Verizon denied my activation of used phones a couple of times due to a blacklisted IMEI, so apparently they (at least used to) keep an internal blacklist also.
Verizon owns their network, so I'd imagine they have pretty broad discretion (FCC-willing) on restricting the specific devices they'd allow on it. Blacklisting IMEI's seems like a pretty reasonable theft deterrent.
Are you sure it was specifically blacklisted? It wasn't "not whitelisted"?
When I gave my developer edition Galaxy S3 to a friend, having bought it unlocked and used it on Sprint, I had a dickens of a time trying to help them use it on Verizon. Eventually, the answer I got was not that it was different from the version they were selling, nor was it incompatible at the radio level or otherwise wouldn't work on their network, nor did they think it was stolen or otherwise blacklisted, but that the IMEI wasn't prefilled in Verizon's database and they wouldn't add it because we didn't buy it there.
Verizon lost a customer that day. Since then, between myself and my friend and our families, we've probably paid in $6,000 to other carriers in the last 36 months.
that the IMEI wasn't prefilled in Verizon's database and they wouldn't add it because we didn't buy it there.
FWIW, This filter applies at the point of activating a SIM card, not moving a SIM from a phone they would activate to one that "doesn't work" on their network.
