iPhone is on the 'negative list'
 

If I new this was possible I would have never got this thing off of CL. Anyways I got a 3G, and wen't to my carrier Bell to see if I can switch over my plan to the iphone. The guy said it is a Bell phone as well, however its on the 'negative list'?

Which pretty much means the person before me (or before them), hasn't paid their bill, and he can't activate it until that happens. And of course the guy I bought it from won't answer his phone.

Is there anyway around this other than waiting XX amount of months?
Thanks.

can't you just swap ur plan to the simcard and then just plug it in ur iphone? ur don't need bell to activate the iphone for u..

Hmm my current phone has no simcard.. I guess I'd have to buy a simcard from Bell and throw it in the iphone? Not sure, would this work ? Why wouldn't the guy at Bell suggest this? lol asshole.

My brother had a similar situation. He had his phone bill unpaid, tried to borrow my sim card, and it wouldn't let him do it. Somehow they can tie it in with the phone or something. We had to pay his bill and call some collection agency that Bell uses to get the phone operational again.

Well, you could've plugged in your SIM before purchasing.

he doesnt have one

Any other input?

Can't you get the iphone unlock at like JP cellular, then buy a sim card and plug it in? Would that work?
Posted via RS Mobile

go get a SIM card, and order an unlock chip online?

I doubt it will work since he will be using it on the bell network. Bell probably won't let you use it on their network until the previous owner pays the bill.
Posted via RS Mobile

This is one of the reasons why I avoid using CL for any electronics devices.

I could be mistaken, but I don't think there's a unique ID per each phone.
Sure, they know what model of phone you have, but I don't think cell phones have serial numbers, much less, a serial number hard-coded into the phone that the carrier can read wirelessly.

Then again, it's apple, so who knows, they build systems to part a fool and his money. :rolleyes:

I just bought a new sim card from rogers last week so I'd have full data potential for my upcoming Captivate. Cost me $10, I'm guessing it'll be very close to that at bell too.

IMEI code

each phone has a unique number called the IMEI, much like the VIN of a vehicle.
no matter whos sim card ur using, as long as the phone connects to the network, service providers can see the phone's imei. oh and all brands of phones have imei numbers, not just apple phones.

the only way around this problem for the op is to unlock the phone, and use it on another service provider, given the phone is just on a "negative list" (limited to bell) for not paying bills and not on the "black list" (available on all carriers) for a stolen phone.

Well I'll be.... Perhaps I should have done a bit more research.

If that's the case and all our IMEI belong to them, why are they still allowing unlocked phones from other carriers?

Then might as well switch to another network, problem solved.
Posted via RS Mobile

hmm.. i thought you can' have ur imei blacklisted unless the phone is stolen? i mean there's ppl that buy a phone and sell it out all the time.. doesn't matter CL or even revscene.. i never heard of phone getting banned for unpaid bill.. i know they block ur phone number.. since when they start blocking ur imei for unpaid bill?

Wait a minute. Did Bell actually attempt to put a sim card into the phone and then tell you it's on the negative list? Or did they just look up the serial# so no sim card was ever installed? If so just get a Bell sim card associated to your phone number and slap it in. Ppl here are right in that they usually don't block IMEI for a small thing like an unpaid bill. There are many other better ways for them to make a customer pay their bill.

such an ignorant comment.

i've bought thousands of electronic devices for CL. I check shit throughly before i buy. you cant expect everything to be perfect when u buy second hand.

one thing i learned about working at a pawn shop is -- 75% of second hand shit people sell is broken or outdated.

like i said.. i really doubt they block imei on their system over unpaid bill.. and if they seriously block imei on their system over unpaid bills.. it doesn't matter where you buy ur phone from as long as it has a contract with it.. let it be cl revscene or even ebay. when you test it it could still be working.. but maybe in a few months time the guy no longer pays his bill.. technically they'll can still block ur imei one day and you end up with a brick phone.. but i'm really skeptical about them blocking ur imei over unpaid bills.. stolen phone. yes.. unpaid bills? no

Actually they only block stolen phones that go missing from dealers, trucks, etc. Not on an individual basis.

The guy actually put in his own SIM card into my iphone, and said it was on the negative list. Not sure if he checked the IMEI.

It sounds like I should just get it unlocked and go with another carrier. Bell said they cant just transfer my plan onto a sim card, they would need the iphone there to register the sim card to it or whatever

if buying a phone from craigslist, Take the phone to said dealer and get them to confirm that the phone can be used.
My buddy did that when he bought his iphone, confirmed the phone could be used at the store, then paid the guy his money.
Just ask to meet him at the store. If the seller won't do that, then walk away.