PIN on phone
I sold a pixel 5, according to buyer PIN is still on phone. I asked buyer to return phone so I can remove PIN. Buyer states will take phone to service center to have PIN removed and I can pay the fee. I asked buyer to return phone so I could remove PIN, that I would cover return/shipping costs as well as reimburse portion of sale for inconvenience. I told buyer I can't pay for service center since I have no way of confirming that PIN still on phone. What should I do?
10 comments
ulfesharpe
·10 months agoAssuming the phone was yours, try logging in to your Google account and remove that phone from your devices and have the buyer try again.
Account > Security > (Your devices) Manage all devices
Then click on the device and select Sign Out
simba6
·10 months agoHave the buyer file an item not as described case. Then you issue a paid return label. When you get it back you issue a full refund. That is the proper eBay way to handle such a problem.
christworks
·10 months ago@jlouie2006
Any reputable service center isn't even going to try to do that without some proof by the buyer that they own the phone. When the buyer presents their print-out from eBay, that will send up red flags. Pixels are tied to the Google accounts of the user. Even if they manage to do a factory reset on the phone to wipe it, it could still prompt them to input the password of the Google account the phone belongs to if the owner has Factory Reset Protection enabled. There won't be any getting around that.
I would tell the buyer that if they are going to refuse to return it, then anything that happens to the phone after having someone else look at it, will be on them. I would leave it at that. I would not offer to pay anything at this point as that could be seen as giving your consent for them to do this. I would stick to return for a refund.
Next time boot up the phone and check to see if it is locked or sell it for parts only.
jlouie2006
OP10 months agoI could be wrong, but am nearly certain that I wiped the phone and had it reset to factory settings, but it was a very old device and had been sitting around for a while so it's possible I overlooked it. But without the phone I have no way of verifying. But I checked my Google account and associated devices and my account has been signed off the pixel 5 the day I sold it. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
christworks
·10 months agoOkay so this was your phone? Then definitely the easier thing for the buyer to do is to send the phone back to you, you fix it, send it back to him at your expense and refund half his money. No way would an eBay rep recommend the buyer go about doing this the way the buyer wants to do it.
bdmh-enterprises
·10 months agoI've sold a couple of my old Pixels and a factory reset from the settings should have been enough.
IIRC the 5 can be reset from the boot menu by holding the volume down + power buttons. Maybe have the buyer try that.
tools*
·10 months agoWhy don't you just tell them what the PIN is, so that they can change it?
an-57470
·10 months agoBecause that makes too much sense. Best to over complicate things by shipping back and forth, etc.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoI didn't know there was a service center that can remove a Pin from a google phone.
'asked buyer to return phone so I could remove Pin'....why would you offer shipping cost both ways and not 'pay the fee' if buyer emails you a receipt to fix it?
And there is no guarantee of this future shipping back and forth...no MBG.
I agree with inhawaii...prepare for a negative feedback.
Emails back and forth will not have a good outcome on a feedback.
inhawaii
·10 months agoThey can't MAKE you pay.
Just don't pay.
You told them what to do and they refuse.
Just be prepared for a negative feedback.