Locked to Sprint but in Australia

[Zimmer62943]

Hi, i live in australia, i recently purchased an iphone while in america but didn't realise it was locked to sprint. i now know this and have been talking to both apple and sprint alot about the issue of it being locked and have gotten nowhere, basically the iphone's imei is locked to sprint, but hasn't been activated in their system because it was an apple replacement phone. so sprint have told me that the phone needs to be activated even temporarily on a sprint post paid account before they can get the unlock code to release the phone.
since im in australia i cannot do this but i was hoping that maybe someone on this site can help me out by somehow activating it for me so that i can contact sprint again and unlock the phone. would anyone be willing to help me out?

 

[aneftp]

I assume u purchased sprint iPhone "used" on Craigslist? Because it was a better deal?

 

[Zimmer62943]

i purchased it as a brand new iphone (apple replaced) but not activated, i wasnt told about it being locked to sprint, i stupidly didnt ask.
my dealings with sprint have been troublesome because while they will unlock it for me, they cant do so because the phone isnt activated in their system at the moment.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

i purchased it as a brand new iphone (apple replaced) but not activated, i wasnt told about it being locked to sprint, i stupidly didnt ask.
my dealings with sprint have been troublesome because while they will unlock it for me, they cant do so because the phone isnt activated in their system at the moment.

So what does Sprint actually want you to do? Do you have to send the phone to the U.S. and have them activate it on a pre-pay non contract plan?

I'm with Sprint and have a 4S. I've tried to see if I can go contract free on one of their month-to-month plans, and they told me, I need to activate one of their other phones, as my Sprint 4S won't work on their pre-pay plans. I guess what I'm saying is that your phone must be on a contract plan to activate, because their pre-pay non contract plans will only work on certain Sprint phones.

Here's a link to their pre-pay Sprint phones. These are the only phones valid for pre-pay plans, at least that's what I was told by a Sprint rep.

http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/shop/phone_wall.jsp?tabId=dvcTab6650002&INTNAV=ATG:HE:SPP:Phone

 

[Applejuiced]

Wow, talk about buying first and asking questions later.

 

[Zimmer62943]

et iphone, they are requiring me to activate the phone onto a post paid account, so that they can then retrieve the unlock code, that can be done while im here in australia as it uses the imei number.

applejuiced. it was indeed a case of buy first questions last, because i didnt expect your carrier rules be to messed up. unlike here in australia where if i want to unlock my iphone i just ring the phone company and they will do it outright as long as im not owing on my contact..

im basically looking for someone who is willing to activate the imei for me

 

[Dontazemebro]

Yeah Sprint is one of the worst carriers when it comes to unlocking that's why you'll find them relatively cheaper than their counterparts. Even if you active it on a post paid account, there's no guarantee that they'll unlock it for you. It's possible that another rep will come up with another bogus excuse like you have to wait 6 - 9 months as a customer in good standing before you can unlock the device or pay the contract off.

My advice to you is either sucker some other poor unsuspecting Aussie into an awesomely good deal or cut your losses and buy one unlocked off eBay.

 

[617aircav]

Where did you buy the phone, and why did you choose the sprint phone, why did you not ask them if it was unlocked?

----------

Yeah Sprint is one of the worst carriers when it comes to unlocking that's why you'll find them relatively cheaper than their counterparts. Even if you active it on a post paid account, there's no guarantee that they'll unlock it for you. It's possible that another rep will come up with another bogus excuse like you have to wait 6 - 9 months as a customer in good standing before you can unlock the device or pay the contract off.

My advice to you is either sucker some other poor unsuspecting Aussie into an awesomely good deal or cut your losses and buy one unlocked off eBay.

This is not limited to sprint. If you make a mistake and buy a locked phone at full price no carrier will help you unless you have a plan with them. My friend bought a brand new phone from AT&T. He used it on one of the AT&T compatible prepaid companies. A month later he wanted it unlocked and AT&T would not help.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I'm basically looking for someone who is willing to activate the imei for me

Educate me. What does one do to help activate the imei? What's the process?

As some have posted (and I could be wrong), I don't think Sprint will activate that phone without a contract even if you purchased it full price. I mentioned to you that I have a 4S. My 2 year contract was over last year. Instead of paying what I've been paying during my contract, I inquired about getting off my plan and going pre-pay with one of their lower month-to-month plans. They told me I couldn't, because certain Sprint phones were tied into their pre-pay plans, and that I had to purchase one of those phones.

I was in no way going to purchase another Sprint phone. I'm just waiting for the 6 so I can switch over to T-Mobile or ATT in the fall.

Therefore, I don't think they can activate your phone with a prepay plan, unless it's a 2-year contract plan. Why don't you just get rid of that phone and get a true unlocked phone and save yourself any further headache.

 

[Applejuiced]

applejuiced. it was indeed a case of buy first questions last, because i didnt expect your carrier rules be to messed up. unlike here in australia where if i want to unlock my iphone i just ring the phone company and they will do it outright as long as im not owing on my contact..

Every country and every carrier is not the same so spending that kind of money and assuming it will just work wasnt very bright.
But you obviously didn't buy one in your country cause its more expensive there and went the cheaper route but that got you way more trouble and stuck with an unusable device.
Even if you do get someone to activate it on their US account the phone has to be used for over 90 days on that line inside the US in order to qualify for an unlock along with many other requirements.
Here's Sprints rules below:

"GSM-capable devices sold by Sprint may be SIM locked for use only with Sprint SIMs on GSM networks. While traveling internationally if you intend to use another provider’s GSM service, the device will need to have the SIM slot unlocked to accept another carrier’s SIM. Please note that unlocking the device does not allow for use with domestic (U.S.) SIMs.

If you elect to use another carrier’s SIM in a locked device for use on international GSM networks please contact Sprint Worldwide Care to unlock the device SIM slot. Sprint Worldwide Care can be reached via chat or email from sprint.com/swwsupport or by calling 1-888-226-7212. The account must be in good-standing with device active on account at least 90 days. Requests are also subject to authentication, approval and other requirements, and approval is based in part on your account and payment history. Spending limit Accounts (ASL) are not eligible for SIM slot unlock.

Sprint reserves the right to deny any unlock request that it concludes would result in an abuse of this policy or is part of an effort to defraud Sprint or its customers. Sprint further reserves the right to alter this unlocking policy at its discretion without advance notice.

When using another provider’s SIM it is important to note that all information, service and support must be provided by that SIM carrier. Sprint does not support or guarantee any service provided by another carrier. You remain responsible for any charges to your Sprint account, as well as any charges from the SIM provider. Upon returning to the U.S., you may need to remove the other carrier’s SIM to be able to acquire the Sprint network."

 

[patt2k]

Where did you buy the phone, and why did you choose the sprint phone, why did you not ask them if it was unlocked?

----------




This is not limited to sprint. If you make a mistake and buy a locked phone at full price no carrier will help you unless you have a plan with them. My friend bought a brand new phone from AT&T. He used it on one of the AT&T compatible prepaid companies. A month later he wanted it unlocked and AT&T would not help.

Verizon requires to have iPhone 4S to be on post paid account in order to unlock it.

5/5S is factory unlocked which is a huge plus.

 

[869639]

No one can help you, sprint does this to people.....OP you should have a habit of checking....how can you be so gullible to assume that you just "ring" up a carrier and get it unlocked.....besides Australia I don't think any other country is that generous/nice when it comes to unlocking....I mean look at Canada....Look at T-Mobile USA....Look at Well you already did...SPRINT....dump it on eBay or other site and take it as a lesson learned.

PS. Sprint at times doesn't even unlock phones for its own customers --- I have a friend whose contracts expired so she moved to another carrier and got new phones....and recently wanted to get her old sprint iPhone unlocked for International use...Guess what...SPRINT Denied saying "because you don't have service with us anymore, we cannot honor the unlock"....and YOU your a nobody to sprint lol so they definitely gonna deny you.