I don't see an unlock iPhone 5s on the apple website. Talked to apple through chat and they said the t-mobile non contract is locked to t-mobile. Is that true?
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Does Apple Sell Unlocked iPhone 5s?
- Thread starter crazyaznemo
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Untrue. Get the Verizon 5s at full price from the Appe store and it's unlocked for use on all carriers except Sprint.
Just say I want a "AT&T/Verizon Device Only iPhone" pay the full price and they wont even open the phone in from of you. You can go home and set it up.
Dude, this has been proven so many times on other threads. If you buy an iPhone 5S (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) from either an Apple Retail or Online store for a full price, you'll get an unlocked device.
I see multiple threads about unlocked iPhones everyday...
Again, if you buy an iPhone from an Apple Retail store or Apple online and purchase full price, it is unlocked.
Also, the T-Mobile SIM ones are retail price ($649, $749, $849) ARE UNLOCKED.
Correct. I bought a "Verizon" 5s off-contract at Apple Store. Put in a T-Mobile SIM, did a full restore for a fresh iOS 7.0.2 and am currently using the 5s on T-Mobile. Works perfectly, because it is (a) an unlocked phone, and (b) can be used with all the major carriers, except Sprint.
Buy the Verizon 5s off contract at an Apple Store, will give you maximum flexibility, esp. with GSM.
Dude, we know. But we don't want to buy those. We want to buy legit unlocked and sim free.
How is the Verizon 5S not "legit unlocked"? I have one and am using AT&T just fine, another poster in this thread is using T-mobile just fine on the Verizon 5S. You can use the phone internationally no? How much more unlocked can you get? I trash the VZW sim that came with the phone, boom, sim free.
How much more unlocked can you get? Well, with the one that Apple sells. It comes in a box with no SIM card. And on the receipt is says Unlocked.
We're aware that you could get unlocked from carriers but just think of it as we're anti carrier...
iPhones don't have any carrier crap on them, so it doesn't matter.
I, too, got a VZW 5S from Apple and booted with my TMO sim and everything's been working great!
Just because Apple doesn't advertise it as sim-free aka unlocked, doesn't mean it isn't
The 5S, at full price and from Apple, is the exact same model on Verizon, ATT, TMO and whenever they 'officially' advertise an unlocked one..
The GSM version will come with the CDMA radio disabled, that's all.
I had to do that because my phone was dead and I wasn't ready for an upgrade. The guy did just like you said, never even opened the box and told me good day as he handed me the box unopened. Does that mean my phone is unlocked? How would I even be able to tell?
You can tell when you put in a SIM card from a different carrier and it just works! Or you can put your IMEI into iPhoneIMEI.info and prove it to yourself.
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Yes, you are wrong. Subsidized phones are locked, except for Verizon as they are prohibited from doing so.
Apple isn't selling any iPhone 5s's like that right now. If it's THAT offensive to you to have a SIM that you're not even going to use touch your phone, then you're just going to have to wait a month or two.
But other than that very tossable SIM being there, and the lack of a single word on your receipt, the phone will be unlocked.
Well that's nice, but unless you plan on licensing some spectrum of your own and building out a network, you're going to have to deal with a carrier anyway.
And who the heck is "we?" Did the Borg suddenly start having a need for unlocked iPhones?
If it comes directly from Apple SIM unlocked, I'm thinking that is pretty 'legit'.
Can you explain why only Verizon is prohibited from doing so?
I am a Verizon wireless customer so I am happy that mine will be unlocked when it arrives but I would like to understand why only VZW customers are lucky?
From an earlier Macrumors thread about the FCC language:
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/2...s-required-by-fcc-network-access-regulations/
If you are buying a 5S at full retail, in the U.S., I see no point in waiting for the "sim free" unlocked phone, nor do I see a point in buying the AT&T/TMO variant at full retail. The Verizon 5S is factory unlocked as required by the FCC. I've wanted a phone like this for a long time. I have AT&T and although they've massively improved, there are still times when at concerts or traveling that there is either congestion or poor coverage. On those occasions I can now pop in a VZW pre-paid sim or just pay for a month or 2 of VZW service if I need the additional coverage. I'm politely asking and am not being rude, I just don't understand what the benefit would be of waiting for a "sim free" 5S? Are we sure that the "sim free" version of the 5S will work with all carriers (minus Sprint) or only GSM? If the latter, the VZW 5S still makes the most sense.