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AT&T and VERIZON i5 factory unlocked

M

mascarato

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 22, 2012
6
0
Hi everyone...went to a few apple stores in the city today (NYC) all of them have runner out of stock!
While there I asked a few questions and everyone confirmed that ATT and Verizon phone come factory unlocked (GSM part)

Did any of you tried a tmobile sim on atts?

Thx
 
The AT&T model is unlocked only if you pay full price (i.e. buy it "device only"). If you buy it on contract, it will be locked to AT&T. Supposedly the Verizon model is unlocked right now even if you buy it on contract. The Verge and others have reported that.

As for availability, it's luck-of-the-draw right now. Grand Central had no AT&T units this morning at 10:00 when I stopped by, but at 2:00 when I stopped by again, they just received a shipment and I was able to buy an AT&T model. I'd try again tomorrow in the morning and afternoon if you want to get one. The stores are getting shipments continuously, which is why I think they aren't doing the reservation system this year. They are just getting shipments as quickly as they can. It's somewhat like the new iPad launch. We're seeing smaller lines, but overall I think we'll see much higher sales this weekend than on launch weekend last year.
 
But the Verizon & Sprint SIMs will not work on an UNLOCK AT&T, right? (Unlike the other way around.)

So by default, AT&T iP5 (or any iP5) is unlock but once you have it subsidized with AT&T (or any carrier), they will lock it?

Anyway, I thought it's always the other way around carrier phones are always by default locked even if you purchase them outright without subsidy or 2 year contract. And you have to ask the carrier for it to be unlocked.
 
Last edited:
So if you buy from Verizon site with month-to-month payment and pay the full-price for the phone, Its like having unlocked phone right?

Is there amount of month I have to fulfill for verizon in month-to-month contract?
 
xenosaga7 said:
So if you buy from Verizon site with month-to-month payment and pay the full-price for the phone, Its like having unlocked phone right?

Is there amount of month I have to fulfill for Verizon in month-to-month contract?
Click to expand...

Yes... as long as we don't receive notice from Verizon a few weeks from now that the devices were actually meant to be locked and will be corrected with a pushed update. :rolleyes:
 
Verizon phones are now required by law to be unlocked. All of their 4G smartphones from the 20th of September and on will be shipped unlocked.
 
Minhimalism said:
Verizon phones are now required by law to be unlocked. All of their 4G smartphones from the 20th of September and on will be shipped unlocked.
Click to expand...

Hopefully that's true, though I don't know anything special about September 20th. VZW can still sell phones that lack GSM capabilities. Apple sort of screws it up for them since they make only 2 or 3 models of each iPhone.

Now if we can just get AT&T to unlock on-contract phones, we'd make some real progress.
 
KPOM said:
Hopefully that's true, though I don't know anything special about September 20th. VZW can still sell phones that lack GSM capabilities. Apple sort of screws it up for them since they make only 2 or 3 models of each iPhone.

Now if we can just get AT&T to unlock on-contract phones, we'd make some real progress.
Click to expand...

i was able to unlock a couple of my phones while "within contract".
one was last May 2012 with the iPhone 4.
i even mentioned that i'm planning to sell it before the release of the 5.

i have a Premier account with AT&T, maybe that's the difference.
 
KPOM said:
Hopefully that's true, though I don't know anything special about September 20th. VZW can still sell phones that lack GSM capabilities. Apple sort of screws it up for them since they make only 2 or 3 models of each iPhone.

Now if we can just get AT&T to unlock on-contract phones, we'd make some real progress.
Click to expand...

Someone on Engadget posted a link to it, Verizon falls under this section of the e-CFR or whatever.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...v8&view=text&node=47:2.0.1.1.5.2.49.7&idno=47

"(e) Handset locking prohibited. No licensee may disable features on handsets it provides to customers, to the extent such features are compliant with the licensee's standards pursuant to paragraph (b)of this section, nor configure handsets it provides to prohibit use of such handsets on other providers' networks."

Verizon reps have also confirmed with customers this is indeed the way the phone was intended to be sold. :D
 
Neither cdma carrier takes a phone that wasn't sold by them. You have to buy their branded phone to use their network.
apierrec said:
But the Verizon & Sprint SIMs will not work on an UNLOCK AT&T, right? (Unlike the other way around.)
Click to expand...
 
shanmugam said:
who put this "LAW" which only applicable to Verizon not to AT&T?
Click to expand...
I believe when Verizon was buying some of the block c spectrum the FCC mandated that any device that uses it must be unlocked. ATT didn't buy that spectrum nor have to make that agreement with the FCC. Or at least that is what I read somewhere.
 
Minhimalism said:
Something about Block C and how this was something Verizon WANTED to achieve / fall under, and AT&T still sucks of course.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

----------
Frasern1 said:
I believe when Verizon was buying some of the block c spectrum the FCC mandated that any device that uses it must be unlocked. ATT didn't buy that spectrum nor have to make that agreement with the FCC. Or at least that is what I read somewhere.
Click to expand...

and Thanks!

I have to break my contract with ATT to switch over, i am paying about $120 two iphone lines with 4Gb data, that would cost about $150 at Verizon.
 
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