dniela
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: IMEI working and not blacklisted Iphone 5 won't see sim card

So basically I bought an Iphone 5 from a guy that was selling it on facebook. So me and my dad met him at walmart and he was like really nice and said the phone was his but he got the new one and he didn't used this one anymore. The phone was on really good conditions and he said that it wasn't blocked and that it would work with any company, so we tried it with a new sim and made a call and it worked. A month later the phone still worked I had a new number (a new sim) and I used it everyday, made calls with it and it was fine. Then at the end of the month all of a sudden it appeard on the top like "No Service". It wouldn't read the sim card and i don't know why. I tried all the turn of and on thing and the airplane mode and it didn't work. So me and my dad looked on this page called "Swappa.com" that tells you if the phone is reported as stolen or if it was blacklisted and everything was fine. It wasn't blacklisted and it said it was a valid IMEI and working. So i don't know what happened. Can someone drop a phone and the phone can get blocked? Like I seriously have no clue what could be the problem. I would really appreciate if someone has a clue on what should I do. Like is the phone not gonna work anymore? Can I fix this? Do I need a new sim? Thanks on advance!

iPhone 5, iOS 8.1.2

Posted on Dec 29, 2014 11:26 PM

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dniela

Q: IMEI working and not blacklisted Iphone 5 won't see sim card

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Ingo2711,Helpful

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Dec 30, 2014 12:32 AM in response to dniela
    Level 7 (25,942 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 30, 2014 12:32 AM in response to dniela

    Has the phone been officially unlocked for the use with another carrier?

    iPhone: About unlocking

     

    Maybe you should contact the original carrier and ask them about it, maybe it has been reported stolen after the guy sold it to you, and the carrier blocked the IMEI afterwards.

  • by Ingo2711,Helpful

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Dec 30, 2014 12:35 AM in response to dniela
    Level 7 (25,942 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 30, 2014 12:35 AM in response to dniela

    Did you check the Activation Lock?

    Check Activation Lock

     

    If the phone is legit, try these steps:

    If you see No Service in the status bar of your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

    If you see 'No SIM' alert on iPhone - Apple Support

  • by dniela,

    dniela dniela Dec 31, 2014 12:05 AM in response to Ingo2711
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 31, 2014 12:05 AM in response to Ingo2711

    Oh wow thank you for answering back! And I thought it was unlocked because I could use it with a new sim and it was working really well. The guy had told me that it was factory unlocked and that it would work with any company, and it did. Like I said it worked perfectly for a month and the it stopped. I don't know the original carrier of the phone but, right now of I go to Settings > General > About, it appears my new carrier not the last one. Like I said I already checked to see if the IMEI thing was legit or if it was blacklisted and it all appeared fine. I guess I just have to talk to this guy and ask him if he knows what the problem is. But just in case, do you think that if I restart the phone will it get blocked again? Or because it was "factory unlocked" will it continue to be unlocked and still work with any company? Again thanks for answering back and trying to help! Happy new year!

  • by imobl,

    imobl imobl Dec 31, 2014 6:15 AM in response to dniela
    Level 5 (7,162 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 31, 2014 6:15 AM in response to dniela

    FYI: Apple does not use the term 'factory unlocked'. An iPhone is either

    locked to a wireless carrier or it is not. Suggest you contact the guy

    to see what the problem is or get a refund from him.

     

    Common insurance scam is for seller to sell a working iPhone, wait a few weeks

    or month and then report it lost to his insurance. Seller gets your $ + check or

    new iPhone from insurance; insurance company reports lost/stolen iPhone to

    wireless carrier who blacklists the IMEI, and you are left with inoperative

    iPhone and you are out the money you paid for it. This is what Ingo2711 referred

    to in one of his posts above. Did you follow the links in his other post to check

    Activation Lock and do some troubleshooting? What happened when you did that?

     

    Contact your wireless carrier to see if they are blocking the IMEI. Is your contract paid

    up? Have you removed the sim, cleaned the contacts, replaced the sim? Have you

    tried another sim?

     

    swappa.com has no access to Apple's database to see if iPhone is locked or

    unlocked. If you contact Apple Contact Us, they may be able to tell you if the

    iPhone is locked and if so, to which wireless provider. There is no universal

    database of lost or stolen iPhones.

     

    Find the guy you bought it from and have him either rectify the situation or

    give back your money.

  • by sjaan,

    sjaan sjaan Feb 25, 2015 9:26 AM in response to dniela
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 25, 2015 9:26 AM in response to dniela

    Hi,

    Don't worry dniela, once you have done the factory unlock then you can use any carrier in any country around the world.

    Regards,

    *****

     

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