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Bought android - got ripped off - plz read

E

EMERideCo

Lurker
Hello and good morning.

So I bought an LG Optimus from Hugoo Valentine (if that's his name lol) on Friday March 11th. Went to activate it on my account and it said was already still activated. Went back and forth with this guy for almost a week. Now, his e-mail is undeliverable and his phone doesn't accept calls or texts. well, you live and you learn. Metro pcs says it's still activate on an account but when I call the phone # thats in acct setting on the phone, it says disconnected

anyway, anyone know if this phone is completely useless now?

thanks
 
I am confused about the phone activation bit. If I just wipe my phone and give it to anyone else, he will be able to use it as if he bought it himself.
 
EMERideCo said:
Hello and good morning.

So I bought an LG Optimus from Hugoo Valentine (if that's his name lol) on Friday March 11th. Went to activate it on my account and it said was already still activated. Went back and forth with this guy for almost a week. Now, his e-mail is undeliverable and his phone doesn't accept calls or texts. well, you live and you learn. hugoo.valentine@gmail.com, his #: 916-473-3633
Metro pcs says it's still activate on an account but when I call the phone # thats in acct setting on the phone, it says disconnected

anyway, anyone know if this phone is completely useless now?

thanks
Click to expand...

You can wipe the phone off yourself.

Go to Settings. Then Privacy. Then Factory Data Reset.

When the phone is in a clean state, enter your account.
 
Guamguy - Thanks for the info however, what do you mean enter my account info. I have been just taking it to MetroPCS, they scan the esn and tell me its still activated. Will reseting the factory data fix that? I don't have account info to enter. I weas assuming I need to take it to metro to get transfered onto my acct.
 
I have been just taking it to MetroPCS, they scan the esn and tell me its still activated. Will reseting the factory data fix that?
Click to expand...

Probably not. If the ESN isnt clear, its for a reason, likely the previous owner hasnt paid his bill in full to clear it. Unfortunately there isnt much you can do, you ALWAYS need to get the esn of a phone before you buy it, call the carrier, and make sure it's clear. There is a reason that guy isn't answering you, because he knows he screwed you over.
 
yep, I agree lol. However, metro pcs doesnt let you keep a balance due. If you dont pay on the due date, it goes temp disco lol. hmm, i guess its a paper weight lol
 
If the phone is still active on another account you won't be able to activate it on your account, regardless of whether there is a balance due or not. If this is the only obstacle, it may be possible to work around it by activating a different phone on the original account (taking the place of the phone you purchased), leaving the purchased phone free to be activated on your own account.

I have an old Verizon phone sitting around just for that purpose - it's a spare ESN.
 
yeah, getting phones from other people is alittle shifty, some people are good but i'd prefer to buy a phone clean from a store or carrier.

just mo anyway
 
If the phone is unlocked can't it be sold as having a working ESN on Verizon? I see a lot of phones on CL with bad Verizon ESN's that people advertise "will work fine on MetroPCS." Might be an option for the OP to recover their money.
 
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