Will I be able to buy the iphone 5s without a contract when it's released?

No one knows.

When the 5 launched it was not available unlocked.

Well you can pay full-price/without a contract at launch. Unlocked is another story.

The 4S took a month before unlocked models were sold in the US. For the 5, it was longer, like a month and a half to 2 months. I maybe wrong, so someone correct me if I am.

bought two iPhone 5 at the time of launch without contract at full price. and they are factory unlocked by default.

My post was phones directly sold by Apple, no contract and unlocked. You may be able to buy them without a contract (full price) but there is no guarantee. And I (vaguely) remember shortly after launch, you couldn't get the 5 off contract though the carriers, I think because so many people were going that route and the carriers want you to sign contracts.

The point is, we really don't know what will happen at this time.

And Apple wonders why 90% of iPhone sales are through Carriers.

DaGrandMastah said:

So a couple of people are saying they could....and others are saying they couldn't?

I just want to buy a verizon version without a contract....not sure if that means unlocked or not. Will I be able to do that?

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You can definitely do that. Buying unlocked is completely different than paying full-price.

From what I remember you can always buy iphones without contracts from the apple store and just pay full price. At telecom's, it has been possible but comes with some restrictions. With the introduction of no contract plans at Att/T-Mobile/Verizon I think it won't be an issue. Unlocked phones usually come out a few weeks after launch and can only be bought at Apple stores.

DaGrandMastah said:

Simple question. I vaguely remember there being an issue with the iphone 5 the last time it was released with people either wanting to buy it without a contract (or maybe it was just an unlocked version).

Just want to make sure I can....my iphone 5 was stolen out of contract (no insurance) so I'm in the market for the new one.

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Why not. I have always been able to buy from AT&T outright if I wished. They make their money either way.

DaGrandMastah said:

Simple question. .

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Simple answer, NO.

So many differences across the atlantic..

In the UK, iPhones always available unlocked on the day of release. Directly from Apple.

Lucille Carter said:

Why not. I have always been able to buy from AT&T outright if I wished. They make their money either way.

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They don't make money on the hardware, the mula is on the contract.

Probably not.

Big demand all but ensures you won't be able to

DaGrandMastah said:

So a couple of people are saying they could....and others are saying they couldn't?

I just want to buy a verizon version without a contract....not sure if that means unlocked or not. Will I be able to do that?

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You ask a simple question. But as you can see from the responses, I don't think your question has a simple answer.

You ca order a Verizon iPhone on launch day through Apple and have it delivered to an Apple retail store, then tell them you want to pay full price. That would probably be your best bet of getting a phone off contract.

However, I'm pretty sure that the CDMA cellular portion will be locked to Verizon. Reports vary on whether the LTE SIM will be locked or unlocked.

We don't yet know how many different radio configurations Apple will make. So we don't know yet whether any of the iPhones to be sold in the U.S. will be world compatible.

It may be worth your while to go to a corporate Verizon store now and and what options are available to you today since your phone was stolen. If possible, I would do the same thing at an Apple retail store if you have access to one.

If you know what the policy is today when supplies are not limited, you will be in a better position to negotiate when the new phone is released.

If you can't get to either an Apple Retail and/or a Verizon corporate store, you can always call their customer service number or even better do a live chat session where you can save a copy of the transcript.

If you go to a store or call, make sure you write down the name of the person you spoke with as well as the date and time.

I don't think you can during launch week. You can only buy it full retail if you don't qualify for any sort of upgrade from your carrier.

In the past, you were able to purchase the phone at full unsubsidized price, although the phone was still technically "locked". I say "locked" because once you brought the phone home and plugged it into iTunes, the user would immediately receive the "congratulations, your phone has been unlocked" message. In essence, you could get an unlocked phone if you paid full price for it on launch day. The official unlocked devices didn't go on sale until more than a month later.

With all that said, no one knows what will happen with this release.

So much confusion and misunderstanding. All you need is an existing account with At&t, Verizon, etc. You can then order your new phone as a device only upgrade. You can do this online, at the Apple store, it doesn't matter. It's a full price upgrade whether or not you qualify for a discount from your carrier. I did it last year no problem. And yes the phone will be fully unlocked.

As far as walking in off the street with no account and wanting a new phone only that may take a month or two until Apple decides to allow that.

Givmeabrek said:

So much confusion and misunderstanding. All you need is an existing account with At&t, Verizon, etc. You can then order your new phone as a device only upgrade. You can do this online, at the Apple store, it doesn't matter. It's a full price upgrade whether or not you qualify for a discount from your carrier. I did it last year no problem. And yes the phone will be fully unlocked.

As far as walking in off the street with no account and wanting a new phone only that may take a month or two until Apple decides to allow that.

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Correct. As long as you have a carrier account, you can decide to do a full upgrade. But I do remember that Apple stores couldn't do this because the system would automatically come up as the cheapest upgrade. Maybe it was just my store.

No carrier account? No phone.

I don't know for sure if the full price phones are unlocked for sure or not, but i'm pretty sure you can buy those day one. Unlocked phones generally show up for purchase about a month later going off past history.

MuGeN PoWeR said:

bought two iPhone 5 at the time of launch without contract at full price. and they are factory unlocked by default.

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Who was your carrier? GSM iPhone 5s weren't available as factory unlocked until November lady year.

Your probably going to have to wait a while if the past is any justification

rockitdog said:

Who was your carrier? GSM iPhone 5s weren't available as factory unlocked until November lady year.

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i bought AT&T and its factory unlocked. still using it

i reserved it via my carrier. went to pick up and asked them i dont need any phone line with it. i want to buy at full price. all they did was credit back my money charged from cc and then charged 692$ for my iphone at full price.

Interesting. So if I had a Att prepaid account I won't be able to buy the phone (full price) without a contract?