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Buying a phone with a "Clean IMEI"?

Hey, not sure if anyone browses this forum, but it's worth a shot.

 

I've been meaning to buy an iPhone 6S Plus, preferably one under $450 dollars that's for the most part unfazed by damages. I was lucky and found one in the $300 price range, the only thing was it had minor cracks on the corner and...

 

A Clean IMEI.

 

I don't know what that means exactly and it sounds kinda scary as most other phones wouldn't even mention an IMEI, so I decided to google it. A lot of the results are that it could be rendered useless since someone could claim I stole their phone(?) and deactivate it. I don't know, I'm still very confused and very afraid. I want to buy it for the cheap price, but at what cost (haha pun)? That in due time it could suddenly bail on me and I wouldn't be able to refund my money?

 

Basically, can someone tell me what a 'Clean IMEI' means and if I should buy the phone still?

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Buying a phone with a "Clean IMEI"?

I would venture to make an educated guess of it's an IMEI that isn't blacklisted through a provider (such as ATT, Verizon/Vodaphone, TMO, Sprint, etc) in case it was lost, stolen, or some other prevention.

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Buying a phone with a "Clean IMEI"?

That is a good question! I purchased a phone where the seller stated it had a "clean IMEI" assuming that meant not stolen and no outstanding balance owed on the phone. My decision to buy the phone was based off of several websites that defined clean IMEI as not stolen, no balance owed on the phone. What I received was a phone that had not been stolen but had an oustanding amount of $2402.10 owed to AT&T. Speaking with AT&T I received two different answers, one from Customer Service stating it meant not stolen and no outstanding balance owed on the phone. I spoke with the local sales rep and he said, no they are wrong, it only means the phone isn't stolen. Note, if the phone has an outstanding balance, you are not responsible to pay it; however, the phone is permanently locked to the carrier the money is owed to.

Lesson to be learned, either buy and unlocked phone or specifically ask the seller if the phone has an outstanding balance or has been stolen. 

I could not find not definitive source for the definition of what a "clean IMEI" is. Because of that, ask the seller specifically if it is stolen or has an outstanding balance. You will need to have answers to these two questions for the ebay representative to reference if you want to get your money back if you send this to ebay for resolution.

To me, the seller should give you answers to both these questions in his/her ebay ad; however, a seller may not want to note this as it would likely result in a lower selling price for the phone. Don't assume anything, ask the seller and get the answer to your question documented in writing on ebay.

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Buying a phone with a "Clean IMEI"?

I once got a stolen iphone from someone, couldn't use it

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Buying a phone with a "Clean IMEI"?

You can check if the IMEI is clean and not blacklisted by going to swappa.com esn check.  This will only tell you if the device has been reported stolen and therefore can’t be activated.  It will not tell you if there is an iCloud lock, meaning the device hasn’t been logged out of iCloud by the previous owner.  Most sellers won’t provide the IMEI until the device is sold.  If it turns out that the seller didn’t disclose either of these issues, you can open a case with eBay and get your money back through the buyer protection program.  Reason will be “item not as described.”

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