03-31-2014 11:39 AM
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  1. JAYNOOK's Avatar
    JAYNOOK
    Before you say "RETURN IT YOU LITTLE THEIF" i have tried. my father found it on the train as he works on them everyday. he turned it in and after 30 days of no one claiming it they said it was his. i currently have an android phone for att but would like to use this one if possible. i tried restoring it via itunes but i keep getting error message 3194. it has a password so i cant look at the contacts and call a number. any help on getting it restored would be greatly appreciated.
    10-23-2011 08:07 PM
  2. kch50428's Avatar
    kch50428
    It has in all likelihood been reported as lost to the carrier, and it's MEID has been placed on a list that will DENY it from ever being activated again on that carrier. It may be possible to use internationally but that would be it.

    In other words, there would be NO use of it domestically as anything other than an iPod.
    10-23-2011 08:12 PM
  3. JAYNOOK's Avatar
    JAYNOOK
    Originally Posted by kch50428
    It has in all likelihood been reported as lost to the carrier, and it's MEID has been placed on a list that will DENY it from ever being activated again on that carrier. It may be possible to use internationally but that would be it.

    In other words, there would be NO use of it domestically as anything other than an iPod.
    is the meid the same thing as the imei?
    10-23-2011 08:51 PM
  4. Speak's Avatar
    Speak
    Originally Posted by kch50428
    It has in all likelihood been reported as lost to the carrier, and it's MEID has been placed on a list that will DENY it from ever being activated again on that carrier. It may be possible to use internationally but that would be it.

    In other words, there would be NO use of it domestically as anything other than an iPod.
    If it is CDMA, it can be activated on Cricket Wireless with jailbreak/unlock.

    GSM, it can be activated on T-Mobile if carrier blocks. Is there any reason you can't SIM swap with iphone4/android as long as the android phone uses microSIM?

    Edit: IMEI is similar to, but not the same as MEID. IMEI is on most mobile devices, International Mobile Equipment Identity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia while MEID is strictly on CDMA devices Mobile equipment identifier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

    I heard apple/att are very strict about NOT allowing devices themselves to be blacklisted, but have no personal experience/first-hand knowledge about it.
    Last edited by Speak; 10-23-2011 at 09:23 PM.
    10-23-2011 09:13 PM
  5. andrewsmith's Avatar
    andrewsmith
    put it in dfu mode and completely restore it as a new device to get rid of the password. then you should be able to use it if it's GSM (idk about CDMA)
    10-23-2011 09:35 PM
  7. takeshi's Avatar
    takeshi
    Originally Posted by JAYNOOK
    Before you say "RETURN IT YOU LITTLE THEIF" i have tried. my father found it on the train as he works on them everyday. he turned it in and after 30 days of no one claiming it they said it was his.
    I don't see where you tried to return it to the carrier. Turning it into the train lost & found isn't trying.
    10-23-2011 09:37 PM
  8. JohnH59's Avatar
    JohnH59
    Originally Posted by briareus
    I don't see where you tried to return it to the carrier. Turning it into the train lost & found isn't trying.
    Agree, return it to the carrier. They can determine the owner and return it.
    10-23-2011 10:51 PM
  9. Peligro911's Avatar
    Peligro911
    Moderator
    Im not here to discuss morals ..Yup dfu mode and restore ... Prob can't use it thou if it's Verizon ... AT&T you should be fine


    Sent Into Orbit from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
    CH1N087 and DavidinCT like this.
    10-24-2011 12:29 AM
  10. JAYNOOK's Avatar
    JAYNOOK
    so i got it restored and its a gsm so i think i should be good? i keep hearing att can block the imei but not sure if its true anyone have any knowledge on this?
    10-24-2011 09:29 PM
  11. Peligro911's Avatar
    Peligro911
    Moderator
    I would try a sim and see if it works


    Sent Into Orbit from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
    10-24-2011 09:58 PM
  12. jonmark's Avatar
    jonmark
    Had a similar experience a while back ... In order to check if it's been blacklisted, just check the IMEI of the iPhone, which can be found in the settings -> general -> about ... Google search to check IMEI numbers of phones, which is what I did, and entered the IMEI number in a few different sites that came up. None of them listed the IMEI as being blocked, reported lost or stolen ... So I went ahead and activated the iPhone without any problems. Been using it for almost a year now.
    10-25-2011 02:40 AM
  13. Speak's Avatar
    Speak
    Originally Posted by JohnH59
    Agree, return it to the carrier. They can determine the owner and return it.
    Having worked as an indirect sales agent for Verizon, the carrier won't do anything other than add the device to the lost/stolen list. I had a number of good samaritans attempt to return their (non-apple, I quit before iphone) devices to me, and all we could do (and the internal support phone # as well) was report it as stolen. It was claimed to protect the personal information of whomever the phone belonged to, but I am inclined to think that it was more to boost device sales/insurance claims.
    anon(5335877) likes this.
    10-25-2011 05:42 PM
  14. jacobtt33's Avatar
    jacobtt33
    Originally Posted by JAYNOOK
    so i got it restored and its a gsm so i think i should be good? i keep hearing att can block the imei but not sure if its true anyone have any knowledge on this?
    Hey JAYNOOK,

    I'm in the same pickle... how did you manage to restore the phone with a passcode?

    - J
    10-30-2011 12:16 PM
  15. noaim's Avatar
    noaim
    Originally Posted by jacobtt33
    Hey JAYNOOK,

    I'm in the same pickle... how did you manage to restore the phone with a passcode?

    - J
    Put it in dfu mode and restore it..


    Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk
    10-30-2011 12:24 PM
  16. Bias X's Avatar
    Bias X
    About the whole blacklist thing. AT&T is extremely strict or simply just doesn't care. I tried to blacklist my blackberry after it was stolen. The local corporate store didn't even know what blacklisting was. After escalating it on 611. The manager/ higher up just simply told me it wont happen.
    10-30-2011 12:38 PM
  17. jacobtt33's Avatar
    jacobtt33
    Originally Posted by noaim
    Put it in dfu mode and restore it..


    Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk
    Hey thanks for your response, but it won't allow me to restore because it's not from the administrating computer...
    10-30-2011 01:39 PM
  18. furygoalbrtis39's Avatar
    furygoalbrtis39
    Originally Posted by jacobtt33
    Hey thanks for your response, but it won't allow me to restore because it's not from the administrating computer...
    Putting it in dfu mode should bypass the administrative security


    Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk
    10-30-2011 05:51 PM
  19. BryanTheRed's Avatar
    BryanTheRed
    Originally Posted by Offensive Bias
    About the whole blacklist thing. AT&T is extremely strict or simply just doesn't care. I tried to blacklist my blackberry after it was stolen. The local corporate store didn't even know what blacklisting was. After escalating it on 611. The manager/ higher up just simply told me it wont happen.
    AT&T and most GSM carriers world wide will not black list lost or stolen phones. CDMA carriers appear to be the only ones who black list IMEI/ESN numbers on lost and stolen devices. I don't want there to be any confusion about this, AT&T will NOT black list the phone!
    10-30-2011 07:51 PM
  20. Macboy74's Avatar
    Macboy74
    If you return it to the carrier they restore it and sell it.
    10-26-2012 03:21 AM
  21. Fausty82's Avatar
    Fausty82
    Originally Posted by mritalian
    If you return it to the carrier they restore it and sell it.
    Absolutely not true...
    10-26-2012 03:39 AM
  22. kch50428's Avatar
    kch50428
    Originally Posted by mritalian
    If you return it to the carrier they restore it and sell it.
    Originally Posted by Fausty82
    Absolutely not true...
    They'll part it out to refurb other phones...
    10-26-2012 10:19 AM
  23. djogie's Avatar
    djogie
    My ex girlfriend and I had a bad break up and she canceled my iphone 4s and reported it stolen. I called bell to see if there was anything I can do they said no because the phone was under her name it doesn't matter that I was the one who paid for everything. with that being said and done i have an iphone 4s I cannot use nor have the knowledge or know how to unlock it. With this being said and done I want to sell it, or seek advice on how to get my phone operational again. I am asking for $300, but will be willing to go cheaper because the back of it is smashed, the front of it however is in mint condition.
    02-17-2013 11:31 AM
  24. kch50428's Avatar
    kch50428
    Originally Posted by djogie
    My ex girlfriend and I had a bad break up and she canceled my iphone 4s and reported it stolen. I called bell to see if there was anything I can do they said no because the phone was under her name it doesn't matter that I was the one who paid for everything. with that being said and done i have an iphone 4s I cannot use nor have the knowledge or know how to unlock it. With this being said and done I want to sell it, or seek advice on how to get my phone operational again. I am asking for $300, but will be willing to go cheaper because the back of it is smashed, the front of it however is in mint condition.
    The fact the device is reported stolen to a carrier makes it difficult to activate again - you might be able to get some $$ out of selling it to a 3rd party repair service for parts use...
    02-17-2013 11:35 AM
  25. funnel1's Avatar
    funnel1
    I actually found a Verizon iphone and took it to the dealer. The person I spoke with told me that the person will most likely not get the phone back if I turn it in. He told me to keep it.
    05-19-2013 09:11 PM
  26. GulfCoastToad's Avatar
    GulfCoastToad
    Originally Posted by JAYNOOK
    Before you say "RETURN IT YOU LITTLE THEIF" i have tried. my father found it on the train as he works on them everyday. he turned it in and after 30 days of no one claiming it they said it was his. i currently have an android phone for att but would like to use this one if possible. i tried restoring it via itunes but i keep getting error message 3194. it has a password so i cant look at the contacts and call a number. any help on getting it restored would be greatly appreciated.
    If you really want to return it to the rightful owner, put up a Craigslist ad with the details. The owner will have to confirm the pass code.
    05-20-2013 12:58 AM
31 12
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