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Truefan31

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Aug 25, 2012
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Just watched a video and he mentions that only the att iPhone 12 are carrier locked. Anyone know about this?


 
Not sure what the issue is. If you buy a full price phone, even the AT&T one, it will be unlocked. If you are doing installment plan, it remains locked until you've paid it off.

Phones from AT&T are not unlocked by default, even when paying full price. Unlock would have to be requested afterward.
 
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I thought Verizon had that 60 day rule on unlocking even with paying full price at Apple?

And isn’t buying a carrier model 30 usd cheaper than the sim free? So we could save money but still get an unlocked iPhone 12?
 
I thought Verizon had that 60 day rule on unlocking even with paying full price at Apple?

And isn’t buying a carrier model 30 usd cheaper than the sim free? So we could save money but still get an unlocked iPhone 12?

you can pre order a sim free iPhone 12 model from Apple today, not Locked to any carrier.

Not really. Pretty sure the carrier will then charge you upgrade fee but if you get it sim free and just swap sims, no upgrade fee
 
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I certainly didn't expect that Apple would be selling the SIM free model of the new 5G models at launch. Especially since they were delayed anyway.
 
I thought Verizon had that 60 day rule on unlocking even with paying full price at Apple?

And isn’t buying a carrier model 30 usd cheaper than the sim free? So we could save money but still get an unlocked iPhone 12?
That's exactly my concern. When I checked with Verizon they claimed that if I purchase a phone from them, even if I pay full price (no installment), it will be locked for 60 days. Apple's website says only AT&T is locked. I ended up purchasing the SIM free phone on Apple's website and paying an extra $30 even though I have an active Verizon account because I will need to travel abroad in December (less than 60 days from now) and use my phone. I didn't want to risk having it locked but if anyone has any other info please let me know.
 
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AT&T is the Death Star incarnate.

Last year, Verizon was pretty clear about the 60-day lock. I called because I had a trip to Portugal planned in December and wanted to make sure there weren’t any “fine print” shenanigans. Good thing, because my phone was actually still locked, but they released it since the window had passed. I bought mine on device payments at the time. SIM-free should be unlocked from Day 1.
 
That's exactly my concern. When I checked with Verizon they claimed that if I purchase a phone from them, even if I pay full price (no installment), it will be locked for 60 days. Apple's website says only AT&T is locked. I ended up purchasing the SIM free phone on Apple's website and paying an extra $30 even though I have an active Verizon account because I will need to travel abroad in December (less than 60 days from now) and use my phone. I didn't want to risk having it locked but if anyone has any other info please let me know.

Yeah it’s a little confusing. I know sim free ensures unlock, but if you can save 30 usd and still get an unlocked iPhone 12 then why not.

Maybe buy the Tmobile version full price then?
 
Why is that?

AT&T and I don’t have a good relationship. It goes back to their phone bill days when they would mysteriously raise my bill by $5 each month as if I wouldn’t notice. I argued monthly for 5 months straight. Bad service, bad experience all around. I eventually dropped them and moved to Comcast. I didn’t get the iPhone when it was first introduced because AT&T was the exclusive carrier. Then when a friend convinced me to at least give them a chance, I again had the worst experience ever and that was with a new business device setup. I cancelled everything and stuck with T-Mobile. When I left T-Mobile, I went directly to Verizon even though they were the most expensive at the time.

I refuse to deal with AT&T to this day. They probably are better now (insert derisive snort of laughter here), but I have a long memory.
 
I had all sorts of issues a couple years ago on postpaid. Better on prepaid and with a mvno intermediary. For me the best day to day coverage.
 
Interesting. Perhaps I've been fortunate. I've been with AT&T (and related acquisitions) for a very very long time. I'd say they are average in terms of customer service. When I've had to call for something I will sometimes get someone unknowledgeable and then I hang up and call back. I've had far more frustration with Comcast than AT&T.

I refuse to deal with AT&T to this day. They probably are better now (insert derisive snort of laughter here), but I have a long memory.
 
Interesting. Perhaps I've been fortunate. I've been with AT&T (and related acquisitions) for a very very long time. I'd say they are average in terms of customer service. When I've had to call for something I will sometimes get someone unknowledgeable and then I hang up and call back. I've had far more frustration with Comcast than AT&T.

That’s great. Comcast has been bothersome of late, but mainly because our area is being upgraded as well. At least they’ve given me credit for any outages experienced. I would go satellite, but Windy City says no, lol.
 
Just buy from Apple and choose unlocked / sim free. If they don’t have that, pick any carrier and select to pay at full price and select “activate later” option.

The sprint / att versions are almost always in stock even after preorder day for pickup. Just keep in mind that ATT is locked ONLY if you use their installment plan.

Been doing it this way for years when i overslept last the preorder time and avoid the chaos.
 
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