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Is Verizon's 5S unlocked like it was last year? Apple won't say

B

benyben123

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 22, 2013
172
26
Hello!

Does anyone have a clue if the 5S (from Verizon) is unlocked?

Last year, the 5 was unlocked. But at the Apple store all I got from two employees is "sorry, i don't know".

Thanks!
 
They don't know. That would be a question for Verizon anyway. Once they get a hold of it, it's theirs.
 
But im talking about buying it from the apple store at full price. The verizon one, but at full price (no contract).
 
Yes it's factory unlocked. All Verizon's recent lte phones are unlocked out the box whether you buy on contract or off. There are threads on here stating that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
cnotes2019 said:
Yes it's factory unlocked. All Verizon's recent lte phones are unlocked out the box whether you buy on contract or off. There are threads on here stating that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Thank you SO MUCH! Gonna hit the Apple store right now based on that info, so thanks again :)
 
I too can confirm that my 64GB White/Silver iPhone 5S for Verizon was unlocked out of the box.
 
Yes it is unlocked. Several people have posted they have already used it on t-moblie and AT&T, and it fact getting LTE with those carriers. This would be the first phone on the market that is completely unlocked and capable of using LTE on all major US carriers, not counting Sprint.
 
benyben123 said:
Hello!

Does anyone have a clue if the 5S (from Verizon) is unlocked?

Last year, the 5 was unlocked. But at the Apple store all I got from two employees is "sorry, i don't know".

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It sure is. I'm running on AT&T's LTE network on my Verizon iPhone 5s and don't even have a Verizon account. It's a requirement of Verizon's LTE license. I'm not sure why the FCC required it only of Verizon's spectrum and not the rest of the 700MHz spectrum that AT&T bought, or the AWS or 2500MHz spectrum Sprint bought, but every Verizon LTE device must be unlocked.

----------
Hiro.K said:
If i buy from Verizon at full price, is that iPhone5S still unlocked?
Click to expand...

Yep. And it's unlocked even if you buy it subsidized under contract.
 
anyone know how to get a full price verizon phone now?

all the stores (including apple store) won't sell them device only, must be bought with contract. Whats up?
 
It is an FCC mandate that ALL Verizon's LTE phones come factory SIM unlocked.

Even if you buy a verizon iPhone under contract, it will still be SIM unlocked.
 
Col Ronson said:
It is an FCC mandate that ALL Verizon's LTE phones come factory SIM unlocked.

Even if you buy a verizon iPhone under contract, it will still be SIM unlocked.
Click to expand...

I don't need a contract, just phone itself. And they won't sell anything off contract. Can I cancel immediately after purchasing the phone
 
1twojay said:
I don't need a contract, just phone itself. And they won't sell anything off contract. Can I cancel immediately after purchasing the phone
Click to expand...

have you considered buying an AT&T iPhone at full price? restoring it in iTunes will unlock it. I bought one at the apple store full price on friday, and unlocked it 30 mins later. "Device Only" and told them i didn't wanna activate service.
 
Col Ronson said:
have you considered buying an AT&T iPhone at full price? restoring it in iTunes will unlock it. I bought one at the apple store full price on friday, and unlocked it 30 mins later. "Device Only" and told them i didn't wanna activate service.
Click to expand...

Yea i don't mind getting AT&T, problem is the ppl at the apple store won't sell it to me device only. Are they allowed to do that?
 
1twojay said:
Yea i don't mind getting AT&T, problem is the ppl at the apple store won't sell it to me device only. Are they allowed to do that?
Click to expand...

they did it to me. and they've done it with various others. Find a different specialist, talk to a manager, or find a new store. There is no specific apple policy preventing "device only" purchases.
 
benyben123 said:
Does anyone have a clue if the 5S (from Verizon) is unlocked?

Last year, the 5 was unlocked. But at the Apple store all I got from two employees is "sorry, i don't know".
Click to expand...
Clue: Why was the 5 unlocked? Has anything changed since then? This is a very common topic.
 
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