Problem with new Samsung Galaxy S3 on XT network - can't text or make phone calls

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Problem with new Samsung Galaxy S3 on XT network - can't text or make phone calls

samjar

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#105506 5-Jul-2012 14:23

Hi,

I recently bought a new Samsung Galaxy S3 from a 2 degrees business representative, and I am unable to get it to work on the Telecom XT network. I have a smartphone plan under the business I work for (last smartphone got stolen) so there is no chance of changing providers, not that I really want to either.

Would anyone have any helpful ideas or know why it is not working?

This is what I know/have found out so far:

It works with a 2degrees sim card in it
My XT sim card works in my mates S3
The telecom shop don't know why it's not working
The 2degrees people weren't much help either
Samsung said it was the APN network settings

Basically everyone is blaming everyone else :p

I have wireless connectivity
I can use my 3g internet access through the sim card
I can't make or receive texts
I can't make or receive calls
Everything else on the phone seems to be working fine
Phone was sealed in its box when I bought it

Apart from that, the phone currently is sitting on factory default settings now, so yeah...
Would appreciate any information anyone can give me.

Regards,

Sam

johnr

19282 posts

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#651321 5-Jul-2012 14:26

Have you checked the IMEI is not blacklisted on Telecom?

stevenz

2802 posts

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#651325 5-Jul-2012 14:33

Certainly sounds like the symptons of a blacklisted phone. See if you can borrow a Vodafone uSIM from someone and see if that works. If it's got the same problem(s), then you might want to go have a chat with the 2D store.

@KnightNZ

freitasm

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#651327 5-Jul-2012 14:36

samjar: I recently bought a new Samsung Galaxy S3 from a 2 degrees business representative,

Stop. Where did you meet this "2 degrees business representative"?

Was a door knocker? Did he have the handset on him and handed it to you as soon as you signed the papers?

If this wasn't a 2 degrees store or web site, how do you know the guy wasn't just going around pretending to be from 2degrees trying to sell stolen/blocked goods?

More details please.

samjar

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#651352 5-Jul-2012 14:56

Thanks for your quick responses.

How do I check if the imei number is blacklisted? I have been into the telecom store twice this morning and the 2degrees store once. I mentioned the idea of it maybe being blacklisted and they seemed to say that it wasn't. One note though, at one time when one of the telecom people rang up their people they said that they couldn't find the imei number on their list of national and international imei numbers for the S3 and then proceeded to laugh about it and say that the phone doesn't exist..

Don't have access to a vodafone sim atm, but I know it works on 2degrees.

The person I bought it off was a good friend of a mate - was assured the phone was legit. Came with a tax invoice and all the frills, fully sealed S3 box, all the plastic covers on the phone.
Only bought it yesterday, so am making my own enquiries (and so is my mate) as to the legitimacy of the phone at the moment too. So it's early days.

Sam

johnr

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#651356 5-Jul-2012 15:04

Sounds dodgy to me

jaidevp

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#651367 5-Jul-2012 15:21

Hi PM me the IMEI number and I'll check it for you.

jaidevp

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#651670 6-Jul-2012 09:11

It is blocked as suspected. I'll leave it to the OP to fill in details if they want to..

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freitasm

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#651671 6-Jul-2012 09:19

To the OP: Telecom and Vodafone share information about stolen and lost handsets. If one is reported stolen/lost by its owner, with the appropriate information, it will be blocked and won't work in neither network.

Sometimes it's blocked in one first and it takes time for the information to go to the other, so it may work in one of the two for a while, but eventually it will stop working.

2degrees is not in the scheme yet, so most people selling stolen goods will announce these as "works on 2degrees only".

We may never know the full story, but good luck getting your money back.

samjar

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#651708 6-Jul-2012 09:53

Thanks for the all the information and insights.

Got in touch with the seller yesterday after work and he seemed sincerely apologetic - talked a bit about how maybe the message centre wasn't set up right but that was not the case it all seemed to be set up right. So, I met up with the seller last night and he looked over the phone for a good 10 minutes trying to fix (pretend to fix?) it, then gave me my money back.

Not sure what to take from the experience, and not sure what to believe. What you're saying definitely makes sense though, regarding it being blocked on XT and Vodafone but not 2degrees - that did seem to be the case.

Just to reiterate, I'd been told he was a legitimate 2degrees business rep by my flatmate by one of his best mates. What went down did seem legit at the time (however naive I may be) but I'm not too sure anymore.

Had my 4S business iPhone stolen from me last month so was trying to source a cheaper replacement - 7 months into my 24 month smartphone and I'm still at a stage where it'll be cheaper to buy a brand new phone than canceling and restarting the contract with a new phone.

Thanks again.

freitasm

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#651711 6-Jul-2012 09:58

samjar: Not sure what to take from the experience, and not sure what to believe. What you're saying definitely makes sense though, regarding it being blocked on XT and Vodafone but not 2degrees - that did seem to be the case.

Buy handsets from reputable online stores or retail. Even Trade Me *is not reputable enough* for this,

samjar: Just to reiterate, I'd been told he was a legitimate 2degrees business rep by my flatmate by one of his best mates. What went down did seem legit at the time (however naive I may be) but I'm not too sure anymore.

"[A] legitimate 2degrees business rep by my flatmate by one of his best mates." Sorry, the chain here is too long to keep track of who is lying.

We have a lot of people around here that can help you in case you need. This was just one case - don't worry, it happens.

You got your money back. Got some experience. This is the good part of it. Better walk to a store and buy one there now.

BarTender

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#652261 7-Jul-2012 14:25

I don't know about anyone else but if its blacklisted then its a stolen phone. And if you are handling known stolen goods that's an offence isn't it?

I would be ringing up the local police and quoting the IMEI and the person you got it from so they can put 2 and 2 together.

Sounds uber dodgy and something I would want to distance myself from.

stevenz

2802 posts

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#654024 11-Jul-2012 14:42

BarTender: I don't know about anyone else but if its blacklisted then its a stolen phone. And if you are handling known stolen goods that's an offence isn't it?

I would be ringing up the local police and quoting the IMEI and the person you got it from so they can put 2 and 2 together.

Sounds uber dodgy and something I would want to distance myself from.

It's _probably_ a stolen phone. Someone, somewhere might've punched a wrong number into something. Given that it was a "mate of a mate" with no verifiable credentials, it does seem more likely that it was a little bit warm though.

Unless there was something easily provable, I doubt the police would be very interested.

@KnightNZ