Sprint to Lock iPhone 4S SIMs Starting November 11th

[MacRumors]

Sprintfeed reports that Sprint will be SIM locking their iPhone 4S SIMs starting on November 11th.

Starting tomorrow, all iPhone 4S devices will have the SIM locked. The locking occurs during the activation process and is invisible to the customer (no extra action is needed by customer or rep).

The status of the Sprint iPhone 4S SIM slot has been the subject of some confusion. One early report claimed that the Sprint iPhone 4S SIM slot would be ship unlocked. While true at launch, Sprint then clarified that they would be locking the SIM shortly after launch.

Indeed, the Sprint iPhone 4S will ship with its micro-SIM slot unlocked. However, Sprint now says that it will be locking that slot "shortly after launch" via an update pushed to those devices. After the slot has been locked, Sprint says that it will allow customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use in the future.

Curiously, the new memo notes that "this SIM lock update will not impact any current iPhone 4S customers (activated prior to 11/11/11)." Taken at face value, that suggests that those who purchased and activated an iPhone 4S prior to 11/11/11 will be able to keep their unlocked SIM slot.

An unlocked SIM slot allows customers to use different SIM cards from other networks in their iPhones. This is most frequently used when traveling abroad where local SIM cards can be purchased to avoid international roaming fees. Meanwhile, Apple has stated they will be officially selling unlocked iPhone 4Ss sometime in November.

Article Link: Sprint to Lock iPhone 4S SIMs Starting November 11th

 

[Illusion986]

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

 

[TehFalcon]

Sooooo, if you bought it before this you still Have an unlocked iPhone..

 

[JTToft]

Sprintfeed reports that Sprint will be SIM locking their iPhone 4S SIM cards starting on November 11th.

the Sprint iPhone 4S SIM card would be ship unlocked

The status of Sprint's SIM card has been the subject of some confusion.

...will be able to keep their unlocked SIM slot.

An unlocked SIM slot allows customers to use different SIM cards

- So, is this about locking SIM slots or SIM cards?

 

[AppleFanatic10]

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

I highly doubt AT&T will unlock the sim slot, regardless if you're out of contract or not.

 

[alphaod]

If you need to restore your Sprint iPhone 4S, then it will proceed through the activation again:
Does the SIM slot become locked?

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

AT&T likes to feint ignorance and pretend we're all uninformed by stating they can't do it because Apple won't allow them to.

 

[emulator]

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

No, they won't. This product is not about choice.

 

[AIP5]

Ugh. I hate how they lock the phone into a carrier. How in the name of God is it a "World Phone" if you're locked to one carrier and forced to use their outrageous International Roaming Plans?

In an ideal world, we should always have unlocked iPhones: if you buy it with a contract, then pay your monthly dues until the contract is up (or you pay the ETF), but you still get to have an unlocked iPhone. That way, the carrier gets its monthly fees, you get the freedom of where and when to operate it, and everyone is happy.

But this business of forcing you into using only that carrier is so damn frustrating.

And don't even get me started on how they can't unlock iPhones that have finished serving their 2 years.

 

[thewitt]

- So, is this about locking SIM slots or SIM cards?

The will SIM lock your phone so that it will only accept the Sprint SIM card. I'm sure that AT&T and Verizon will be following suit now that the issues with the activation database have been resolved.

Unlocked phones have not officially shipped in the US yet. Every phone is tied by agreement to a specific carrier, even if they have not yet locked it to their network.

 

[Papajohn56]

Verizon will unlock all world phones for customers in good standing. They won't change this.

 

[koobcamuk]

As has already been pointed out, you need to rewrite the article, to resolve whether the SIM card is locked, or if the iPhone 4S itself is locked to the Sprint network, or to a single Sprint microSIM.

 

[ALUOp]

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

Have you been living under a rock?
AT&T does not unlock iPhone since day zero.
Actually they don't unlock any phone for their customers now.
Even if you pay $650 for a no-contract phone, it's still locked.
This is USA. It's time for your to adjust your expectation.

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The will SIM lock your phone so that it will only accept the Sprint SIM card. I'm sure that AT&T and Verizon will be following suit now that the issues with the activation database have been resolved.

Unlocked phones have not officially shipped in the US yet. Every phone is tied by agreement to a specific carrier, even if they have not yet locked it to their network.

Apple has been shipping unlocked iPhone 4 since summer.

 

[ThomasJL]

So, Sprint is struggling, but unwilling to differentiate itself in a way that can lure many customers (travelers) toward them. Sprint would make a lot more money by having such customers sign-up with them than they would by keeping it locked, having such customers sign-up Verizon or AT&T, and then nickel-and-diming the much smaller number of travelers who use Sprint's extremely expensive international roaming.

American carriers are so greedy that it blinds them from many profit opportunities.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

If the companies don't do it on their own we should ask for a law that mobile devices have also unlocked to be offered.

I'm fine with locked once when the customer to decide to get support from carrier with subsidization. But please: offer globally unlocked devices for those who want them (and yes: more expensive as there is no sponsor)

SIM-lock: dislike and not fitting into a free world and free markets.

 

[justperry]

Wouldn't that be illegal.
You buy it unlocked, its yours but then they lock it again while it is already your property, strange way to lock that iPhone.

People should start a class suit against Sprint, hell they should not buying any contract because US prices are just insane.

 

[complexcommunic]

I can't help but wonder how many people are going to read this article and think that the SIM slot is physically locked, and then post something along the lines of "MINE IS UNLOCKED. I GOT IT OPEN WITH A PAPER CLIP"

 

[blue22]

fingers crossed...

Well, here's to hoping that all those people who got theirs prior to today have an unlocked Sprint iPhone 4S.

 

[thewitt]

Apple has been shipping unlocked iPhone 4 since summer.

They won't stay that way... The AT&T phones will lock to the AT&T network as soon as they load the GSMA IMEI database with their IMEI numbers.

All of the phones sold in the US so far come with an agreement that states you will only use the phone on that carrier's network. Now that the problems with the activation database have been resolved, you can bet that AT&T will not allow over a million phones to remain unlocked.

 

[coz707]

oh you americans, and your silly contrats

 

[imutter]

I hope AT&T will unlock their sim slots after contract is up.

nope

 

[acidfast7]

lol

only in america.

 

[KPOM]

As has already been pointed out, you need to rewrite the article, to resolve whether the SIM card is locked, or if the iPhone 4S itself is locked to the Sprint network, or to a single Sprint microSIM.

A SIM card can't be "locked." The whole point about SIM locking is that the SIM slot in your phone is locked to accept only cards from one carrier. Up to now, the Sprint iPhones would accept a SIM card from any non-US carrier. From today onward, Sprint phones sold today will work only with Sprint SIM cards. However, like Verizon, apparently they will unlock them later upon request for customers in good standing (something AT&T will not do). Once unlocked, the phones won't accept a US carrier SIM (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile), but should work with a non-US SIM.

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lol

only in america.

SIM locking occurs in some European countries, too, with phones purchased on contract. However, Sprint and Verizon are willing to unlock phones upon request. Ironically, AT&T, a GSM carrier, never unlocks iPhones, though they do unlock other phones once the contract is over.

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If the companies don't do it on their own we should ask for a law that mobile devices have also unlocked to be offered.

I'm fine with locked once when the customer to decide to get support from carrier with subsidization. But please: offer globally unlocked devices for those who want them (and yes: more expensive as there is no sponsor)

SIM-lock: dislike and not fitting into a free world and free markets.

Sprint and Verizon do unlock phones upon request. All that's changing is that the Sprint iPhones, which were intended to be locked at purchase, had been shipping unlocked up until now. Customers in good standing who want to use the phone overseas can either activate a plan through Sprint (which requires extra credit checks, etc.) or request that the phone be unlocked to allow non-US SIMs to work.

Apple does indeed offer fully unlocked iPhones for sale, but since CDMA networks like Sprint and Verizon don't use SIM cards for domestic provisioning, these phones don't work on their networks.

Wouldn't that be illegal.
You buy it unlocked, its yours but then they lock it again while it is already your property, strange way to lock that iPhone.

People should start a class suit against Sprint, hell they should not buying any contract because US prices are just insane.

Sprint and Verizon are far more reasonable about this than AT&T, so I'm not sure why you want a class action suit against Sprint.

 

[Illusion986]

Have you been living under a rock?
AT&T does not unlock iPhone since day zero.
Actually they don't unlock any phone for their customers now.
Even if you pay $650 for a no-contract phone, it's still locked.
This is USA. It's time for your to adjust your expectation.

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Im aware that AT&T does not unlock iPhones since day one. But 2 month ago they did unlock sony ericsson for me that is out of contract. So unless that has changes in last 2 months they do unlock some phones. That being sed things always change so perhaps this is the iPhone that AT&T will unlock in 2 years....maybe not....we shall find out

 

[vladi]

A SIM card can't be "locked." The whole point about SIM locking is that the SIM slot in your phone is locked to accept only cards from one carrier. Up to now, the Sprint iPhones would accept a SIM card from any non-US carrier. From today onward, Sprint phones sold today will work only with Sprint SIM cards. However, like Verizon, apparently they will unlock them later upon request for customers in good standing (something AT&T will not do). Once unlocked, the phones won't accept a US carrier SIM (e.g. AT&T, T-Mobile), but should work with a non-US SIM.

This will be the first case I hear of partially unlocked gsm phone. Sorry if I am wrong but i dont think system works like that, its either "all in" or "one in" there is no fragmentation or "all in except this one".

 

[thewitt]

AT&T do not unlock iPhones. It's in the FAQ on their website. They were forced by the courts to unlock other phone models if those same phones were available from other carriers. The iPhone was excluded from this ruling.

Whether or not a new court ruling would include the iPhone is unknown, however it was specifically exempted and AT&T uses that fact to their advantage.

You buy an AT&T iPhone, under contract or not, and it will be locked to AT&T and not unlocked... Ever.