Purchased iPhone 8 plus and iPhone 8 last week at BestBuy, Avon,OH. These phones were bought to be used outside the US, and this was amply explained to the sales person. The phones that were sold to me were supposedly universal iphones and not locked to a service provider in the US. I hoped that the phones will start working as soon as I inserted a sim. I returned to India and put my services sim, but the phones did not accept the Indian chip and the message on the screen suggested that the phones to be locked. I brought up the issue with the seller who said that the phones should have been started with any us sim first time. Now I am in India, I wonder how can I start using my phones!!?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 8(+) Locked iPhone 8
- Thread starter Vajira
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Best Buy iPhone are normally lock to the initial carrier which you first activate it with. Carriers, normally, can’t unlock these iPhone because these iPhone aren’t owned or sold to/by these carriers. However, these iPhone can work universal to any carrier though after unlocking it.
Can you get a US SIM card to activate it first? Preferably possibly a Verizon since they don’t lock their 4G LTE device.
Can you get a US SIM card to activate it first? Preferably possibly a Verizon since they don’t lock their 4G LTE device.
Hmmm…Sprint and AT&T might take issue with that.
They've been busy the last couple years suing employees for taking money from these companies and submitting unauthorized unlocks.
A few people I know have unlocked Boost iPhone SE's, courtesty of a $200 promotion for Boost. Someone inside was submitting unlocks - until Boost/Sprint shut it down.
OP, search eBay for a Verizon SIM.
I'm a pretty easy going guy but even I'm not going to allow that to happen. I'd take a pass the airport idea.
Of course, I mean, in ways without going through the actual carrier.
Best buy phones are reseller US Flex policy, which means they can be unlocked for usa use only.
UNBELIEVABLE the number of threads on the internet of individuals getting burned on those Best Buy US Flex Policy purchases.
Very unfortunate , however if you were to call best buy and speak to the mobile department manager, they will extend the return period indefinitely, To cater to international travelers.
I believe if they are activated with a Verizon SIM, for example, they would be unlocked in general, as any other Verizon LTE phone is (or at least was until very recently when Verizon has been trying to change that a bit).
Even if you do, once they leave the country they will be locked, and will say sim not supported. It has to do with the Policy applied on the phone from apple to best buy
Seems like it should be internationally unlocked as well under those circumstances based on various discussions about this kind of thing before (although with some reports of that not being the case for some):
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...bject-to-the-us-reseller-flex-policy.2079815/
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...bject-to-the-us-reseller-flex-policy.2006324/
Recently i bought an iPhone 8 plus from best buy before coming to India. While buying from them i asked whether this will work in India. The seller opened the box, turned on the mobile and inserted one AT&T sim card. The mobile phone displayed that the iphone is unlocked. He showed me that and said it will work on any sim world wide now. the model number in my phone is A1864 (part number MRT72LL/A) which is unlocked as per apple. if yours is also same model number (8 plus), it should work.
My best bet is that you ask someone to get an us sim, any sim from some one coming from US in any airport (mainly indian students who will help mostly) or through friends. you can take to any authorized service also. they may have some old t-mobile sim card lying around.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...nt-australia-hong-kong-china-a1864-specs.html
My best bet is that you ask someone to get an us sim, any sim from some one coming from US in any airport (mainly indian students who will help mostly) or through friends. you can take to any authorized service also. they may have some old t-mobile sim card lying around.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...nt-australia-hong-kong-china-a1864-specs.html
Last edited: