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Hey everyone.
So basically, I live in Hong Kong, and there is an official HTC support center.
So I bought an HTC One X from my carrier, and then after a few days, I noticed I had a yellow spot, but before I detected this problem, I already went on HTCdev and unlocked my bootloader. So I called up HTC HK and talked to a guy, he insisted that I am able to fix it for free. Now, don't ask me why my carrier didn't take it in, they said I must bring it to HTC support center in Yau Ma Tei because it was beyond the 7 day in-store exchange warranty.
I sent my phone in the first time because of the screen issue, and it took about a week. They called me and said, that they are unable to replace the entire device because I unlocked the bootloader, telling me it will cost HKD 1800, and I said, NO! I sent it in because of the screen and not the motherboard! They replaced my phone's screen only, and not the entire device. So when I got my phone back, I had the exact motherboard which said "RELOCKED" and my Serial number matched up with my old one. So they had their hands digging through my 12 day old phone. I checked my phone for other defects, and wouldn't you know it, I found out ANOTHER problem on my screen, yellow spots appeared somewhere else as well as either a dead pixel was located in the middle of the screen, or a speck of dust, I'm not sure. So I yelled at them, and they took it back in.
The second time I sent it in, as I said before, was because of the unidentified dot in the middle of the screen AND the relocated yellow tint on the screen. As they stated before, they said they can't replace the entire device due to the unlocking of the bootloader, so they replaced the screen again. I was told to check the phone, and I found hairline cracks all over the phone. I WAS ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS. All those cracks were due to the repair and poor service, **** SERVICE REPAIR. Okay, I calmed down, I sent it back in, and they said they will replace the housing for me. I was infuriated at the fact that after I told them to repair it for me again, they told me that they will now ask a "Senior Technician" to look over this case, in my head I thought "WHAT THE ****, did you ****ing ask a "Junior technician" to fix this HKD5198 phone?" But I let it all slide, and I got it repaired again.
So yes, the last repair was because the casing was cracked. I took it back in, and was extremely dissatisfied with their repair service. So after listening to all the bull**** they told me AGAIN (voided warranty due to bootloader unlock), I verified my entire phone and checked everything, to make sure everything worked and looked good. I left the place with a fully functioning phone with no yellow spots and unidentified black spots on the screen.
I left the HTC support center, which is a 30 minute ride from my home area (Mid-Levels), and went to my service provider (one2free), I requested to see the senior manager of the company, waited for 15 minutes, and then when I saw him, we requested to speak in a private level of the shop. All staff were forced out of the level, and we started yelling at him. After 45 minutes of constant replies saying "We can't replace your phone directly because firstly, your phone is over the 7 day in-store exchange warranty, and secondly, we need to ask HTC for permission first". At this time, it was around 10pm, and he finally gave in because he was a nice person and we were one of the extreme-VIPs with over 10 unlimited contracts per month (HKD 500/number = HKD5000 a month). After a while, he finally decided to change my phone to the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE phone, which I used for one week. I rooted that phone, and when I restarted CWM recovery, the softkeys broke, even after stock software restore, it was still broken, so they exchanged it for a new phone.
I missed my beloved HTC One X because of the speed and elegancy, so I decided to head over to 3 HK (Hutchison Telecom HK) and my friend took my Samsung Galaxy S II, then helped me get a brand new second batch HTC One X under his number and I was so happy. Flawless to the perfect detail.
That was my story. You guys have any stories on your warranties and HTCdev unlocks? Post below!
That's one hell of a story xD. Good to hear it all turned out well even though you had to go through all that ****. I want to root my phone but because of these stories I don't want to unlock the bootloader...
I have a small yellow dot on the left side of the screen. It's almost not visible only if you look closely on a white background. It doesn't bother me and I could've gotten worse problems so yeah I decided to be happy with this model.
The first post in this thread started on May 2 warned everyone that HTC's no longer providing warranty repairs if they detect a device has had third party s/w loaded on to it. You can unlock the bootloader and still get work done under warranty but you can't load non-official ROMs. There are at least three different threads discussing this and one provides a link to spam HTC's blog in the UK voicing disapproval of the new policy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1631466
Lol @ you yelling at them
And then taking the manager into a level and kicking the staff out to YELL at the manager aswel lol nice problem solving
They were a crap service and didn't help you much but after you kicking staff out of a level to yell at the manager
Don't expect the manager to help you out much even if you are "VIP" and you go off at the manager hes going to think your an arse and just find the fastest way to get rid of you
I used to work for a service provider in back end and the staff from front desk would always come out to the back and the first thing they'd say is "some prick just went off at me" and if its something that particular staff member didn't do and it was another staff members fault your name and "your a prick gets passed" around the office and nobody will want to help
The best way, is just let whoever your speaking to, know that youre not happy with the service your getting and that you're not actually angry at THAT person your speaking to
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Sounds like the device was fixed under warranty. His complaints are that he had to travel 30 minutes and ask more than once for repair.
He wanted a replacement device after voiding the warranty, but didn't want to pay for it, so they replaced the screen under warranty (twice?). And then the casing.
You can't please everybody.
I had a screen problem too but not a yellow spot. If i change the brightness to full and use a black wallpaper you can see a blue spot in the middle of the screen. This is my second HOX after i returned the first one through my carrier in australia because of screen flex and cracking and it took 2 weeks.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
how typical hk person OP is. (I am from HK as well, we are also known as the complain society)
voiding the warranty with htcdev before getting a replacement phone.
doesn't want to pay for repair even though the warranty is voided.
screaming and yelling...
A VIP expecting best services because his is an expensive phone (they use the more experienced to fix more complicated issues, not based on the phone price)
and then break yet another phone lol
Can't say I feel sorry about what happened to you :S
BarryH_GEG said:
The first post in this thread started on May 2 warned everyone that HTC's no longer providing warranty repairs if they detect a device has had third party s/w loaded on to it. You can unlock the bootloader and still get work done under warranty but you can't load non-official ROMs. There are at least three different threads discussing this and one provides a link to spam HTC's blog in the UK voicing disapproval of the new policy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1631466
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the entire forum post a few days ago. I sent the device in with a relocked bootloader with the stock RUU reinstalled in it. I know that there was no "illegal software" (as they called it in the other port) present on the device when I sent it in 3 times.
anfozy said:
They were a crap service and didn't help you much but after you kicking staff out of a level to yell at the manager
Don't expect the manager to help you out much even if you are "VIP" and you go off at the manager hes going to think your an arse and just find the fastest way to get rid of you
I used to work for a service provider in back end and the staff from front desk would always come out to the back and the first thing they'd say is "some prick just went off at me" and if its something that particular staff member didn't do and it was another staff members fault your name and "your a prick gets passed" around the office and nobody will want to help
The best way, is just let whoever your speaking to, know that youre not happy with the service your getting and that you're not actually angry at THAT person your speaking to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Hong Kong, one2free/CSL 1O1O is the most "luxurious" and "prestigious" carriers out there for business and high-end markets, so they state. In theory they are supposed to give out good handsets and not flawed ones. Every handset could be flawed and the manufacturers don't want it to be flawed, but the fact that they had the policy of 7 day in-store exchange and I detected it one day after, is just stupid.
But, I know, we weren't actually actually mad at the person we were talking to, he was just trying to help. The other person who was actually furious was because of the phone. We resulted in a happy ending anyways, and that guy told him he wasn't angry at him, rather he was just angry at the service HTC had to provide. We're not that cold hearted you know
I understand where you're going where you said that reasoning is the best way to handle these types of situations, but then it also requires a bit of yelling, and I'll talk about it below.
BenPope said:
Sounds like the device was fixed under warranty. His complaints are that he had to travel 30 minutes and ask more than once for repair.
He wanted a replacement device after voiding the warranty, but didn't want to pay for it, so they replaced the screen under warranty (twice?). And then the casing.
You can't please everybody.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can't please everybody. But have a think about this: How could a repair center do such a crap job that they had to repair it 3 times consecutively? Did they not do a quality check after they fixed the device? I mean, even if I did want to just replace the screen, they should have done it more professionally, not break the casing while repairing the screen.
etismyname said:
how typical hk person OP is. (I am from HK as well, we are also known as the complain society)
voiding the warranty with htcdev before getting a replacement phone.
doesn't want to pay for repair even though the warranty is voided.
screaming and yelling...
A VIP expecting best services because his is an expensive phone (they use the more experienced to fix more complicated issues, not based on the phone price)
and then break yet another phone lol
Can't say I feel sorry about what happened to you :S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're not really classified as the "complain society", we just have many lazy people working for high-end companies and don't do ****, try to get rid of their assigned jobs as soon as possible and just slack off. Without requesting (yelling) to see the manager, they probably would just lie to you and say "Sorry! The manager is not here". As soon as they know how furious we are, they wouldn't mess with us and they would do their job properly.
Maybe if you lived in Hong Kong long enough and had the experience of poor service everywhere, you would know that yelling at them to get them to do something is the only way to get what you want.
If we didn't yell at them, they wouldn't have even prioritized this problem and just told us to leave with a broken phone because of a manufacturing defect on the phone THEY supplied.
This message is just to warn people that if you unlock your bootloader in Hong Kong, and you need a repair, they will repair, and not exchange, as many times as you want.
Hong Kong is a good place, but filled with lazy people due to the current social pressures. Let's say you try reasoning with them, without demanding them to look at your current VIP status, they would LITERALLY just ignore you, and tell you that they won't be able to replace it for you.
When you said "A VIP expecting best services because his is an expensive phone (they use the more experienced to fix more complicated issues, not based on the phone price)", I know where you're going at, you can't have everything. But try thinking, if you had your phone repaired, and then you knew it was an intern who repaired your phone, you would know it was poorly repaired or not, but most likely as your schemas will tell you that experts are more superior in skill that interns.
To be honest, I was fine with my repaired phone. It was the other guy I was with who had a bad day, and demanded that I go exchange my phone at my carrier. I gave my phone to him and went off looking at other phones, and he was just yelling at them in the private room. I didn't know how they actually got it exchanged, but the reasoning guy was there as well, so I guess after some demand to realize priority in this situation, and then 30 minutes of reasoning, everything worked out fine. I got my phone and left, really without saying a word.
Well, I have to agree that the repairwork sounds shoddy. When they fixed my DesireHD, they did great job in Yau Ma Tei.
And yes, service can be bad here.
Can I ask somethin about that famous yellow screen defect and flex issue?
Is it something that the phone comes with from the first day or is it developed gradually?
I mean, if we know that those are the 2 well-known issues, when we buy our phone we can check it for a couple of days and then root. Now, if the problem will develop later, we are in trouble. I'm waiting mine in a few weeks and that's why I ask.
Actually I am from hk lol
We are one hell of an abusive customer is king society.
I worked in service sector for half and it is insanely difficult to please any customers.
People asking for special favors or deals because they are buying expensive items.
I know that sometimes it feels like you have to get the situation serious for them to do anything. But most often when you have to go that far, you are disturbing other customer's who are being serviced.
The manager resolved to those solutions (such as giving a replacement phone when warrenty is void) is actually to shut you up asap. You aren't meant to get repair or replacement once warrenty is void (or so I think it is anyway).
Now that you or your fd has got it, you would feel it is their fault at the start for not just giving you one.
But you ain't supposed to have one.
So don't call them ridiculous, or need to yell to get them do something.
Generally these cases are out of standard routine and not fair for other customers
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
As stated, I did all this at night, in a special room. No other customers were there, it was dead quiet.
The point isn't that I voided my warranty. It is half of what I'm saying. We were upset of the job HTC did to repair my phone. And obviously its not like they didn't take my phone because of the warranty void, it was that we wanted to exchange a defective phone 12 days after purchase, 5 days beyond in-store exchange. Even 3 has a 14 day in-store replacement service, why does 1O1O only have 7? That's what I'm saying. Hong Kong carriers don't really give a damn if you unlocked your bootloaders, they don't know how to even check, its only the HTC service center that does this.
The point is, I am supposed to be issued a replacement if the phone THEY supplied had a defect and I had to go exchange it three times. They didn't care for bootloader unlocks, they just cared for their stupid 7 day in-store warranty and their lack of support after that.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
SGS2 LTE rooted or not?
Dear Nicholas,
I have been doing exhilarating research about rooting these days because the information available for my phone is a little confusing, really. So I'm quite anxious about making mistakes and all, you know ;-) and getting into trouble like yours.
Now you have just briefly mentioned here that:
nicholaschum said:
After a while, he finally decided to change my phone to the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE phone, which I used for one week. I rooted that phone, and when I restarted CWM recovery, the softkeys broke, even after stock software restore, it was still broken, so they exchanged it for a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got a new GT-I9210 LTE and the rooting information is very confusing everywhere, people using Skyrocket ROMs and such claiming they're the same, but many saying the soft keys broke. Apparently this particular model doesn't have a solid community of users like Nexus or others. So I'm quite anxious about making mistakes and all, you know ;-)
And I happened to come across your post in another thread titled "[Q] Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Root [SOLVED]" from May 9, where you said that you successfully rooted SGS2 LTE (your mentioned specs exactly match mine) and your soft keys and everything works perfectly.
Now, I'm not trying to catch you out or anything, I was very excited when I found your instructions there first but I am just wondering, is this the same phone you are talking about here and there?
I would like to follow your method if it really worked.
This is what I sent-
Comments:Can you please send bootloader unlock codes to XDA Developers so that support for this phone will continue on an independent basis??
Or send them to me and I will pass them on.
This phone is a great piece of hardware and even though Amazon failed in their launch of this phone, there are others willing to continue to develop it for continued use outside of a locked down Amazon Fire OS that was discontinued.
Thank you for your consideration.
This is what I got back- If any of the developers want to follow this up feel free.
Hello,
I understand your concern about Fire Phone Bootloader Codes.
I'm glad to assist you with this but we need some additional information in this regard. I'm sorry for that but I hope you understand our limitations via email..
Based on the nature of your query, I suggest it would be easier for us to help you over phone as you can speak to our live customer support executives who can discuss your concern in detail and resolve the issue to your satisfaction.
I regret the fact that you are being redirected to our phone support technicians. However, I am sure we can resolve the issue quickly in an efficient manner if we can converse with you in a real-time manner.
You can reach us directly over the phone by clicking the below link:
To contact us via phone: http://www.amazon.com/clicktocall
Please be assured that, there's nothing to worry, we are here to take care of issues you encounter and we always endeavor to provide the best service to our valued customers and aim to ensure that the issue is resolved to the fullest satisfaction.
Maybe they will cooperate after all. I don't understand the techy side of things, so I can't respond. If any of you guys would like to, feel free. :fingers-crossed:
Somebody try to call? Who knows english good..
Someone who has a Prime account should make the call.-
sashusmom said:
This is what I sent-......
I don't understand the techy side of things, so I can't respond. If any of you guys would like to, feel free. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should call them as they will have access to your support chat session and can't really get out of what they have told you during that session.
You dont need to be technical in anyway to get the bootloader unlocked if it really exists that is.
I bricked another fire phone and returned it to the seller who shipped it back to the Official repair center as they were unable to revive the phone.
After 2 months!! waiting the Repair Center (Amazon) finally sent me a Brand New phone via the seller as they could not revive the phone either.
If they are unable to repair these phone's after simply attempting to unlock the bootloader (Software Brick only no physical damage) then I doubt we stand any chance of doing things on our own.
If they gave the bootloader unlock then they would probably need to supply some PC software too like sony lg samsung etc etc do.
Maybe you're missing a chance to get a new phone maybe a HTC U11 even https://www.wired.com/story/the-first-alexa-phone-gets-amazon-even-closer-to-total-domination/ :fingers-crossed:
Whats the worst that could happen?
I am technically apt, have Amazon Prime and speak good English. However, I am currently in Egypt on vacation ...we sit behind the world's ****tiest DPI firewall that cuts VOIP. I can't make such a call except over GSM or as a receiver on my T-mo line. I have to gauge the level of arguing I'm going to do.
bigrammy said:
You should call them as they will have access to your support chat session and can't really get out of what they have told you during that session.
You dont need to be technical in anyway to get the bootloader unlocked if it really exists that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a problem calling, but I don't have a chat session to refer to. I just sent a simple email. If I don't need to understand the techy side of things, How do I record what they tell me?? Is it just a simple string of numbers?? If they tell me???
Can someone who is tech savvy tell me what to ask for? Or what to tell them I need for the unlock codes for the bootloader? Presently my fire phone is not stock, so I can't give them any stock info.
I have installed the cyanogenMod version 11-10160619-unofficial-kodiak android 4.4.4
Baseband PB_02_06_12
kernel 3.4.0-perf-g280c96c
Just took it out of moth balls to play with a freedompop sim.
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
That sounds like FRP lock. If you know what you're doing (and you didn't steal the phone) there are ways around it.
joe535 said:
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been the case for a long time, and the same with iPhones, don't forget your login, make sure you have a recovery for your email password and don't steal phones
Not sure why it should be illegal to protect people's personal info
joe535 said:
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.
FRP is a Documented Feature
The online Samsung S9 documentation does document the Factory Data Reset process. While this is surprising if it happens to you the feature is designed to help make stolen phone less valuable. At least in theory.
Note: When you sign in to a Google Account on your device, Factory Reset Protection is activated. This protects your device in the event it is lost or stolen. If you reset your device to factory default settings with the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) feature activated, you must enter the user name and password for a registered Google Account to regain access to the
device. You will not be able to access the device without the correct credentials.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
joe535 said:
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is better in a different Thread, so admin please move if so..
BE CAREFULL !!!! If you plan to root you S9, do NEVER do the following:
Switch on your S9 for the very first time and once you are forced to set-up a new google account, REMEMBER the data you enter !!!!!!!
Even if you (like me) do not want a google account, do not enter anything stupid, a password that you dont remember...
BECAUSE, if you now do a factory-reset from the bootloder, the phone will be lost forever!!!!!
You will have to send your phone to a SAMSUNG Service-center for unlock...
Thanks to Google and Samsung, this "feature" is very close to be illegal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that's why they call them smart phones, you need to be smart to use them.
Well, I do have the invoice from MY NOT STOLEN Phone.......
And an "anti-theft-feature" basically does not protect the phone from being stolen. It is simply not usable, but nevertheless the victim has a certain damage...
So, how can this kind of feature by advanced? VERY easy: In case of theft, the owner of a phone may log into his accoount from any other Computer and he ACTIVELY (!!!) has to quote his phone was stolen. NOW it can be locked.
I will send my phone to Samsung this week. I will expect thay RESET it for free...
Or maybe contact google... I remember the password but not the account... So maybe they can tell me the account-name if I gave the IMEA number...
oildale said:
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Especially since I do have the invoice, a proof that I BOUGHT the phone !!!!
oildale said:
What's actually illegal is people "forgetting" their password for "their" (newly acquired) phone.
So yeah. Let's totally make it easier to bypass you forgetting your password. While we're at it, let's just get rid of all security measures because they can be inconvenient at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomiga said:
That sounds like FRP lock. If you know what you're doing (and you didn't steal the phone) there are ways around it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried a lot of workarounds, so far with no success. Off course it is not stolen, I will make an image of the invoice later today if everybody mistrust me...
I will try that google give me the account-name I have created, because I do remember the password. I assume, that the account is tied to the IMEI of the phone...
If this does not help me out, I will se how far I will get using ADB. Luckily I activated USB debugging before I did the big mistake.
As last Option I will have to send the phone to a Samsung Service center...
Lets see...
joe535 said:
Well, I do have the invoice from MY NOT STOLEN Phone.......
And an "anti-theft-feature" basically does not protect the phone from being stolen. It is simply not usable, but nevertheless the victim has a certain damage...
So, how can this kind of feature by advanced? VERY easy: In case of theft, the owner of a phone may log into his accoount from any other Computer and he ACTIVELY (!!!) has to quote his phone was stolen. NOW it can be locked.
I will send my phone to Samsung this week. I will expect thay RESET it for free...
Or maybe contact google... I remember the password but not the account... So maybe they can tell me the account-name if I gave the IMEA number...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU
*Detection* said:
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not fully agree!
If my phone is stolen, I will ACTIVATE the anti-theft-protection after it has been stolen.
Normally someone would recognize very fast that it has been stolen. It does not matter whether the stolen phone is deactivated right now or some hours later. It will be unusable from this moment, the owner deactivates...
No one is happy about a stolen phone, but stolen is stolen, regardless if the thief can use it or not. The damage I have anyway...
Imagine you buy a Windows-PC. But you prefer Linux, format the HDD and try to install linux. But some geniusses decided that your PC will no longer be usable... Really a good idea??
It should go without saying that having an invoice showing the purchase of a phone, if purchased from other than the manufacturer or cellular provider, does not eliminate the possibility that the phone was reported stolen by a previous purchaser/owner. I would much rather have my phone automatically rendered inoperable by anyone not having my password and/or Google account information than give them the opportunity to acccess it during the lag time spanning the period that: 1) I realized my phone is lost; 2) I successfully reported the loss to the carrier or manufacturer having the ability to hard lock the device; and 3) the carrier/manufacturer actually locks the device.
elbee222 said:
It should go without saying that having an invoice showing the purchase of a phone, if purchased from other than the manufacturer or cellular provider, does not eliminate the possibility that the phone was reported stolen by a previous purchaser/owner. I would much rather have my phone automatically rendered inoperable by anyone not having my password and/or Google account information than give them the opportunity to acccess it during the lag time spanning the period that: 1) I realized my phone is lost; 2) I successfully reported the loss to the carrier or manufacturer having the ability to hard lock the device; and 3) the carrier/manufacturer actually locks the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes and no To me, the probability to "loose" my phone in a way I accitentially did is much higher than it might be stolen...
So do you mean, even I can proove the purchase, I do not have the right that Samsung unlocks it??? See, if it is stolen, I cannot use it. If I do 2 SOFTWARE based steps, I cannot use it. It is lost in both cases, so non of them is good...
If you can prove the purchase, and -- if you are not the original purchaser - no prior owner has reported the phone lost or stolen and there is no related bad IMEI issue -- then I would agree that you should have the right to have the phone unlocked/reactivated by Samsung or the carrier. I suspect Samsung or the carrier will check to make sure that a lost/stolen phone report is not received in the interim.
joe535 said:
I do not fully agree!
If my phone is stolen, I will ACTIVATE the anti-theft-protection after it has been stolen.
Normally someone would recognize very fast that it has been stolen. It does not matter whether the stolen phone is deactivated right now or some hours later. It will be unusable from this moment, the owner deactivates...
No one is happy about a stolen phone, but stolen is stolen, regardless if the thief can use it or not. The damage I have anyway...
Imagine you buy a Windows-PC. But you prefer Linux, format the HDD and try to install linux. But some geniusses decided that your PC will no longer be usable... Really a good idea??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your argument is weak, it is a LOT more difficult to lose a PC than a phone, it is a LOT more difficult to steal a PC than a phone
Thousands (maybe millions) of phones are lost and stolen every day around the world, PCs not so much...
Why would you buy a Windows PC if you wanted Linux? Wouldn't you just build a PC and install Linux from day 1?
At the end of the day, for whatever reasons you are p*ssed because you are locked out of your phone, the reason you are locked out is your own fault, you are looking to blame someone when all you need to do is look in the mirror
Maybe Samsung will unlock it if you can prove proof of ownership, maybe... but by the sounds of it, you didn't buy it new, which leads us right back to the possibility of it being stolen, which is likely the same conclusion Samsung will come to
*Detection* said:
Your argument is weak, it is a LOT more difficult to lose a PC than a phone, it is a LOT more difficult to steal a PC than a phone
Thousands (maybe millions) of phones are lost and stolen every day around the world, PCs not so much...
Why would you buy a Windows PC if you wanted Linux? Wouldn't you just build a PC and install Linux from day 1?
At the end of the day, for whatever reasons you are p*ssed because you are locked out of your phone, the reason you are locked out is your own fault, you are looking to blame someone when all you need to do is look in the mirror
Maybe Samsung will unlock it if you can prove proof of ownership, maybe... but by the sounds of it, you didn't buy it new, which leads us right back to the possibility of it being stolen, which is likely the same conclusion Samsung will come to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just talked to Samsung support. Will cost me about 35€ to get the security chip changed.
Ok, could have been worse...
joe535 said:
Just talked to Samsung support. Will cost me about 35€ to get the security chip changed.
Ok, could have been worse...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know what happens
joe535 said:
Especially since I do have the invoice, a proof that I BOUGHT the phone !!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not saying that you stole the phone but because you don't take making your account seriously the rest of us have to have security that is easily bypassed for our phones? I don't think so.
You screwed up and now you're paying the price. Hopefully you can get things sorted out and get access to your phone. In the very least though, you'll never do something so stupid again right?
*Detection* said:
So OK let's reverse this scenario, you buy an S9, you secure it with your Google account, someone steals your phone, they use whatever method you are wishing for to unlock the device, and now they have access to all of your info, data, media, and also a brand new S9 for themselves
You are happy about this, right?
Or even if we say they reset the device, so your info is safe, they now have a brand new S9 for themselves. you are also happy about this too right?
Or how about the scenario when people already know it is useless resetting the phone because there is no way to unlock it without the original Google account login (Same as iPhone), now they don't bother stealing your phone because it would be useless to them, so now you get to keep your expensive S9 because they didn't want to steal it
Which scenario makes you happiest?
If you forget absolutely everything about the account you used for your phone, for some reason you do not have any record of it from other reset email accounts you should have added, then you have no-one to shout at other than yourself, you messed up, not Samsung or Google, YOU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's it.
oildale said:
I'm not saying that you stole the phone but because you don't take making your account seriously the rest of us have to have security that is easily bypassed for our phones? I don't think so.
You screwed up and now you're paying the price. Hopefully you can get things sorted out and get access to your phone. In the very least though, you'll never do something so stupid again right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. At least, we know by now, that there is a physical security-chip inside the phones
I am just wondering, why this forum does exist.. I assume a lot of us like custom ROMs , rooting etc. because we like to get rid of google and other bloatware. At least this it what I personally like to... But if a google "feature" locks someone from his own phone, he suddenly is a criminal ?!?!?!
OK. @admin - better close this thread as it does not really helps us.
My friend bought a P6P from Craigslist and it appears to be a Google corporate device, which wasn't visible on an EMEI check. Is she screwed?
I tried a few fixes from this thread, and removing the "Phone" permission from Google Play Services worked, I was able to complete setup, install all the apps and had a very happy friend... for a day, because then the message came back - somehow Google PS re-enabled the Phone permission and keeps doing it upon restart.
I flashed the factory image, that didn't help.
Will rooting and putting on a custom rom help? Is it even possible to oem unlock the bootloader on these corp issued devices? (I asked her about oem unlock option, don't know yet)
Anything else I can do that anybody knows about?
Thank you!
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Yep, nothing you can do about it. It was probably stolen. Rooting might help with a custom ROM, but who knows. I doubt if you can unlock the bootloader on a managed device, so which method did you use to flash the factory image?
Good luck!
roirraW edor ehT said:
Yep, nothing you can do about it. It was probably stolen. Rooting might help with a custom ROM, but who knows. I doubt if you can unlock the bootloader on a managed device, so which method did you use to flash the factory image?
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering the same thing. If you were able to unlock the bootloader, getting rid of MDM should be fairly trivial. A clean factory flash should remove it, however Pixels on factory firmware are known to still arbitrarily install various apps - such as the My Verizon app for Verizon customers - so it is entirely possible that the MDM app is installed when the device contacts Google's servers. While this could probably be prevented with root, you'd need to know the domain names of the servers in question.
The best solution would be to contact the number/email on the screen, tell them you purchased the device secondhand, and ask if they can remove the MDM lock. I don't know if they'll tell you if it was stolen or reported lost, but if they refuse to help, chances are it was.
If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that you should only buy used devices on Swappa.
Why go through all this trouble with rooting and all. Just contact the number on the screen and see if yo can't sort it out.
roirraW edor ehT said:
Yep, nothing you can do about it. It was probably stolen. Rooting might help with a custom ROM, but who knows. I doubt if you can unlock the bootloader on a managed device, so which method did you use to flash the factory image?
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, definitely sounds stolen, the guy she bought from stopped accepting calls and blocked her number.
I booted into recovery and did "adb sideload", this worked fine, I was then able to setup everything by not installing a sim card and not setting up wifi. It's when Google Play Services is started when it does some sort of server-side check and delivers the good news that it'll reset in 2h...
V0latyle said:
I'm wondering the same thing. If you were able to unlock the bootloader, getting rid of MDM should be fairly trivial. A clean factory flash should remove it, however Pixels on factory firmware are known to still arbitrarily install various apps - such as the My Verizon app for Verizon customers - so it is entirely possible that the MDM app is installed when the device contacts Google's servers. While this could probably be prevented with root, you'd need to know the domain names of the servers in question.
The best solution would be to contact the number/email on the screen, tell them you purchased the device secondhand, and ask if they can remove the MDM lock. I don't know if they'll tell you if it was stolen or reported lost, but if they refuse to help, chances are it was.
If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that you should only buy used devices on Swappa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She is going to bring the phone by today, I will check whether "OEM unlock" is enabled. It's definitely a server side check as I was able to bypass it for a bit by removing the "Phone" permission from Google Play Services... though it somehow auto-grabs it back eventually.
My friend said she called the number but wasn't able to get through to anyone who would help, perhaps I will also try.
Definitely wouldn't buy a phone like this, but not everyone is savvy and I have sold quite a few through CL myself so it's a pretty common method at least here in the SFbay...
phillymade said:
Why go through all this trouble with rooting and all. Just contact the number on the screen and see if yo can't sort it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My friend couldn't sort it out, she called the number and said they weren't helpful at all. I will also try this after I get the phone again, though reading reports on reddit people didn't have a lot of luck either.
I would email them and try to get a straight answer. Explain the situation honestly, provide the IMEI, ask if they have record of ownership, whether it was supposed to be sold, and if they can release it from their mobile management database.
If you could, post the emails here (with all personal information redacted, of course) just so we get a good picture of how Google handles this. There have been incidents where former corporate fleet devices were sent out as RMA replacements, too. Sometimes the device gets registered by mistake, often because a user tries to use work software and accounts on their personal device.
V0latyle said:
I would email them and try to get a straight answer. Explain the situation honestly, provide the IMEI, ask if they have record of ownership, whether it was supposed to be sold, and if they can release it from their mobile management database.
If you could, post the emails here (with all personal information redacted, of course) just so we get a good picture of how Google handles this. There have been incidents where former corporate fleet devices were sent out as RMA replacements, too. Sometimes the device gets registered by mistake, often because a user tries to use work software and accounts on their personal device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "OEM unlocking" option is grayed out, unlike on my regular Pixel, well crap.
Ok, just emailed the address, let's see if they get back to me.
Obviously Google didn't respond in any way... except when I asked an employee friend to look into the matter internally. After asking many questions about the perp's identity etc they denied the request to unlock it and had the gall to ask for the phone back with no reward. Shame.
"Hi <> in regards to the device, your friend unfortunately was scammed that is why i always advise about buying items like that from sites like that unless you really are able to test the device out fir. For the IMEI to be flagged it usually has to be reported to a carrier to be marked as stolen, additionally when someone has a stolen phone that they do a hard reset unless its removed from the previous owner profile it wont let someone register and set up the device. In this case the phone was literally just lost a few days and the ticket does have an escalation to UPS. They can always return it but we don't give out rewards since we don't want to encourage the behavior. I always feel bad when i get these escalations since i know the person is out money they can always call the local police department in the town where they purchased or met up with the person to purchase the phone."
So I guess the lesson is - don't trust a clean IMEI check and don't buy devices from randos on CL.
glebonator said:
Obviously Google didn't respond in any way... except when I asked an employee friend to look into the matter internally. After asking many questions about the perp's identity etc they denied the request to unlock it and had the gall to ask for the phone back with no reward. Shame.
"Hi <> in regards to the device, your friend unfortunately was scammed that is why i always advise about buying items like that from sites like that unless you really are able to test the device out fir. For the IMEI to be flagged it usually has to be reported to a carrier to be marked as stolen, additionally when someone has a stolen phone that they do a hard reset unless its removed from the previous owner profile it wont let someone register and set up the device. In this case the phone was literally just lost a few days and the ticket does have an escalation to UPS. They can always return it but we don't give out rewards since we don't want to encourage the behavior. I always feel bad when i get these escalations since i know the person is out money they can always call the local police department in the town where they purchased or met up with the person to purchase the phone."
So I guess the lesson is - don't trust a clean IMEI check and don't buy devices from randos on CL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the phone can be used for parts. But yeah, this sucks.
mkhcb said:
I guess the phone can be used for parts. But yeah, this sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that was my advice to the person too - sell it as is on CL with a clear explanation of the situation. Other than parts, It's perfectly usable for a media player or camera or mostly anything with sideloaded apps... as long as you don't enable or need Google Play Services for them. Could be helpful to QA in some startup, I definitely sold a few phones to people like that just looking for test devices on the cheap.
glebonator said:
Yes, that was my advice to the person too - sell it as is on CL with a clear explanation of the situation. Other than parts, It's perfectly usable for a media player or camera or mostly anything with sideloaded apps... as long as you don't enable or need Google Play Services for them. Could be helpful to QA in some startup, I definitely sold a few phones to people like that just looking for test devices on the cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean...The right thing to do would be to send it back to them, as it's still their property. Yeah, you're out a couple hundred bucks, but integrity is priceless.
Contact police, provide contact details for seller to them. How was it paid for? If cash, not great. If electronic, GREAT. Contact payment broker. Keep phone and follow police instructions with respect to handling it.
96carboard said:
Contact police, provide contact details for seller to them. How was it paid for? If cash, not great. If electronic, GREAT. Contact payment broker. Keep phone and follow police instructions with respect to handling it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possession of stolen property....he'd be better of returning it to Google as it's rightfully theirs. I hate to say it, but all too often cops don't care who actually committed the theft; simply being in possession of stolen goods is cause for arrest.
Agreed with @V0latyle. Selling property that you know was stolen is prosecutable, too. It might not happen but I wouldn't be willing to bet one way or other.
V0latyle said:
Possession of stolen property....he'd be better of returning it to Google as it's rightfully theirs. I hate to say it, but all too often cops don't care who actually committed the theft; simply being in possession of stolen goods is cause for arrest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats why you go with what the COPS INSTRUCT YOU TO DO. You don't send it back to gooble if the cops say they need it as EVIDENCE.
96carboard said:
Thats why you go with what the COPS INSTRUCT YOU TO DO. You don't send it back to gooble if the cops say they need it as EVIDENCE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong. NEVER trust the cops to give you legally sound advice. If you get a good cop, then he'll tell you to send it back, because petty theft isn't worth the time or resources it takes to investigate. If you get a bad cop who just wants a notch in his belt, you'll get arrested and prosecuted for possession of stolen property.
Cops don't exist to make things right. They exist solely to enforce the law. They don't care about getting the phone back to Google; they care about progressing in their jobs, which is driven by statistics such as arrests.
This is the world we live in. You don't get rewarded for doing good things. The best you can do is do the right thing while covering your own ass.
If you don't believe me, talk to an attorney.
Here's my 2 cents, for what it's worth...
1. In most states, to be convicted of receiving stolen property you had to know or should have known or had reason to believe that the property you bought was stolen. Check your specific state for details. This element of the crime, or lack thereof, would probably shield you.
2. Once you do know it is stolen, you may be liable for possessing stolen goods (since now you know or reasonably should know the goods are stolen) if you don't take any remedial actions. Another element of the crime in many jurisdictions is the intent to permanently deprive the true owner of possession. Therefore any actions or non-actions you take regarding this can have a bearing on this element. Some states may require you make a reasonable effort to find the true owner. Other states, this may not help at all. Some states may require you to report the stolen property to the police. Again, need to check your specific state laws.
3. Because now you do know, or at least believe, it was stolen you probably have 4 choices:
a. See if your state or community has any free legal services and contact them about what you should do. Or if you know any attorneys or someone who does, contact them.
b. Contact the police and tell them the situation. Document the conversation. In some states, you may actually be liable for not reporting the stolen property to police. Again, check you local law.
c. Contract the rightful owners (Google in this case?) and see what they have to say.
d. Do nothing, throw it out, etc. and risk the consequences. Absolutely do not sell it for parts, sell it as is, give it away, etc..
V0latyle said:
Wrong. NEVER trust the cops to give you legally sound advice. If you get a good cop, then he'll tell you to send it back, because petty theft isn't worth the time or resources it takes to investigate. If you get a bad cop who just wants a notch in his belt, you'll get arrested and prosecuted for possession of stolen property.
Cops don't exist to make things right. They exist solely to enforce the law. They don't care about getting the phone back to Google; they care about progressing in their jobs, which is driven by statistics such as arrests.
This is the world we live in. You don't get rewarded for doing good things. The best you can do is do the right thing while covering your own ass.
If you don't believe me, talk to an attorney.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go ahead and talk to a lawyer if you want to. This really is nothing to do with the cops, but rather it provides you with a legal fallback. Gooble tries to give you a hard time over it, you have documented evidence that the cops told you to hand it over to them. You are covered. Don't believe me? Go ahead and talk to your lawyer.
Now on the other hand, if you give it to gooble, you may end up responsible for DESTROYING EVIDENCE. That's a lot worse.
If the cops want it as evidence, they get first dibs. If they don't, THEN talk to gooble about what they want to do about it.
Got an ex review Galaxy fold 4 which had not been wiped before I was given it. I factory resetted it, but it needs the gmail and gmail password from the previous owner... is there any way to byoass this or will it simply be easier to chase up the previous owner?
patdude1234 said:
Got an ex review Galaxy fold 4 which had not been wiped before I was given it. I factory resetted it, but it needs the gmail and gmail password from the previous owner... is there any way to byoass this or will it simply be easier to chase up the previous owner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first who knows how you have got the device? You really new owner or what someone trying to hack into hte device. Kindly reach out the old owner. or do your own research.
Let's be reasonable. Telling us you need the account info from the previous owner is a HUGE red flag. That means is was never factory reset when it was...sold/given/stolen to/by...you. So do understand we are not a community that will assist anyone with a stolen device.
That said, methuselah is correct. You should research the issue instead of asking for help via a vague post. You COULD take it to your carrier's store and have them assist you. Honestly, that's the best route. Take the proof of purchase with you to show it's not stolen.
Good luck.
Of course. That is totally reasonable, For background, I am a reviewer and Samsung's local PR firm forgot to reset the phone before couriering it to me (which is incredibly frustrating). I have reached out to their PR team, but it is taking forever to get this resolved Meanwhile I have a shiny galaxy fold 4 sitting there that is unusable
there are ways but FBI would raid me if I tell u...
nice try tho
I'm sending it back to Samsung to be swapped out for a fresh review sample...
patdude1234 said:
Of course. That is totally reasonable, For background, I am a reviewer and Samsung's local PR firm forgot to reset the phone before couriering it to me (which is incredibly frustrating). I have reached out to their PR team, but it is taking forever to get this resolved Meanwhile I have a shiny galaxy fold 4 sitting there that is unusable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's FRP (factory reset protection). Background: Let's pretend that your mobile device got stolen. The first thing a thief will do is to reset the phone, because without knowing the correct display pattern the device is pretty useless (and it's very hard to sold in that state ). Since the settings menu is also unreachable with a locked display the thief is forced to reset the phone via recovery mode. This mode must be always accessible by pressing the right key combo in case you are in serious trouble with an unbootable device. Doing it that way, the following setup of the device requires a login to the last active Google account to verify the owner.
This verification step is also required if you do a factory reset in your settings menu. But here the verification is done before you delete everything by entering your display pattern. This will disable FRP for the following reset because you have then verified that this device is yours.
As a reviewer of the phone, you must have contact to a person of Samsung's local PR firm. Talk to her/him and get a new one.
Yes as mentioned above that is exactly what I am doing...
Thanks for the follow up, that all sounds fine. It just helps to give more information.
Yes, if you contacted Sammy and they are replacing it, then you found the best route. Good luck on the review.
Sharing frustration of all ends. Got a refurbished Sammy phone on Amazon, it arrived with someone's pwd on it. I bought it as a backup phone for the office so we discovered it outside the 90 days warranty and could not have sent back. I have the receipt, it is AMAZON selling it, and I have a brick on my desk. Nice, isn't it?
EranNavick said:
Sharing frustration of all ends. Got a refurbished Sammy phone on Amazon, it arrived with someone's pwd on it. I bought it as a backup phone for the office so we discovered it outside the 90 days warranty and could not have sent back. I have the receipt, it is AMAZON selling it, and I have a brick on my desk. Nice, isn't it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone arrived like that from Amazon, return to Amazon ASAP