Bad ESN = Good dev device?

[bahamut443]

Currently using a Verizon Lumia 928 and getting sick of using my personal phone for dev use. I noticed I can currently buy an AT&T Lumia 520 with a bad ESN for around $20. I understand that bad ESN devices are either stolen or linked to accounts that have large unpaid balances. However, do carriers lock out any other features on Windows Phone devices besides reactivation? I'd need the new device to utilize WiFi, USB, and link to my Microsoft account. Has anyone else gone down this road before? Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[David P2]

In the case of stolen handsets they blacklist the IMEI from connecting to their network, and it's added to a national database so if someone tries to sell it on (and the buyer does his research) or recycle it, it will be flagged up as stolen. That's how it works in the UK at least.

And if you're going to go down this road bear in mind there is the potential that you could face criminal charges for handling stolen goods.

Visual Studio does offer an emulation system for test purposes. Comes with it. However if you're planning on testing on bare metal (ie a physical device) I would strongly recommend getting a proper second hand one (ie that isn't 'hot' or affected in any other negative ways).

 

[bahamut443]

Are there ways to find out if the ESN/IMEI was reported stolen?

 

[xandros9]

Are there ways to find out if the ESN/IMEI was reported stolen?

the ESN/IMEI only really affects the cellular portion, otherwise it'll work fine.

There are ways to check online, like throwing it into Swappa's ESN checker. ESN / IMEI / MEID Check (Free) > Swappa

 

[bahamut443]

Great! Thanks for the info! Anyone have a throwaway 520/521 they'd be willing to donate or sell for cheap? Not sure I feel comfortable holding on to potentially stolen property. Really want to get into testing on the lowest end and most popular Windows Phone. I'm most concerned about app scaling and 512MB compatibility.