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ssavoy
Premium Member
join:2007-08-16
Dallas, PA

ssavoy

Premium Member

Not their fault

It's not the carrier's fault people lose their phones. They could find used ones online if they wanted to. Just blame consumer ignorance.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

I guess you still believe in "finders keepers"
ssavoy
Premium Member
join:2007-08-16
Dallas, PA

ssavoy

Premium Member

It's honestly not their responsibility to help you find stolen property. They provide you with a service...that service is not helping you find your lost or stolen device. Take it up with the police. That's their job.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

This is about having a technological means of making it non-beneficial to steal an item. Why would anyone be against that ? The police will NOT look for a stolen phone, well, unless it's a missing Apple prototype !!

If such a system were in place and a person tries to activate a phone that's been reported stolen, what would happen ? Would they simply refuse to activate it ? Would they quietly notify the police and keep the person in the store until they arrived ? My money says no store will want to get involved - they'll simply say "this phone's ID # has been reported stolen so we're unable to activate it for you. We're not accusing you of stealing it either...".
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

Sammer

Member

said by Hall:

This is about having a technological means of making it non-beneficial to steal an item.

What some in law enforcement want is for cellphones to have a "kill switch". Once the phone is reported stolen a signal would be sent to it (anywhere in the world) that would prevent it from being used.
ssavoy
Premium Member
join:2007-08-16
Dallas, PA

ssavoy to Hall

Premium Member

to Hall
The best thing I can come up with is if the phone is brought into a store to be activated, then it is confiscated and the original account holder is notified. I mean all you have to do now is report the phone as stolen and it won't work anymore. That should theoretically be enough to deter someone. I'm not against putting a system in place, but it's still not the carrier's responsibility.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to ssavoy

Member

to ssavoy
said by ssavoy:

It's not the carrier's fault people lose their phones. They could find used ones online if they wanted to. Just blame consumer ignorance.

Wow. Well then, I guess if you leave your car unlocked and the insurance company tells you tough crap, your just going to let it flow? I know.. a car vs cell is different but, give them time, the reason the phone companies do next to nothing (well, except Sprint), once they figure out a way to do it and charge you for it, they will. Surprised Verizon isn't first to market on this matter.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

You pay an insurance company for just that, insurance. If you want to insure your phone against theft, I'm sure you can find someone willing to cover you. People want carriers to be "dump pipes" when it's convenient to them. If you have a device that's stolen, report it to authorities, just as you would with your car. You don't ask all of the gas stations to keep an eye out for your stolen vehicle.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

said by openbox9:

You pay an insurance company for just that, insurance. If you want to insure your phone against theft, I'm sure you can find someone willing to cover you. People want carriers to be "dump pipes" when it's convenient to them. If you have a device that's stolen, report it to authorities, just as you would with your car. You don't ask all of the gas stations to keep an eye out for your stolen vehicle.

Yep, and you pay for cell phone coverage too. Loose a phone, you pay a deductible and get a referb. How hard is it in the U.S. for the ESN or SN of a phone to be black listed? And if someone walks into a store trying to activate a "hot" phone, just like a pawn shop who has a moron show up trying to dump a gun they "own" but have no proof. If the pawn shop is a gun dealer, they can find out real fast and the perp will be getting a visit from the local PD. Sprint will lock a ESN making the phone all but useless to the common thief but if you don't report it "stolen", those people don't have a right to b1tch.

But I do have the best solution. Just buy a 10 key phone and chances are, no one will want it.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to Sammer

Premium Member

to Sammer
I like the idea, but then I wonder if they would eff it up so that hackers figure out to mass brick phones.
wingrider01
join:2006-07-25
Saint Louis, MO

wingrider01 to tc1uscg

Member

to tc1uscg
said by tc1uscg:

said by openbox9:

You pay an insurance company for just that, insurance. If you want to insure your phone against theft, I'm sure you can find someone willing to cover you. People want carriers to be "dump pipes" when it's convenient to them. If you have a device that's stolen, report it to authorities, just as you would with your car. You don't ask all of the gas stations to keep an eye out for your stolen vehicle.

Yep, and you pay for cell phone coverage too. Loose a phone, you pay a deductible and get a referb. How hard is it in the U.S. for the ESN or SN of a phone to be black listed? And if someone walks into a store trying to activate a "hot" phone, just like a pawn shop who has a moron show up trying to dump a gun they "own" but have no proof. If the pawn shop is a gun dealer, they can find out real fast and the perp will be getting a visit from the local PD. Sprint will lock a ESN making the phone all but useless to the common thief but if you don't report it "stolen", those people don't have a right to b1tch.

But I do have the best solution. Just buy a 10 key phone and chances are, no one will want it.

On your comment of "Loose a phone, you pay a deductible and get a referb." that occurs only if you are paying for insurance on the phone. Fairly easy to get it blocked, just call the carrier, but that still does not prevent the phone from being shipped out of country and activated there - lot easier to do that in Europe then in the US, lot more choices of destinations also - here it is mainly Canada and Mexico, unlike Europe with a lot more destinations. By the way a "moron" that steal a gun is smart enough to know not to dump it at a pawn shop - lot easier places to get rid of it for cash or drugs

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

said by wingrider01:

By the way a "moron" that steal a gun is smart enough to know not to dump it at a pawn shop - lot easier places to get rid of it for cash or drugs

Moron (psychology), disused term for a person with a mental age between 8 and 12, and a common insult for a person considered stupid (or just a generic insult)

And only an idiot would not carry insurance on a phone that costs 500 bucks or more while under contract. JMO of course . My phone was replaced no less then 5 times since Jan this year due to fault software on the phones they sent me. Bad xmit/rcv capabilities. Lock ups and camera being disabled by admin when it was right out of the box. So, instead of taking the 10 key phone they tried to swap it out with, I'm holding out for the Torque. So far, the last phone is stable. But I'm not holding my breath. I like my Moto Admiral except for the glitch in it's last software update.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

Replaced a phone 5 times because of (the same faulty) software that kept getting pushed to it ? Pure genius...
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to tc1uscg

Premium Member

to tc1uscg
said by tc1uscg:

And only an idiot would not carry insurance on a phone that costs 500 bucks or more while under contract.

That's a risk management decision. Personally, I'll keep my $7.99/mth and have a couple hundred bucks after two years to put toward a new phone. My point is, insurance options exist for those worried about their phones being stolen, just like a car.
wingrider01
join:2006-07-25
Saint Louis, MO

wingrider01 to tc1uscg

Member

to tc1uscg
I carry insurance on my phone, but I am not suckered into the policies that the carriers utilize that carry a hefty deductible for a smartphone, I have full cost of replacement w/ 50.00 deductible - cost if about 60.00 a year. Better then asurions with the 199.00 deductible and a promise of a refurb. Guess it is all in what you feel the cost is, 500.00 in the realm of things for some people is a night out for dinner.

/rofl you don't know much about the streets do you, even the worst addict in the world knows how to deal with stolen weapons
wingrider01

wingrider01 to openbox9

Member

to openbox9
said by openbox9:

said by tc1uscg:

And only an idiot would not carry insurance on a phone that costs 500 bucks or more while under contract.

That's a risk management decision. Personally, I'll keep my $7.99/mth and have a couple hundred bucks after two years to put toward a new phone. My point is, insurance options exist for those worried about their phones being stolen, just like a car.

correct insurance for a car is not a option, it I mandatory and a severe fine if you don't have it - not a comparison at all
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Liability insurance is a requirement. I didn't start the car comparison, tc1uscg See Profile did. I could care less about people wanting/willing to waste their money on insurance.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to Hall

Member

to Hall
said by Hall:

Replaced a phone 5 times because of (the same faulty) software that kept getting pushed to it ? Pure genius...

Mr Einstein, maybe you should re-read the post. Didn't say the the same faulty software was installed 5 times. Motorola sent a critical update and updates to the apps that came on the phone, and my purchased apps, etc. It could have been any of the above but the SAME single update was never determined to have hurt the phone but Sprint had no other explanation. A phone right out of the box had a "Camera disabled by Admin" alert. Soooo, wanna take a stab what it was? Sprint tried to blame an app that I had been running for months (Go SMS) to be the reason my phone wasn't sending text's and resetting the transmit side of the phone. Then after getting a replacement phone because the techs determined my receive side was bad anyway, I went back in and showed the store that it was doing the SAME thing with ONLY native apps installed. I just wanted a phone that didn't miss calls, rebooted in the middle of a call or just worked when I wanted to use it without having to turn it off, then back on.

Pure genius? Maybe not, but I didn't want to be an IDIOT and take a cheaper less capable phone to replace mine, therefore, I had no problem with using that 8 bucks a month I pay for this kind of thing. I purchased the phone out right so why would I take a 200.00 phone for one I paid 400 for? Now, maybe you would?