Nexus 5 bad ESN

[dbtx]

Hi all,

First post here. In need of help. I purchased my wife a used Nexus 5 yesterday from a person on CL. Yes I know...

Met with the man and his wife at a Starbucks. Very nice couple etc. I neglected to run the ESN via swappa etc.

Got home, popped my carrier sim in, all is working perfectly. This morning I checked the ESN and it comes back as bad, blacklisted. The phone is working perfectly.

I did email him. I am awaiting a reply.

Any guidance. I would like to keep the phone if possible.

Thanks,
Danny

 

[lunatic59]

Welcome to Android Forums, Danny.

Sorry you have to deal with this sort of thing. There are several reasons why a phone's ESN is blacklisted. One is if it's reported lost or stolen, but another is if the account it's tied to is in default. It's not uncommon for a person to get a phone under contract and then sell it for more than they paid and let the account lapse. Your phone may work for a while, but eventually it will stop.

Even if it is some kind of mistake, carriers are very reluctant to clear any ESN that's been blacklisted. I know it's a great phone, but I'd try and get your money back.

 

[dbtx]

Thanks lunatic. What is odd is he had the box, charger, booklets the whole nine yards. It all seemed very legit. Older couple too.

I believe the phone started life as a Sprint device. Unlocked of course from Google. I use AT&T. If he does not reply I guess I can use until (and if) it stops? At this time we don't have another phone to fall back on.

- Danny

 

[funkylogik]

Do the US carriers share blacklists yet like in Europe?

 

[lunatic59]

Sprint uses a CDMA network while AT&T uses GSM. Because the N5 is a multiband device it will work on both networks. It's only a matter of time before AT&T gets the bad ESN list from Sprint and blacklists it on their network as well.

It's my guess that this nice older couple is scamming you. They can pick up a N5 for $99 on contract, sell it for $250 (or whatever you paid for it) and walk away knowing the phone will stop working at some point.

 

[lunatic59]

Do the US carriers share blacklists yet like in Europe?

Yep.

 

[funkylogik]

Thats a bummer man hope you didnt pay too much :beer:

 

[dbtx]

Thats a bummer man hope you didnt pay too much :beer:

Life lessons. The worst part of course is the wife is not too happy with me!

- Danny