help me! Blacklisted Phone

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@MobileOwner wrote:
There is absolutely no way to locate or Identify the owner! I had to factory reset the phone just to get into it. After 4 years of it sitting, I figured it a non-issue to even consider locating them.

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You don't have to locate them; you just can't activate the phone reported lost.

Think about it: If there was a time limit on the lock out for a lost or stolen phone, how long would it be? One year? Two years? No matter how long it is, a thief can just keep the phone until that time period elapses and sell it then. 

Save all your data to your computer theen try doing s factory reset

Save all your phone's data to your computer. You can do his by connecting your the charging cord to a usb port on your computer. After making sure you have saved your data as well as your contact list do a favrory reset

@Bruce_002  And this does what for a blacklisted phone?  Nothing.  Saves the data, which should be backed up anyway.  

Do not buy a phone from a private party.  Even if you check the IMEI, and even if you call AT&T, and even if AT&T tells you the phone is clean, then you will still be treated like the criminal if the seller reports the phone as stolen after you have been using the phone for over a year.  This actually happened to us. After many agents saying we were not at fault, and they understand, and the phone will be unblocked, the fraud department has not taken our phone off the blocked list.  Promises, promises, but in the end it is a nightmare.  AT&T will not back up their customer, even if you have been with them over ten years without incident.They will not contact the previous owner who reported the phone as stolen.

It is not the employees fault, it is the corporate structure. We have come a long way from "the customer is always right" and "innocent until proven guilty."  We have gotten to the place of guilty unless you buy the phone from Apple or AT&T.

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@alanlev wrote:

Do not buy a phone from a private party.  Even if you check the IMEI, and even if you call AT&T, and even if AT&T tells you the phone is clean, then you will still be treated like the criminal if the seller reports the phone as stolen after you have been using the phone for over a year.  This actually happened to us. After many agents saying we were not at fault, and they understand, and the phone will be unblocked, the fraud department has not taken our phone off the blocked list.  Promises, promises, but in the end it is a nightmare.  AT&T will not back up their customer, even if you have been with them over ten years without incident.They will not contact the previous owner who reported the phone as stolen.

It is not the employees fault, it is the corporate structure. We have come a long way from "the customer is always right" and "innocent until proven guilty."  We have gotten to the place of guilty unless you buy the phone from Apple or AT&T.

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As far as ATT And all other carriers are concerned the only valid owner is the original purchaser.  If you buy a gray market phone you assume the risk.  NO CARRIER will help you.  Your innocence or right and wrong  is not the issue.  The original purchaser has the right to blacklist.  

That said I’ve bought and sold used phones with only one issue with a sale (not a purchase).