Samsung Note 20 flash, imei etc

[MrOldCrypto]

Well hope yall can take me at my word.

Admin if you have to delete do it.

I've red changing imei is not illegal in usa on Wikipedia links?

Okay so I had a psycho ex that was kind enough to buy me a note 20 ultra a few years back.

Long story short my cell service went out one day only to find out the imei is blacklisted :/ idk why she just didn't reach out to me and have the bill switched to my name but WHATEVER.

Anyway, I've tried to unlock but can't. This device is to solid to not try to unlock and get on simple mobile. Right now I can only really use it for fortnite and some video chatting on the side. I suppose I could run a voip app for calling but idk I've had different experiences with those as well. Finally, I don't like running hotpot on my s22 ultra just so I can use my note 20 ultra because it burns thru the battery like a nut job and I don't wanna kill my ultra battery for good.

So. Is there an actually procedure to unlock this thing and change the imei so I can get a cheap carrier on it? Or is it better to just run it on wifi.

At the very least if it's better just to stick it on wifi I'd like to kill all the att firmware and bloatware crap. Thank you

 

[mikedt]

Regardless of legality in the USA, I suspect it's actually impossible to change the IMEI. Apart from changing out the whole logic board. Because AFAIK the IMEI, MEID, ESN, etc. is permanently burned into the main chip-set.

 

[MrOldCrypto]

I think that's what a coder told me as well.

 

[svim]

There is no law that makes changing a mobile device's IMEI a criminal offense. When you buy a mobile device and you want alter it in some way, it's your property. Don't confuse a law (pertains to a legal issue, with law enforcement and courts of law involved) with a rule or a Terms of Service (those are just conditions something like a corporation applies to its products/services).
There are apps/utilities you can use to alter (a.k.a. spoof) your Note's IMEI but it's important to keep in mind that's not actually a permanent solution. It's just software used as a false front, Your phone's IMEI is fixed hardware identifier. So take away the software and that actual IMEI will still be there. But that's a side issue, now that your Note is apparently blacklisted that's going to be a bigger problem. Your Note's IMEI is its identifier, with the added twist that almost all carriers observe that blacklist. You need to either dig into whatever your ex did to get the phone blacklisted with that billing matter and then fix it accordingly, or just get a new, different phone. To get your phone removed from the list, it's going to be an uphill battle. You'll need to pay off the accumulated debts, provide proof of ownership, and be prepared for other hassles. Or continue to just rely upon WiFi if you can get by with that situation when your out and about.

 

[Hadron]

There is no law that makes changing a mobile device's IMEI a criminal offense.

That depends on where you are. In some jurisdictions it is illegal, e.g. in the UK the Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act of 2002 makes changing such an identifier, arranging a change for someone else, or providing the means to do this to someone who you believe has that intent, a criminal offense. The exceptions are if you are the manufacturer or have the manufacturer's written permission; so it's OK for a licensed service center to do this, but probably nobody else.

But one thing that seems to be true in any jurisdiction is that once blacklisted it's very difficult to get anything done about that, especially if you aren't the registered owner. The service providers regard blacklisting as their protection against theft (i.e. buying a subsisided handset and then breaking the contract, which I'm guessing is what happened here), and tend to be a bit inflexible when it comes to lifting it. You can see the sense in that: if all it took to lift the blacklist was a phone call and a sob story it wouldn't be any protection for them at all. But that doesn't make it any easier for someone who finds themselves in your position.