I just bought a used Droid X for my son. It may not seem like much, but he came from an Ally, so it's a big step up. At the time of purchase I verified with Verizon that the MEID was clean, and had no trouble activating the phone on Page Plus. What (if anything) can I do to disassociate the phone from the previous owner's account so that future actions of the previous owner don't affect the usability of this phone?
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Purchased used phone - how to disassociate from original owner?
- Thread starter UncleMike
- Start date
I think you misunderstood. The SD card has been formatted, and the phone has been factory reset and activated on Page Plus. What I want to protect myself from is the following:
The previous owner stops paying their bill and goes into collections, followed by phones they've purchased being blacklisted - meaning my working used phone suddenly stops working because it's associated with an account that is now past due.
That is tough to say. Do you know why the other person sold the phone? If he had purchased a new phone via an upgrade then you won't need to worry about that happening. Seeing as the DX was released a while ago it would make sense that seller got a new phone and signed a new contract making the phone clean for you.
tbzj7
Member
Sorry, I did misunderstand what you were saying, but I agree, chances are the seller is no longer tied to it but you could call customer service up again, explain the situation and see if they can help you make sure the person won't be tied to the phone in any way. Call the seller up again and ask them why they sold the phone if you don't already know.
He (said he) was selling his wife's phone because it she bought an iPhone. During the conversation we had, I found out she got the iPhone at an upgrade price, which tells me that the old phone (a Droid X) is free and clear. I guess they could have had a one year contract, or done her last early upgrade.
I got the phone, standard battery, extended battery + cover, Motorola USB wall charger + cable, another wall charger (crappy - only 600ma) and a car charger (no name)... all for $60. For my son, it's a major step up from his Ally.
I called Verizon today and explained the situation. The rep told me that if there were an issue down the road, they would have a record of me calling at the time of purchase, along with the MEID referenced in the call, and could readily straighten it out.
I activated it on Page Plus (a Verizon MVNO), so it's in no way tied to my Verizon Wireless account. I thought about activating it in place of my Bionic for an hour or so, just to get it associated with my account, and then doing an MEID change on Page Plus, but I don't know that it's worth the trouble.
So when I replaced my OG Droid with a Bionic, I could no longer report the OG Droid lost or stolen?
IOWA
Mr. Logic Pants
You can report it lost or stolen just fine.. they may or may not do something about it though. If it's lost or stolen, it's actually in their best interest to blacklist it because that means you have to buy a new device.
I think what he was saying is if I get a phone on a 2 year contract then activate a different on that line and sell the one I got on contract then I default on my account the phone that is on the account at the time of the default will be blacklisted not the phone that I got when I opened the contract.
You should be able to report a previous phone as stolen and have it blacklisted but other than making it more difficult for the less than honest people who try to activate it it wouldn't do you any good.
Let's say I buy a phone on contract (and get a discount by doing so). I am now obligated to the contract term or an ETF. If, during the contract term, I activate a different device (either purchased at full retail price from Verizon, or purchased from a third party) on the same line, and then default on the account, Verizon's only claim is to the original device - the one they discounted in exchange for me entering into a contract.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that what you're saying doesn't sound right to me. If this is how it works then (aside from bad credit and/or morals) what's to prevent me from buying a shiny new Galaxy Nexus tomorrow, going home and activating an old flip phone on that line (replacing the Galaxy Nexus), defaulting on the account (causing the flip phone to be blacklisted), and selling Galaxy Nexus for a nice profit?