AT&T Nokia lumia 925 with BAD IMEI

[sajith930]

Hi guys

Does US AT&T Nokia lumia 925 with BAD IMEI work in out of US without doing unlocking ? or Do I have to unlock to use it in another country ?

thanks

 

[jay6600]

You could try typing ##7820# to bring up the simlock status (you may need do this several times to get a true indicaton).

If it is sim-UNlocked As to where it will work with a bad (blocked) imei is dependent in which country its to be used in ,here in uk phones with bad imei wont work except for emergency calls.

 

[sajith930]

thanks jay6600

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Just what is a BAD (or blocked as someone else called it) IMEI?

 

[xandros9]

Just what is a BAD (or blocked as someone else called it) IMEI?

an IMEI is essentially a digital serial number.
The most common reason for a bad IMEI as I understand it is that the device has been flagged as stolen and blacklisted from cell networks.

it can also be from an unpaid balance I believe

 

[HoosierDaddy]

an IMEI is essentially a digital serial number.
The most common reason for a bad IMEI as I understand it is that the device has been flagged as stolen and blacklisted from cell networks.

it can also be from an unpaid balance I believe

Thanks. I should have been clear I was asking what blocked meant not what IMEI meant.

So is a bad IMEI always a blocked IMEI or are there other categories of BAD? I seem to remember reading about cloned phones in the dawn of the cell phone age. Are there cloned IMEIs to allow multiple phones on one plan? I realize something eventually stopped that from working back in day but is there a new round?

And if a blocked IMEI is due to the phone being stolen does that mean whoever has it is guilty of possession of stolen property (knowingly if they know its blocked somewhere)? Is there a database of blocked/stolen IMEIs to let buyers protect themselves?

I'm interested mostly out of curiosity but my wife was originally told she could not get an unlock code from T-Mobile because her Lumia that she bought new from T-Mobile and never used on any other carrier had a blocked IMEI. They finally gave her the unlock code but never explained what "blocked" really meant.

 

[jay6600]

Thanks. I should have been clear I was asking what blocked meant not what IMEI meant.

So is a bad IMEI always a blocked IMEI or are there other categories of BAD? I seem to remember reading about cloned phones in the dawn of the cell phone age. Are there cloned IMEIs to allow multiple phones on one plan? I realize something eventually stopped that from working back in day but is there a new round?

And if a blocked IMEI is due to the phone being stolen does that mean whoever has it is guilty of possession of stolen property (knowingly if they know its blocked somewhere)? Is there a database of blocked/stolen IMEIs to let buyers protect themselves?

I'm interested mostly out of curiosity but my wife was originally told she could not get an unlock code from T-Mobile because her Lumia that she bought new from T-Mobile and never used on any other carrier had a blocked IMEI. They finally gave her the unlock code but never explained what "blocked" really meant.

Going off my experience with nokia bb5 and s^3 phones.

Bad Imei can also be applicable to some faulty nokia phones, which have suffered during update their firmware and their imei becomes corrupt and 12345610654321 etc,
and obviously will not work with simcards these types can usually be restored to correct former imei if you have a backup of phones rpl file and flashing hardware (note:you cannot change new nokia imei without physically changing imei chip)

And Re stolen,reported lost,non paid contacts, Blocked phones: Here in uk such reported phones IMEI numbers go on the "CEIR" (Central Equipment Identity
Register) and either refuse to register to networks or refuse to make calls or messages,excluding emergency calls ,this block is only effective if the phones are tried to be used in the uk or other countries networks that fully obide to the register.

Which sadly means lots of blocked phones just go overseas to countries networks that dont block such phones.

 

[jay6600]

Im all to regularly seeing such phones for sale on ebay uk in the spares repairs condition.
This is illegal and not enforced enough by ebay,theese people although may have not acquired through any ill means themselves should really hand such phones to the police.

RE: checking phones imei history Yes there's quite a few sites that offers such service for a small fee ,
i use CHECKMEND a us,uk,eu service http://www.checkmend.com/us/

as recommended by ebay :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
only free one ive ever come across is for australian people and is

Check the Status of your Handset

 

[Xsled]

Curious OP, what does bad Imei mean to you? Are you referencing a stolen device?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Phone theft may be getting a lot less attractive:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/16/tech/mobile/ctia-phone-kill-switch/index.html?hpt=hp_c2