AT&T Device Blacklist Issue
[Posted May 6th, 2022]
MobileMustHave.com has been fielding reports from a limited group of customers that have reported that devices purchased from MobileMustHave.com are being listed as blacklisted by AT&T Wireless. We have reported this issue to Peplink, so they are aware as well and they are also investigating the issue.
This story is developing but here is what we know as of today. Updates will be posted with time stamps further down this post as new information becomes available.
First, the devices are obviously not stolen and were purchased and resold through authorized channels. MobileMustHave is a Platinum Certified Peplink Partner, and all devices are obtained directly from Peplink’s North American wholesale distributor. Devices are registered with Peplink at the time of sale and sales registrations are tied to the customer for warranty purposes. For customers who wish to obtain a copy of their receipt, or proof of sales registration with Peplink please email info@mobilemusthave.com and we will validate your order number and identify and send that information to the customer.
We have received unconfirmed reports from industry sources that customers of Bix Wireless and several other 3rd party data resellers not affiliated with MobileMustHave had AT&T Wireless accounts shut down recently and some or all device IMEI’s associated with those accounts may have been marked by AT&T either intentionally or unintentionally as stolen/blacklisted. We have also received isolated reports that customers of our data referral service available from 2019-2021, known as Bluebird Referral Plan had devices that may have been affected as well however this remains unconfirmed as many customers move between various 3rdparty wholesalers throughout the history of their device. In communications with the provider of the Bluebird plan, less that 2% of customers seem to have been affected so we are unable to verify which reseller plan may have caused the root issue as customers have informed us they had used other plans as well in affected devices.
Devices affected function without issue on other cellular networks. If you are a MobileMustHave customer and believe you have been affected by this issue, contact us and we will assist you on finding alternatives if you need to get online immediately. For customers with dual modem devices (Transit DUO), and that need to remain with AT&T, you can reassign your AT&T service to your second modem in the device which has a secondary IMEI that likely is unaffected. The motivation and intention of AT&T Wireless remains unclear at this time. We have been unable to find a public post by AT&T expressly forbidding the use of 3rd party plans and AT&T has established wholesale business divisions specifically for the resale channel so their motivation remains unclear. Regardless, continuing to use AT&T 3rd party data plans may pose a risk to customer devices so proceed with caution.
We are continuing to track this issue and are investigating pathways to attempt to resolve this issue for customers through the manufacturer, regulatory agencies and directly with the carrier. As we know more, we will communicate it here.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the cellular provider.
Regards,
Erik – Founder – MobileMustHave.com