topic Re: unregistered sim in Get Support

unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 06:36:40 GMT

Hi,

I have been an PM member since November and all of a sudden today my sim became unregistered and I can no longer go on the network. I had previously lost a phone and also want to see if its possible to put that IMEI of that phone on blacklist. The phone I am currently using is a new phone I purchased brand new recently and it had worked for about two weeks until this happened. Can someone assist me in troubleshooting this?

Thanks

Re: unregistered sim

dohadotahmed — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:38:26 GMT

Is it possible to put your sim in a different phone to see if the sim card work?
So that we know what is causing the problem. ....the sim or phone?

Re: unregistered sim

MoreYummy — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:39:40 GMT

@PeterxbYang Since its not working suddenly, do you see if its suspended in the serlf portal? If not, only a mod can find out about the sim. or leave message here by tagging one of the mob @Shazia_K

Re: unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:43:17 GMT

Hi,

I just tested that, the sim worked on another phone just fine. I tried putting another phones sim in this phone, but it said locked sim. So it seems like it is either the phone not being able to read the sim properly or the phone is blocked on all networks?

How can I determine either of the above?

Thanks

Re: unregistered sim

zhadj030 — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:44:54 GMT

Other then @MoreYummy ; this might sound really stupid but did you install any major updates on the new phone; also double check that the SIM is sitting well in its position.

Re: unregistered sim

CaNuCk07 — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:46:34 GMT

@PeterxbYang if you put a sim card in your phone that is not from your network, and it doesnt work, then that is proof that your phone is probably locked to a particular network, but this cant be the case since it worked prior.

Re: unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:54:21 GMT

@CaNuCk07The phone was purchased unlocked, so it technically should work when I put in another sim card regardless of the network?

@zhadj030no updates recently, worked fine yesterday and sim sitting in the correct place. My wife uses the exact same phone and I tried using her sim, but still not working

@MoreYummyit is not suspended. Thanks I will see if Mods can help.

@Shazia_KHi, is there a possibility my phone has been blacklisted somehow?

Thanks

Peter

Re: unregistered sim

dohadotahmed — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:56:13 GMT

I know your problem now. The other user in this forum had same problem couple of days ago. I believe your phone got blacklisted on pm database.
Because you said your sim is working on other phone so the sim is fine.
You have to send a pm to one of our moderator to remove the blacklist from your phone. Please send a private message to @Mary_M asap.

Re: unregistered sim

Mary_M — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:57:35 GMT

Hey @PeterxbYang,

Thank you for reaching out to us!

Can you please go to https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-started and enter the IMEI of your phone? It will show if the phone has been declared lost/stolen.

You can also send it to me via private message, also including your phone number 🙂

Mary

Re: unregistered sim

dohadotahmed — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:02:30 GMT

Thanks @Mary_M you're here to help him.

Re: unregistered sim

zhadj030 — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:03:53 GMT

Why didn't I think about this. Grrr.
Let us know what happens

Re: unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:06:40 GMT

As some of you mentioned, my phone was reported lost or stolen for some reason. Will see if this will be able to be resolved.

Thanks

Re: unregistered sim

dohadotahmed — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:10:07 GMT

Just follow the link provided by @Mary_M to see if your phone IMEI is blacklisted.
https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-started

Re: unregistered sim

MoreYummy — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:13:01 GMT

As you tested it, It is reported lost/stolen phone. Wondering what's the process in PM in situation like this.

Re: unregistered sim

Mary_M — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:19:42 GMT

Can you please provide me with your phone number via private message? I'll look into it for you and investigate what happened @PeterxbYang

Mary

Re: unregistered sim

WearySky — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 20:44:24 GMT

@MoreYummy once a phone is reported lost/stolen (and the person reporting it isn't the person who is currently in possession of the phone) there's very little that PM can do. If it was purchased used from an individual, there's a very good chance that @PeterxbYang is the victim of one of two very common scams:

1 - Phone is gotten for free as an upgrade on an existing plan, sold on Kijiji, and then reported stolen and replaced via insurance.

2 - Phone is purchased using a stolen credit card/identity (or via other fraudulent means), sold on Kijiji, and then when the fraud is discovered, the phone gets added to the blacklist.

Neither scenario is likely to result in a good outcome, unfortunately, unless you are able to track down the seller again (and even then, you're unlikely to get much of a great outcome). People who perpetrate these scams tend to cover their tracks pretty well. This is why I never buy used phones any more.

IF, however, it was purchased from a store, that's the only scenario where @PeterxbYang will have any recourse with a good possible outcome.

Re: unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 20:57:06 GMT

@WearySky

Unfortunately it is as you have mentioned, the phone was declared stolen/lost by the seller whom I bought the phone brand new from off kijiji without receipt and knowledge of who the carrier they were with. I was able to get in touch with the seller but it was her brother who old the phone to me, and performed the transaction. He said he will call back later. (As much I am hoping for it, he probably wouldnt call back again and will block my calls in the future). With that all being said, it doesnt look like there is any way to get back my phone again. Most unfortunate turn of events as it all happened around Christmas time too, when I lost my first phone, got this one, and now it seems I'll have to get a new phone again. I will take this as a hard earned lesson...

Thanks all =(.

Re: unregistered sim

WearySky — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 21:15:00 GMT

@PeterxbYang - in the (unfortunately, pretty likely) case that you aren't able to get any relief from the seller, you DO have a couple options to try to recover from this terrible situation:

1 - Depending on your phone, you *may* be able to change the IMEI on it (this is very hit or miss, but could be a possible solution)

2 - You can sell it on eBay to somebody in a market that doesn't use the North American blacklist. You won't get your full value for it, and it means having to deal with overseas eBay buyers (always a nightmare, and with its own risks for fraud), but you might be able to at least some of your money that you put out for the phone.

The blacklist hasn't been particularly great at protecting consumers, unfortunately. It's done a GREAT job of ruining the used phone market in Canada (which is exactly what the carriers wanted), but it's also been a fantastic tool for scammers to make a quick buck in recent years.

Re: unregistered sim

PeterxbYang — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 22:35:25 GMT

@WearySky

Thanks again for the suggestions, I will wait a little bit for tonight to see if the seller can provide any sort of relief to my situation. Otherwise I guess it will be onto plan 1 or 2 of what you have suggested.

Thanks

Re: unregistered sim

will13am — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 22:48:43 GMT

@WearySky wrote:
@PeterxbYang - in the (unfortunately, pretty likely) case that you aren't able to get any relief from the seller, you DO have a couple options to try to recover from this terrible situation:

1 - Depending on your phone, you *may* be able to change the IMEI on it (this is very hit or miss, but could be a possible solution)
2 - You can sell it on eBay to somebody in a market that doesn't use the North American blacklist. You won't get your full value for it, and it means having to deal with overseas eBay buyers (always a nightmare, and with its own risks for fraud), but you might be able to at least some of your money that you put out for the phone.

The blacklist hasn't been particularly great at protecting consumers, unfortunately. It's done a GREAT job of ruining the used phone market in Canada (which is exactly what the carriers wanted), but it's also been a fantastic tool for scammers to make a quick buck in recent years.

@WearySky, I don't think there are statutes in Canada specifically prohibiting changing device IMEI. However, the activity is definitely grey area in that all devices are shipped with a unique IMEI to protect the consumer. 1.5 wrongs don't make a right. Selling it on eBay for use outside of North America is probably the only good solution.