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I called Apple and they told me my Sprint iPhone 4S is unlocked

Johnny Steps

Johnny Steps

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 29, 2011
609
579
I called 1-800-MY-APPLE and they told me, by checking his computer that my iPhone 4S is indeed UNLOCKED and he himself told me that I can use it with GSM and that if it wasn't, as in tied to the Sprint carrier, it would state it on his computer.

When I was at AT&T, the rep had to use a dummy IMEM number because the one she needed wasn't showing up, but now it is and I even screenshot it.

ALSO the Apple rep told me that if someone else's SIM card was working (Which two were when the AT&T rep tried for me at the store) I shouldn't have problems that it's either the IMEM dummy number (use the real one) or the SIM card is defective.

So I ask you people... is Apple BSing me? He told me himself "Yeah, that iPhone 4S is actually a bit rare since it shows it's unlocked and can be used with GSM and that a lot of travelers would want it."

----------

By the way the AT&T rep gave me the SIM card to have on me in the meantime and it isn't activating through iTunes most likely because of the dummy IMEM number. (Or MEID number plus the 0 at the end)
 
now I am confused, Didn't you just make thread about this earlier?
you said that you tried to use an AT&T sim card and it didn't work?
 
Doublemint said:
now I am confused, Didn't you just make thread about this earlier?
you said that you tried to use an AT&T sim card and it didn't work?
Click to expand...

Yeah it didn't, but the guy at Apple told me it's probably because of the "dummy" IMEM number the AT&T rep used instead of my phone's actual IMEM number OR a defective SIM.
 
Yea when you have it working with an AT&T sim that's when you get excited untill then this thread means nothing :D
 
Johnny Steps said:
I called 1-800-MY-APPLE and they told me, by checking his computer that my iPhone 4S is indeed UNLOCKED and he himself told me that I can use it with GSM and that if it wasn't, as in tied to the Sprint carrier, it would state it on his computer.

When I was at AT&T, the rep had to use a dummy IMEM number because the one she needed wasn't showing up, but now it is and I even screenshot it.

ALSO the Apple rep told me that if someone else's SIM card was working (Which two were when the AT&T rep tried for me at the store) I shouldn't have problems that it's either the IMEM dummy number (use the real one) or the SIM card is defective.

So I ask you people... is Apple BSing me? He told me himself "Yeah, that iPhone 4S is actually a bit rare since it shows it's unlocked and can be used with GSM and that a lot of travelers would want it."

----------

By the way the AT&T rep gave me the SIM card to have on me in the meantime and it isn't activating through iTunes most likely because of the dummy IMEM number. (Or MEID number plus the 0 at the end)
Click to expand...

Prepare to be disappointed. The reason he said "Travelers" is because its unlocked for OVERSEAS. If you activated before 11/11 they were unlocked for overseas, not domestic. Many folks tried to use ATT sim's right after they went on sale (the sprint phones) and NO ONE reported that it worked.

Sorry...
 
Mikesus said:
Prepare to be disappointed. The reason he said "Travelers" is because its unlocked for OVERSEAS. If you activated before 11/11 they were unlocked for overseas, not domestic. Many folks tried to use ATT sim's right after they went on sale (the sprint phones) and NO ONE reported that it worked.

Sorry...
Click to expand...

So why does it say unlocked on the computer at Apple?
 
aziatiklover said:
unlocked for overseas!
Click to expand...

Sigh.. Look I'll try tomorrow. If not, then damn it. I'll sell the phone and go on contract -_-

The Apple rep even told me if it wasn't unlocked to call Sprint and tell them to do it, but it seems all this has been tried before and nothing works.

I just don't get it. Why was the Apple rep telling me all this stuff then? Maybe I should've told him I wanted to use AT&T in the United States.

Oh well. At least I got out of Sprint.
 
Well to probably accept the fate my retarded endeavors and having to buy another iPhone 4S.. Except on contract this time, what company should I do? AT&T? It seems to be the better idea since they offer 3GB of data for $30 as opposed to Verizon with only 2GB of data for the same price.

I hope I never go over th limit lol...
 
Apple's telling the truth. You have an unlocked Sprint phone and those phones are only unlocked for overseas carriers. AT&T/Tmobile and any other American carrier won't work. Purely unlocked phones that cost $650 from Apple would never work with a CDMA carrier like Sprint or Verizon. Unless you're going overseas to mother Russia or selling it, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
 
FYI...factory unlocked iphone only works on GSM carriers only even though Apple sells unlocked iphone, they only work in GSM.. Sprint can unlock the phone but only for international roaming purpose. Also if you purchased an iphone from Sprint, it is locked to the carrier and you will have to wait a certain amount month to request an unlock. But that doesn't mean it's unlocked fully.
 
SoIsays said:
Apple's telling the truth. You have an unlocked Sprint phone and those phones are only unlocked for overseas carriers. AT&T/Tmobile and any other American carrier won't work. Purely unlocked phones that cost $650 from Apple would never work with a CDMA carrier like Sprint or Verizon. Unless you're going overseas to mother Russia or selling it, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Click to expand...

Alrighty then. I accept my blunder lol. Oh CDMA...

So guys which carrier would you suggest for someone in central Texas?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A406 Safari/7534.48.3)

Johnny Steps said:
I called 1-800-MY-APPLE and they told me, by checking his computer that my iPhone 4S is indeed UNLOCKED and he himself told me that I can use it with GSM and that if it wasn't, as in tied to the Sprint carrier, it would state it on his computer.

When I was at AT&T, the rep had to use a dummy IMEM number because the one she needed wasn't showing up, but now it is and I even screenshot it.

ALSO the Apple rep told me that if someone else's SIM card was working (Which two were when the AT&T rep tried for me at the store) I shouldn't have problems that it's either the IMEM dummy number (use the real one) or the SIM card is defective.

So I ask you people... is Apple BSing me? He told me himself "Yeah, that iPhone 4S is actually a bit rare since it shows it's unlocked and can be used with GSM and that a lot of travelers would want it."

----------

By the way the AT&T rep gave me the SIM card to have on me in the meantime and it isn't activating through iTunes most likely because of the dummy IMEM number. (Or MEID number plus the 0 at the end)
Click to expand...

dude you better lock it back up or someone will steel it
 
Dollar for dollar, if you can stay under the 3GB data cap, I'd go with AT&T. The data speeds are significantly faster than Verizon or Sprint. From my personal testing I've noticed that Verizon's about 1.5 to 2 times faster than Sprint (VZ usually comes in around 2.0 Mbps download, Sprint's usually between 900 kbps to 1.3 Mbps down for me.)

Obviously a big factor is your service. Don't get faster data with AT&T if you can't make a phone call because you have no bars.

AT&T's data will usually rocket in between 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps on HSPA+, significantly higher than the competition. Why limit yourself if you can stay under 3 GB?

Personally, I used about 3 GB in half a month with my 4S, and I'm usually on pace for about 6 GB per month. I have Sprint, despite the slow data speeds, but I don't have to worry about it.
 
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