iphone 5c stuck in activation

hello.. i have this iphone 5c which is stuck in the activation. It was sent to me by my brother from USA .. he thought it was factory unlocked and he bought it from his friend,, but for some reasons he didnt check it.. When i got it here, i was told by my brother to reset it and when i did so.. It got stuck in the activation. It requires the original sim.. Can an iphone be factory unlocked even though it is stuck in the activation? And before i had reset it, i had made a backup of it in itunes.. Can i ever use the device again?

please help!!!

bandofbrothers said:

You've posted in the wrong section so I have asked for it to be moved to a more relevant boards so perhaps you get a quicker response.

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thank you

bbrks said:

It shouldn't be too difficult to find, or buy cheap original SIM, just for the sake of activation. Do you know, to which carrier the phone is locked to?

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the thing is the phone is here with me in Nepal.. so i dont think its possible to buy a sim.. I checked the imei of the phone online and found out about the carrier.. I guess a third party unlock would help but i am not sure about it.. Do you have any idea regarding it??

Applejuiced said:

Is it activation locked?
Is it asking you for an Apple ID email and password?

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Nope it does not ask about an apple ID email and password.. After selecting the language and country.. I am asked to connect to itunes and when i do so it shows as in the image...

VTECaddict said:

If it is unlocked, you just need to put any SIM card into it to activate it. Did you try to put your current SIM in there?

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Yep i tried with my current sim.. It is not unlocked.. It is locked with its carrier...

bbrks said:

Well than, the carrier unlock is your only option....

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You mean if the iphone is factory unlocked it will work.. It is stuck in the activation..

bbrks said:

Yes that's it.

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thank you ... and one last question.. Even though the phone is stuck in activation, it can be factory unlocked?

Applejuiced said:

Yes, once the factory IMEI unlock goes thru it will activate with any GSM sim card.
What carrier is it locked to?

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it is locked with US sprint

Jeff R said:

I guess you have no choice but to:

1) Unlock your iPhone first.

2) Once unlocked, insert your SIM & see if your sim is compatible or not.
I'm not sure if the model of your phone supports all networks. I know that here in the US, Sprint is under CDMA network. At&t & T-mobile use GSM.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

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I am not sure if there is any CDMA network service in Nepal.. but once the phone is unlocked.. i can use it as an ipod right?

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Applejuiced said:

How do you plan on unlocking it?

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Well i told my brother that he should tell his friend and ask him to talk to the carrier.. but my brother no longer has contact with his friend.. so i have no idea how the iphone is going to be unlocked.. I hope there are 3rd party unlocking options available or would jailbreaking help??

Anyone have any idea and suggestions about 3rd party unlocking or jailbreaking?

Jeff R said:

Yes you can! Try to have your brother send you a Sprint SIM card. Hopefully, that should do the trick without having to unlock your phone if you want to just use it as an iPod touch.

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any sprint sim card would activate the phone? or the sim card that was given with phone?