the usa your carrier choices will be very limited its not always certain you will get talk text and data
hi i resell phones and have come across many phones with blocks bad/esn on various t mobile to verizon. i understand these to be different networks. is there any way to say unblock and i phone 6 verizon from bad esn? lets start with that?
email us – unlock@mobilelizard.com
I have an HTC one M7 sprint with bad esn/imei. What other carriers could I flash it to that would still allow me to talk text and use 4g lte. Or can I get rid of the esn? I got it on craigslist and couldnt get a refund :/
email us for more info.
I currently have lgg2 and iPhone 6 on Verizon can these phones be changed to page plus prepaid if I owe money to verizon or will verizon block the phones from being used?
Based on the mutual agreement between page plus and verizon, any verizon phone with a bad or blocked esn/imei will not work on page plus unless remedied.
hi..I recently had a droid bionic unlocked for the telcel network.I really dont like the poor service.Is it possible to unlock for an american carrier?thank you
if it is unlocked it will work on any other network
Two questions: a few months ago I received an iPhone 5s and checked the IMEI number on imeidata.net. It is black listed on ATT but NOT on cricket. Says it’s clean. Can I activate this phone on my cricket account? I also recently bought an iPhone 6+ that has a clean IMEI number, but it’s registered to sprint. I’ve gotten mixed responses on changing it over. Is it possible to change a sprint phone over to cricket? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-BB
Blacklisted at&t iphones and blacklisted at&t phones in general cannot be used on Cricket’s network – unlocked or not. Cricket uses AT&T towers and is essentially AT&T – just cheaper. The sprint iphone if clean, can be unlocked. Then it can be used on Cricket.
Hi, I have recently gotten my hands on a USCC Samsung note edge with a bad ESN. Is there anything you can do with this one?
Look for someone in your neighborhood to flash it.
I have 3 sprint phones with bad esn. If I get these unlocked would I be able to use it on other carriers like att or t-mobile since these carriers are GSM networks? I did swappa esn checks and activation were good just a bad payment history. By the way it’s 2 iPhone 6 and 1 galaxy s6..thanks!
Depends on what you mean by bad. Email us at unlock@mobilelizard.com for more info.
Hi i bought a phone off someone on offerup the imei # comes up lost/stolen what can i do to fix this
depends on the phone and the carrier. Sometimes there is no fix. Offer up might be affordable but its best to stay with sources that won’t sell you bad imei phones
I bought a iphone 6 with at&t carrier but it comes up with a bad imei # (lost/stolen) what can i do
This phone will no longer work in the usa
To the best of our knowledge there is no way to get around a blacklisted stolen iphone from AT&T that will allow you to use it in the USA
Hi, me and my ex split up she left after smashing my s4 so she gave me her sprint note3 since then it was reported as lost is there a fix to be able to use with straight talk or net10 or?????
there is a fix. However it won’t work on straight talk or net 10.
Hi. I bought a nexus 6 off a friend…..turns out she owes money on her T-Mobile bill connected to the phone. Is there a way to unlock the nexus so I can use it? Looking for a straight talk service after unlocking. TIA
nexus 6 – should have come unlocked. its possible tmobile relocked it when the bill was not paid. If it is still unlocked you may be able to use another service.
I bought a iphone 5s for sprint and it says it has a bad imei and has been reported as stolen. What can I do to get it to work for another network?! Also what networks can I get it to work for and will it work for metropcs?
No. there is only 1 network it might work on, you may get talk/text prob no data and the unlock for a sprint iphone that has a bad imei is quite expensive. you’re better off getting another phone.
I have a galaxy s6 I found it has a bad ESN # / or lost. I want it what I do to fix it.
Give it back to the carrier company.
Hey ! If a note 4 on us cellular has bad esn can i still connect it to metro pcs?
No it cannot be
I got a question , i bought a samsung S5 galaxy from a friend of a friend its from t-mobile i find out it has a outstanding balance on it , what can i do to be able to use this phone on any network or carrier , im open to all suggestions since i already paid for phone and the seller has moved out of state . Thank you for your time
email us for more info unlock@mobilelizard.com
I recently made a trade for a iPhone 6plus and I didn’t get a chance to check the imei but when I got home I found out the phone was reported lost but it was still ready to be activated oon another carrier
Is this possible if the phone is unlocked?
Depends on the carrier it was locked to. If the iphone is Verizon/tmobile/att probably not.
Yes there is – email us at unlock@mobilelizard.com
I bought an iphone 6 t mobile and it turns out it was lost or stolen. Can I give it to family members in mexico?
I just bought an ATT samsung galaxy s6 active it has a bad imei can i get it fixed and use it for metro pcs?
yes there is – email us directly at unlock@mobilelizard.com
Hello, if I buy an unlocked Sony z3 but with a bad IMEI, this would work in Spain with Spanish SIM card ?. Thank you
hello, yes that should work fine as long as the sony z3’s original carry is non EU
I had a tmobile acct in my grandmas name for 8 years and she has no passed. My uncle is demanding I close the acct butI have an unpaid bill and also 3 phones with unpaid balances. Provided he closes the acct and the balance remains unpaid which I cannot afford to pay at once my phone will become blacklisted and bad IMEI?? I have two phones I would like to keep running but as I said I cannot pay $1500? What are my options to keeping my phones active which whatever carrier, its an iphone 6 plus and an HTC One M8
hello yes, if you do not pay bills your phones will become blocked with bad imeis. Unfortunately because of the types of phones you have there is no easy way around it. The 6+ will be useless inside the usa unless unlocked. the htc one m8 may be able to be fixed . YOu may have to switch carriers on both from tmobile.
SO like ive stated i owe a bill for a service and also balances on this and a few other phones and it will remain unpaid if my uncle cancels the service so is my phone blocked, blacklisted or bad IMEI as it is confusing and is there a remedy
Bad imei = any phone that is blocked or blacklisted. A blocked phone has been blocked for non payment. A blacklisted phone has been reported lost or stolen.
I have a verizon iPhone 4S that I used under contract then my account was terminated because I didn’t pay my bill on time. Now I have straight talk on an iPhone 4. The electronics people at walmart said I couldn’t use my straighttalk # on my 4S. (Probably because of the unpaid termination fee) … Is there any way around this? Change SIM card? I want to use it for straighttalk
if you haven’t paid your verizon iphone bill, you will find they have blocked your phone from accessing signal towers. Your verizon phone needs to be unlocked – you can always try putting your straight talk card in there as the phone should be unlocked, but this may not work.
I have Samsung note 4 and note 5 blacklisted by Tmobile can I use them in Phillipines?
Yes, once unlocked the Samsung note 4 and note 5 blacklisted by Tmobile can be used in the Phillipines
hey i bought a galaxy s7 edge with a bad imei but it was reported as a lost device am out of the usa can it work if i unlock it?
I have a samsung galaxy s6 edge that has been blacklisted by Verizon with a bad imei number because of a past balance. Is there a way to switch carriers, or sim cards to be able to use it again? By fiancé is on total wireless network and I would like to join that as well if possible?
To the best of our knowledge there’s only one way to negotiate this – email us directly for more information unlock@mobilelizard.com