It is very frustrating when you end up getting an iPhone with a blacklisted IMEI number and then spend hours researching “How to Unlock blacklisted iPhone” guides.
Especially when you bought a used iPhone to save a few dollars, and it turns out that its IMEI number is reported as lost or stolen.
In this post you will get answers to the following questions:
- How a phone gets blacklisted
- What happens to a blacklisted IMEI number
- How to identify if an iPhone is blacklisted with an IMEI Unblacklist Check
- How an iPhone IMEI blacklist removal can Unblacklist an iPhone
- How to unlock blacklisted iPhone
Get your iPhone Unblacklisted with an IMEI Unblacklist iPhone Check:
- Identify whether your iPhone’s IMEI is blacklisted
- Find which carrier blacklisted it
- Learn the blacklist reason
- Find out in which countries your iPhone will not be allowed to operate
- Gain access to available iPhone blacklist removal and unlock services
How an iPhone gets blacklisted
There are three reasons why an iPhone can get blacklisted.
If an phone:
- is reported as stolen or lost to a carrier by the original owner
- is flagged as replaced by an insurance claim or illegal hardware replacement
- is involved in fraud or other illegal activities
The IMEI of this device becomes “bad” and is added to a blacklist database called GSMA (or CEIR).
Each carrier has its own blacklist IMEI database which is shared among all carriers within a country, and some countries even share them with each other.
Specifically in the USΑ, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Puerto Rico, this is happening with almost all carriers. According to many of our visitors, Colombia has recently joined forces.
iPhones with an outstanding financial balance (unpaid contract bills) are considered to be Blocked iPhones.
What happens to a blacklisted IMEI?
Before explaining how to unblacklist an iPhone, it is really important to know about the restrictions of a blacklisted phone.
You cannot use the device with any mobile network in the country where it has been blacklisted.
Of course, the same is true for countries that share the same blacklist database.
This restriction is further extended since the phone cannot be used with any mobile network worldwide unless it is simultaneously SIM unlocked.
In this way, IMEI blacklist databases prevent the use of any device, locally or globally, that is recorded on them.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop a thief from selling a blacklisted iPhone to an unsuspecting buyer. Check what you can do if you have already bought a stolen iPhone.
How to identify if an iPhone is blacklisted with an IMEI Unblacklist Check
If you purchased a used iPhone and it has no signal no matter what SIM card you are using, there is a really good chance that it is blacklisted.
However, don’t rush into a desperate and reckless decision since the “no service” issue may be due to an antenna failure.
It is extremely important to check a used iPhone before you buy it and avoid this mess, but if you already have a blacklisted iPhone in your possession then, an iPhone Unblacklist Check is recommended before proceeding with an unblacklist or unlock blacklisted iPhone service. It will provide you with valuable information about the iPhone’s blacklist status and any available solution for unblacklisting or unlocking it.
How an iPhone IMEI blacklist removal can Unblacklist an iPhone
Unblacklisting an iPhone is very different from Unlocking a blacklisted iPhone. The first requires an iPhone IMEI blacklist removal service, and the second a premium iPhone IMEI unlock service.
Which one to pick will depend entirely on the results of your iPhone blacklist check results.
The proper way to remove the blacklisted status of an iPhone is to have the blacklisting canceled by the original owner. Unfortunately, in most cases, this is not possible.
However, IMEI blacklist removal is possible with third-party services. These services will remove the blacklist status of your iPhone, and change the Lost/Stolen status to CLEAN.
Please note that when an iPhone has been successfully unblacklisted, you can only use it on the network that it is locked to. To use it on ALL networks, you would need a separate UNLOCK service.
How to Unlock Blacklisted iPhone
This option is only applicable if you are going to use the iPhone in a different country to the one that blacklisted it due to blacklist restrictions.
This means that if you remove the SIM lock from a blacklisted iPhone you can use it in other countries without any problems.
This service is called Premium IMEI unlock (otherwise known as Premium Factory Unlock). This is the ideal choice for someone who bought a blacklisted iPhone but lives in a different country than the one that blacklisted the iPhone. You can find a list of suppliers that provide Premium IMEI Unlock services on www.iPhoneUnlock.Zone.
Conclusion on iPhone IMEI blacklist Removal & Unlock blacklisted iPhone solutions
There is no universal iPhone unblacklist or unlock blacklisted iPhone solution out there. Each blacklisted iPhone case is unique and requires a very specific solution. Only an IMEI Unblacklist Check report will identify the right IMEI unblacklist or Premium unlock blacklisted iPhones service that can fix your device.
Before getting an IMEI blacklist removal or unlock blacklisted iPhone service, you NEED to know:
- Which network has blacklisted the iPhone and why
- In which country
- If this country shares its blacklist with its neighbors
- If the iPhone is also sim locked or not
- If you need blacklist removal or SIM unlock or maybe both
- If the appropriate services are available
The best and easiest way to find out all the above instantly and essentially check if there is a solution is an
iPhone IMEI Unblacklist Check