Just curious... why buy a phone with a bad ESN?

[ihasrecon]

Can anyone help me out here, I thought that when the ESN is bad that the phone is essentially locked and unable to be used. I play around on ebay and craigslist a lot and always see iPhone's for considerably cheaper but with bad ESN's.

So my question to you all is why would someone buy one like that? Is it repairable and is it better to go that route if you're trying to save some money?

 

[Garrett]

If the phone is a GSM phone in most cases you can simply put in a new sim card and go about your way or unlock the phone and use it on any other GSM carrier.

now if its a CDMA with a bad ESN i dont know of any way to activate it period.

a phone with a bad ESN is only bad within the united states so anyone outside can use one with no issues.

 

[lifsabch]

Right now I'm using one with a bad esn. I've been using VoIP for a few years now. This phone is the best wifi VoIP phone yet that I've tested. And yes my service is cheap. Fits my needs.

 

[fherrun]

You can always use it for parts

 

[Mr.Mischief]

You can also flash It to a new carrier.

 

[ihasrecon]

so if its GSM it would be okay to buy? would unlocking it fix your problem?

 

[Rocko]

It's not ethical. Bad ESN's are a result of it being reported stolen most of the time.

 

[Mr.Mischief]

It's not ethical. Bad ESN's are a result of it being reported stolen most of the time.

Actually, most bad ESN's are the result of not paying your phone bill. You can always call up Apple or the carrier and ask them if it's stolen. Where did you get the "most bad ESN iPhones are stolen?"