Ebay buyer claims she needs email and password to unlock Mi Max

[leetrevor81]

Hey Mi Max users, I need some advice, hope you can help.

I sold my mi max, which I bought brand new and am sure I factory reset.

The buyer has sent me a message saying she wants a refund. She says it is locked to a user and she doesn't know the email and password to unlock it. She said she had this problem with an IPhone before.

I have no idea what she is referring to. I've sold plenty of phones before, where i factory reset the phone, it's good to go as a new phone and the buyer is happy. I've asked her to send a screenshot of the screen she is getting.

Anyone have any idea of what could be going on? This buyer has over 800 transactions with 100% feedback

 

[srkmagnus]

I would wait to see photos, or preferably, video of the device asking for that information. If you did reset the device then it should not be asking for this information.

 

[pinkvikchick]

I would wait to see photos, or preferably, video of the device asking for that information. If you did reset the device then it should not be asking for this information.

I've had this issue before (and so weird, because I know how to factory reset everything!) this is a GOOD IDEA!!!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Before you did the factory reset, did you remove your Google account from the Settings>Accounts menu? This properly authorizes the factory reset. If you don't remove the Google account first, it's considered an unauthorized factory reset, which causes Google's Factory Reset Protection feature to kick in. It requires the user to enter that account's name and password to proceed. See here: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6172890?hl=en

This has been the case since Lollipop, I think, but it's still not widely understood, so we see this crop up with some regularity here. It's reasonable to ask the buyer for a photo to confirm that they're getting that screen. If you give her your password, she could then boot the phone up, go to Settings>Accounts, select your account, and properly remove it. Then she could do a proper factory reset, and then set it up for herself.

After this, you could then change your password -- but another tricky thing here is that if you change the password too soon, it might prevent her from finishing the above process. You might want to arrange a time where you can do a video chat using Skype or Hangouts, so you can see what she's doing. Once she removes your account and does the factory reset, you can then change your Google password.

Complicated, I know, but if you want to keep that good eBay rating, it might be worthwhile!

 

[leetrevor81]

Thanks for the responses guys. I did request a screenshot, no response so far!

This is the second time I've heard that there is a security feature to unlock after reset. I'll keep this in mind when selling phones in the future. However, I've sold an HTC 10 and Nexus 5x this year on eBay with really happy buyer's, so looks like this issue didn't come up on those phones?

 

[B. Diddy]

Interesting. Maybe you did remove your Google account before factory resetting in those cases?

 

[leetrevor81]

Massive thanks B. Diddy. You were right, removing my google account worked. She seems quite happy and is no longer requesting a refund.

 

[B. Diddy]

Excellent! Although Factory Reset Protection has been around for a while, it still doesn't seem as widely known as it should be. This ought to be required reading: Selling your Android phone or tablet: The ultimate guide | Android Central

 

[jefbeard911]

Old thread I know, but she may be referring to your Mi Cloud account.

The phone will ask you to sign into you Mi Account every time until you do it.

Not sure of the solution other than her trying to sign up for a new Mi Account.