*Just A Heads Up* - Buying Used Phones
 

Hey folks,

I just wanted to remind everybody about taking the precautions when buying a used phone.

Rogers Wireless & Fido integrated something called an Electronic IMEI Register (EIR) which is connected globally to more than 85% of the world's GSM and UMTS Networks. The purpose of the EIR is a database/depository of blacklisted IMEIs. Once the IMEI ends up in the EIR, the IMEI stays there and does not leave - ever.

What Does This Mean?

This means that if you have a phone with an IMEI stored in the EIR, the phone is as good as a brick. Yup. A Brick. The moment you turn the phone on, the phone will not allow access to the network. The best thing now is to strip it for parts and/or use it as an alarm clock.

Why The Hell Should I Care?

You should care because as mobile phone enthusiasts, it would really suck for anybody to buy a lemon phone and be out hundreds of dollars. You work hard for your money to buy things you appreciate. Why get ripped off? You may not be a victim, but what about your friends? Your family? Your classmates and coworkers?

What Can I Do To Prevent This?

There really isn't a lot you can do to prevent the sale and purchase of a phone that is blacklisted. There are steps you can take as a buyer such as testing the phone, ensuring that you can make incoming and outgoing calls and SMS and to create a data session. The best thing is to ask for a valid proof of purchase or buy from a trusted seller. Use feedback forums to your advantage. Facebook stalk, forum stalk - whatever it takes. (Just kidding.)

Why Are You Telling Me This? I'm Not A n00b

I'm telling you this because a friend of mine is currently a victim of purchasing a blacklisted phone. He bought a Rogers branded phone from a girl on Craigslist, only for the girl to tell him a day later that Rogers Wireless called her, advising her that the phone was stolen from a dealership and then sold on Craigslist. He's now out hundreds of dollars and left with a brick phone. The phone was bricked a day after he bought the phone. It didn't come with a reciept/proof of purchase so chances are, it was stolen.

How Does An IMEI End Up In The EIR?

From what I've read online, the IMEI ends up in the EIR when the phone is stolen or missing from the dealership or distribution centre (i.e. Cellcom, Wireless Wave, Best Buy etc.) The moment that the IMEI is reported lost or stolen, the IMEI in question is entered into the EIR.

How long does it take for the IMEI to be entered in the EIR?

Instantly. The moment the IMEI is reported, it goes straight into the EIR and takes seconds and from that point on, you're SOL.

Hope this helps. Thanks!

:)

Great info!

Although I wish more people would read this. The people who do most likely already know, it is the ones who don't that will whine after getting screwed.

I thought I remembered seeing something before where if you had writtend own your IMEI and had your phone stolen, Rogers/Fido wouldn't do anything about it? Has this changed?

This is only applicable to phones that are stolen from dealerships and unfortunately, not applicable to phones stolen after the fact. :(

Is there a reason Rogers does this? Why don't they want to protect their customers?

What's their incentive? Customer satisfaction and loyalty? HA!

Think of it as a 2-way street. I'm sure they want to protect their customers because the most important asset they have are customers. At the same time, they can't because service providers pay a huge chunk of money to subsidize phones for customers. A majority of the Canadian population already has a problem paying $100 for a phone but want all the bells and whistles. As a business (for any provider) they need to look out for their own best interests. Stolen phones, from what I understand, results in close to a million dollars in lost revenue per year.

I believe Teus and Bell also have an EIR, infact, Telus has had an EIR since their analog and CDMA days.

that's strange, it was there for the day I was doing the unlocking SE phone on fido (T616/w200, etc) ....

IMEI on older SE phone can be overwritten for this purpose, but I never tried it.

If there's 1 thing I never buy used, its a phone. Always gotta buy a new phone. So many ways u can get scammed with a phone

You're correct Mike - Telus and Bell have been doing this for their phones since analogue and occurs for their current CDMA phones.

I would thank you... But mobile rs doesn't have that option

But I know a lot of people try test calls and txt spend that extra min trying for data as well, my friend got this blackberry of criagslist and it won't work for data at all just calls and tx thus rendering a pos.
Posted via RS Mobile

some good info here :thumbsup:

thanks

so you are saying if the phone is missing from the inventory before it's been invoiced/tendered it'll be blacklisted, but if i buy a phone brand new from someone that got the phone using fake accounts i might have my phone stopped working after a few months? or once it's tendered they won't do anything about it ie blacklisting the iemi? i mean technically if someone got a phone using a fake account he'll have receipts and stuff.. and it'll work until the company finds out it's fake...

What I posted is all I know. Sorry.

Here's the deal. A phone can be EIR at the request of the dealer if infact its missing. I on the other hand have not seen a stolen phone on eir
Posted via RS Mobile

Bought a Blackberry Curve 8900 off Craigslist for my gf today.. Now I'm paranoid :(

bell uses same kinda thing but after 6month-1 year it comes off..(this is how it was 2yr ago) or sooner if u know somebody.

If they ask me why I'm Facebook-stalking them, I'll tell them that a man from the Internet told me to do so. :p

Great read, Mike, thanks for putting this up. Definitely needs to be common knowledge.

How do you check for this?

Thanks, was just about to buy a new 9700 from CL.

If the phone is bricked, then it's fucked. :fullofwin:

Read my first post.

Bell /telus blacklist esn for cdma phones: this data is not global, and a phone stay thr only for 6 months.

Gsm phones, its quite easy to mask imei to another number.
Depending on phone.
Posted via RS Mobile

Stolen phones blacklist launches in Canada - Technology & Science - CBC News

Protect Your Data. Protect Yourself.

You could try this: Check the Status of Your Device in Canada | Protect Your Data. Protect Yourself.

Not sure if it actually works but worth a shot.

lol repost, I just posted that in the post before yours.