darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted April 21, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 You can get the IMEI number 'changed' by someone but it's incredibly dodgy. Not like simply unlocking a phone. I believe it's illegal & if you were to sell the phone on you could feasibly be found to be handling stolen goods. Â AN IMEI database is held by phone manufacturers, distributors, shops & networks. Essentially, every phone purchased can be tracked back through each stage of the distribution/sales process. If it was on a contract they'll know who had it & if it was prepay they can tell which SIM it was connected to & who it was registered to (if they actually registered it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 You can get the IMEI number 'changed' by someone but it's incredibly dodgy. Not like simply unlocking a phone. I believe it's illegal & if you were to sell the phone on you could feasibly be found to be handling stolen goods. Â AN IMEI database is held by phone manufacturers, distributors, shops & networks. Essentially, every phone purchased can be tracked back through each stage of the distribution/sales process. If it was on a contract they'll know who had it & if it was prepay they can tell which SIM it was connected to & who it was registered to (if they actually registered it). I've checked the whole changing of an IMEI and apparently it is impossible. However my question is does anyone know WHICH carriers check this database? I know vodafone & o2 do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoghurt Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Sell it to an American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Quite fancy keeping it for myself! Was hoping someone on here might work within that industry and know which companies follow the database and which don't so I could unlock and switch to that carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted April 21, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 The carriers will capture IMEI's of phones that have been (or should have been) on there network, nobody elses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 The carriers will capture IMEI's of phones that have been (or should have been) on there network, nobody elses. Ahh so if the phone was unlocked and then put on a different carrier it won't be blocked? Thanks for the answer mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted April 21, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Yeah potentially. If say it was originally a Vodafone unit (or a sim free phone connected to Vodafone) you could theoretically get it unblocked/IMEI changed. Get an Orange pre-pay SIM & use it. You might struggle to find someone who'd unblock/change the IMEI though. It's the mobile equivalent to changing the VIN number on a car so for a lot of independant phone shops the risk isn't worth the reward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators neil Posted April 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted April 21, 2011 Why not just hand the phone in to the bus depot? Â Or are you just a thief? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Yeah potentially. If say it was originally a Vodafone unit (or a sim free phone connected to Vodafone) you could theoretically get it unblocked/IMEI changed. Get an Orange pre-pay SIM & use it. You might struggle to find someone who'd unblock/change the IMEI though. It's the mobile equivalent to changing the VIN number on a car so for a lot of independant phone shops the risk isn't worth the reward. Ahh. I understand. I don't know if it was contract or not. Didn't even receive a call/text from the person whose phone it was *had a flash of conscience and was contemplating returning it*. Just turned out to be blocked the day after. So it should only be a case of switching the sim card to a different carrier after I get it unblocked, awesome news thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Why not just hand the phone in to the bus depot? Or are you just a thief? I don't fancy travelling 150+ miles on a bus again. If you found a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted April 21, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Do you know someone who'll get it unblocked?? This isn't the same as getting a phone 'unlocked'. Carriers 'lock' prepay phones to their network as they're heavily subsidised & don't want people to just chuck the SIM & put their existing SIM in the unit (known as an illegal upgrade). Now that this handset has been blocked it'll be treated as stolen, if you take it into an independant phone shop they'll likely think you've robbed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darepool Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Do you know someone who'll get it unblocked?? This isn't the same as getting a phone 'unlocked'. Carriers 'lock' prepay phones to their network as they're heavily subsidised & don't want people to just chuck the SIM & put their existing SIM in the unit (known as an illegal upgrade). Now that this handset has been blocked it'll be treated as stolen, if you take it into an independant phone shop they'll likely think you've robbed it. Sounds like a bit of hassle. Might just pop it in an envelope to the bus station after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted April 21, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 21, 2011 Unless it's a brand spanking IPhone, HTC or Blackberry it's really not worth it. If you want to get something for it I'd take it to a local phone shop that does repairs, say it was your mum's, she lost it, reported it lost then found it (thus explaining why it's blocked) & see if they'll give you anything for it. The facia, screen etc all have a value for parts so you might get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Yeah potentially. If say it was originally a Vodafone unit (or a sim free phone connected to Vodafone) you could theoretically get it unblocked/IMEI changed. Get an Orange pre-pay SIM & use it. You might struggle to find someone who'd unblock/change the IMEI though. It's the mobile equivalent to changing the VIN number on a car so for a lot of independant phone shops the risk isn't worth the reward. Ahh. I understand. I don't know if it was contract or not. Didn't even receive a call/text from the person whose phone it was *had a flash of conscience and was contemplating returning it*. Just turned out to be blocked the day after. So it should only be a case of switching the sim card to a different carrier after I get it unblocked, awesome news thanks.  Some Clarification  It will be registered as being blocked and stolen by all networks afaik or at least should be if done properly and will go on the Central Equipment Identity Register as being blocked. So unless you are spoofing a new IMEI number which is already in use and could cause it to brick anyway you are best off handing it into the Police as a lost phone, which you may get back if not claimed and then sorting out if you can unblock it as will then be yours as is unclaimed property, in which case will be legally yours and then can do something about it  Changing the IMEI is illegal, and effectively you are stealing that phone, no matter how 'nice' it is. Changing the IMEI carries the risk of a fine or a 6 month prison sentence as out lined here  It can be done, but really isnt worth it as pissing about with networks and sims means you are going to lose a lot of the phones original settings and will have to faff around for net settings, text centre numbers and shit when it comes to working with a new sim, if it isnt blocked. Plus then there is the aforementioned risk of it bricking anyway because the spoof IMEI is spotted as stolen or shared and you will have to go through the whole rigmarole again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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