AT&T Locking Apple Interchangeable SIMs in iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 [Updated]

[donnaw]

The U.S. cellular iPads seemed to be shipping much later than the wifi only. There was some speculation on the posts that the 'Apple sim' was causing issues. I wonder if negotiations between Apple and ATT fell through.

It's pretty apparent that negotiations weren't completed at the time of the keynote otherwise Cook would have touted it.

I know it's a disappointment. But for right now you can get a free sim from ATT and perhaps Apple can continue their negotiations. Eventually it will be pretty much worldwide. This is just the first installment.

 

[0970373]

Verizon opted out since their network is a CDMA network and not a GSM which doesn't support SIM cards in the first place if I remember correctly.

No, my current iPad is Verizon and it had a Verizon SIM in it. It's unlocked so it will take other SIM cards but the iPad is capable of holding GSM & CDMA. Otherwise, how is Sprint on there?

 

[Huracan]

The problem with companies like this that seem to enjoy aggravating their customers is that they fall hard and fast when there is a real choice in the market. I wish T-Mobile to get as much market out of AT&T as possible.

 

[pika2000]

More reason to just ban provider locking for good. It will SOLVE a LOT of problems with US wireless carriers. Provider locking has been banned in countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, and consumers are doing great with latest phones and great deals. Of course, interestingly enough, there is practically ZERO tech "journalists" nor bloggers that would suggest this. They all go around the bushes by whining instead of simply stating the obvious. Even worse, there are US consumers that DEFEND provider locking.

Mind boggling.

 

[Hurda]

With us you can change carriers with this iPad any time you want," he said. "It is an unlocked device. ... All [you] have to do is switch out the SIM in the device so it works on another carrier.

This is pants-on-head retarded.

 

[DarkLighter1985]

I just spent an hour with both Verizon and Apple. Neither seems to know that Verizon isn't supported on the iPad Air 2. Am I missing something? So irritated that I just bought a cellular iPad, but can't add it to my Verizon account.

The iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 are compatible with Verizon. Verizon is just not participating with Apple SIM cards. You just need a Verizon SIM card for your new iPads to be able to use Verizon's plans if desired.

 

[Batman89]

Then there is nothing to worry about since AT&T can do nothing about a SIM that is not from them.

Ummm.......

 

[TheHitman1982]

Dropped my AT&T with unlimited data for Straight Talk and couldn't be happier, same service for 1/2 the cost, no extra charges, no misc. BS buy a card, throw it on, done. hell i could buy a year of cell phone service for about 5 months worth of att service, gotta love it.

 

[CplBadboy]

Mmmm

Don't know how lawful that is and whether AT&T may find themselves on the end of a lawsuits. The SIM located inside the iPad is not the property of At&T and surely that would mean they wouldn't be able to lack anything? Just an observation of course.

 

[Guacamole]

nothing changed here, you still can use any sim you want, you have additional sim now, which allow to switch between carriers, but it is your choice which sim to use.

so what’s the point of this Apple sim then?

 

[ISanych]

so what’s the point of this Apple sim then?

If you are using one of the supported carriers you could use apple sim instead of carrier sim. And you could switch to any of supported carrier and still use the same sim. I guess at some point we could get rid of SIM card at all and apple sim is a first step in that direction.

 

[mw360]

I think you know what I meant. But if not, I apologize.

So which camp are you in? The one that is not ok with AT&T locking a SIM but ok with Apple's closed ecosystem? Or are you ok with AT&T locking a SIM but not ok with Apple's close ecosystem?

Thanks.

"Apology" accepted

Do you also get mad that football fans can't seem to agree on which team they should all support? You've oversimplified the opinions of a whole community of posters into an absurd caricature, and somehow you're surprised that it turns out to be absurd. Doesn't that say more about you?

Why don't you find an actual real person who has attacked AT&T lock-in on principle, and also defended Apple lock-in on principle, and ask them how they can hold both opinions. Yes it has to be 'on principle' because otherwise the answer 'I like Apple products but don't like AT&T products" seems pretty solid.

 

[tgara]

Well, the device isn't "locked" just the SIM. It says you can still put another SIM in there to use on other carriers.

I bought a new iPad Air 2 with cellular for my wife yesterday. The salesman explain how the Sim card works, in that AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile were the current carriers.

I told him I was a Verizon customer and wanted to use their service. He gave me a card the size of a credit card that had the Verizon Sim chip on it. He said to simply replace the stock Sim card with this new one, and the Verizon service will be available.

 

[Tootall67]

For such a democrtic country, you sure love locking stuff

Join the rest of the world and enjoy unlocked, contract-free phones / tablets

Its quite enjoyable using what you paid for where you want to use it.

 

[Cubeeless]

If they could, they would lock the whole device on the network after choosing AT&T as an carrier this greedy ******.

 

[Tootall67]

If they could, they would lock the whole device on the network after choosing AT&T as an carrier this greedy ******.

Poor AT&T is just trying to take back with cellphones what it lost in the early 80's with the monopoly they had on landlines.

 

[Tiger8]

Are you joking!? You can't kill a T-1000 that way. The pieces melt back together after like 15 seconds. You either use molten lava or you bend over.

Agree, john Conner!

 

[wjereb]

OK Guys, you are all overreacting. I just took my 128GB Air 2 over to my local AT&T store to add it to my existing account. I said to them I didn't want to use my AppleSim because they lock it to their network in case I wanted to use it elsewhere. They said no problem and activated another sim and added it to my account for free without any activation fee. I was in and out in 10 minutes. I will now hold onto my AppleSim in case I need to use a different network when I travel.

Sheeeeesh

Image

Did you also get the $100 bill credit that they're offering?

Bill

 

[groovyd]

Actually, it's worse. They used to sell you devices that were locked, and they have to unlock them now (for a fee). However, in this case the customer bought an unlocked iPad and AT&T seems to be locking it, if these reports are right. I would consider that to be property damage.

If you purchase it from them then you have purchased an unlocked device with a locked sim. That is what you purchased and it is public knowledge so it isn't really property damage since the unlocked device with a locked sim was their property before you decided to buy it. If this was not advertised as such then sure maybe you could claim that you were mislead in the purchase to believe it was unlocked. The best thing you can do is return the device and get your refund and then buy an truely unlocked device and sim from someone else.

No question that they will be backtracking on this position within a year. It is amazing executives still exercise the kind of hopeful gall that no longer works in this day of information. Even more amazingly by executives of information dumb pipes.

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For such a democrtic country, you sure love locking stuff

Join the rest of the world and enjoy unlocked, contract-free phones / tablets

Its quite enjoyable using what you paid for where you want to use it.

We pay a lot less for it upfront... perhaps not over the long haul though but we don't like thinking too far ahead here. We enjoy living for the day it seems.

 

[cmaier]

I doubt it. Sprint and T-Mobile don't come close to matching AT&T and Verizon coverage.

I, for one, set mine up for T-Mobile because of this. Works great. Like that I can also simultaneously set up for sprint while traveling if coverage demands. Still cheaper than buying day passes for hotel wifi.

 

[nia820]

Why do people bother singing up with AT&T?

 

[KPOM]

For such a democrtic country, you sure love locking stuff

Join the rest of the world and enjoy unlocked, contract-free phones / tablets

Its quite enjoyable using what you paid for where you want to use it.

To be fair, the iPad is unlocked and contract-free. The Apple SIM is actually the first carrier-neutral SIM card. What's happening is that AT&T is locking the SIM to its service if you sign up with them, while T-Mobile and Sprint will let you switch back and forth between their services on the same SIM card. I'm not aware of any European carriers who do that.

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I just this year received a settlement over a somewhat similar issue originating with the first, 2010 iPad. And now they're at it again. From Apple's iPad Air 2 page, just now:

(Emphasis mine.)

No long-term commitments other than the locked SIM....

My guess is that they agreed to it in order to get AT&T to sign on to the idea of an Apple-branded SIM that could be used with multiple carriers.

 

[Rigby]

If you are using one of the supported carriers you could use apple sim instead of carrier sim. And you could switch to any of supported carrier and still use the same sim. I guess at some point we could get rid of SIM card at all and apple sim is a first step in that direction.

I sincerely hope that will never happen. Devices without a user-switchable identity module are the worst kind of lock-in. You'd be completely at the mercy of the device vendors and carriers.

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To be fair, the iPad is unlocked and contract-free. The Apple SIM is actually the first carrier-neutral SIM card. What's happening is that AT&T is locking the SIM to its service if you sign up with them, while T-Mobile and Sprint will let you switch back and forth between their services on the same SIM card. I'm not aware of any European carriers who do that.

Agreed. However, the Apple SIM is not really carrier-neutral. Apple needs to make agreements with carriers it wants to participate. In the end it's the carriers who are running and financing the networks and they have the right to decide who gets access and who doesn't. At this point, the Apple SIM primarily benefits Apple (since it saves them money due to simplified inventory management) and not the carriers. As much as I dislike AT&T reducing the potential convenience of the Apple SIM for the user, it's entirely in their rights to do so.

 

[itr81]

A Verizon store manager told me if I buy a cellular iPad air 2 from them they are locked and I wouldn't be able to go to any other carrier without getting another sim card.

I have a sneaky suspicion maybe all the carriers are locking in with their own sim, but you need an apple sim to play with each carrier.

The only reason to lock a sim now is to deter customer churn.

 

[Rigby]

A Verizon store manager told me if I buy a cellular iPad air 2 from them they are locked and I wouldn't be able to go to any other carrier without getting another sim card.

I have a sneaky suspicion maybe all the carriers are locking in with their own sim, but you need an apple sim to play with each carrier.

What we know so far:

- If you buy an iPad directly from Apple, the Apple SIM is initially not locked and can be used for either AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. If you set up Sprint or T-Mobile, it stays unlocked and you can later switch or add an alternate carrier. If you use AT&T, it gets locked to AT&T.

- If you buy an iPad from T-Mobile, you get an Apple SIM as well, but it's pre-locked to T-Mobile.

- If you want to use your iPad on Verizon, you have to obtain a Verizon SIM separately (should be available in Apple stores as well).

Just to reiterate: This only refers to the SIM, not the device. All iPads are unlocked and can be used with any suitable SIM.