Can this phone be blocked?

roxy86_2

Hi all, quick couple of questions.

My other half is begging for an iphone 4 and i have eventually caved in. I was looking to buy a new one from ebay and put a payg sim in it or a cheap sim only deal.

However, i have just been told by someone that if the phone that i buy from ebay is an upgrade /contract phone that someone has decided they want to sell and put a payg sim into, that if they fall behind on contract payments the phone could be blocked and then be useless!!

Is that true?! If it is then is it also possible you could buy a second hand phone off ebay and after buying it the person that sold it phone his service provider and say they phone was stolen and they block it that way?

How easy is it for someone to get a phone blocked? I want to buy the phone but dont really want to pay £510 when i can get it for less on ebay but id rather pay more money if its quite risky buying from ebay and the phone becoming blocked.

Also how likely do you think the iphone 5 is coming out sometime this year? and do you think the iphone 4 price will drop at all when this hapens? I am not interested in the OH hacing the iphone 5 but i will wait for the iphone 4 if it is likely to come down in price.

Thanks everyone for any help in advance

victor2

Phones can be blocked by their IMEI number, but if it works when you buy it, there's a reasonable chance it will continue to work. However if it's being sold on ebay because it has a "dodgy" background, then it could get blocked just after you buy it and there's little you can do except say goodbye to your money.
Personally, I'd not buy such an expensive item off ebay unless it's money you can afford to lose.
Not sure when the iPhone 5 is coming out, but believe it's imminent. Does it have to be an iPhone, or would an alternative cheaper Android unit be just as good - and save money?

roxy86_2

thanks victor2. i defo can not afford to lost that money and so i feel that it is probably best for me to pay more and buy the phone for apple myself.

Yes it HAS to be an iphone. My OH is very much like a child when it comes to gadgets. technology. he has to have the best of the best. we only bought him a sony xperai play about 4 months ago and he is now fed up with that and wants to sell it so he can get an iphone 4. I feel i may have to make him wait as being the moneysaver i dont want to pay for it now if in a couple months it could be cheaper due to the iphone 5. plus once the iphone 5 is out there is no saying he wont end up wanting that instead.

roxy86_2

and would you believe my phone cost all of £10 and doesnt even have a camera!!!!

System

If you keep caving in to him then he will always act the spoilt brat and keep wanting and you will only be making a rod for your own back.. You need to put your foot down and tell him he can't have it. There is nothing wrong with an Xperia.

How long before he gets bored with an Iphone4? How long after release will he want an Iphone5 because the Iphone4 is old technology? Once you start down that path with somebody like him there is no end.

DCFC79

Stand your ground and tell him a cheaper option is best eg an android phone.

MsBlonde

victor2 wrote: »

Not sure when the iPhone 5 is coming out, but believe it's imminent.

October the 5th.

At the end of the day, the OP wants an Iphone 4 not a HTC / Blackberry or (insert over priced toy here), and she wanted to know if it was safe to purchase on ebay.

I'd never buy an iphone off of ebay personally, especially after the looting, if they sold them onto ppl and the companies got them disabled so to speak, you'll not only be buying stolen goods, but stolen goods which don't even work.

If you want to risk it, by all means go ahead. You might be lucky, or pop into CeX.

fiendishlyclever

I bought a phone off someone a while ago and it was blocked 40 days after I bought it - the seller obviously didn't realise he would be inside the paypal 45 day window. I was lucky and got my money back...

in_the_Cotswolds

Tell him to buy it himself. I like my gadgets but I have to fund them myself.

If he says he can't afford it tell him to save his "pocket money" up!! Also if you're funding it he's got to do jobs round the house i.e. washing up, cleaning, ironing etc!!

TheWayISeeIt

I have never heard of this happening, I think that you can pay to get it unlocked and it should work fine. The iphone is 5 is strongly rumoured to come out this year, personally I would wait

grumbler

You can unlock a locked phone, not blocked.