Bought a Galaxy S5 from a guy on Craigslist. It was working fine and then a few hours later I couldn’t use calling, texting, or data.
I took it into the AT&T store the next day and they told me the IMEI was blocked possibly a stolen phone. They say I have to contact the guy and have him call in but he blocked my number or disconnected his phone.
I was wondering if I bought a busted Galaxy S5 on eBay with a good IMEI could a computer repair shop switch the cards with the IMEIs and would that solve the problem?
62 Answers
The easiest way to do that is replacing the phone's motherboard. It will have a different IMEI. If you buy a busted phone, the LCD may be the only thing wrong with it and you could possibly use that motherboard, though try to inspect it before you buy it.
I think it's possible to change the IMEI reported by the phone to any one you want - possibly by modifying and reflashing the baseband, which is the software run by the processor in the phone that receives and transmits cell signals. The problem is, cellular networks know which IMEIs are valid, and which device each IMEI goes to, so spoofing to another IMEI will be detected by the network and either will stop working right away, won't work at all, or get you in trouble.
A phone's display is a significant cost so you should pay less for a replacement motherboard, if it's available, than an entire phone. You also could recoup some of your loss by selling the LCD.
1No, it's not possible. Even if the IMEI-container was a separate component, replacing it would make the phone not even turn on, or if it did it still wouldn't work. Like the other answer says, replacing the motherboard might work, but that has the potential to be even more expensive than just replacing the phone.
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