Long story short, my first HTC One had dead pixels so I warranty exchanged it. Stupidly, I assumed T-Mobile would factory reset my phone before selling it as a refurb, but no. A few days ago, I started getting random instant uploads on my Google+. Then, my Facebook was locked due to account activity in MEXICO (also where the photos were located), and now, I checked my Gmail, and there are sent messages to random people I do not know. I have changed my passwords, but what I'm wondering is, can T-Mobile really get away with this? They took a phone they knowingly know was defective, did not even turn it on to look at it or reset it, and sold it (or gave it) to some guy in Mexico.
What can I do? Who knows what sensitive information that person took? Obviously, since they've been using my account, they couldn't possibly think they were using their own account. T-Mobile is not open for customer support until the morning, but I'm FREAKING OUT and absolutely furious that something like this was allowed to happen.
first of all that really sucks that that happened. i cant imagine what that other person in "mexico" could have taken from your personal info wise....
i would call them and see what happened. make sure to also monitor your credit. you never know what they could have taken.
that is a pretty ridiculous breach of private info if you ask me
I feel bad for you that this happened. But really you should have done the factory reset before you sent it back. There is no way I would send my phone without doing this
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Obviously, to all those detractors, I normally reset my phone before sending it in for repairs/exchange. It slipped my mind this time; screw me for assuming the big phone company would handle things correctly, huh?
In any case, the instant upload photos have EXIF and location data pinpointing the exact location of the photos. It'd be hard for them to argue that it's not coming from my previous phone when:
1. I have emails being sent from my account to people I have never spoken to
2. I'm not in Mexico; I'm in Virginia
3. My Facebook was also locked due to being accessed... from Mexico
I'm about to call T-Mobile (after eating breakfast). Wish me luck.
aznxk3vi17 said:
Obviously, to all those detractors, I normally reset my phone before sending it in for repairs/exchange. It slipped my mind this time; screw me for assuming the big phone company would handle things correctly, huh?
In any case, the instant upload photos have EXIF and location data pinpointing the exact location of the photos. It'd be hard for them to argue that it's not coming from my previous phone when:
1. I have emails being sent from my account to people I have never spoken to
2. I'm not in Mexico; I'm in Virginia
3. My Facebook was also locked due to being accessed... from Mexico
I'm about to call T-Mobile (after eating breakfast). Wish me luck. And thanks, everyone, for calling me stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it and let us know what happens. Expect to speak with a supervisor, because a normal employee most likely legitimately won't be able to help your situation. Know what you're going to ask them for (compensation or whatever it is you're looking for).
I know that at AT&T, they reset your device when you exchange it.
Thread cleaned
No reason for calling anybody stupid. It might have not been the best idea, but still we can keep a civilized tone here.
cheers
So I just had a conversation with a T-Mobile representative. He claims to have spoken with T-Mobile engineers and HTC representatives, and they all told him that there was nothing they could do. The T-Mobile guy pinned the blame on HTC, saying it's their responsibility to wipe phones before sending them back to T-Mobile for selling. Either way, I also discovered the IMEI for my old phone was still linked to my account, even though I've since received a replacement device with a new IMEI. Apparently, there was nothing he could do with that information either.
So, he just says they'll "keep an eye out" on my account looking for suspicious activity. I think I'll call back later and explicitly ask for a manager (this time I figured he could do something with the IMEI). I would have asked for the manager, but I have work to do, after all.
Is there anything they should be able to do with the IMEI? They said they can't wipe the phone anymore without the actual device, and they have NO IDEA who the phone belongs to now. You'd think they keep track of that sort of thing.
That really stinks that they would resell without resetting the phone. I have Cerberus installed as a hidden system app on all our phones, can remotely lock, locate, and factory reset if need be. Well worth it.
aznxk3vi17 said:
So I just had a conversation with a T-Mobile representative. He claims to have spoken with T-Mobile engineers and HTC representatives, and they all told him that there was nothing they could do. The T-Mobile guy pinned the blame on HTC, saying it's their responsibility to wipe phones before sending them back to T-Mobile for selling. Either way, I also discovered the IMEI for my old phone was still linked to my account, even though I've since received a replacement device with a new IMEI. Apparently, there was nothing he could do with that information either.
So, he just says they'll "keep an eye out" on my account looking for suspicious activity. I think I'll call back later and explicitly ask for a manager (this time I figured he could do something with the IMEI). I would have asked for the manager, but I have work to do, after all.
Is there anything they should be able to do with the IMEI? They said they can't wipe the phone anymore without the actual device, and they have NO IDEA who the phone belongs to now. You'd think they keep track of that sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're just playing the blame game. I'd believe them when they say it's HTC's responsibility (sounds reasonable), but HTC might say the reverse, that it's T-Mobile's responsibility. Like I said, unless you have some sort of compensation in mind, they're probably not going to offer you anything. Checking for "suspicious activity" on your T-Mobile account is useless since it's not even on your account anymore. The IMEI number might be able to be blacklisted so it can't be used on T-Mobile (and soon in the US altogether), but that's about it really.
There are a few apps that let you track down a phone after it's lost, but here's one that actually lets you WIPE it afterwards. Provided the guy still has your Google account on the phone, you should be able to install this via Google Play on your computer (the phone should still be associated on your account) and then wipe it. It'll say the name of the carrier it's on in Mexico followed by "HTC One."
http://lifehacker.com/android-lost-controls-your-stolen-phone-even-after-you-511903024
Don't change your Google passwords yet because it needs your Google account to work. Afterwards, you can change all your passwords.
cschmitt said:
That really stinks that they would resell without resetting the phone. I have Cerberus installed as a hidden system app on all our phones, can remotely lock, locate, and factory reset if need be. Well worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I had already installed Cerberus. Problem is, I removed the phone from my Cerberus account because I wrongly assumed I wouldn't need it anymore. If I had kept it installed and on my account for just a few days longer, I'd be able to lock the phone, but alas.
Product F(RED) said:
They're just playing the blame game. I'd believe them when they say it's HTC's responsibility (sounds reasonable), but HTC might say the reverse, that it's T-Mobile's responsibility. Like I said, unless you have some sort of compensation in mind, they're probably not going to offer you anything. Checking for "suspicious activity" on your T-Mobile account is useless since it's not even on your account anymore. The IMEI number might be able to be blacklisted so it can't be used on T-Mobile (and soon in the US altogether), but that's about it really.
There are a few apps that let you track down a phone after it's lost, but here's one that actually lets you WIPE it afterwards. Provided the guy still has your Google account on the phone, you should be able to install this via Google Play on your computer (the phone should still be associated on your account) and then wipe it. It'll say the name of the carrier it's on in Mexico followed by "HTC One."
http://lifehacker.com/android-lost-controls-your-stolen-phone-even-after-you-511903024
Don't change your Google passwords yet because it needs your Google account to work. Afterwards, you can change all your passwords.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already changed my passwords. I assume changing my password back to my original wouldn't work, since it would still require the person with my phone to log on with it? Also, the SIM was of course removed, so I can't use that app, since I don't know the phone number of the person now carrying the old phone.
aznxk3vi17 said:
Yeah, I had already installed Cerberus. Problem is, I removed the phone from my Cerberus account because I wrongly assumed I wouldn't need it anymore. If I had kept it installed and on my account for just a few days longer, I'd be able to lock the phone, but alas.
I've already changed my passwords. I assume changing my password back to my original wouldn't work, since it would still require the person with my phone to log on with it? Also, the SIM was of course removed, so I can't use that app, since I don't know the phone number of the person now carrying the old phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think changing your password back would work. You don't need a SIM card in the phone for it to work. It needs any data connection (e.g. Wifi).
Related
Here's the story, I had a TMobile G1 Retail phone, I hacked it installed a new bootloader yadda yadda and put the Android Dev 1 or whatever is the latest version onto the phone, set it up with a gmail account etc, all is well.
Well the reason I did this is so I could give the phone to my wife who lives in the Dominican Republic, Well I thought to be the safe hubby and put the Visual lock on it and set a real simple pattern for her to remember.
Her friends are dense at times, and repeatedly botched the visual locked until it asked her for her credentials and locked her out of the phone.
Now the catch is she doesn't have any sort of data plan, I don't even know if a compatible service exists with Orange over there.
How can I unlock her phone without it being able to communicate with Google via a data connection, is a hard reset in order? Will that prompt her to set up a new account, or if I remember correctly do you need to even setup an account just for basic phone usage.
I'd just hate for her to lose all the apps/games I put on there with a hard reset or having to track down someone technical over there to push a new install.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=485988
No need to get the entire sdk, just send the adb.exe and adbwinapi.dll files.
By the way, if the phone doesn't have a dataplan then i'm assuming it's not logged into Google? If that's the case why not just deactivate the lock screen? The main purpose is to prevent casual access to your GMail/GCal/etc if you were to lose your phone.
Thanks for the reply, and yeah well after she told me what happened, I immediately asked myself the same question, I was busy during the visit and the little things that are important I neglected to conceive.
I should have gone through and turned off alot of settings but I just didn't think about it at the time.
Thanks again.
So, unfortunately I got mugged and my G1 was stolen.
I already changed all relevant passwords and will soon contact the network and police so they can lock the phone and the card.
However, I just wanted to be sure that if I change my google account password, the G1 can no longer access my data without the new password.
Or if the G1 always has access to it despite any changes.
wap32 said:
So, unfortunately I got mugged and my G1 was stolen.
I already changed all relevant passwords and will soon contact the network and police so they can lock the phone and the card.
However, I just wanted to be sure that if I change my google account password, the G1 can no longer access my data without the new password.
Or if the G1 always has access to it despite any changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Within a few minutes of a password change Android will lose sync and a pop up will hit the notification bar to update the password.
Sorry to hear about that... =(
Are you getting a new one? If so, make sure this time you install a GPS tracker, there are many programs on the market. I use GPStracker by instamapper, it works really well. You need to create an account and enter the device code you get online onto your G1. From there you can text your phone and it will enable GPS, and you can view where your phone is online. Here is the site, and i am terribly sorry that happened to you!!
http://www.instamapper.com/
Thanks for all the input guys.
The thing is, first thing the thieves usually do (as they did in this case) is take out the battery on the phone.
Also, they usually also get rid of the SIM card, and insert another one, most likely of a different network, so the G1 won't have internet access.
That kinda makes those programs useless.
wap32 said:
Thanks for all the input guys.
The thing is, first thing the thieves usually do (as they did in this case) is take out the battery on the phone.
Also, they usually also get rid of the SIM card, and insert another one, most likely of a different network, so the G1 won't have internet access.
That kinda makes those programs useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I don't unlock my phone for another network until it's absolutely necessary. If they have to unlock it, that takes time with the correct SIM installed (and then I am able to track it).
Out of curiosity, have you tried looking on Google's Latitude?
momentarylapseofreason said:
That's why I don't unlock my phone for another network until it's absolutely necessary. If they have to unlock it, that takes time with the correct SIM installed (and then I am able to track it).
Out of curiosity, have you tried looking on Google's Latitude?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Latitude wasn't activated...
owned.
well you can tell t-mobile and they can probably track your sim.
G1-evolve said:
owned.
well you can tell t-mobile and they can probably track your sim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They wont. They will disable the IMEI (if recorded) on their network but that's it.
Yeah, no chances of SIM tracking, but they can disable the IMEI on a national level, essentially making the phone useless on the country.
Well, I know I've never had to worry about being hacked with my Trackstick.
Any application you can get for tracking your phone's location will only be useful if you LOSE your phone... then you can follow it.
If you want to be able to track a STOLEN phone, you need to think along a different line....
First off, the FIRST TWO THINGS that the thief will do are... 1) change SIM, 2) FACTORY RESET. That means that anything installed on the DATA partition... is gone.
So what do you do? Obviously, you need to install something on the SYSTEM partition. Not only that, but it must not have any configurations that are stored on the data partition.
Easy and simple solution is this;
You rig up a bootup script that checks if the installed SIMCARD is yours. If it is NOT, it will send an SMS message to some phone number, i.e., your googlevoice number. You will then have the thief's phone number. For further fun, CELL SITE ID, maybe GPS coordinates within the SMS message. And periodically repeat.
Note: The phone number may or may not be traceable by itself. To catch the bastard, you need to find a HOT SOUNDING girl to seduce him over the phone and arrange to meet up with him for a "good time". You then go there and beat the snot out of him and retrieve your phone. Or even better, you go there with cops to slammer him.
That sucks, I'd be lost without my G1
While a new member, I've been following the community a bit and have flashed my Captivate successfully several times.
It started acting weird earlier this week (lagging and shutting itself off) so I decided to re-flash it and re-apply SRE with all the goodies it brings.
Since my last flash, the phone works fine (calls, messaging, and Internet) except for one problem - the Android Market.
I can access the market but am unable to download anything. I've tried many different solutions, ROM's (JF2, JH2, and JH3), 3G/WiFi, internal settings, clearing the Market cache, Dalvik cache, etc., using Market Access and going outside of AT&T's allowed applications, all to no avail. It's the same whether I attempt to download after a fresh flash or after applying SRE. I've also tried Unleash the Beast.
Finally I decided to call AT&T to find out if there was a problem somewhere on their end.
Here's the weird thing:
The IMEI I have on the sticker under my battery is that of a Captivate and matches what they have on record. The representative I spoke to told me that the IMEI I have in my phone's menu is an iPhone IMEI.
With all that being said, I have two questions:
1) How did this happen?
2) How can I fix it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
FrstdOne said:
While a new member, I've been following the community a bit and have flashed my Captivate successfully several times.
It started acting weird earlier this week (lagging and shutting itself off) so I decided to re-flash it and re-apply SRE with all the goodies it brings.
Since my last flash, the phone works fine (calls, messaging, and Internet) except for one problem - the Android Market.
I can access the market but am unable to download anything. I've tried many different solutions, ROM's (JF2, JH2, and JH3), 3G/WiFi, internal settings, clearing the Market cache, Dalvik cache, etc., using Market Access and going outside of AT&T's allowed applications, all to no avail. It's the same whether I attempt to download after a fresh flash or after applying SRE. I've also tried Unleash the Beast.
Finally I decided to call AT&T to find out if there was a problem somewhere on their end.
Here's the weird thing:
The IMEI I have on the sticker under my battery is that of a Captivate and matches what they have on record. The representative I spoke to told me that the IMEI I have in my phone's menu is an iPhone IMEI.
With all that being said, I have two questions:
1) How did this happen?
2) How can I fix it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does your imei start with?
madjsp said:
What does your imei start with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one in the software starts with 004999
The one on the sticker starts with 351863
Iphone imei starts with 011. That rep doesnt know what hes doingp
did you ask them to update youe imei number? would likly fix it, could have just been an accident, from what i have read about 10% of imei number are not unique so somehting could have gotten messed up server side
vinunleaded182 said:
Iphone imei starts with 011. That rep doesnt know what hes doingp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
also a quick google of the 0049 imei shows that there are several iphones with that imei
The rep who I've been working with is off today but she said she'd call me tomorrow. I'll ask her to update the number and hopefully she can.
Unfortunately, while I'm pretty much a noob to all this, I've found that I still know more than most of the people on the AT&T side and the rep I've been working with is the most knowledgeable of the group.
Did you go from an iphone to the samsung if so, it could be a translation issue on atts side which means the billing system never updated the imei to the switch because it errored out on the billing side happend all the time when i use to be a switch tech for att simple to fix just need to file a ticket with a certain department but can be a pain if the rep is new.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I thought the phone read its IMEI number from its own hardware. This thread implies that something on the network is telling the phone what its IMEI Number should be.
I know there are a lot of Ebay phones with bogus stickers - the stickers have one SN/EMEI number, but the phone internally says another.
Where did you get your phone?
I've never owned an iPhone and I purchased the Captivate from a corporate store, not from an authorized reseller or ebay.
wait cant this be useful if we can change the imei to a vibrant one we can get money off of data or would most of you feel bad for doing that (one good thing about that though for 10 dollars we get unlimited data)
labbu63 said:
wait cant this be useful if we can change the imei to a vibrant one we can get money off of data or would most of you feel bad for doing that (one good thing about that though for 10 dollars we get unlimited data)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You gotta pay to play. If you don't want to pay smartphone fees, don't get a smartphone. I'm sure we'd all like a break on price, but when it comes down to it, we can't get one, so we make do.
And unless the modmyi forum was wrong, that's illegal.
yeah i know but im just saying if someone isnt scared to go to jail
If the IMEI shows as 004999010640000, you might check out this thread. Good luck.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=777288
PS: you might want to look at this specific post in that thread.....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8060884&postcount=33
BigJayDogg3 said:
You gotta pay to play. If you don't want to pay smartphone fees, don't get a smartphone. I'm sure we'd all like a break on price, but when it comes down to it, we can't get one, so we make do.
And unless the modmyi forum was wrong, that's illegal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually i was just looking at the library of congress's recent ruling on the DMCA and their new excemptions and read this
"
(3) Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of the computer program solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.
"
sounds like to me that changing the imei is legal as long as the only reason you are doing it is to connect to a network that you are already authorized to use
xatrekak said:
actually i was just looking at the library of congress's recent ruling on the DMCA and their new excemptions and read this
"
(3) Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of the computer program solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.
"
sounds like to me that changing the imei is legal as long as the only reason you are doing it is to connect to a network that you are already authorized to use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing The imei is illegal and has nothing to do with the DMCA. changing The imei is fraud like changing a car's vin number.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
alphadog00 i was wondering that, you wouldn't happen to be able to point out to me which law that is contained in, i have heard it was illegal like a million times but havn't seen the law yet. but i have always liked reading the actual laws that make the things i want to illegal
how do you know its illegal the DMCA was changed and said it was legal so until you find something that says its illegal we will never know
labbu63 said:
how do you know its illegal the DMCA was changed and said it was legal so until you find something that says its illegal we will never know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are confusing unlocking with changing your IMEI. It is legal to unlock and hack, it is not legal to change the phone's network id.
xatrekak said:
alphadog00 i was wondering that, you wouldn't happen to be able to point out to me which law that is contained in, i have heard it was illegal like a million times but havn't seen the law yet. but i have always liked reading the actual laws that make the things i want to illegal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't point to you an exact law, but cloning phones has been considered fraudulent for years and people have been prosecuted. In changing the IMEI number, you are in essence cloning a phone - it may not exist yet, but it could. So once a new phone is made with the new EMEI number you created, you have created fraud.
After doing some research - this is the section of federal code that is used to prosecute cell phone cloners:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00001029----000-.html
U.S. Code: TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 47 > § 1029
§ 1029. Fraud and related activity in connection with access *devices
You may not get arrested for changing your IMEI (not one person anyway) but at some point the carrier will probably just black list your device or your account.
Changing the IMEI or ESN basically makes your device a counterfeit access device. Some debate that if they own 3 phones they should be able to let them all share one IMEI if only one is active at a time.
Personally, I can see no valid reason to change your IMEI - swapping sim cards is easy enough.
I just got my Note stolen a few hours ago, I am so pissed right now, but hey what can I do... I live in Nicaragua, so no warranty and no police claim will get it back for me...
Tomorrow I will call my carrier and see if I can block my phone through IMEI number so the son of a **** that stole it cannot use it...
I never kept my gps enabled unless I was using it so no tracking software will be able to track my phone, I already blocked my number with my carrier so I guess there is not much I can do to track it, but I would like to sign out of everything on my phone, and I was just wondering if I changed passwords on every service installed on my phone would the theif still be able to login if I had checked the "remember me" or "stayed logged in" options?
Thanks,
Chaosin1983 said:
I just got my Note stolen a few hours ago, I am so pissed right now, but hey what can I do... I live in Nicaragua, so no warranty and no police claim will get it back for me...
Tomorrow I will call my carrier and see if I can block my phone through IMEI number so the son of a **** that stole it cannot use it...
I never kept my gps enabled unless I was using it so no tracking software will be able to track my phone, I already blocked my number with my carrier so I guess there is not much I can do to track it, but I would like to sign out of everything on my phone, and I was just wondering if I changed passwords on every service installed on my phone would the theif still be able to login if I had checked the "remember me" or "stayed logged in" options?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to install plan b from the market. You can install it remotely from Google play using a web browser and should be able to get the GPS coordinates of your phone providing the thief has not removed your Google account. Do it asap to increase your chances.
+1 Good idea, However The phone will need to have internet access to receive the remote download.
Dont suppose you had Lookout installed ?? On my device it is un-installable, and i can remotely turn GPS on / off, Track the phone, Wipe everything, Lock the device, and even make the phone scream !! (useful for when you are tracking and a close enough to hear it)
I hope you get it back !!
Changing the password won't let the thief use any of the services you have logged into. The app should request him for the new password. Do it ASAP!
I feel for you man! Had my iPod touch, Optimus 2X and Galaxy SII stolen!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
first of all sorry you, that's one of the worst things that can happen to a phone.
if you think the theft is using your phone only with a different simcard you have the following options:
- try planb (as already mentioned above) to locate your phone.
- if you have a google account on the phone, try android lost that will gain you the full control over the phone including locating it, taking photos of the cameras and wiping the complete data of the device out. its a really great tool .
- if you have a Samsung account on your phone, try the samsung dive website with this you can also do things like locating or wiping data view call logs and so on.
if all the above fail you should change the passwords of all your accounts used on the phone, especially the email accounts. also try to contact your provider, really few of them provide a location service based on the imei number of the device. and also some of them offer the service to put the device's imei number to a ban list so the phone is useless at all because it cant login in to the gsm network.
*EDIT*: go to the police and let them give you a document that the phone is stolen, and the imei and serial numbers. give this document to samsung and they will put the device to a blacklist, so the device wont get service/support/repair anymore.
i hope some of this become useful to you
Best thing would be to:
1- Track it (with the app said above) or with Samsung Dive!
2- Find the perp
3- Beat him with a cow bone
4- Retrieve the phone
5- Send it to me for inspection
Hi guys, thanks for your help, I installed Plan B a few hours after the OP, but still no email...I would gladly beat the crap out of the theif, but I fear I won't see my note again, I have already ordered another one, this time I will install every tracking anti theft app available...
Anyhow, after this, I installed Lookout on my Girlfriends Note, and tried out the tracking, the tracking is not that accurate, it positions the phone within a 2 Km radius...any other app that would be more accurate?
Thanks,
Im using avast and i have to say its working well, it has a ton of features, you can make mobile data persistent with a single text making tracking that bit more accurate
combine it with the screaming feature of lookout and you should be able to hear it if you are close enough.
Try samsung dive
http://www.samsungdive.com
Lol samsung dive will dissapear when factory reset
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Little late for the original poster but Cerberus is a nice app too. I got in on a free promotion. I have it activated and don't even think about till I get an email saying that I changed my sim. You can remotely hide the app, wipe phone/sdcard have a login screen pop up appear, record video and or audio and map in real time.
Even though I think tracking your kids is creepy, I can see how some parents would love to install it on their kid's phone.
Thanks again for all the info, I will try all these once my new phone gets here.
I have a question though, all of these tracking apps need data connection on the cel phone's side...correct? What if the theif turns off data connection? Is there one that works with only GPS?
Well in avast, you can remotely activate data network even if the thief switches it off, It also has stealth mode where it hides all traces of being installed.
If you are rooted it can even withstand a factory reset.
Chaosin1983 said:
Thanks again for all the info, I will try all these once my new phone gets here.
I have a question though, all of these tracking apps need data connection on the cel phone's side...correct? What if the theif turns off data connection? Is there one that works with only GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS also needs data connectivity.
ravi_buz said:
GPS also needs data connectivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used GPS trakcing with data off before ...it will track you even if the map does not render...afterwards when you get connectivity the map will be displayed along with your tracking info.
GPS don't requires data connection thogh, tracking won't work without data connection.
GPS fix the position without data connection, but for tracking you need to pass that information to server, which needs data connection.
can i unblock a samsung galaxy note ?
hey everyone !
so i got scammed in ebay and i got a samsung galaxy note n7000. the guy said it worked perfectly and stuff...buuut no !! when i got the phone it wont read any sim card so i just figured it was from the sim card reader. when i took it to my retailer they told me the phone was stolen/lost and the original owner kinda blocked it so no one can use it. i have access to the phone and everything except that it wont read my sim card. i contacted the guy i got from on ebay and filed a claim and everything but i know these things can take FOREVER before i can get my money back. the guy i got it from told me he bought on ebay too in november 2012. i dont wanna sell the phone again on ebay and scam more people i tried looking for the original owner so we can figure out a deal but i couldnt.
is there anyway i can fix this phone ?!! or can i contact the samsung store maybe and they can find the original owner ?!! please help...anyone ?!!!
Strange. Post could be chameleon or possibly victim of stolen phone.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
salmavic said:
hey everyone !
so i got scammed in ebay and i got a samsung galaxy note n7000. the guy said it worked perfectly and stuff...buuut no !! when i got the phone it wont read any sim card so i just figured it was from the sim card reader. when i took it to my retailer they told me the phone was stolen/lost and the original owner kinda blocked it so no one can use it. i have access to the phone and everything except that it wont read my sim card. i contacted the guy i got from on ebay and filed a claim and everything but i know these things can take FOREVER before i can get my money back. the guy i got it from told me he bought on ebay too in november 2012. i dont wanna sell the phone again on ebay and scam more people i tried looking for the original owner so we can figure out a deal but i couldnt.
is there anyway i can fix this phone ?!! or can i contact the samsung store maybe and they can find the original owner ?!! please help...anyone ?!!!
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Click to collapse
maybe, but how do I know you didnt steal it yourself/know you bought a stolen phone?
Salmavic please return that phone to chaosin! Lol jk
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Via GT-n7OOO using xda app-lite
OK so this girl I know has been begging me for help with her Nexus 6 and I hoping you guys can make me her hero =D
Details:
A girl who has a problem the girl I'm trying to help took the girl I'm trying to help's phone and removed the sim card from it. I told her to go get a new one from Sprint thinking that was the only problem but after she got the new sim card she can't activate the phone and it is showing that it has been reset so it can only be unlocked with the google account that was on it initially. She does not remember the account details as she made the account new when she first got the phone and didn't really use it. Either that, or this other girl somehow associated a different account with the phone prior to resetting it and taking out the sim.The phone can receive calls just fine but she cannot dial out or do anything other than answer the phone when someone calls her.
Attempted fixes:
First I tried going to factory recovery to reset it but when you select recovery from the bootloader you get the little andy icon but underneath it says "Command not found" and there doesn't seem to be any combination of buttons I can press to get past that point and I end up having to 3-button reboot.
Next I booted the phone up in bootloader with key combos and connected it to a computer with adb & fastboot installed.Fastboot reads the device information and I was successfully able to /fastboot erase userdata to format the phone. I thought I had it fixed at that point but as soon as it gets a connection again it goes back to the "This phone has been reset and must be recovered with blah blah blah" message so I don't think I can get around that without installing a whole new operating system.....unfortunately usb debugging nor developer options are enabled on the phone so cannot unlock the bootloader via fastboot commands or any other way I can think of. Is this phone just totally hosed? I've walked her through attempting a gmail recovery on what she THINKS is the right e-mail address but can't seem to get the info correct or the address is off by a letter or two.
If anyone has experience with this or can point me towards a solution I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.
can't do anything about it. its a new security feature that google started. imagine if someone steals your phone and wipes it, now they'll still need your password to get in.
Can she say "forgot my password" on a computer? If she can get into the account then it will work. If she has to reset her password then she will have to wait 72 hours and then she will be able to login the email and password. Alternatively I have no idea how you could do this, but if you could root and flash 5.0.1 (or I think 5.1 should work just not 5.1.1 with its new security feature).
Alright yeah I was afraid of that though it is kinda cool for someone, like myself, who would never forget my associated email.....not so cool for her I guess. Seems like they are taking a page out of Apple's playbook with this though, haha.
@bob
Yeah I tried helping her recover the account but she apparently forgot everything she set the phone up with (including the account details and supplementary recovery emails) and apparently has way too many email accounts for one person. I agree flashing a different ROM other than the stock 5.1 would like fix the problem but I don't think I can get debugging enabled to unlock bootloader etc in the state the phone is in.....was hoping someone here might know a way to make that happen..
So if she takes the phone in to sprint and says to them you guys made me set up a gmail account and I can't remember it now which has resulted in this new phone I bought being completely unusable --- what do you think their procedure is going to be? Send it in for repair?
Hahahahahaha.
This sounds like a job for.... WARRANTY.
However, it is actually user error, which is actually on YOUR back (being the one who suggested simcard swapping without prepping the phone for it first). So if they deny warranty for "user error", then I think that YOU OWE HER A NEW NEXUS 6.
Suggestion for next time: when she has a working nexus 6 in her hands, fastboot oem unlock it. IMMEDIATELY.
Also tell her to use a gmail address SHE KNOWS, and not make up a new one for the thing.
Well when I suggested it the phone did not have a Sim card....it was stolen. What I told her was to take the phone in to sprint and explain the situation and see if they would give her a replacement Sim so if there is something that should have been done to the phone prior to that isn't sprint the one to blame? By the way exactly what is it that you would do to the phone to prepare it for the new Sim?
..side note....when I ran a '/fastboot getvar all' I noticed a warranty void line that said yes at the end of it..is that going to be a problem? Lol...
slimbrady said:
Well when I suggested it the phone did not have a Sim card....it was stolen. What I told her was to take the phone in to sprint and explain the situation and see if they would give her a replacement Sim so if there is something that should have been done to the phone prior to that isn't sprint the one to blame? By the way exactly what is it that you would do to the phone to prepare it for the new Sim?
..side note....when I ran a '/fastboot getvar all' I noticed a warranty void line that said yes at the end of it..is that going to be a problem? Lol...
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Click to collapse
Stolen, what? Elaborate.
Sprint has no blame in this. The phone can't be used anymore until you, her, or whomever figures out/remembers the gmail account originally used to turn on Device Protection on the phone. If the bootloader had been unlocked prior to turning on Device Protection we wouldn't be having this discussion. The link below will explain everything in detail.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/03/a-look-at-android-5-1-speed-security-tweaks/
Maverick-DBZ- said:
Stolen, what? Elaborate.
Sprint has no blame in this. The phone can't be used anymore until you, her, or whomever figures out/remembers the gmail account originally used to turn on Device Protection on the phone. If the bootloader had been unlocked prior to turning on Device Protection we wouldn't be having this discussion. The link below will explain everything in detail.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/03/a-look-at-android-5-1-speed-security-tweaks/
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Click to collapse
Yeah some girl she has beef with or that has beef with her had access to the phone and took the sim out of it....that's the story I'm told at any rate..... Thanks for the link and yeah not good news for my friend I guess since she's a bit of ditz and can't remember the account info, lol.
So 2 questions remain.... what was the guy above talking about regarding 'prepping the phone' for a new sim card.....? And, has anyone tried taking a phone in this state back to sprint or other carrier corporate store and know what she's in for if she does do that?
slimbrady said:
Yeah some girl she has beef with or that has beef with her had access to the phone and took the sim out of it....that's the story I'm told at any rate..... Thanks for the link and yeah not good news for my friend I guess since she's a bit of ditz and can't remember the account info, lol.
So 2 questions remain.... what was the guy above talking about regarding 'prepping the phone' for a new sim card.....? And, has anyone tried taking a phone in this state back to sprint or other carrier corporate store and know what she's in for if she does do that?
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Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure he just meant to turn off Device Protection before removing the sim card and unlock the bootloader so you have a chance to recover the phone. It's obviously too late for that, but something to think about in the future if she ends up replacing the Nexus 6 with another one.
It depends where she bought the phone from. If she bought it from Sprint they should have a record of her purchase once they pull up her account details. She should be able to walk into a corporate store and have it replaced without too much trouble.
slimbrady said:
Yeah some girl she has beef with or that has beef with her had access to the phone and took the sim out of it....that's the story I'm told at any rate..... Thanks for the link and yeah not good news for my friend I guess since she's a bit of ditz and can't remember the account info, lol.
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Click to collapse
Oh, I see...
Yeah, stay clear of her AND her phone. The sim card wasn't stolen from her phone. HER PHONE *IS* STOLEN from someone else.
You see what it takes to get the sim card out of these things? Handing it over to a frenemy for 20 seconds *does not* result in the sim card being removed.
doitright said:
Oh, I see...
Yeah, stay clear of her AND her phone. The sim card wasn't stolen from her phone. HER PHONE *IS* STOLEN from someone else.
You see what it takes to get the sim card out of these things? Handing it over to a frenemy for 20 seconds *does not* result in the sim card being removed.
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Click to collapse
Was my first thought as well after reading the OP.
It's all just an illusion
Long story short:
"Hard Bricked By Google?"
YES BECAUSE YOU STOLE THE PHONE.
Mods need to lock this thread and ban the user.