google account sign in and relation of SIM card

[gtbarry]

Just curious really....

A friend recently purchased a used android phone from ebay. The person who sold it to him accidentally left their SIM card (or a SIM card) in it when they sent it to him. Nothing nefarious. He sent the SIM back without even contacting him about it first or trying to see if it was a working SIM.

Now, I know that if it was an active SIM the person could easily just cut service to the card. But he asked me and got me wondering, if he signed in with his google account on that phone, what would happen regarding the SIM? Would it be his phone with his apps and gmail, etc but with a different number? That is my guess...but if so, what would happen with text messages, google voice, etc?

Thanks!

 

[SiempreTuna]

When I switched SIMs in my last phone, I didn't have to log into my Google account again, so I'm going to say that the phone would still be linked with the previous owner's account until your mate switched it to his account.

I'm guessing the same would apply for any other accounts - e-mail, FB, Twitter etc - that the phone logs into automatically.

Sounds like the vendor was pretty lucky he sold the phone to someone honest.

Of course, even if the vendor had done a factory reset, it wouldn't have hidden everything from a determined hacker - SD memory is notoriously insecure: the way it works is to create a copy of data every time you edit something. Even running a shredder over it doesn't actually remove the data.

I've always said that to be safe, before you sell a phone you should really hit it with a brick. Several times. Then burn it.

 

[ExtremeNerd]

Just curious really....

A friend recently purchased a used android phone from ebay. The person who sold it to him accidentally left their SIM card (or a SIM card) in it when they sent it to him. Nothing nefarious. He sent the SIM back without even contacting him about it first or trying to see if it was a working SIM.

Now, I know that if it was an active SIM the person could easily just cut service to the card. But he asked me and got me wondering, if he signed in with his google account on that phone, what would happen regarding the SIM? Would it be his phone with his apps and gmail, etc but with a different number? That is my guess...but if so, what would happen with text messages, google voice, etc?

Thanks!

Simple explanation, the SIM card is not connected to your Google account. The SIM card is solely tied to your carrier account. Your guess is spot on. It would have the other person's phone number, if active. Text messages are tied to the device, so they may be there as well. I would always suggest doing a full wipe before he sets up the device to remove any traces of the previous user.