Can you purchase and iphone off ebay and have it factory unlocked yourself?

[Luche]

I'm new to this and can't afford to buy and iphone 4 directly from verizon or at&t, so I was just wondering if you can buy one from amazon or ebay that isn't unlocked yet and call verizon or at&t and have them unlock it...

 

[Carl G35c]

I'm new to this and can't afford to buy and iphone 4 directly from verizon or at&t, so I was just wondering if you can buy one from amazon or ebay that isn't unlocked yet and call verizon or at&t and have them unlock it...

First, Verizon iphones cant be unlocked since theyre CDMA

Second, no att will not unlock their iPhones.

 

[Applejuiced]

No.

 

[iLoyal]

I mean, if you have a tight budget or don't want to spend too much money on a phone, best option is to buy a GSM(AT&T) iP4 for cheap (300-350) and buy a gevey/turbo sim to unlock it. Unless you want to spend about $800-$900 for a Factory unlock one.

 

[gooddeal]

best option is to buy a GSM(AT&T) iP4 for cheap (300-350)

I doubt you can get an iPhone 4 in good condition for $300 unless you spend a lot of time searching. $350 is a little easier to find but if you want a phone in a really good condition, you probably need to spend at least $400.

 

[simple20]

Factory unlocked means... it came from the factory like that.

 

[eastercat]

Factory unlocked phones are not cheap. In countries where they are available, it's sold at a non-contract price.
You might want to try finding someone selling a carrier unlocked phone. Carrier and factory unlocks are permanent.

 

[gngan]

I'm new to this and can't afford to buy and iphone 4 directly from verizon or at&t, so I was just wondering if you can buy one from amazon or ebay that isn't unlocked yet and call verizon or at&t and have them unlock it...

First of all, AT&T is lock to AT&T and they don't do unlock. No one can factory unlock their own iphone. If they can then what's the point of having locked iphone?

 

[awadeee]

The only way to carrier unlock a phone is to add the IMEI# to Apple's database where it will be whitelisted as permanently unlocked. Only the carriers have access to this. And well... the whole April $180 unlock fiasco.