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Nexus 5 bad ESN

D

dbtx

Lurker
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
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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