[Closed] So son found a Galaxy s8, police return it to him, ok to sell?

Factory reset means it won't be linked to any account - it'll be 'like new'.

If the police have given it back to him, then presumably it's his & he can sell it on if he wants....

Factory Reset Protection (FRP), a security measure Google introduced in Android 5.0 Lollipop, is designed to prevent thieves from wiping your device and using or selling it. But if you don’t disable it, it can interfere with a factory reset.

When you reset a phone to factory default with FRP enabled, it’ll prompt you to enter the user name and password for the last Google account registered to the device. That’s good and fine if you’re the owner, but obviously problematic if you’ve sold it or given it to another person.

So... assume it's pretty useless other than for parts.

<edit> Looks like a few ways round it anyway, more of an Apple man myself

he may have it and be able to do it legally but I assume the IME number is blocked assuming the owner reported it lost/stolen.

Does it actually work?

Have you tried putting in another sim card to try it?

With iPhones you can report their IMEI numbers as lost/stolen and this bricks the phone (stops it from calling/getting data) which means it's unsellable until you get the code for it to be unblocked (which only the original owner can request)

Junkyard - lazarus
he may have it and be able to do it legally but I assume the IME number is blocked assuming the owner reported it lost/stolen.
Does it actually work?

Work? Good question.
He hasn't got a USB C cable to charge it and he forgot to borrow one from me when came over a while ago. The phone is at his place.

I can check if the imei number is blocked online I think? Can't remember?

I bought a Samsung phone from a national reseller of 2nd hand electronics and can confirm that the IMEI blocking works on android phones too, so worth checking that first before anything else.

How did the police factory reset the phone if they couldn't access it past the lock screen?

Gary_M - Member
How did the police factory reset the phone if they couldn't access it past the lock screen?

I didnr't know if they could or couldn't in all honestly mate.only going on info my son gave me.

Sounds like he's nicked it 😆

Except he handed it into the police...

I think legally he's fine (but I'm not a lawyer etc, etc). It sounds like practically there could be a few issues...

Except he handed it into the police...

...or so he claims 😆

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This has all the hallmarks of a classic drip feed thread. 🙂
Surely the first thing your son did when he found it was turn it on and try to contact someone in the address book. He definitely knows if there's a lock screen!! If there wasn't it would have been extremely easy to get hold of its owner, while if there was it hasn't been factory reset.

Whats the time between it being handed into the police and then being given to your son?
I'd have expected the police to hang onto it for a while in case anyone claims it.

On first reading this I also thought there was a minimum time that the police would keep this, giving the owner the chance to reclaim it..

How long ago did he find it exactly?

Surely the first thing your son did when he found it was turn it on and try to contact someone in the address book

First paragraph:

Basically he found it in London on a trip to there. [b]Was flat[/b], he handed it to local police station down here.

prawny - Member
Sounds like he's nicked it

it's an imaginative strategy, nick a phone, legitimise your ownership by handing it into the polis, get it back, punt it, could make a few quid at that game! 😆

Especially if you hand it into a police station nowhere near where you "found" the phone, so the original owner has no chance of claiming it 🙂

[img] [/img]

lock him up! 🙂

Love it. Guy asks for some simple advice and it ends with his son being a master criminal. STW FTW

Just one more thing, does your son carry a man bag.

Poopscoop - Member
Basically he found it in London on a trip to there

Did he take in a show?
🙂

I just spotted the part where he handed it in nowhere near where he found it!!

Cunning move.. Keep on right side of law but at same time ensure that there is no way it'll ever be reclaimed..

But if the IMEI had been reported stolen/missing then it wouldn't matter what police station you hand it in to.
Sounds to me like someone has dropped/lost it and it wasn't insured so they haven't bothered to report it stolen/missing and get it blocked as they can't claim for it anyway.
Get a free pay as you go sim in it to check if it works and if so get it sold!

[img] [/img]

tpbiker - Member

Cunning move.. Keep on right side of law but at same time ensure that there is no way it'll ever be reclaimed..

To be honest,I knew the thread would throw up a few "typical stw" comments. Which is fine,I knew that before I posted.

That's said, you don't know my son and that is not the way his mind works. Your comment only really shows how [b]your[/b] mind works to be honest.

Anyway, thanks for the helpful [b] and[/b] funny comments. I do enjoy stw humour, just not the judgmental kind expressed above.

Thanks again to the other posters in the main though and will look into this a bit further. 🙂

Simple answer get an EE sim and use the phone.

Or phone EE to check out if the imei number has a registered owner (details).

Poopscoop, apologies, im just taking the mick.

As above, call ee if he can be assed tracking down owner.

That's said, you don't know my son and that is not the way his mind works. Your comment only really shows how your mind works to be honest.

I wasn't suggesting in any way that your son stole the phone, I was just curious how the police could factory reset a phone that wasn't charged and had a screen lock, or in fact why they would do that.

Also apologies, I was just dicking about, no offense intended.

I'm not sure anyone even nicks phones these days do they with how easy they are to lock and wipe.

Wallets are much easier....

assume the IME number is blocked assuming the owner reported it lost/stolen.

It can also take some time for the networks to get around to blocking the IME number, so if it has been reported missing, it may work now but that's not to say it will work in a few months time.

Just sell it as "spares or repair" and explain the circumstances to any potential buyer? Then it's caveat emptor if it's subsequently locked out / barred?