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So is the Sprint 4S unlocked, or not?
- Thread starter benguild
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They are not unlocked. Unlocked GSM-only iPhone 4S will be sold only by Apple, starting in November.
From what I've read, I don't think we can be sure until tomorrow.
The question becomes, will Sprint treat the iPhone differently than it does any of it's other world phones.
The question becomes, will Sprint treat the iPhone differently than it does any of it's other world phones.
There was a post saying that a Sprint spokesperson stated that it would not be sim-unlocked but we won't know for sure until tomorrow. For the States, unlocked iPhones are going to be available in November, but the CDMA portion of it will be disabled. Apple mentions this on their website.
I am gifted with an ability called "Logical Reasoning"
I will give 2:1 odds on a $500 bet to the first responder who thinks that they can take a Sprint iPhone 4S out of the box, put in an AT&T SIM, and use the phone for anything other than emergency calls.
Turn the logic around -
1. We know that Apple offers the ability to SIM-lock phones, they've done it for years.
2. If a dual-band phone (Verizon or Sprint) is SIM-locked, then Verizon/Sprint get the roaming fees if their customers choose to use the phone out of country.
3. If the phone were unlocked, it would open up the possibility of people buying a subsidized phone, and skipping out on their contract in order to use the phone overseas - leaving Verizon/Sprint holding the bag for the $450 subsidy discount.
Given the above, what possible incentive would Verizon/Sprint have for NOT locking the phones? They have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
Uh I don't know, how about the 400$ early termination fee. Sorry dude but you are dead wrong on the GSM for international, here is a direct statemen from Verizon via Engadget:
"The Iphone 4s works like all of our global phones. The phone comes in a box with a SIM locked to our network and the network of our romaing partnesrs including Vodafone, one of our parent companies. Customers sign up for a Verizon Wireless voice plan (beginning at $39.99 for 450 min.) and a data plan beinning at 3GB for 30$. When they choose to go out of the country, they should call Verizon Wireless to sign up for a global plan. The customer can also request to have the SIM unlocked if they want to use a local service while out of the country. The request needs to be made prior to leaving the country, their bill must be current and the phone must be active on the account for 60 days before we will unlock the SIM"
Thanks for the info! Im debating Verizon now and canceling my sprint order. Having an unlocked gsm side is useful and will allow me to sell my unlocked iPhone 4.
Thats the point, people would buy contract-free locked phones for about $500-$600 and use it outside US like an unlocked phone. That would more around $200 cheaper than the Apple unlocked ones. That makes no sense in selling unlocked phones separately, highly doubt this happening.
Well to be fair you have to be a verizon customer in good standing for 60 days after purchase so at that point you are already out anothe 200$, so 200$ for the phone + $200 in bills + 350$ termination Fee - shazzam you're pu to 750$.
I heard a MacWorld podcast featuring an interview with Jason Snell, who spoke about this very issue. According to him, the Sprint/Verizon iPhone 4S has a "roaming" SIM installed. The SIM in the Sprint iPhone is already unlocked, and can be swapped in country with a pre-paid SIM. On the other hand, the SIM in the Verizon iPhone can be swapped out for a pre-paid Verizon international unlocked SIM. This is contingent upon being a customer in good standing, for a period of at least 60 days, with Verizon. He didn't indicate whether the Verizon SIM can be swapped in country for a pre-paid SIM, however.
Thanks Hawaii, I trust Jason over a lot of the lower leve sprint people that have been reporting. I imagine Jason has friend in high places.
Sprint is dumb. Don't believe anything they say.
Only way we'll find out is tomorrow or when someone actually goes overseas and uses it.
A sprint source told engadget that the sim is not removable. Come on! Of course they retracted it but that's pretty dumb.
I'll be surprised if it's locked. Let's just leave it at that.
Only way we'll find out is tomorrow or when someone actually goes overseas and uses it.
A sprint source told engadget that the sim is not removable. Come on! Of course they retracted it but that's pretty dumb.
I'll be surprised if it's locked. Let's just leave it at that.
Good luck, because if it's unlocked it'll only be for using it in other countries, the US usage will still be locked to Sprint!
Never fear! Tomorrow, at night, I will travel far... to Africa, surviving on nothing more than snake skins and purified urine, I will live long enough to insert a third party GSM sim into my iPhone 4s, tweeting my success or failure only moments before I succumb to extreme dehydration and red fever.
FOR SCIENCE!!!
FOR SCIENCE!!!