OK guys...this has been driving me crazy along with my Bell Mobility Rep. I have 2 of these 5050 units and I am trying to do an ESN swap because one of them is broken. The problem I have is the ESN # that is printed on the back of the unit comes up as invalid. No one in their infinite wisdom at Bell has been able to get this thing connected. Is there any way to get the unit's ESN other then by reading it off the sticker that is on the back of the unit???

Hey Bronco

Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I have the same dilemma....I just bought a 5050 used and the ESN on the box does not work...and I can't even read the one on the back of the unit.

Can anyone help...it would be really cool to get this thing activated!

No1uno

Do you still need help with this?

Here's how to find the ESN on Windows Mobile Phones:

First, make sure the phone is turned on. You may even want to try a call to a no-charge number (like *611) to verify that it is on and working. Just hearing the ringing tone should be enough.

Tap on the windows logo, then pick "Settings" from the list.
Pick the "System" tab at the bottom of the screen.
Tap on the "Device Information" icon.
Pick the "Version" tab at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down through the information, and you will find a line starting with "ESN:" That's what you are looking for.

If you see "ESN: N/A", it means that the phone is not on. Tap the Windows logo, pick "Phone", and try to dial a number. The phone should ask if you want to turn the radio on. You do. Now go back and try the steps again. You should see "ESN: EFBEADDE", except with your actual ESN instead of the number I made up.

I rarely believe (or even check) the stickers on the phone or the box, since they may not reflect what's inside the package. When a phone is serviced, sometimes the parts don't match the sticker. It's always better to ask the phone what it knows the ESN is, rather than trust whatever someone else wrote down.

Now if someone can tell me how to read the MSL from a HTC Harrier or an Audiovox PPC-6600, I would be very happy.