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"Congratulations your iPhone has been unlocked"
- Thread starter BFW122083
- Start date
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Yeah thanks looks like a bunch of servers at Apple all went down.. including iTunes app store and Mac app store.... now they are all coming back online including the authentication one.
Thank
On my receipt, it says I can return within 30 days (as long as the phone is undamaged), with no restocking fee.
Just came back from my reservation pickup and plugged into iTunes to see the "Congratulations" screen! 
So happy!
Apparently, I got confirmation of a reserved iPhone online last night, but it doesn't show on the associate's iPads or iPod Touches. I showed them my email, and they let me purchase one regardless.
Waited for about 2 hours.
So happy!
Apparently, I got confirmation of a reserved iPhone online last night, but it doesn't show on the associate's iPads or iPod Touches. I showed them my email, and they let me purchase one regardless.
Waited for about 2 hours.
Picked up 2 white 16gb yesterday. No problem buying them full price without furnishing AT&T info. Opened one and it was indeed unlocked.
A store employee I got 2 phones from last week confirmed off the record that buying them this way they are pretty much unlocked.
A store employee I got 2 phones from last week confirmed off the record that buying them this way they are pretty much unlocked.
I assumed it was a software thing, but what about when people exchange their iPhones or get them replaced? When I got my iPhone 4 replaced, the guy just popped in and out my SIM card and sent me on my way. This was before the unlocked 4 was available though so maybe things have changed.
if you meant Portland, Oregon, then there is no iPhone 4S sale - all the three stores are run out of stock - at least the ATT ones...
if you meant Portland, Maine - then ignore my reply.
I've now done this successfully, too, at the Spokane, WA Apple Store yesterday. Paid full-price, plugged into iTunes, got unlocked message. Didn't even bother removing the preloaded AT&T SIM.
There is actually more to the story, though: I went the previous day, purchased a 4S full-price, got not grief from the staff doing so, and then got all the way home, opened the box, powered it up, and discovered they have sold me a Verizon SKU instead of an AT&T one. (I *did* specifically ask for AT&T.) I looked at the e-mail receipt they sent me, and sure enough, it also said Verizon. #$%@#% For grins, I threw my AT&T SIM in, and -- as expected -- was told by iTunes that I needed to have a valid SIM card to activate the phone.
So I went back, explained what happened, and they were very helpful in exchanging the phone for the right one.
BTW, absolutely no lines in the store, either on Saturday or Sunday. Didn't make a reservation before going in on Saturday. Sounds like they were well out of 16GBs, but you pretty much had your pick of 32 or 64 in either color on any of the carriers. Made a reservation on Saturday night before going in again on Sunday, just in case, but it sounded like it wasn't necessary and they would still have had a phone for me if I had shown up unannounced again.
-- Nathan
There is actually more to the story, though: I went the previous day, purchased a 4S full-price, got not grief from the staff doing so, and then got all the way home, opened the box, powered it up, and discovered they have sold me a Verizon SKU instead of an AT&T one. (I *did* specifically ask for AT&T.) I looked at the e-mail receipt they sent me, and sure enough, it also said Verizon. #$%@#% For grins, I threw my AT&T SIM in, and -- as expected -- was told by iTunes that I needed to have a valid SIM card to activate the phone.
So I went back, explained what happened, and they were very helpful in exchanging the phone for the right one.
BTW, absolutely no lines in the store, either on Saturday or Sunday. Didn't make a reservation before going in on Saturday. Sounds like they were well out of 16GBs, but you pretty much had your pick of 32 or 64 in either color on any of the carriers. Made a reservation on Saturday night before going in again on Sunday, just in case, but it sounded like it wasn't necessary and they would still have had a phone for me if I had shown up unannounced again.
-- Nathan
That is the reason why as soon as the official unlocked version is released, I'm going to go an exchange it for the AT&T version I got, just to be on the safe side.
completed reverse here in Portland OR, no phones in the store, no phones for reservation also...
i think it has something to do with zero sales tax and apple controlling how many iphone sold in oregon.
Apple maintains a database of every iPhone ever sold and which carrier it is locked to (if any).
When you get a replacement from Apple, they'll check the database to see what the lock status of your broken iPhone is and they'll apply that same lock status to the replacement iPhone.
If you take in an iPhone locked to AT&T, the replacement will be locked to AT&T.
If you take in an unlocked iPhone, they'll give you an unlocked replacement.
This process is very automated at the genius bar (it should be done automatically as part of the normal exchange procedures).
The lock status is controlled by iTunes - hence the messages people are seeing. When the phone is activated in iTunes, Apple's database will be checked to see the current lock status. This is then applied to the phone as it is activated.
With iOS 5.0 and later, the activation can be done on the device itself (without iTunes), but that shouldn't change the unlock process.
Worked for me: San Francisco Apple Store
I purchased an ATT 32GB iPhone 4S black today at the San Francisco Apple Store.
The salesperson was super nice and didn't hesitate when I asked to purchase the handset at full price as "device only". I was never asked for my ATT contract details.
When I got home, I popped my Australian Optus micro SIM inside and it worked without any issues: I was roaming on T-Mobile. It also worked fine with my ATT micro SIM.
I am yet to connect the new handset to iTunes, but will shortly when I backup/restore from my old device. I don't expect any issues: the IMEI barcode was scanned in at the POS, so it indeed appears that the new device is on the unlocked whitelist.
jpap
I purchased an ATT 32GB iPhone 4S black today at the San Francisco Apple Store.
The salesperson was super nice and didn't hesitate when I asked to purchase the handset at full price as "device only". I was never asked for my ATT contract details.
When I got home, I popped my Australian Optus micro SIM inside and it worked without any issues: I was roaming on T-Mobile. It also worked fine with my ATT micro SIM.
I am yet to connect the new handset to iTunes, but will shortly when I backup/restore from my old device. I don't expect any issues: the IMEI barcode was scanned in at the POS, so it indeed appears that the new device is on the unlocked whitelist.
jpap
I confirm, I just replaced my off-contract at&t iPhone and got a new one unlocked. I had to wait 1 hour for the activation though
Of course it is, you didn't read the thread.
It's only unlocked if you buy full price from Apple not from AT&T.
Apple Store Stopped Selling iPhone 4s Without Contract!
Not now you can't, my manager friend tells me that they have been instructed not to sell and 4s' without contract until the unlocked version is out.
Not now you can't, my manager friend tells me that they have been instructed not to sell and 4s' without contract until the unlocked version is out.
I tried a week ago. I tried over the weekend. I tried yesterday. No. No. No. Seems to depend on the store as well.
