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t-bo

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 22, 2014
32
0
Hi,

I just read this on a T-Mobile forum (they're talking iPhone from Sprint):

It's easily done to get ANY iPhone on T-Mobile. go to the Apple Store and get your phone replaced for something covered under warranty. go in with your SIM card out and a T-Mobile sim available with you. after they bring the phone out, hand them your T-Mo sim to put it in the new phone. it will ask what carrier you're on, select StraighTalk. watch as your iPhone activates and becomes locked to the StraightTalk US Activation Policy! it works every time! on the A1586 (Sprint iPhone 6) I'm able to get T-Mo LTE!

"go to the Apple Store and get your phone replaced for something covered under warranty." meaning, WHEN your iPhone is in need of a replacement, go to the Apple Store and use this method. I used this method and told them that the phone wouldn't connect to wifi 50% of the time, and they replaced it even though it was working fine. when you're setting up the new phone, it lets you select what activation policy you want applied to the device. it's very simple.

https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/80640

Anyone every tried? Wondering if you can also do this with the express replacement service ($29) without going to Apple Store. As Apple send you one first.

I know that Apple is suppose to give you the exact same phone with same network where it is locked to. So this method seems too easy.
 
We are talking about if TECHNICALLY THIS is working. Not anything else.
 
View the last page in the second link in my signature. It goes into what you are talking about.

As to ethical, well, it's not UN-ethical. If unlocking were illegal it might be different.

But if we apply this same criteria to the folks who provide unlocks for the other carriers online, then we'd have to say those guys are shady characters. Yet very few people had problems with $1-3 unlocks way back when.
 
View the last page in the second link in my signature. It goes into what you are talking about.

As to ethical, well, it's not UN-ethical. If unlocking were illegal it might be different.

But if we apply this same criteria to the folks who provide unlocks for the other carriers online, then we'd have to say those guys are shady characters. Yet very few people had problems with $1-3 unlocks way back when.

I honestly don't even understand what you are trying to say. The OP posited lieng to Apple to get a different phone than he had originally purchased, and I asked if he felt that was an ethical thing to do. If you are trying to unlock a phone, there are other honorable alternatives.
 
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View the last page in the second link in my signature. It goes into what you are talking about.

As to ethical, well, it's not UN-ethical. If unlocking were illegal it might be different.

But if we apply this same criteria to the folks who provide unlocks for the other carriers online, then we'd have to say those guys are shady characters. Yet very few people had problems with $1-3 unlocks way back when.

I would argue that it is unethical to take a phone in with zero issues, claim there are issues, simply for the ability to unlock.

I imagine the question about ethics didn;t have to do with actual unlocking. Rather the fact the company gets to lose money because you have to outright lie in order to do this (unless you have a legitimate issue).

I plan on taking my iPhone back for a dead pixel and just getting it unlocked from there. I don't think that's unethical, though I would if I had zero issues with my phone and just decided "hey, I want an unlock, and this is how I am going to do it". Personally don't see this as any different from purposly damaging a product in order to cash in on accidental damage warranty.

Opinions will vary, of course.
 
Apple doesn't give you a different phone.

----------

View the last page in the second link in my signature. It goes into what you are talking about.

As to ethical, well, it's not UN-ethical. If unlocking were illegal it might be different.

But if we apply this same criteria to the folks who provide unlocks for the other carriers online, then we'd have to say those guys are shady characters. Yet very few people had problems with $1-3 unlocks way back when.

I don't see in the last page where it talks about my question :confused:
 
I honestly don't even understand what you are trying to say. The OP posited lieng to Apple to get a different phone than he had originally purchased, and I asked if he felt that was an ethical thing to do. If you are trying to unlock a phone, there are other honorable alternatives.
I didn't read his original post that way. Of course, if that is the intent then I have to agree. If it's a replacement for a damaged phone (which was my assumption) that's what I am speaking to.

In the Sprint thread in my post it is mentioned that if you can prevent the Apple genius from beginning to activate your replacement phone you can activate it on a different carrier which keeps it unlocked. So, when you insert a Sprint SIM, the phone is still unlocked.

If the genius has already activated the phone on Sprint you're out of luck.
 
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Not really sure if what the op claims is even accurate.
You get a replacement with the same carrier properties.
Doesn't mean you hand in a sprint iPhone but put in a T-Mobile sim and then the sprint iPhone becomes usable or locked on T-Mobile.
 
I would argue that it is unethical to take a phone in with zero issues, claim there are issues, simply for the ability to unlock.

I imagine the question about ethics didn;t have to do with actual unlocking. Rather the fact the company gets to lose money because you have to outright lie in order to do this (unless you have a legitimate issue).

I plan on taking my iPhone back for a dead pixel and just getting it unlocked from there. I don't think that's unethical, though I would if I had zero issues with my phone and just decided "hey, I want an unlock, and this is how I am going to do it". Personally don't see this as any different from purposly damaging a product in order to cash in on accidental damage warranty.

Opinions will vary, of course.
And I would absolutely agree with your argument!

My assumption was that the phone was being replaced because it was damaged. Simply for the purpose of unlocking it – no.
 
I didn't read his original post that way. Of course, if that is the intent then I have to agree. If it's a replacement for a damage phone (which was my assumption) that's what I am speaking to.

In the Sprint thread in my post is is mentioned that if you can prevent the Apple genius from beginning to activate your replacement phone you can activated it on a different carrier which keeps it unlocked. So, when you insert a Sprint SIM, the phone is still unlocked.

If the genius has already activated the phone on Sprint you're out of luck.

What about using express replacement? When Apple send you a phone first.
 
Not really sure if what the op claims is even accurate.
You get a replacement with the same carrier properties.
Doesn't mean you hand in a sprint iPhone but put in a T-Mobile sim and then the sprint iPhone becomes usable or locked on T-Mobile.
Harrison Taylor, one of the commenters in the thread has said that if you can stop the Apple genius from activating the phone, i.e, YOU the customer are actually getting the screen where you can choose which carrier to activate on, if you choose Apalachian or one other carrier then the phone will be unlocked. It's not supposed to matter if you have service with Appalachian or not because the point is that when you put the Sprint SIM in the phone stays unlocked because of the previous action.
 
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The OP's original post was very clear - if you falsely claim your phone had a problem, could you get a replacement unlocked phone from them. I'm not pretending to be the moral police, I just asked him how he felt about that. Never got an answer.
 
The OP's original post was very clear - if you falsely claim your phone had a problem, could you get a replacement unlocked phone from them. I'm not pretending to be the moral police, I just asked him how he felt about that. Never got an answer.

You're not pretending to be the moral police? lol, right...

Who said "falsely claim"? You the one who presume that, but actually you can wait your phone has a problem and then apply warranty and get replacement.
That being said, getting your clear and clean phone replaced won't hurt Apple in the way your phone will quickly go back in the circuit of replacement phones for futur customers.

I don't know why we are talking about that, unless you the police... We want an answer to the original question if technically you can unlock or change carrier lock by doing so. No other question ask.
 
Harrison Taylor, one of the commenters in the thread has said that if you can stop the Apple genius from activating the phone, i.e, YOU the customer are actually getting the screen where you can choose which carrier to activate on, if you choose Apalachian or one other carrier then the phone will be unlocked. It's not supposed to matter if you have service with Appalachian or not because the point is that when you put the Sprint SIM in the phone stays unlocked because of the previous action.

Please do NOTE that the model specifically being discussed on this is the 6 and 6+, not anything older.


So you would have to hope or ask for the rep not to setup or select anything on the replacement device before its handed to you. That's usually done automaticly when the device swap process and serials are entered into the system.
Why wouldn't everyone just select Verizon since then it would always be unlocked and work with almost every carrier?
Not sure if I'm buying it...
 
So you would have to hope or ask for the rep not to setup or select anything on the replacement device before its handed to you. That's usually done automatily when the device swap process and serials are entered into the system.
Why wouldn't everyone just select Verizon since then it would always be unlocked and work with almost every carrier?
Not sure if I'm buying it...

From the T-mobile forum posts, 2 guys did it multiple times. Seems that as long you are the one who putting the SIM and process installation screen when it prompts to choose activation policy carrier.
 
So you would have to hope or ask for the rep not to setup or select anything on the replacement device before its handed to you. That's usually done automaticly when the device swap process and serials are entered into the system.
Why wouldn't everyone just select Verizon since then it would always be unlocked and work with almost every carrier?
Not sure if I'm buying it...
I get it. I'm just reporting what's been stated in the thread. There are other people in there who have claimed they have never seen this screen either, yet one person has a screenshot.

This is not something I would try myself, I'm just reporting is all.
 
You're not pretending to be the moral police? lol, right...

Who said "falsely claim"? You the one who presume that, but actually you can wait your phone has a problem and then apply warranty and get replacement.
That being said, getting your clear and clean phone replaced won't hurt Apple in the way your phone will quickly go back in the circuit of replacement phones for futur customers.

I don't know why we are talking about that, unless you the police... We want an answer to the original question if technically you can unlock or change carrier lock by doing so. No other question ask.

And still didn't get a direct answer. But the inference is clear.
 
The OP's original post was very clear - if you falsely claim your phone had a problem, could you get a replacement unlocked phone from them. I'm not pretending to be the moral police, I just asked him how he felt about that. Never got an answer.
I didn't follow his link, so if there is additional information, then I didn't read it. However, I did not see any statements in his OP about turning in a fully functional device for a replacement just to get it unlocked.

I state again, and again for the record, I do not consider that to be ethical.
 
From the T-mobile forum posts, 2 guys did it multiple times. Seems that as long you are the one who putting the SIM and process installation screen when it prompts to choose activation policy carrier.

Maybe the rep doing the replacing left out some steps on his end.
Not sure if it will work the same way for everyone eise trying it. But worth a try I guess.
 
To answer t-bo's question, in my experience, when I had an iPhone replaced under warranty that was locked with AT&T, they were able to pull that information up on their Genius iPad and would make sure to turn on and activate it with my AT&T SIM before handing it to me. When I had a factory unlocked phone replaced, all they did was just hand the phone to me from the box and said it should still be unlocked as the previous phone's profile should have carried over the new phone in Apple's system. So in essence, it may technically be possible to get your iPhone accidentally unlocked, but this would only happen if the Genius accidentally slips up in the procedure.

Let us know what happens when you replace your phone under warranty (for legitimate reasons).
 
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