Can you unlock a Verizon iPhone

[Rajani Isa]

but it would be awesome. hint hint geohot

Jailbreaking the iPhone and then the PS3 were technically gray areas. Now the iPhone is a clearly allowed area, and we will find out how the PS3 will be seen by the courts "soon".

Changing a phone's ESN is blatantly a federal crime.

it would be a violation of a federal law

I know implanting a new ESN into a phone is, but a carrier adding a phone's info (and natural ESN) is?

 

[Centient]

If Sprint wanted the business, why couldn't they just add the cusotmer's ESN to their database?

There may be legal reasons for not doing so. It may just be a kind of gentleman's agreement.

Really though, I think Sprint wants the iPhone, but why go through the hassle of potentially souring things with Apple by doing a run around on VZ like this? In fact it's probably very likely that Sprint already knows when it's getting the iPhone.

 

[gtgrad95]

I know implanting a new ESN into a phone is, but a carrier adding a phone's info (and natural ESN) is?

Right, that's what I was wondering too.

 

[JackSpearo]

So if I buy a new iphone 4 and buy it outright (no contract), can I switch back and forth from AT&T to Verizon?

 

[thetexan]

There may be legal reasons for not doing so. It may just be a kind of gentleman's agreement.

Really though, I think Sprint wants the iPhone, but why go through the hassle of potentially souring things with Apple by doing a run around on VZ like this? In fact it's probably very likely that Sprint already knows when it's getting the iPhone.

There's no legal reasons, nor is there even a gentleman's agreement not to add a phone's ESN to their database.

I know people who maintain the activation system for Sprint, and the reason Sprint doesn't add ESNs to their database for non-Sprint branded phones is because it's a huge hassle for them to do so. It's not a technical reason, it's a business decision.

People would call Sprint tech support for iPhone problems. Sprint's tech support could not do much but tell them "not my problem" and that'd anger the customers. People would expect Sprint to do the hacking and if something went wrong they'd expect Sprint to pay to replace a bricked phone.

It's just far more trouble than it's worth.

 

[acfusion29]

spoofing the ESN is possible, however it's:

1. illegal
2. not anything your average person would be able to do
3. not very likely

basically, all CDMA phones have an ESN. that number is used for accessing the network. if you can get a Sprint CDMA phone, you can clone that ESN number to your iPhone. the likelihood of this is low. so basically, once that number is cloned, your iPhone will be on Sprint's network as (let's say) a CDMA blackberry..

years ago, my friend had a dumb phone on a CDMA (bell) network. he found another phone on from the same network. unfortunately, the phone was reported lost/stolen so he couldn't activate it. basically, he did the above... he took his ESN from his phone and put it onto the found phone.

it's funny because he said when i called him, both the phones rang at the same time. but hey... it worked. he had no issues with it.

i think spoofing ESN's cross-network is possible, but i have personally not done it before.

 

[Applejuiced]

So if I buy a new iphone 4 and buy it outright (no contract), can I switch back and forth from AT&T to Verizon?

No.
CDMA cellphones cannot be used with GSM carriers and vice versa.

 

[Centient]

There's no legal reasons, nor is there even a gentleman's agreement not to add a phone's ESN to their database.

I know people who maintain the activation system for Sprint, and the reason Sprint doesn't add ESNs to their database for non-Sprint branded phones is because it's a huge hassle for them to do so. It's not a technical reason, it's a business decision.

People would call Sprint tech support for iPhone problems. Sprint's tech support could not do much but tell them "not my problem" and that'd anger the customers. People would expect Sprint to do the hacking and if something went wrong they'd expect Sprint to pay to replace a bricked phone.

It's just far more trouble than it's worth.

Good to know.

 

[gtgrad95]

spoofing the ESN is possible, however it's:

1. illegal
2. not anything your average person would be able to do
3. not very likely

basically, all CDMA phones have an ESN. that number is used for accessing the network. if you can get a Sprint CDMA phone, you can clone that ESN number to your iPhone. the likelihood of this is low. so basically, once that number is cloned, your iPhone will be on Sprint's network as (let's say) a CDMA blackberry..

years ago, my friend had a dumb phone on a CDMA (bell) network. he found another phone on from the same network. unfortunately, the phone was reported lost/stolen so he couldn't activate it. basically, he did the above... he took his ESN from his phone and put it onto the found phone.

it's funny because he said when i called him, both the phones rang at the same time. but hey... it worked. he had no issues with it.

i think spoofing ESN's cross-network is possible, but i have personally not done it before.

I've always wondered if that's what they did in the movie National Treasure 2 when the bad guys cloned the dad's cell phone. So when the son called the dad, the bad guys were able to pick up the coloned phone and hear the entire conversation.

 

[gtgrad95]

There's no legal reasons, nor is there even a gentleman's agreement not to add a phone's ESN to their database.

I know people who maintain the activation system for Sprint, and the reason Sprint doesn't add ESNs to their database for non-Sprint branded phones is because it's a huge hassle for them to do so. It's not a technical reason, it's a business decision.

People would call Sprint tech support for iPhone problems. Sprint's tech support could not do much but tell them "not my problem" and that'd anger the customers. People would expect Sprint to do the hacking and if something went wrong they'd expect Sprint to pay to replace a bricked phone.

It's just far more trouble than it's worth.

That's interesting because even though T-Mobile doesn't carry the iPhone, they have a dedicated team that helps troubleshoot and support it.

 

[goosnarrggh]

That's interesting because even though T-Mobile doesn't carry the iPhone, they have a dedicated team that helps troubleshoot and support it.

That's 'cause the "hacks" required to get an AT&T iPhone up and running on T-Mobile (as much as the technology allows -- eg EDGE only, etc) are fairly well understood, and not particularly invasive (or labour-intensive for the carrier). Most of the heavy lifting is already done by the end-user before they ever knock on T-Mobile's door. For its part, T-Mobile doesn't really need to do anything more than it's already geared up to do anyway, activating any other GSM phone with compatible frequencies.

Conversely, the "hacks" that might be required to get a Verizon iPhone up and running on Sprint may require more invasive modifications, and would undoubtedly involve at least a little more direct involvement by the carrier.

 

[gtgrad95]

That's 'cause the "hacks" required to get an AT&T iPhone up and running on T-Mobile (as much as the technology allows -- eg EDGE only, etc) are fairly well understood, and not particularly invasive (or labour-intensive for the carrier). Most of the heavy lifting is already done by the end-user before they ever knock on T-Mobile's door.

Conversely, the "hacks" that might be required to get a Verizon iPhone up and running on Sprint may require more invasive modifications, and would undoubtedly involve at least a little more direct involvement by the carrier.

Ah, makes sense.

 

[MarlboroLite]

It's not like unlocked GSM iPhones are of much use in the US...it's either at&t or T-Mobile, and if you go T-Mobile you are foregoing 3G data for good. That may be good enough for some people but the whole benefits of an unlocked GSM phone simply don't apply in the US as they do in Europe where you have 4 or 5 or even 6 compatible GMS providers and tons of countries around you.

Oh and at&t will refuse to unlock your iphone even AFTER you have completed your service agreement. So jailbreaking is the only option then.

Until the day comes when all US carriers are on the same standard a la GSM with SIM cards, unlocked phones in the US are limited in use.