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Long story short, my first HTC One had dead pixels so I warranty exchanged it. Stupidly, I assumed T-Mobile would factory reset my phone before selling it as a refurb, but no. A few days ago, I started getting random instant uploads on my Google+. Then, my Facebook was locked due to account activity in MEXICO (also where the photos were located), and now, I checked my Gmail, and there are sent messages to random people I do not know. I have changed my passwords, but what I'm wondering is, can T-Mobile really get away with this? They took a phone they knowingly know was defective, did not even turn it on to look at it or reset it, and sold it (or gave it) to some guy in Mexico.
What can I do? Who knows what sensitive information that person took? Obviously, since they've been using my account, they couldn't possibly think they were using their own account. T-Mobile is not open for customer support until the morning, but I'm FREAKING OUT and absolutely furious that something like this was allowed to happen.
first of all that really sucks that that happened. i cant imagine what that other person in "mexico" could have taken from your personal info wise....
i would call them and see what happened. make sure to also monitor your credit. you never know what they could have taken.
that is a pretty ridiculous breach of private info if you ask me
I feel bad for you that this happened. But really you should have done the factory reset before you sent it back. There is no way I would send my phone without doing this
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Obviously, to all those detractors, I normally reset my phone before sending it in for repairs/exchange. It slipped my mind this time; screw me for assuming the big phone company would handle things correctly, huh?
In any case, the instant upload photos have EXIF and location data pinpointing the exact location of the photos. It'd be hard for them to argue that it's not coming from my previous phone when:
1. I have emails being sent from my account to people I have never spoken to
2. I'm not in Mexico; I'm in Virginia
3. My Facebook was also locked due to being accessed... from Mexico
I'm about to call T-Mobile (after eating breakfast). Wish me luck.
aznxk3vi17 said:
Obviously, to all those detractors, I normally reset my phone before sending it in for repairs/exchange. It slipped my mind this time; screw me for assuming the big phone company would handle things correctly, huh?
In any case, the instant upload photos have EXIF and location data pinpointing the exact location of the photos. It'd be hard for them to argue that it's not coming from my previous phone when:
1. I have emails being sent from my account to people I have never spoken to
2. I'm not in Mexico; I'm in Virginia
3. My Facebook was also locked due to being accessed... from Mexico
I'm about to call T-Mobile (after eating breakfast). Wish me luck. And thanks, everyone, for calling me stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it and let us know what happens. Expect to speak with a supervisor, because a normal employee most likely legitimately won't be able to help your situation. Know what you're going to ask them for (compensation or whatever it is you're looking for).
I know that at AT&T, they reset your device when you exchange it.
Thread cleaned
No reason for calling anybody stupid. It might have not been the best idea, but still we can keep a civilized tone here.
cheers
So I just had a conversation with a T-Mobile representative. He claims to have spoken with T-Mobile engineers and HTC representatives, and they all told him that there was nothing they could do. The T-Mobile guy pinned the blame on HTC, saying it's their responsibility to wipe phones before sending them back to T-Mobile for selling. Either way, I also discovered the IMEI for my old phone was still linked to my account, even though I've since received a replacement device with a new IMEI. Apparently, there was nothing he could do with that information either.
So, he just says they'll "keep an eye out" on my account looking for suspicious activity. I think I'll call back later and explicitly ask for a manager (this time I figured he could do something with the IMEI). I would have asked for the manager, but I have work to do, after all.
Is there anything they should be able to do with the IMEI? They said they can't wipe the phone anymore without the actual device, and they have NO IDEA who the phone belongs to now. You'd think they keep track of that sort of thing.
That really stinks that they would resell without resetting the phone. I have Cerberus installed as a hidden system app on all our phones, can remotely lock, locate, and factory reset if need be. Well worth it.
aznxk3vi17 said:
So I just had a conversation with a T-Mobile representative. He claims to have spoken with T-Mobile engineers and HTC representatives, and they all told him that there was nothing they could do. The T-Mobile guy pinned the blame on HTC, saying it's their responsibility to wipe phones before sending them back to T-Mobile for selling. Either way, I also discovered the IMEI for my old phone was still linked to my account, even though I've since received a replacement device with a new IMEI. Apparently, there was nothing he could do with that information either.
So, he just says they'll "keep an eye out" on my account looking for suspicious activity. I think I'll call back later and explicitly ask for a manager (this time I figured he could do something with the IMEI). I would have asked for the manager, but I have work to do, after all.
Is there anything they should be able to do with the IMEI? They said they can't wipe the phone anymore without the actual device, and they have NO IDEA who the phone belongs to now. You'd think they keep track of that sort of thing.
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Click to collapse
They're just playing the blame game. I'd believe them when they say it's HTC's responsibility (sounds reasonable), but HTC might say the reverse, that it's T-Mobile's responsibility. Like I said, unless you have some sort of compensation in mind, they're probably not going to offer you anything. Checking for "suspicious activity" on your T-Mobile account is useless since it's not even on your account anymore. The IMEI number might be able to be blacklisted so it can't be used on T-Mobile (and soon in the US altogether), but that's about it really.
There are a few apps that let you track down a phone after it's lost, but here's one that actually lets you WIPE it afterwards. Provided the guy still has your Google account on the phone, you should be able to install this via Google Play on your computer (the phone should still be associated on your account) and then wipe it. It'll say the name of the carrier it's on in Mexico followed by "HTC One."
http://lifehacker.com/android-lost-controls-your-stolen-phone-even-after-you-511903024
Don't change your Google passwords yet because it needs your Google account to work. Afterwards, you can change all your passwords.
cschmitt said:
That really stinks that they would resell without resetting the phone. I have Cerberus installed as a hidden system app on all our phones, can remotely lock, locate, and factory reset if need be. Well worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I had already installed Cerberus. Problem is, I removed the phone from my Cerberus account because I wrongly assumed I wouldn't need it anymore. If I had kept it installed and on my account for just a few days longer, I'd be able to lock the phone, but alas.
Product F(RED) said:
They're just playing the blame game. I'd believe them when they say it's HTC's responsibility (sounds reasonable), but HTC might say the reverse, that it's T-Mobile's responsibility. Like I said, unless you have some sort of compensation in mind, they're probably not going to offer you anything. Checking for "suspicious activity" on your T-Mobile account is useless since it's not even on your account anymore. The IMEI number might be able to be blacklisted so it can't be used on T-Mobile (and soon in the US altogether), but that's about it really.
There are a few apps that let you track down a phone after it's lost, but here's one that actually lets you WIPE it afterwards. Provided the guy still has your Google account on the phone, you should be able to install this via Google Play on your computer (the phone should still be associated on your account) and then wipe it. It'll say the name of the carrier it's on in Mexico followed by "HTC One."
http://lifehacker.com/android-lost-controls-your-stolen-phone-even-after-you-511903024
Don't change your Google passwords yet because it needs your Google account to work. Afterwards, you can change all your passwords.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already changed my passwords. I assume changing my password back to my original wouldn't work, since it would still require the person with my phone to log on with it? Also, the SIM was of course removed, so I can't use that app, since I don't know the phone number of the person now carrying the old phone.
aznxk3vi17 said:
Yeah, I had already installed Cerberus. Problem is, I removed the phone from my Cerberus account because I wrongly assumed I wouldn't need it anymore. If I had kept it installed and on my account for just a few days longer, I'd be able to lock the phone, but alas.
I've already changed my passwords. I assume changing my password back to my original wouldn't work, since it would still require the person with my phone to log on with it? Also, the SIM was of course removed, so I can't use that app, since I don't know the phone number of the person now carrying the old phone.
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Click to collapse
I don't think changing your password back would work. You don't need a SIM card in the phone for it to work. It needs any data connection (e.g. Wifi).
Okay, starting from the beginning.
I bought a slightly used Nexus 6 in excellent shape. When it arrived, I was able to set it up once (with my account, a Google Apps for Business account using my own domain); I set it up temporarily wifi only, waiting to plug in the SIM. After setting it up, I got prompted to upgrade from 5.1.1 to Marshmallow, which I did.
I'm beginning to enjoy the phone, and I look at the Marshmallow version. MRA58K. So, I find that MR58R is out and I decide to upgrade, following the instructions to flash stock recovery. So far, so good. I begin the fastboot process, and it is writing all the files, when it reports it cannot flash the bootloader, it is locked. I missed this part of the step because I was distracted by other events going on in my house, and instead of rebooting the phone at this point to try and unlock the bootloader, I go into recovery mode and tell it to wipe the phone.
The phone wipes, and boots back up as if normal. That is, until I get to the spot where I need to sign in with my Google account. I try signing in with mine, and I can't - I'm told I need the owner account. Great. So I contact the seller, who is a decent enough guy, who trusts me enough to give me temporary access to his account, in the event that's the problem. I can't get in with his account either. Note for my account, I have not reset the password in a long time, and from what the phone seller told me, he has not with is either ( I'm aware of the 72 hour delay if you do).
The phone shows up as a device in my Google Apps for Business account, but I cannot contact it in any way from there. I've tried "fastboot oem unlock" from the SDK tools, but it fails. I can't get past the prompt asking me to log in. Any one who can offer some help here, I'd really appreciate it; if I can get in just once, I know I can fix anything else. I just don't know how.
Additional note - I did manage to remove the phone from the previous user's Android Device Manager, as I have the account credentials. This, however, has not resolved my issue.
I don't get it --I was able to register the phone with my account the first time I set it up. I'm not sure why it doesn't let me sign in with that account now. I had the phone operational for twelve hours before flashing, so I'd think the link between my Google account and it would be just fine.
I just spoke with Google Store support:
Apparently (according to them), regardless of whether you reset your Google account password or not, factory-resetting the phone means the 72-hour wait period until you can get back in begins unless you have removed your Google account from the phone (and/or with Android Device Manager) prior to the factory reset. This was contrary to my understanding of this only happening if you changed the password shortly before resetting the phone.
I guess I'll find out in about two and a half days; I'll update this thread then.
Today I received a Nexus 6 which I bought off Ebay and when I tried to log in, I was disallowed due to factory reset protection.
I contacted the seller and he kindly gave me his google account details however, he also informed me that he had changed his password whilst the phone was in transit.
I am in possession of both the old and new password but neither of them will log me in.
Subsequently, the seller informed me that there had been a new login from this device relating to the time that I was trying both the passwords despite the device not logging me in successfully.
What is our way forward as I am reluctant to return the phone as it was a bargain.
Any advice as to the correct procedure would be much appreciated.
Something is fishy here. You shouldn't have to do anything, and him providing you his password(s) is unsecure and stupid.
All he has to do is:
1)Login to his Google account on the website https://myaccount.google.com
2)Go to Device Activity & Notications (Under the Sign-In & Security section)
3)Click on review devices
4)Remove the device from his account
Boom, the phone is removed from Google's re-activation lock or whatever you want to call it. It might take up to 72 hours for the device to be re-eligible for activation without signing into his Google account.
This was apparently done before he posted the device however, the google account was not removed from the device itself.
There is a 72 hour wait from when he changed the password before it will be recognized by the device. Wait that amount of time and log in with the new password and then go in and remove the account.
Hello,
Following a crash, I had to do a factory reset in the recovery of my note 8.
Of course, at boot, he asks me the Google account ID. Sadly, I do not have them anymore (email address deleted since). I tried my old ID: it does not work ...
Will a flash of rom stock via odin reset the frp? Or should it go before by an "adb frp tool", then flash a "combination firmware", before reflash the rom stock?
I have already tried all methods of bypass frp before 10/10/18 (sms class 0, bluetooth headset, samsung keyboard settings...)
(I am in N950FXXS5CRJ1 of 01/10/18, oreo 8.0). I'm french.
With proof of purchase, your carrier or samsung service will help you, that's it, WITH PROOF OF PURCHASE
neitsabes99 said:
Hello,
Following a crash, I had to do a factory reset in the recovery of my note 8.
Of course, at boot, he asks me the Google account ID. Sadly, I do not have them anymore (email address deleted since). I tried my old ID: it does not work ...
Will a flash of rom stock via odin reset the frp? Or should it go before by an "adb frp tool", then flash a "combination firmware", before reflash the rom stock?
I have already tried all methods of bypass frp before 10/10/18 (sms class 0, bluetooth headset, samsung keyboard settings...)
(I am in N950FXXS5CRJ1 of 01/10/18, oreo 8.0). I'm french.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know when people come in here talking about needing to get the FRP security lock off and then going on to say their gmail account is magically gone or deleted it automatically makes us think the phone is stolen!! People don't just randomly delete their gmail account nor do they forget their password so easily! If it truly is your phone take it to the carrier I.E. "at&t, Verizon etc etc." Because they will be able to easily recover the phone for you quickly!!
neitsabes99 said:
Hello,
Following a crash, I had to do a factory reset in the recovery of my note 8.
Of course, at boot, he asks me the Google account ID. Sadly, I do not have them anymore (email address deleted since). I tried my old ID: it does not work ...
Will a flash of rom stock via odin reset the frp? Or should it go before by an "adb frp tool", then flash a "combination firmware", before reflash the rom stock?
I have already tried all methods of bypass frp before 10/10/18 (sms class 0, bluetooth headset, samsung keyboard settings...)
(I am in N950FXXS5CRJ1 of 01/10/18, oreo 8.0). I'm french.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I don't buy it.
If you deleted your Google account, you would have been signed out across the board, you need to be signed in to a Google account for FRP to be enabled...
If you are a thief or a 'finders keepers' you will agree FRP is a great feature. Must suck holding this great phone and not be able to use it.
stonedpsycho said:
Personally I don't buy it.
If you deleted your Google account, you would have been signed out across the board, you need to be signed in to a Google account for FRP to be enabled...
If you are a thief or a 'finders keepers' you will agree FRP is a great feature. Must suck holding this great phone and not be able to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I think it's stolen just by the way he worded that and saying that the gmail account was deleted isn't sitting with me right because then the phone would literally nag the crap out of him saying stuff like the play store can't work, gmail can't work and most importantly as you said FRP can't work without the email.. I'm betting it's stolen.
One time, I went to my carrier service center to activate volte calls, while I was waiting for my turn, an old lady ahead of me explained to the employee her case, that her device was locked, that she had no idea what email or anything else, as her grandson was the one that took care af all those things, she only used the phone to make calls an send sms, the employee said that it was ok, all she needed to do was to provide a proof of purchase, or the contract, and an ID, that was it, she did, and problem quickly solved, so, anybody asking for some way to bypass frp, is obviously trying to unlock an illegal obtained device, period.
winol said:
One time, I went to my carrier service center to activate volte calls, while I was waiting for my turn, an old lady ahead of me explained to the employee her case, that her device was locked, that she had no idea what email or anything else, as her grandson was the one that took care af all those things, she only used the phone to make calls an send sms, the employee said that it was ok, all she needed to do was to provide a proof of purchase, or the contract, and an ID, that was it, she did, and problem quickly solved, so, anybody asking for some way to bypass frp, is obviously trying to unlock an illegal obtained device, period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I don't even try to help someone who comes along claiming that they magically forgot/lost their gmail account and password information. When he said he deleted the gmail account a while back the first thing that came to my mind was well without a gmail account you can't exactly do much with the phone because everything is going to be nagging you, Google, Play Store, Gmail, Google Services, maps and many other things and FRP can't lock without the gmail account so how could you possibly get FRP locked out.. You could by lying and stealing a phone and claiming it's yours..
Yeah, absolutely right
I certainly understand the views on going to a service center. But no. Not everyone with this problem is trying to cheat with a stolen phone. I just bought a very nice Note 8 (SM-N950U1) for $200 off eBay (from an individual with a 100% record) only to find it is FRP locked and I doubt she knew. Just did a factory reset and sell. So now I have to pay $50 at a service center and with the drive, it will take me about two hours. So some of us do have a legitimate reason to want to do a FRP unlock ourselves. Hopefully, the seller will rebate me the $50 so I don't have to send it back and start my long search for this model, in this condition for what i can afford all over again. Just say'in. Well glad I have XDA forums to let me know my position. - So thanks - Jim
I was hoping for an easy trade-in with Samsung. I have no flaws on my Galaxy Note 8, I sent it in before the date that they asked.
My screen had no issues, no scratches, perfect condition.
The phone turns on and runs absolutely fine.
The last thing I did before I packed my Note8 up was to take out my SIM card and microSD card and then do a factory re-set.
The final screen I saw was when it rebooted after the reset and was ready to start the process from scratch - which I have done before.
So what happened? Why are they saying my device was NOT reset?? This is absurd, I have seen people get no credit before for other things but never the "not factory reset"!
Can someone help me or offer advice? I have a week to call them before they charge me and I can have them ship the device back, but **I had a perfect condition Note8 and I want my $550 trade in!!**
vonDubenshire said:
I was hoping for an easy trade-in with Samsung. I have no flaws on my Galaxy Note 8, I sent it in before the date that they asked.
My screen had no issues, no scratches, perfect condition.
The phone turns on and runs absolutely fine.
The last thing I did before I packed my Note8 up was to take out my SIM card and microSD card and then do a factory re-set.
The final screen I saw was when it rebooted after the reset and was ready to start the process from scratch - which I have done before.
So what happened? Why are they saying my device was NOT reset?? This is absurd, I have seen people get no credit before for other things but never the "not factory reset"!
Can someone help me or offer advice? I have a week to call them before they charge me and I can have them ship the device back, but **I had a perfect condition Note8 and I want my $550 trade in!!**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you didn't remove your accounts before resetting your phone. So, most probably, the setup process will ask for previous account credentials.
Samsung should be able to bypass this protection if they want. Or you can see with them the possibility to send them your account credentials to help them unlock the phone. If they refuse then they have bad intentions...
I can only imagine it is the FRP as this would require the setup to ask for the security details you had on the device prior to reseting the device and then the Google email address attached to the account, however this would only happen after a master reset so not sure if this is the reason, however when I tried to sell a S9 to a recycle site in the UK and I made this mistake they sent it back as I was not able to remotely do this.
vonDubenshire said:
I was hoping for an easy trade-in with Samsung. I have no flaws on my Galaxy Note 8, I sent it in before the date that they asked.
My screen had no issues, no scratches, perfect condition.
The phone turns on and runs absolutely fine.
The last thing I did before I packed my Note8 up was to take out my SIM card and microSD card and then do a factory re-set.
The final screen I saw was when it rebooted after the reset and was ready to start the process from scratch - which I have done before.
So what happened? Why are they saying my device was NOT reset?? This is absurd, I have seen people get no credit before for other things but never the "not factory reset"!
Can someone help me or offer advice? I have a week to call them before they charge me and I can have them ship the device back, but **I had a perfect condition Note8 and I want my $550 trade in!!**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do your factory reset through settings menu? I sent in my galaxy s8 back to them for the trade in program Monday and it was running One UI beta 3 so I flashed it through ODIN using the latest Sprint firmware and CSC file to wipe everything back to complete stock. When I did the initial factory reset before flashing in odin I went though Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset. It asked me for my google password before it would reset the device. I did the ODIN flash to make sure everything was gone and it was on the correct latest Sprint firmware. I was afraid being on the BETA they may reject it. Now you've got me worried because I didn't try and set the device up again to see if it asked for my google password. I'm 99% sure when doing a factory reset through settings and entering in my credentials FRP is no longer active. Does anyone know if a clean ODIN flash using the CSC (not Home CSC) will remove any and all settings such as FRP?
googy_anas said:
I guess you didn't remove your accounts before resetting your phone. So, most probably, the setup process will ask for previous account credentials.
Samsung should be able to bypass this protection if they want. Or you can see with them the possibility to send them your account credentials to help them unlock the phone. If they refuse then they have bad intentions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a little confused as I removed my SIM and SD Card and then did a factory reset and it went back to the first set up screen. So, you are saying if we did not remove our Google account or work email prior to factory reset they could refuse the trade in??
Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
maddie01 said:
I am a little confused as I removed my SIM and SD Card and then did a factory reset and it went back to the first set up screen. So, you are saying if we did not remove our Google account or work email prior to factory reset they could refuse the trade in??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. FRP (Factory Reset Protection) is designed to deter theft by requiring any Google account (not sure about Samsung account) that was active on the phone at the time of factory reset be logged into prior to using any other account after the factory reset. You can disable FRP by just going into Settings -> Accounts and removing your Google account prior to a factory reset.
Outbreak444 said:
Yes. FRP (Factory Reset Protection) is designed to deter theft by requiring any Google account (not sure about Samsung account) that was active on the phone at the time of factory reset be logged into prior to using any other account after the factory reset. You can disable FRP by just going into Settings -> Accounts and removing your Google account prior to a factory reset.
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Click to collapse
Maybe so, but I've traded two phones with no problems and all I've ever done is a factory reset from the settings. Both times I did reboot to see if it went to the default setup screen, but that's all I've done.
Same here, did a factory reset only. It was approved even with unlocked bootloader and twrp...
galaxys said:
Same here, did a factory reset only. It was approved even with unlocked bootloader and twrp...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I appreciate everyone chiming in...I hope ultimately they approve the trade or get you phone back to you so you can sell it to recoup your money...
I checked to be sure and it seems my trade in was excepted as they only charged my Amex the discounted amount and they received my trade in on the 28th of March and i did not do anything but a Factory Reset... same thing when i traded in my S8 for the S9...
Maybe Sammy saw something questionable on the unit and used this as an excuse to deny the trade? It could be possible that this deleting of the prior accounts is in the fine print somewhere and they use when needed?
Best of luck...
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I think you're at Samsung's mercy in these situations. You can complain to them until you're blue in the face, but in the end it's at their discretion.
Yeah, there was nothing wrong with my phone so I am going to complain pretty hard. I have hit up the Samsung Mobile USA and Samsung Support USA on Twitter before and retweet them enough that I hope to make a fuss that I can get taken care of.
vonDubenshire said:
Yeah, there was nothing wrong with my phone so I am going to complain pretty hard. I have hit up the Samsung Mobile USA and Samsung Support USA on Twitter before and retweet them enough that I hope to make a fuss that I can get taken care of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. What's so bad is that Samsung isn't even the one's inspecting the phones. They should have some process that makes Samsung themselves look at a phone after Ingram Micro rejects it.