what's a "bad esn"

[orangekid]

sometimes when buying/selling phones you see someone say there's a "bad esn" I know what an ESN is and I basically assume that means the phone was claimed lost or stolen so that the person got a new phone for free or $50 deductible, and then the ESN of the "stolen" phone is now bad? or do I have the wrong idea, yet I still see people selling phones with "bad" ESNs. Why would anyone buy a phone with a bad esn, can they still be activated somehow or flashed a certain way to still work (maybe on a a different network)?

[kimogent]

i believe they can either be used for parts or can be flashed over to other networks to be activated.....for example if i lost my sprint phone and someone wanted to flash it over to cricket wireless they do not care about the esn being bad. they can still flash it over. hope this helps. if so help a noob out and hit thanks

[orangekid]

Originally Posted by kimogent

i believe they can either be used for parts or can be flashed over to other networks to be activated.....for example if i lost my sprint phone and someone wanted to flash it over to cricket wireless they do not care about the esn being bad. they can still flash it over. hope this helps. if so help a noob out and hit thanks

If that's the case then is sprint to cricket the only network flash that works, or can you flash a sprint diamond to verizon and vice versa,

does it work on GSM?

[LittleBreezes]

As far as GSM is concerned I would imagine that if carrier A blacklists the ESN you could carrier unlocked the phone nd bring it to carrier B and use it on that network, no flashing would be needed. I suspect that would work since I have never heard of carrier's sharing blacklist databases, but you never know.
Frank

[elephant007]

Bad ESN phones are also phones of users that still owe money to Sprint.
I have read throughout the years that Sprint is basically one of the few carriers that will not allow any other device on their network other than Sprint branded phones. I talked to a rep about that and they said that they have every single ESN of every phone in their data base, that is how they are able to activate and keep track of the phones.

My daughter used to have an AT&T phone, she bought an unlocked GSM phone and all she had to do was the the SIM out of her existing phone and put it in the unlocked one and viola, it worked on the AT&T network (it was a non-AT&T branded phone)

If you are buying a phone off eBay or anywhere else for that matter, always ALWAYS message the seller for the ESN and call Sprint yourself. Ask the customer service rep to check to make sure the ESN is clean. They will let you know if it is clean or 'dirty'.

[orangekid]

Originally Posted by elephant007

Bad ESN phones are also phones of users that still owe money to Sprint.
I have read throughout the years that Sprint is basically one of the few carriers that will not allow any other device on their network other than Sprint branded phones. I talked to a rep about that and they said that they have every single ESN of every phone in their data base, that is how they are able to activate and keep track of the phones.

My daughter used to have an AT&T phone, she bought an unlocked GSM phone and all she had to do was the the SIM out of her existing phone and put it in the unlocked one and viola, it worked on the AT&T network (it was a non-AT&T branded phone)

If you are buying a phone off eBay or anywhere else for that matter, always ALWAYS message the seller for the ESN and call Sprint yourself. Ask the customer service rep to check to make sure the ESN is clean. They will let you know if it is clean or 'dirty'.

What if I want to use a bad ESN Sprint phone on verizon or cricket?

[kimogent]

Originally Posted by orangekid

What if I want to use a bad ESN Sprint phone on verizon or cricket?

Cricket your golden.....Verizon, not really sure. my friend did the Cricket thing...just be aware that if you bring over a Sprint phone they do not offer insurance on a non-Cricket phone....so if you loose it or break it you are screwed.

[orangekid]

Originally Posted by kimogent

Cricket your golden.....Verizon, not really sure. my friend did the Cricket thing...just be aware that if you bring over a Sprint phone they do not offer insurance on a non-Cricket phone....so if you loose it or break it you are screwed.

so you just flash a cricket rom over the phone?

[kimogent]

Originally Posted by orangekid

so you just flash a cricket rom over the phone?

i asked my dumb friend and he said he didnt do anything...the people at the cricket store unlocked the phone for him and set it up. i have never flashed anything so im not going to blow smoke up your rear like i know but maybe someone else more experienced will chime in

[guitardoc64]

Yes they will flash the "official" carrier ROM. If you set up your stuff, back it up and remember to take the SD out when you bring it in. Once activated you can flash whatever you want.