iPhone XS iPhone Wrongly Marked as Stolen

[surbhitjain25]

My own iphone XS is wrongly/incorrectly marked as Stolen by someone. Am not sure who did that (Don't know how to even find who reported it as Stolen), and IMEI is now blocked. Its my own Phone, and I am using same Apple Id on it from day 1. My carrier (Mint Mobile) confirmed they have not put the request to block, nor they can remove it from the list. And everything shows active on their side. Apple support mentioned they cannot do anything about it, as they have not put the phone on stolen mode. Phone is already paid off completely in 2018. Am stuck now.
How can I remove my own phone off the stolen list?

 

[Jackbequickly]

Where did you buy your XS? From a store or individual?

If not the first one to own the phone, it could be stolen.

 

[surbhitjain25]

Where did you buy your XS? From a store or individual?

If not the first one to own the phone, it could be stolen.

I bought brand new iPhone back in 2018 from Sam's Club

 

[Jackbequickly]

Unfortunately, you are likely just out of luck.

 

[surbhitjain25]

Unfortunately, you are likely just out of luck.

Am shocked actually. How come there is no way to challenge. Genuine person is suffering

 

[JamesMcFlyJR]

First question: When you say its been reported Stolen and the IMEI is blocked, how did you find out? Did the iPhone stop making calls/connecting to the carrier internet? If it still works fine as a mobile phone, the phone just might be marked stolen by accident by a random person.

However, if its actually marked stolen and the iPhone doesn't work as a mobile phone anymore (no calls or service) do this...

Go to the Apple Store with your iPhone and Sam's Club proof of purchase/receipt (also bringing the iPhone box would be good if you still have it)

Explain exactly what you said here and ask for an explanation what could have happened. Since you have proof of purchase, Apple should have the ability to unmark it as stolen.

edit: also a secondary option other than Apple Store one, is to go to Sams Club and ask what happened and who could have marked it as stolen. Also bring proof of purchase/receipt with you.

 

[surbhitjain25]

First question: When you say its been reported Stolen and the IMEI is blocked, how did you find out? Did the iPhone stop making calls/connecting to the carrier internet? If it still works fine as a mobile phone, the phone just might be marked stolen by accident by a random person.

However, if its actually marked stolen and the iPhone doesn't work as a mobile phone anymore (no calls or service) do this...

Go to the Apple Store with your iPhone and Sam's Club proof of purchase/receipt (also bringing the iPhone box would be good if you still have it)

Explain exactly what you said here and ask for an explanation what could have happened. Since you have proof of purchase, Apple should have the ability to unmark it as stolen.

edit: also a secondary option other than Apple Store one, is to go to Sams Club and ask what happened and who could have marked it as stolen. Also bring proof of purchase/receipt with you.

My phone started showing SOS mode few days back all of a sudden, and all incoming/outgoing/cellular data stopped. I can only connect to Wifi. I checked with Apple Support, and after 2 days they determined its due to IMEI block.
Apple says they don't have any ability to remove phone from Stolen list since they are not the one who reported it. And same is with Sams club too.

 

[JamesMcFlyJR]

My phone started showing SOS mode few days back all of a sudden, and all incoming/outgoing/cellular data stopped. I can only connect to Wifi. I checked with Apple Support, and after 2 days they determined its due to IMEI block.
Apple says they don't have any ability to remove phone from Stolen list since they are not the one who reported it. And same is with Sams club too.

hmm super weird

In that case, I would start calling/messaging all of the major carriers in the US. Starting from T-Mobile since it looks like Mint uses their network. Then ATT and Verizon.

Start a phone call or chat and be as basic as possible. Such as "Hey I wanted to bring my phone to [name of carrier], Will my phone work?" Obviously they will check the IMEI and say "no", so then follow up with a "Do you know if [name of carrier] might have marked it as stolen?". (Specifically push to get an answer if that carrier specifically blocked it on their network)

If you get a "yes we marked it as stolen" from one of the major carriers, tell them you are the rightful owner and that you have receipts to prove it.

Other than that, Im not sure what else might be done. If that doesnt work, maybe check if you had given your phone to a bad actor in person and they copied the IMEI somehow? Still very low chance of something like that happening. Also as a very last resort, you could restore the iPhone via computer and see if that somehow fixes it (0.01% chance of actually working but might be worth a shot in a last ditch effort)

 

[surbhitjain25]

hmm super weird

In that case, I would start calling/messaging all of the major carriers in the US. Starting from T-Mobile since it looks like Mint uses their network. Then ATT and Verizon.

Start a phone call or chat and be as basic as possible. Such as "Hey I wanted to bring my phone to [name of carrier], Will my phone work?" Obviously they will check the IMEI and say "no", so then follow up with a "Do you know if [name of carrier] might have marked it as stolen?". (Specifically push to get an answer if that carrier specifically blocked it on their network)

If you get a "yes we marked it as stolen" from one of the major carriers, tell them you are the rightful owner and that you have receipts to prove it.

Other than that, Im not sure what else might be done. If that doesnt work, maybe check if you had given your phone to a bad actor in person and they copied the IMEI somehow? Still very low chance of something like that happening. Also as a very last resort, you could restore the iPhone via computer and see if that somehow fixes it (0.01% chance of actually working but might be worth a shot in a last ditch effort)

Thanks. Let me try that.

 

[Fred Zed]

Maybe some clerk at a carrier entered a wrong IMEI number and black listed your device. Sorry to hear.

 

[Hele]

Hmmmm and didn't T-Mobile have some kind of data breach recently? Maybe it got exposed/messed with ... Just a thought.