Apparently doing this on iPhone X sold on BestBuy will result in the device being locked to T-Mobile, according to the experience of other users in that thread. Just be careful.
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Help. Trying to activate iPhone X (Verizon) with TMo SIM inside
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Apparently doing this on iPhone X sold on BestBuy will result in the device being locked to T-Mobile, according to the experience of other users in that thread. Just be careful.
Similar story, but with Sprint.
Through Apple Store Online, bought a iPhone X for Sprint network with Sprint account info (Full price). Picked up from Apple Store and before turning on, I popped out the Sprint sim and put T-Mobile sim in. After powering on, it did query for Sprint account info, plugged that info in for activation and after it was working on T-Mobile.
Now the interesting thing is, it did not deactivate the old Sprint SIM that was in iPhone SE. So that was great, kept that one active while using the X with T-Mobile.
Through Apple Store Online, bought a iPhone X for Sprint network with Sprint account info (Full price). Picked up from Apple Store and before turning on, I popped out the Sprint sim and put T-Mobile sim in. After powering on, it did query for Sprint account info, plugged that info in for activation and after it was working on T-Mobile.
Now the interesting thing is, it did not deactivate the old Sprint SIM that was in iPhone SE. So that was great, kept that one active while using the X with T-Mobile.
From what I can gather, the Best Buy phones are all the same phone and follow the locking policy of the first SIM the phone is activated on. TMo policy is to lock. But full price Verizon phones are unlocked. So what you need if you got full price from B.B. is any Verizon sim, active or not. Go through activation with that in AND then put in the TMo SIM. Your phone will be fully unlocked. Devices purchased from Apple do not have these same issues though they may have other issues as described in this thread.
Chupa Chupa
macrumors G5
Just a data point:
I bought a VZW phone at Apple for use with TMob. Paid full price and was not asked to disclose any VZW account info -- I don't have a VZW account to disclose anyway.
I removed the VZW SIM immediately after unboxing and installed my TMob SIM. Then I powered on and plugged it into my Mac to restore my back up. iTunes prompted me that there was a carrier update so I updated that. Then I updated to iOS 11.1. Then I restored my backup and finished setting up my phone. No activation issues at all.
At no time did I see any type of VZW activation screen. My phone was always on TMob from the moment I turned it on.
I bought a VZW phone at Apple for use with TMob. Paid full price and was not asked to disclose any VZW account info -- I don't have a VZW account to disclose anyway.
I removed the VZW SIM immediately after unboxing and installed my TMob SIM. Then I powered on and plugged it into my Mac to restore my back up. iTunes prompted me that there was a carrier update so I updated that. Then I updated to iOS 11.1. Then I restored my backup and finished setting up my phone. No activation issues at all.
At no time did I see any type of VZW activation screen. My phone was always on TMob from the moment I turned it on.
pippakay
macrumors member
that's interesting to me...based on your post, i'm guessing you walked in and purchased, didn't have it reserved? i wonder if that's the difference. mine was reserved using a verizon account, and did have the 'confirm number' message when setting up.
I believe for phones ordered online under a wireless account - even if paid in full - having to enter the user’s info is an anti-theft measure. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong...
Chupa Chupa
macrumors G5
Correct. Walk-in on Friday, no reservation going in, though I was given one while in line, but I think that was just for inventory purposes as I still stayed in line until it was my turn. But again, never was asked for any cell phone account info.
If I get someone who has a Verizon account to buy it from a Verizon store full price without activating it yet,
Would it be the same as just popping in the T-Mobile sim before starting the phone up?
Would it be the same as just popping in the T-Mobile sim before starting the phone up?
Omni Geno
macrumors regular
Hey All,
Thanks so much for this thread. I think it'll help me do what I'm thinking of doing. There is one wrinkle, though, for my case.
On preorder night, I accidentally bought two Verizon iPhone Xs. This happened because I was logged into both the Apple online store and the Verizon store, and because of server congestion, planned to buy the phone on whichever site allowed me to. Apple kept giving me server errors ("try again later"). I was then successful checking out on Verizon's store. Then I got a confirmation from the Apple store saying my order is being processed 😱. So yeah, I got my phone from Verizon on Nov 3 (and I'm loving it) and the one from Apple is still on its way. When I ordered, I provided the same Verizon account credentials and same phone number on both sites!
Instead of canceling, I want to give the one from Apple to my girlfriend, but she's on T-Mobile. The steps detailed in this thread seem like they're perfect for me, but there's one thing I wanted to know: If I do the step where I type in my VZW account details at setup (and don't call Verizon, as you guys recommended), will that info go to Verizon and mess me up in any way? I just want to make sure it's activated on her T-Mobile account cleanly and doesn't perturb my Verizon account, because I've already activated my "first" iPhone X. I'm an experienced tech user but a total novice when it comes to phone activation and such.
thank you!
Thanks so much for this thread. I think it'll help me do what I'm thinking of doing. There is one wrinkle, though, for my case.
On preorder night, I accidentally bought two Verizon iPhone Xs. This happened because I was logged into both the Apple online store and the Verizon store, and because of server congestion, planned to buy the phone on whichever site allowed me to. Apple kept giving me server errors ("try again later"). I was then successful checking out on Verizon's store. Then I got a confirmation from the Apple store saying my order is being processed 😱. So yeah, I got my phone from Verizon on Nov 3 (and I'm loving it) and the one from Apple is still on its way. When I ordered, I provided the same Verizon account credentials and same phone number on both sites!
Instead of canceling, I want to give the one from Apple to my girlfriend, but she's on T-Mobile. The steps detailed in this thread seem like they're perfect for me, but there's one thing I wanted to know: If I do the step where I type in my VZW account details at setup (and don't call Verizon, as you guys recommended), will that info go to Verizon and mess me up in any way? I just want to make sure it's activated on her T-Mobile account cleanly and doesn't perturb my Verizon account, because I've already activated my "first" iPhone X. I'm an experienced tech user but a total novice when it comes to phone activation and such.
thank you!