Thanks for your answer!
And if the phone "purchased as an upgrade", but still has "no contract required" - is it still unlockable "device only"?
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"Off Contract" AT&T iPhone 4Ss Already Come Unlocked
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And if the phone "purchased as an upgrade", but still has "no contract required" - is it still unlockable "device only"?
Not quite sure about that since if it is an upgrade then usually you do extend the contract. I think bottom line is is you're paying full price (649 for the 16GB) from the Apple store and you're not giving them your account information for them to enter it into their system, it should be unlocked. If you're paying less (either 199 or 400 something for the 16BG) chances are your contract is being renewed and it will not be unlocked.
When I went to get mine and I told the guy I wanted to buy it off contract, full price, he asked me for my number and then said "Oh actually you can get it for 400 something" of course that would have extended my contract, so I had to re-state that I wanted to buy it full price, device only. He wasn't even aware you could do that and told me that he couldn't do that cos that would be an unlocked phone and they were not selling those yet. I told him 2 friends had just done so and he tried on his Iphone gadget to run the sale and was surprised it let him. He claimed he was not aware the system was letting them do it but once he realized it was possible he had no issues in selling it to me..
I have a quick question, I have an iPhone 4S (off-contract from the Apple Store). In the event it ever gets replaced at the Genius Bar, I assume the replacement would be locked to AT&T? Would there be any way to tell them that you bought it off contract, and therefore should still have an unlocked device?
Apple stores all receipts electronically, so if you ever need your iPhone replaced, the person at the Genius Bar will look yours up by SN/IMEI to verify warranty, etc. When they do so, they should also see that yours was purchased as Device Only and adjust the replacement accordingly. While they should be doing this anyway, it never hurts to remind them that yours is unlocked and the replacement needs to be the same way as well.
I think several people have posted in this very forum that after purchasing their off-contract 4S they went to Genius Bar and the guys there in fact confirmed that their phones did in fact have authorized unlocks.
Does the unlocked AT&T Iphone 4S have the AT&T logo in the box and in the unit?
In my experience no AT&T logo, just H2O my pay as u go provider. In fact no AT&T anywhere. I got it today.
My own question is does apple care cover a loss of my iPhone?
Hey guys, I bought an Iphone 4S 32GB today in Scottsdale, AZ. They didn't know if they could sell an "off-contract" phoone and they were pretty sure it would not work in another carrier but they sold me anyway. Well, I put my brazilian SIM card, plugged it on my computer and it worked!! It's unlocked.
Also, iCloud worked perfectly. I setup everything over the air without a computer. All my contacts, e-mail accounts, apps, pictures and etc. Incredible!!!
Also, iCloud worked perfectly. I setup everything over the air without a computer. All my contacts, e-mail accounts, apps, pictures and etc. Incredible!!!
There is no AT&T (or any other carrier) logo(s) anywhere on the box. The carrier logos were never on the phone itself (going back to the very original iPhone). Apple used to put them on the boxes/packaging up until iPhone 4, but is clearly no longer doing so. I suspect that this is because the 4S is both CDMA and GSM capable, so there is no way to pre-determine as to which carrier it will be activated with prior to actual sale.
I seriously doubt that they will cover loss. Allegedly, with AppleCare+ they will replace damaged iPhones for $50, no questions asked. Common sense says that they will not give you a replacement iPhone if you don't have a bad one to show for it.
On the contrary, Apple could easily do what you are suggesting. Their activation mechanism checks for phone's IMEI and/or SN. When you purchase anything from Apple, they ask for your e-mail address. If you pay by credit card, your e-mail and CC number gets tied to the IMEI/SN. Even if you walk in, pay cash and don't provide any personal info, you still get paper receipt with IMEI/SN. Therefore, if you walk in claiming that you lost your iPhone or it was stolen, they look up your info from receipt, give you a new one and blacklist the IMEI/SN of the old one. Granted, if you give it to one of your buddies, they can still use it until it gets reset/restored. However, reset/restore prompts re-activation, and this is where blacklist kicks in. Also, if the phone is set up with iCloud/MobileMe, they can wipe it remotely, forcing it to re-activate as well.
I'm pretty sure that Apple is already using the activation mechanism to insure that if anything "falls off the truck" or gets swiped from their stock room remains unusable. That IMO is one of the reasons why they can the bar codes during purchase.
How do I buy one?
Looking to purchase a off contract 32gb 4S but I am unable to find the 4S in stock anywhere near here I live.
How are you guys managing to find one? Should I just walk into a store and ask for one? Or call and reserve it?
I tried to reserve it on the website but again the problem is that none of the stores have in stock.
Looking to purchase a off contract 32gb 4S but I am unable to find the 4S in stock anywhere near here I live.
How are you guys managing to find one? Should I just walk into a store and ask for one? Or call and reserve it?
I tried to reserve it on the website but again the problem is that none of the stores have in stock.
Just an FYI...
For people using H20 wireless...
While it is true that off-contract AT&T iPhones are unlocked, H20 Wireless in an AT&T MVNO and it's SIM card used the SAME AT&T ID's... meaning you can use H20 SIM cards in LOCKED iPhones as well.
Furthermore.... if you want to activate H20 wireless... you can go to Best Buy and buy an H20 starter kit with H20 SIM or.... if you happen to have an unused AT&T Micro SIM lying around... you could just call H20 and give them the numbers from the SIM card... they won't know the difference. The SIMs are interchangeable and indistinguishable from each other... besides the logos painted on them.
For people using H20 wireless...
While it is true that off-contract AT&T iPhones are unlocked, H20 Wireless in an AT&T MVNO and it's SIM card used the SAME AT&T ID's... meaning you can use H20 SIM cards in LOCKED iPhones as well.
Furthermore.... if you want to activate H20 wireless... you can go to Best Buy and buy an H20 starter kit with H20 SIM or.... if you happen to have an unused AT&T Micro SIM lying around... you could just call H20 and give them the numbers from the SIM card... they won't know the difference. The SIMs are interchangeable and indistinguishable from each other... besides the logos painted on them.
Looking to purchase a off contract 32gb 4S but I am unable to find the 4S in stock anywhere near here I live.
How are you guys managing to find one? Should I just walk into a store and ask for one? Or call and reserve it?
I tried to reserve it on the website but again the problem is that none of the stores have in stock.
All the china-men are lining up for it, and ruining it for everyone else...thy are even on their computers a 8:45pm everyday n allowing to reserve ours
Looking to purchase a off contract 32gb 4S but I am unable to find the 4S in stock anywhere near here I live.
How are you guys managing to find one? Should I just walk into a store and ask for one? Or call and reserve it?
I tried to reserve it on the website but again the problem is that none of the stores have in stock.
Im sure you've been looking online, most apple shops list all models 'unavailable' so i will encourage you to go to your apple shop. Thats how i got mine
Thats an angle i never looked at, i activated my iphone with H2O wireless SIM. but at a point i spoke with customer care and they asked if the phone was unlocked. I guess that means that the locked i will not work with H20. That means i need a tmo sim to try my phone and return if it does not work.
Thanks for the heads up.
Then
Bear w/ me if i ask a stupid q.
Does that mean officially unlocked att iphone can be unoffically unlocked again able to be used on cdma network too?
Why the upcoming offically unlocked phones are called att? Shouldn't it be called just inter national or unlocked for all networks?
I see these postings on craigslist or ebay that selling '4s' phones new, sealed, unlocked for Att, sprint, vrzn,, what do they mean?
If there is no way to tell what carrier a iphone is for from the box, how come apple store reserve on apple webste show different stocks on each carrier?
Bear w/ me if i ask a stupid q.
Does that mean officially unlocked att iphone can be unoffically unlocked again able to be used on cdma network too?
Why the upcoming offically unlocked phones are called att? Shouldn't it be called just inter national or unlocked for all networks?
I see these postings on craigslist or ebay that selling '4s' phones new, sealed, unlocked for Att, sprint, vrzn,, what do they mean?
If there is no way to tell what carrier a iphone is for from the box, how come apple store reserve on apple webste show different stocks on each carrier?
Siri ..not so cool after all.
Not shur how this posts...but I was initially disappointed with the intro of the 4s. Berating Apple's Siri as "faux AI"
However; that the feature only works through cellular & server, severely disappoints me to the point of irritation.
Considering some of us prefer unlocked, we would be forced into paying continually for the new learning curve.
What's the deal with Seri working on wi-fi, cellular off?
How about even when the device is connected to no Internet. No wi-fi?
This is something that I see Apple completely leaving out in their advertising.
Perhaps this will come later, as Apple hase said this is beta!
Yet, I am impressed.
But, not enough to buy it now. It bothers me too much that Siri is active through the carriers only.
.....
Perhaps when Apple figures out ( if they haven't already..hehe) how to bypass the carriers by the sheer number of Apples interoperable devices, maybe 500 million, more? Seems like they are going to sell everything they can manufacture. ....then all things really will be connected..all things Apple anyway..seems
like they are going in this direction. Wow! Talk about disruption...haha.
........
Not shur how this posts...but I was initially disappointed with the intro of the 4s. Berating Apple's Siri as "faux AI"
However; that the feature only works through cellular & server, severely disappoints me to the point of irritation.
Considering some of us prefer unlocked, we would be forced into paying continually for the new learning curve.
What's the deal with Seri working on wi-fi, cellular off?
How about even when the device is connected to no Internet. No wi-fi?
This is something that I see Apple completely leaving out in their advertising.
Perhaps this will come later, as Apple hase said this is beta!
Yet, I am impressed.
But, not enough to buy it now. It bothers me too much that Siri is active through the carriers only.
.....
Perhaps when Apple figures out ( if they haven't already..hehe) how to bypass the carriers by the sheer number of Apples interoperable devices, maybe 500 million, more? Seems like they are going to sell everything they can manufacture. ....then all things really will be connected..all things Apple anyway..seems
like they are going in this direction. Wow! Talk about disruption...haha.
........
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Not to mention the new audio ssues at the resut of siri as wellNot shur how this posts...but I was initially disappointed with the intro of the 4s. Berating Apple's Siri as "faux AI"
However; that the feature only works through cellular & server, severely disappoints me to the point of irritation.
Considering some of us prefer unlocked, we would be forced into paying continually for the new learning curve.
What's the deal with Seri working on wi-fi, cellular off?
How about even when the device is connected to no Internet. No wi-fi?
This is something that I see Apple completely leaving out in their advertising.
Perhaps this will come later, as Apple hase said this is beta!
Yet, I am impressed. But, not enough to buy it now. It bothers me too much that the carriers only, provide the feature via them. .
.....
........
I don't think any unlocking is necessary for CDMA networks. There are no SIM cards involved with CDMA carriers, what the carrier has to do is register the phone's ESN/MEID and tie it to an active account. Which brings me to an interesting question. Apple says that when the officially unlocked 4S go on sale, you will not be able to use them with CDMA networks. While it is true that they will not magically start working out of the box, would Verizon and Sprint be willing to register them for those who bring them into their stores? Granted, they will not be able to lock these folks into contracts, but I don't see how they can refuse to activate a phone that is now officially supported on their networks.
Where did you get that from? Apple clearly says that when they go on sale, they will not be tied to AT&T. You will be free to stick a SIM from any carrier into them and use them as you please (as long as that SIM is tied to an active account). As far as I know, here are the differences between AT&T 4S and the officially unlocked ones: AT&T ones (whether on of off contract) have AT&T SIM inside, have no SIM ejector tool and the sticker on the bottom of the box has ICCID (a.k.a. SIM number). The officially unlocked ones that they sell in EU, Australia, Canada and wherever else they are offered have no SIM inside, come with SIM ejector tool and the sticker on the bottom of the box does not have the ICCID. While I can't be certain for sure, I can bet that when officially unlocked ones go on sale here in the US, they will be the exact same way.
While I take the info written on eBay/CL postings with a grain of salt as some of the sellers out there don't have all their facts together, are willing to say anything to sell their product and at times do not even bother to use correct spelling/grammar, from the technical standpoint, they are right. According to technical specs, 4S is capable of operating on both GSM and CDMA networks, and as long as it is in fact unlocked, you can use it on any GSM carrier (AT&T included), and if Verizon or Sprint would be willing to activate it for you despite the fact that you did not buy it directly from them or Apple, then you can use it there as well.
Since I don't work for Apple, I can't answer that. I am sure that if any Apple employees are reading this forum, they can't answer that too or they would be fired in a heartbeat and could face possible criminal/civil penalties.
P.S. If anyone like myself owned iPhone 4 before and now upgraded to 4S, did you notice that it takes noticeably longer to connect to GSM carrier when it boots up? On iPhone 4 it would take a second or two after the main screen comes up to see the carrier banner. On 4S, it takes about 15-20. My suspicion is that when it boots up, it tries to locate and log on to CDMA network first; obviously in my case it gets refused by Verizon and Sprint and then starts looking for GSM networks.
You are correct and it gave me concern moreso after some1 here said that the fact that i have been able to use H20 sim on my phone is not guarantee that it is unlocked, since H20 operates on AT&T network, I inserted another sim. it took forever and then did not work. I'm guessing the SIM i used is just not working in d USA, so first thing 2moro i will buy a Tmosim and try again
How do you plan to buy a t-mobile sim in the U.S.? If you go in the store and get them to give you one somehow it serves no purpose without service on it. Your better off borrowing one, or worst case going into the tmobile store and telling them the truth your thinking about buying new service but want to make sure your iPhone is unlocked and maybe one of the associates will let you pop a demo-line sim card into the phone.
I have a hunch that the 4 weeks from the iPhone 4s launch to the release of the unlocked version was so that the carriers could sell as many contracts as possible. Virgin Mobile is supposedly Sprint's most profitable division and it doesn't make sense for them to turn away customers.
I'm hoping that the 14th will see the launch of iPhone 4s on Virgin Mobile.
Thought I will buy a pay as you go for $10 at walmart, as there is no Tmo shop where i am, but your suggestion makes loads of sense. so i will try that.