can you fix a bad esn?

No. "Bad ESN" means Verizon has blacklisted the phone. There's nothing physically wrong with it.

Did the seller represent to you up front that the phone was in this state? If not, you may have recourse through him, If he did, and you bought it anyway without thinking... you've just bought an expensive iPod.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3743

Is there anyone who monitors this forum from Apple? I am searching for a solution to an inadvertantly bad ESN. My spouse mistakenly reported the initial charge to her credit card for the 4G service as unauthorized (because nowhere did it say apple (it was phrased in terms of "prepaid telephone" and she didn't recognize it; I am not even sure it said Verizon). By the time she realized what had happened, the credit card company would not "reverse" the challenge and Apple and Verizon are both pointing at the other as "the only one who can fix it" - I am having a hard time believing that the iPad cannot be reset or a chip replaced or _something_ that does not leave it totally dysfunctional. Do Apple and Verizon really want to live in a world where a simple mistake cannot be remedied? Can someone please tell me how to get this fixed?

No, there is no one here from Apple, just users like yourself.

Since Verizon is the one who has blocked the ESN they will be your only remedy to fix the situation. Go in person to one of their stores or call their service and ask to speak to a manager. As to the "initial charge" I am assuming you are talking about the charge for 3G service on the iPad. It did not say Apple because they do not provide any 3G services, have no idea why it did not say Verizon, if it didn't.

Don't involve Apple, it's not their mistake and not their problem.

Regarding the device itself, there's nothing wrong with it, so there's nothing to change on it. It is in no way "dysfunctional"... it merely does not have cell service.

Verizon is in the right here. If your CC company is continuing the challenge against the charge, what else do you expect Verizon to do? First get that straightened out.

By all admissions, it was a mistake made by my spouse. The thing is, no one will do anything to fix it. Not Apple, not the credit card bank (they won't "reverse" the claim of unauuthorized use of the card), not Verizon (She offered to pay all amounts due, to pay a penalty, to sign a contract, prepay, whatever, and Verizon said "nope, we can't do anything about it") - but it's obviously THEIR database that they are asserting they cannot "do anythng about" so what I am trying to deal with here is the fact that Apple sells two different iPad models - the one with the Verizon CDMA chip and the one (for AT&T, etc.) that takes a sim card. If she had bought the sim card version, she'd have a useful ipad with a worthless sim card, and she'd eat crow, pay the extra money and buy a new sim card (probably from AT&T), but she bought the Verizon one, happy to stick with Verizon but they won't de-list her ESN from their database.

That is not something Apple warned her about (e.g., "don't screw up with Verizon becasue it permenently de-lists the iPad") nor was it something that Verizon made clear, and I sure don't think it is something that a consumer would presume was the policy with a machine like the iPad. If I was all "in your face" I'd suggest that either Apple or Verizon might be the appropriate target of a class action, but instead I am just trying to salvage a very expensive but currently dysfunctioning product. Apple can take it, and probably reprogram the machine ID (beyond my technical knowledge alert) and either hand it back to her or whatever, but (while she made a mistake and tried to correct it as soon as she figured it out) she shouldn't be deprived of the functionality of the machine. That is my point.

So, the question is, can Apple do that? Can they re-program the machine's ip address or whatever it is that Verizon has blacklisted, so that she can try again?

But like I said, Verizon has stated they will not do anything about it (they have suggested vague approaches to Apple, but refuse to do anything about what is clearly their own blacklist). Maybe it is a bad analogy, but if I leased a house with electronic locks, and I screwed one of the locks up, I wouldn't expect that I would never be able to lock my house again. And if the lock-maker refused to fix their locks (even after I offered to pay them to do it), I would expect the landlord to help me replace the defective locks, whether at my cost or not. It's crazy that Verizon has locked the machine from their perspective, but even crazier that Apple can't do anything about it. I suppose this is similar to what Verizon requires with respect to cell phones that work on their network, but it just seems punitive to me. At a minimum, if this were known, I suspect people might gravitate toward AT&T/SIM card based units.

To clarify some of the facts here, she did tell her credit card company she made a mistake, but they had already reported back to Verizon, so they couldn't "retract" that report. So even though she offered to pay the charges, they said "nothing we can do" (aka toothpaste is out of the tube from their pov). Verizon is the one who seemed to be saying they cannot edit their database. She offered to pay them, whatever they wanted, fall on her sword, write them a letter/apology, whatever, but they were stuck on "no can do". Apple was/is her last hope.

Anyway, I think what you are all telling me is that she is SOOL, and has a nice wi-fi tablet, never again to be able to use 4G network on it. Fantastic.

I understand, however, the fact remains, Verizon is the ONLY entity who can resolve this. Apple can't even replace the device as defective as the reason it will not operate is that it was blacklisted by the carrier.

You need to keep working your way up the chain of Verizon's customer service until you find someone that can help you no matter how long it takes. The blacklist order came from Verizon, it would be silly to have that function (which is really there for stolen devices) if Apple could countermand it. The situation would not have occurred with AT&T, not because of the SIM but because they do not blacklist devices. But a cancellation on the payment probably would have stopped any 3G service and a new SIM would not have helped since it would not be a new ESN.

It is silly to expect Apple to provide a warning that if you call your credit card company and cancel your contract with Verizon you will have problems in the future. Their "warning" could run to hundreds of pages. If you cancel a credit card charge on any utility you will have problems.

Be persistent and keep going up the chain at Verizon until you get a resolution. Do not buy the slough off to Apple.

P.S. You still won't be able to enjoy a 4G network on it, it is only 3G.

Hi All,

Can i continue jailbreak & unlock the iphone outside US (use CDMA or GSM network) if the iphone is bad ESN?

Bad ESN means that iphone is blocked by network carrie or by Apple impleted the hardware?

Thanks

The only solution (as put forth by Verizon) is to have the original owner of the device reverse the block by de-listing the challenge. The Credit Card company will have to remove the challenge to the charge or Verizon won't do anything. I have spoken to everyone in the process of trying to get an ESN unblocked and that is what they have told me. In the case of a device reported lost or stolen, the original owner must remove the lost or stolen claim (which means that any insurance replacements have to be returned).

Call ebay that iphone had been stollen and you requeste refound they will do investigation.

But, when I did it, Ebay locked my account forever and seller is selling stollen iphones anyway.

Ebay shouldn't support sellers with BAD ESN,

Bad ESN means iphone is stollen.

Why fix it?

If you are still within 30 days, return it to the place of purchase for a replacement.

If you are outside of the 30 days, take it to Apple for a warranty replacement.

No. They can not. The ONLY entity that can take any action to resolve this is Verizon.

Jailbreaking can not be discussed here.