With Sprint, there are two ways to unlock your phone - international or domestic. You would need to call them at least twice for it.
My LG G5 (LS922) got both. Then I moved to Verizon and T-Mobile.
Feb 17, 2017
Sprint LG G5, $240
March 18, 2017
Verizon Google Pixel, $650
March 20, 2017
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, free with trade-in. But more or less $200
March 22, 2017
T-Mobile HTC One M7, $60 used from Craigslist. Just missed its design which is my favorite design ever. Got it (again) exactly 4 years after its release.
May 2, 2017
T-Mobile LG V20, used the $528 rebate card from the S7e and paid another $12.
May 20, 2017
AT&T GoPhone Apple iPhone SE, $200
Sold off the Pixel and S7 edge because I couldn't handle paying $180-$195 for two services. The only thing I liked from Sprint is their voice customer service is friendly and their store customer service is a little better than Verizon's.
Network / coverage / signal (Northern OC)
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Data speed
Verizon
T-Mobile
AT&T
Sprint
Value
T-Mobile
Sprint
AT&T
Verizon
Best for me
T-Mobile
Verizon
AT&T
Sprint
My other phones are more compatible to it since Verizon is CDMA. After I got my Sprint G5 unlocked for both international and domestic, it could read my T-Mo sim but only for text and call but no data. After three months, it stopped reading it.
Tried selling my favorite phone of all-time and it would no longer read ANY sim from me or the potential buyer. We went to two Sprint stores and I went to a Best Buy and none of them had a clue. One BB guy told me because my account is still attached to the phone. That's when I read that Howard Forums thread later that night. Convoluted mess.
I ended up giving it to the nice South Korean gentleman for free and told his college son to just use it as a media player because my G5 (RS988) that I got from B&H for $350 was on the way. Lost my FM radio but don't care. As long as I got rid of anything to do with Sprint! Paid an extra $100 because I wanted silver again over titan. Good karma followed with my work that same week.
Being selfless works. That's why don't get too obsessed buying iPhone X on launch day to capitalize making $$$$ off eBay or trying to look cool before people that get it. Nothing life changing about iPhone X. Sour grapes and being envious won't get you far. Be a team player. You win some, you lose some. Nothing is perfect in life.
This is why I refuse to use e-sim that Apple and Google are trying to push. It's another ESN crap. All these carriers are leeches like these brands including our favs. That's why they push all these great discounts on phones a few months later because they want you to be stuck with them. Since contracts no longer exist, that's their handcuffs on you. Promos on phones.
I only buy UNLOCKED phones from now on to sort from the mess. No carrier bloat, boot animation, branding. Stick to Verizon because friends don't let friends join Sprint. I would have stayed with Verizon myself but I don't like their customer service where I live, most of my 7 phones won't work on it, and the price ($90-$115) for one line with or without balance on the Pixel 1. T-Mo is giving me a $325 bill credits for showing proof I bought a Pixel 1. That's now $57 for unlimited.
I hate Sprint so much, I wouldn't join them if they gave me an iPhone X for free. It would end up being an iPod touch or I would sell it. You can also just buy them cheap from Best Buy and sell them off. I actually bought three G5s (Sprint) from Best Buy for $240 and $120 twice. The first was what I kept until giving it away and the latter two I either sold for $100 profit on Craigslist or used as trade-in to get the S7e.
Sprint's only advantage is Best Buy sometimes offers them so cheap especially for LG. Then sell them off to any Sprint users out there. You would have to deal with one month charges though. Save the trouble and go Verizon or T-Mobile. I saw the Essential and KeyOne the day I gave away my older G5. I wouldn't join Sprint if both were handed to me for free that day. Just sprint out the door.
Use this to check for network compatibility
https://willmyphonework.net
