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iPhone Bad ESN Sprint iphone 4s how to unlock?

F

Firthin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2013
5
0
Im pretty new at this, just bought my brothers iphone for 50, hopefully be able to activate from sprint (sbad esn) to verizon?

im familar with cydia and how to jail break it. even looked up something about SAM.. The questions i have are, Is it possible to unlock it back to sprint? or do i have to switch carriers? and if i do have to switch carriers do i need a physical sim card to do so?

any help much appreciated or links to directions... thanks
 
TriJetHero

TriJetHero

macrumors 601
Oct 13, 2010
4,959
144
World
Sprint and Verizon are both CDMA and are carrier activated, is the phone contract free? You'll need to contact your carrier to get it activated. If it is still in contract you might need to switch carriers.
 
Applejuiced

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
Nope, you cant use it again on sprint.
It has a bad ESN.
Only the original owner can clear the esn again by paying the bill or the ETF or whatever other issue there is that caused that iphone to get blacklisted.
There's no amount of hacking or JB that will make Sprint allow it to be activated on their network again. Its something that has to be done on their end.
 
F

Firthin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2013
5
0
There is no contract on the phone, my brother owes however much, so i was wondering if i could unlock it and switch it over to Verizon since it cant be used on sprint again.?
 
TriJetHero

TriJetHero

macrumors 601
Oct 13, 2010
4,959
144
World
Firthin said:
There is no contract on the phone, my brother owes however much, so i was wondering if i could unlock it and switch it over to Verizon since it cant be used on sprint again.?
Click to expand...

Nope only the current carrier can fix that.
 
TriJetHero

TriJetHero

macrumors 601
Oct 13, 2010
4,959
144
World
CDMA phones are activated carrier side. GSM phones are activated through iTunes.

So if the ESN is bad only the current carrier can undue that.

If you accuse somebody of being wrong, you might wanna put in he right info.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Arnezie

Arnezie

macrumors 65816
Oct 10, 2011
1,317
115
TriJetHero said:
CDMA phones are activated carrier side. GSM phones are activated through iTunes.

So if the ESN is bad only the current carrier can undue that.

If you accuse somebody of being wrong, you might wanna put in he right info.
Click to expand...

CDMA phones are locked to the carrier you CAN NOT activate a sprint on Verizon or vise versa. If its got a bad esn then the only thing to do is pay the bill due and activate it on its original carrier. You give your input that is completely incorrect I find it a waste of my time to explain things that a simple google search could teach you. I find that there is no cure for ignorance.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
darricksailo

darricksailo

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,353
113
angelicacruz said:
what if i wanna switch to tmobile ?

so i wont be able to connect on any carrier with bad e..:apple:
Click to expand...

you would need a new phone (one that works with tmobile). sprint phones don't work on tmobile as far as i'm aware of. sprint phones can only be unlocked for international use
 
A

angelicacruz

macrumors newbie
Oct 30, 2013
3
0
darricksailo said:
you would need a new phone (one that works with tmobile). sprint phones don't work on tmobile as far as i'm aware of. sprint phones can only be unlocked for international use
Click to expand...

hey do u know if i bought a sprint and unlock it can i connect to tmobile or still no
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,792
26,879
angelicacruz said:
hey do u know if i bought a sprint and unlock it can i connect to tmobile or still no
Click to expand...
Let's make this very simple shall we?

SPRINT. IPHONES. CANNOT. BE. UNLOCKED. FOR. DOMESTIC. CARRIER. USE. EVER. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY.

T-Mobile is a domestic US carrier. THERE IS NO UNLOCK! NO! You CANNOT connect to T-Mobile because it would have to be unlocked first AND YOU CANNOT UNLOCK IT!
 
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R

Rishsd

macrumors newbie
May 16, 2014
5
0
eyoungren said:
Let's make this very simple shall we?

SPRINT. IPHONES. CANNOT. BE UNLOCKED. FOR. DOMESTIC. CARRIER. USE. EVER. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY.

T-Mobile is a domestic US carrier. THERE IS NO UNLOCK! NO! You CANNOT connect to T-Mobile because it would have to be unlocked first AND YOU CANNOT UNLOCK IT!
Click to expand...

This is just NOT true... I have been on Net10 (AT&T network) for2 years using a Sprint iPhone 4s 16g MD240LL/A using what is called an "imposer card" this card unlocks the phone to use GSM. It works well for sprint as long as you haven't upgraded to 7.1. It still works with 7.1 but I get 2g internet speeds. To get 3G speeds you have to jailbreak the phone and their is no jailbreak for 7.1 & 4s.
 
Applejuiced

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
Rishsd said:
This is just NOT true... I have been on Net10 (AT&T network) for2 years using a Sprint iPhone 4s 16g MD240LL/A using what is called an "imposer card" this card unlocks the phone to use GSM. It works well for sprint as long as you haven't upgraded to 7.1. It still works with 7.1 but I get 2g internet speeds. To get 3G speeds you have to jailbreak the phone and their is no jailbreak for 7.1 & 4s.
Click to expand...

It works temporarily or until someone needs to restore or ever update their iphone then its back to being locked.
A gevey sim adapter is not a permanent unlock solution.
 
R

Rishsd

macrumors newbie
May 16, 2014
5
0
Applejuiced said:
It works temporarily or until someone needs to restore or ever update their iphone then its back to being locked.
A gevey sim adapter is not a permanent unlock solution.
Click to expand...

What he said was "SPRINT. IPHONES. CANNOT. BE UNLOCKED. FOR. DOMESTIC. CARRIER. USE. EVER. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY." 2 years without a problem. The only problem I ever had was upgrading to 7.1, there is no jailbreak. temporary or permanent the phone is still unlocked for domestic carrier use.
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,792
26,879
Rishsd said:
This is just NOT true... I have been on Net10 (AT&T network) for2 years using a Sprint iPhone 4s 16g MD240LL/A using what is called an "imposer card" this card unlocks the phone to use GSM. It works well for sprint as long as you haven't upgraded to 7.1. It still works with 7.1 but I get 2g internet speeds. To get 3G speeds you have to jailbreak the phone and their is no jailbreak for 7.1 & 4s.
Click to expand...
Do me a favor. Pull out your "imposer card" and use your phone on your network. Can you?

No? Then your phone is not unlocked. Your "imposer card" performs a Man In The Middle attack to fool the phone. It's not a TRUE unlock.

If you have to use an R-SIM, a Gevey or any other kind of interposer it is not a true unlock.

I don't know why everyone who uses an imposer seems to think their phone is unlocked. You pull out the imposer and it won't work. Hence, no true unlock. A true unlock works without any kind of additional assistance.

----------
Rishsd said:
What he said was "SPRINT. IPHONES. CANNOT. BE UNLOCKED. FOR. DOMESTIC. CARRIER. USE. EVER. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY." 2 years without a problem. The only problem I ever had was upgrading to 7.1, there is no jailbreak. temporary or permanent the phone is still unlocked for domestic carrier use.
Click to expand...
If you use the interposer. Pull the interposer out and see how far you get. I ask you, if you don't use the interposer is your phone unlocked?
 
R

Rishsd

macrumors newbie
May 16, 2014
5
0
eyoungren said:
Do me a favor. Pull out your "imposer card" and use your phone on your network. Can you?

No? Then your phone is not unlocked. Your "imposer card" performs a Man In The Middle attack to fool the phone. It's not a TRUE unlock.

If you have to use an R-SIM, a Gevey or any other kind of interposer it is not a true unlock.

I don't know why everyone who uses an imposer seems to think their phone is unlocked. You pull out the imposer and it won't work. Hence, no true unlock. A true unlock works without any kind of additional assistance.

----------


If you use the interposer. Pull the interposer out and see how far you get. I ask you, if you don't use the interposer is your phone unlocked?
Click to expand...

Again What you say is

"SPRINT. IPHONES. CANNOT. BE UNLOCKED. FOR. DOMESTIC. CARRIER. USE. EVER. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY."

I can use My iPhone 4s on another carrier other than Sprint. Software, Hardware, or other the phone is still "unlocked" allowing me to use my iPhone 4s with its full capabilities on a different domestic carrier. You are right if I take out the interposer I cannot use my phone. So what? If you take out your sim you can't use your phone ether.

Definition:
Unlocked — Unlocked is the term used to describe mobile phones that are not tied to a particular service provider in order to be used.

I "use" my iPhone on another service provider other than sprint.
 
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