Network locked phones

Totempole said:
Is there a chance that this phone may have been reported stolen and the IMEI is blocked on all networks except Cell C?

It might pass Apple checks, but still be blocked in SA by IMEI.
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I don’t think so. I received it brand new (sealed). It still has a warranty until March 2024.
 
azbob said:
I don’t think so. I received it brand new (sealed). It still has a warranty until March 2024.
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Potentially could have been a contract phone that payment was defaulted on. For example, person takes out a contract, makes maybe 1 payment and then sells the phone in a sealed condition. Profit!

Usually the phone would get locked out entirely in that case, but who knows what tricks they have up their sleeves these days?
 
Totempole said:
Potentially could have been a contract phone that payment was defaulted on. For example, person takes out a contract, makes maybe 1 payment and then sells the phone in a sealed condition. Profit!

Usually the phone would get locked out entirely in that case, but who knows what tricks they have up their sleeves these days?
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Hope not!
 
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azbob said:
It’s locked to cell c so I doubt it was imported. I don’t understand how they can lock them but not be able to unlock them. They told me they aren’t able to get the codes.

I have no issue with using cell c, the problem comes when traveling abroad and needing to use a local sim.
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You know that’s probably not locked, rather it’s blocked on the all networks except Cell C. It was probably blacklisted at some point for being stolen or unpaid debt. For some reason Cell C doesn’t get the blacklisting list right and sometimes blacklisted phones will still work on Cell C. There’s always a few with on FB marketplace with that stated in the description, something to be avoided.

That would explain why an iPhone could appear to be “locked“ to Cell C, even though no iPhones are networked locked in South Africa.

Edit. I see it was a brand new sealed iPhone 13, get a refund asap but the return will be tricky, you’ll need to get Bob involved so you don’t return the phone and then the dodgy seller decides to not refund.
 
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azbob said:
I don’t think so. I received it brand new (sealed). It still has a warranty until March 2024.
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If it was stolen from a store they can still blacklist a brand new sealed phone
 
azbob said:
In that case I might have to get @Jan to investigate bobshop and the seller.
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Phone MTN or Vodacom and one of the options is the blacklisting of phones and ask if they can check the status of your imei.
But I’d send it back and get a refund, you are lucky you involved Bob support from the beginning(that’s if it’s the same deal as you mentioned in that Bob thread), it’s almost definitely been blacklisted.

What did the listing description say about the status of the phone and which iphone is it?
 
I phoned MTN and told them I'd like to check if it's blacklisted. I offered the lady the IMEI number but she said she needs the phone number. I reluctantly gave her the phone number knowing that wouldn't help. She goes "The system can't pick up the phone number". Obviously. I ask her again whether I can give her the IMEI number to check, she insists they only need the phone number. Will try again with a hopefully more competent agent.
 
airborne said:
Phone MTN or Vodacom and one of the options is the blacklisting of phones and ask if they can check the status of your imei.
But I’d send it back and get a refund, you are lucky you involved Bob support from the beginning(that’s if it’s the same deal as you mentioned in that Bob thread), it’s almost definitely been blacklisted.

What did the listing description say about the status of the phone and which iphone is it?
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"iPhone 13 (locked to Cell C)"

The seller, bobshop and myself all accepted that it will only work on Cell C before purchase but if it's blacklisted (stolen) then I'm definitely sending it back. First need to confirm that though. Wonder if the iStore themselves can assist. The seller did provide the IMEI number before sale and I ran it through some of those IMEI number checkers before purchasing, it appeared clean on those.
 
azbob said:
I phoned MTN and told them I'd like to check if it's blacklisted. I offered the lady the IMEI number but she said she needs the phone number. I reluctantly gave her the phone number knowing that wouldn't help. She goes "The system can't pick up the phone number". Obviously. I ask her again whether I can give her the IMEI number to check, she insists they only need the phone number. Will try again with a hopefully more competent agent.
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The lady is talking bs, you can also try Vodacom to do that same thing.
 
azbob said:
"iPhone 13 (locked to Cell C)"

The seller, bobshop and myself all accepted that it will only work on Cell C before purchase but if it's blacklisted (stolen) then I'm definitely sending it back. First need to confirm that though. Wonder if the iStore themselves can assist. The seller did provide the IMEI number before sale and I ran it through some of those IMEI number checkers before purchasing, it appeared clean on those.
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Eeish and you received the phone brand new with factory sealed?
How did the seller know if was Cell C locked if it was still new and sealed?

Probably it was stolen by a syndicate and they knew it would be blacklisted on Vodacom and Mtn but not Cell C.
Ask the guy how he knew it was Cell C locked without opening it and trying other Sims, that’ll get you some interesting responses.
 
azbob said:
It’s locked to cell c so I doubt it was imported. I don’t understand how they can lock them but not be able to unlock them. They told me they aren’t able to get the codes.

I have no issue with using cell c, the problem comes when traveling abroad and needing to use a local sim.
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For interest sake because the iPhone itself is not locked it will work on any network outside of South Africa, so using it when travelling abroad shouldn’t be an issue. Many phones stolen in South Africa cross the border and get sold in neighbouring countries because the imei won’t be blacklisted on those countries networks.
 
airborne said:
Eeish and you received the phone brand new with factory sealed?
How did the seller know if was Cell C locked if it was still new and sealed?

Probably it was stolen by a syndicate and they knew it would be blacklisted on Vodacom and Mtn but not Cell C.
Ask the guy how he knew it was Cell C locked without opening it and trying other Sims, that’ll get you some interesting responses.
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That confused me too. I was expecting an opened “new” phone. But received it sealed with the sticker still on the screen. When I asked the seller about it being locked they sent me links of network locked phones on takealot to show that phones still can be network locked.

The seller has been active for over 14 years with over 1000 sales and 99% positive reviews. They claim to have purchased it privately so if it is stolen, I think the seller themselves got scammed.
 
airborne said:
The lady is talking bs, you can also try Vodacom to do that same thing.
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Just phoned Telkom and the lady also asked me for the number of the phone. I explained the same thing to her and whether they can check the IMEI number but she wanted the phone number. I don't know what's going on with these networks.
 
airborne said:
For interest sake because the iPhone itself is not locked it will work on any network outside of South Africa, so using it when travelling abroad shouldn’t be an issue. Many phones stolen in South Africa cross the border and get sold in neighbouring countries because the imei won’t be blacklisted on those countries networks.
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Well, if these networks aren't willing to assist me determine if this phone is blacklisted then I'll probably just end up porting to Cell C and be done with it.
 
azbob said:
Well, if these networks aren't willing to assist me determine if this phone is blacklisted then I'll probably just end up porting to Cell C and be done with it.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the eSim will be locked toCell C as well? They are 2 x different IMEI's?
 
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