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Two N4s, one with bad IMEI

H

hungry0ne

Lurker
Hello, I have two Nexus 4 phones, one has a bad IMEI but is in excellent condition, and the other has a clean IMEI but a cracked screen. What would be the easiest way to get a working phone with clean IMEI? I saw youtube videos on how to change the screen, which I should be able to do. But I was wondering where the IMEI is stored, and maybe it would be easier to take something off the cracked N4 instead?

Thanks for any help!
 
jhawkkw said:
Best option is to probably change the screen. Changing the IMEI on a phone is illegal in most countries.
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Thanks! I don't know anything about where the IMEI is stored - on the motherboard? I wasn't trying to change the IMEI, just swap out the part that holds it, which should be legal if I own both phones, shouldn't it? On the youtube video, it seems it would be much easier to swap out the motherboard, for example, than the screens.
 
hungry0ne said:
I wasn't trying to change the IMEI, just swap out the part that holds it, which should be legal if I own both phones, shouldn't it?
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Hard question to answer without a lawyer's help but is it legal in your jurisdiction to swap identity between two cars you own? If not I doubt it's legal for phones either; most legal systems regard swapping of official identification "marks" by the owner to be a bad thing and prohibits it.
 
John Bean said:
Hard question to answer without a lawyer's help but is it legal in your jurisdiction to swap identity between two cars you own? If not I doubt it's legal for phones either; most legal systems regard swapping of official identification "marks" by the owner to be a bad thing and prohibits it.
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Thank you!
 
I had the same thing. got a cheap n4 off craigslist for 70 bucks with a bad IMEI. all I needed was a screen but it was cheaper then getting the screen combo. I did a full case swap in lest then 30 mins and it was pretty easy
 
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