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pesos

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 30, 2006
702
196
Other than Apple, who will sell unlocked pros and promaxes and when? Thanks
 
Can someone explain the advantage of paying extra for an unlocked phone. I believe I read that ALL phone that are fully paid for upfront from Apple are unlocked. So why would anyone pay $30 more for an unlocked phone.
 
Can someone explain the advantage of paying extra for an unlocked phone. I believe I read that ALL phone that are fully paid for upfront from Apple are unlocked. So why would anyone pay $30 more for an unlocked phone.
Hmmm... when I price them out on the Apple site, carrier and sim-free price out the same.
 
Actually visible has them for sale all in stock and it’s free over night shipping. They have every color and storage variant. They also do 0% interest payment plans through affirm. They come unlocked sim free.
 
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yeah, they are literally the same price on Apple.com whether unlocked or from a carrier if paying in full. The only discounts that come into play are carriers that are offering specials for payment plans on new lines or whatever.

Buying from a carrier is not always great, and some carriers are small (I have XFinity Mobile), and so they have limited stuck, and are not offering any deals anyway for those of us that are already customers- so the best way to buy one is from Apple unlocked. Same price as buying from Xfinity Mobile.
 
Actually visible has them for sale all in stock and it’s free over night shipping. They have every color and storage variant. They also do 0% interest payment plans through affirm. They come unlocked sim free.
Yep will most likely be getting ours from them
 
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Actually visible has them for sale all in stock and it’s free over night shipping. They have every color and storage variant. They also do 0% interest payment plans through affirm. They come unlocked sim free.
Wow, that is nuts! I checked my small-ish carrier (Xfinity Mobile), and their lead times are as bad as Apple's- with a pro possibly not getting here until Thanksgiving.

Can we buy one from Visible without being a customer, since they are unlocked? :).
 
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Wow, that is nuts! I checked my small-ish carrier (Xfinity Mobile), and their lead times are as bad as Apple's- with a pro possibly not getting here until Thanksgiving.

Can we buy one from Visible without being a customer, since they are unlocked? :).

I believe you can. Just don’t activate the sim and stuff and it won’t charge you for first month service. I’m not entirely sure to be honest. You can always get in touch with a chat rep on their website they are pretty quick.
 
I believe you can. Just don’t activate the sim and stuff and it won’t charge you for first month service. I’m not entirely sure to be honest. You can always get in touch with a chat rep on their website they are pretty quick.
Wow, I was sort of joking, but that would be awesome if it was an option. The only down side then might be returns, I imagine they are not quite as liberal with that as Apple is? I know most carriers charge a $40 restocking fee....

But I will look into that!

Edit:
Well a quick scan of Reddit dug up this thread- seems it is possible to buy the device from Visible without using their service!:
 
Wow, I was sort of joking, but that would be awesome if it was an option. The only down side then might be returns, I imagine they are not quite as liberal with that as Apple is? I know most carriers charge a $40 restocking fee....

But I will look into that!

Edit:
Well a quick scan of Reddit dug up this thread- seems it is possible to buy the device from Visible without using their service!:

Nice! Good to let people now. It’s crazy someone can go to visible right now and get any variant and have it at their door step tomorrow if ordered right now.
 
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Nice! Good to let people now. It’s crazy someone can go to visible right now and get any variant and have it at their door step tomorrow if ordered right now.
yeah, that is nuts. I do see they charge $9 more for the pro, it is $1008 vs $999.... not a huge deal, for people already spending a grand, another few dollars to be able to have one within a day or two is amazing.

I would still feel better buying from Apple to ensure no restocking fee if I decide I want/need to return the phone within my two week window....
 
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What are AT,&T Tmobiles unlock policy,?? I know Verizons is 60 days. I think AT&Ts is 40 days??
 
This from Apple.com --->All iPhone models are unlocked except those purchased with AT&T Installment Plans.

It also says ---> Sim Free $30 more ($829 verses $799)

SIM-free - activate with any carrier later.​

From $34.54/mo.per month or $829 before trade-in*

A couple of months ago I bought a Sim-Free IP SE from a nearby Apple store. On that phone, I had to put in my ATT sim card from a previous phone. I still don't get why Apple charges $30 more for the Sim-Free phone.

Regardless, ATT is very easy to unlock if the phones is fully paid for. I've done it several times. The mystery is HOW do you really know if a phone is unlocked unless you put another carriers sim card in it?
 
Can someone explain the advantage of paying extra for an unlocked phone. I believe I read that ALL phone that are fully paid for upfront from Apple are unlocked. So why would anyone pay $30 more for an unlocked phone.
I think the biggest reason is more control. Unlocked phone users have no restrictions, contracts, or ties to any carrier. They can shop around for carrier deals or use their old SIM without having to pay an activation fee.

With a carrier specific phone, there is usually an activation fee and tied to a phone number. An unlocked phone does away with all of that.
 
This from Apple.com --->All iPhone models are unlocked except those purchased with AT&T Installment Plans.

It also says ---> Sim Free $30 more ($829 verses $799)

SIM-free - activate with any carrier later.​

From $34.54/mo.per month or $829 before trade-in*

A couple of months ago I bought a Sim-Free IP SE from a nearby Apple store. On that phone, I had to put in my ATT sim card from a previous phone. I still don't get why Apple charges $30 more for the Sim-Free phone.

Regardless, ATT is very easy to unlock if the phones is fully paid for. I've done it several times. The mystery is HOW do you really know if a phone is unlocked unless you put another carriers sim card in it?
Off topic but do you know if the apple website or app allow for split payments when purchasing a phone retail price mainly?
 
This from Apple.com --->All iPhone models are unlocked except those purchased with AT&T Installment Plans.

It also says ---> Sim Free $30 more ($829 verses $799)

SIM-free - activate with any carrier later.​

From $34.54/mo.per month or $829 before trade-in*

A couple of months ago I bought a Sim-Free IP SE from a nearby Apple store. On that phone, I had to put in my ATT sim card from a previous phone. I still don't get why Apple charges $30 more for the Sim-Free phone.

Regardless, ATT is very easy to unlock if the phones is fully paid for. I've done it several times. The mystery is HOW do you really know if a phone is unlocked unless you put another carriers sim card in it?
Ok... I was looking at the iPhone 12 Pro pricing. For the Pro, there's no additional charge for a sim-free phone. While, there is an additional $30 for an iPhone 12 sim-free.
 
Can someone explain the advantage of paying extra for an unlocked phone. I believe I read that ALL phone that are fully paid for upfront from Apple are unlocked. So why would anyone pay $30 more for an unlocked phone.
$30 on a $1,000+ iPhone is what? Cannot even buy a new case or screen protector for the 12 at $30! I guess, to answer your question, people want the unlocked from Apple since it works with many carriers worldwide but not all by many. Locked carrier iPhones and that become unlocked only have limited radios in them so it only works for those carriers that are buying the time from the major carriers like that of Metro, Boost, Mint, Simple, etc...
 
I think the biggest reason is more control. Unlocked phone users have no restrictions, contracts, or ties to any carrier. They can shop around for carrier deals or use their old SIM without having to pay an activation fee.

With a carrier specific phone, there is usually an activation fee and tied to a phone number. An unlocked phone does away with all of that.
Yep. That's why the american carriers hate dual sim devices also. Hence why the top tier Android devices from Samsung are still crippled in this category as opposed to other regions.
 
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$30 on a $1,000+ iPhone is what? Cannot even buy a new case or screen protector for the 12 at $30! I guess, to answer your question, people want the unlocked from Apple since it works with many carriers worldwide but not all by many. Locked carrier iPhones and that become unlocked only have limited radios in them so it only works for those carriers that are buying the time from the major carriers like that of Metro, Boost, Mint, Simple, etc...
 
$30 on a $1,000+ iPhone is what? Cannot even buy a new case or screen protector for the 12 at $30! I guess, to answer your question, people want the unlocked from Apple since it works with many carriers worldwide but not all by many. Locked carrier iPhones and that become unlocked only have limited radios in them so it only works for those carriers that are buying the time from the major carriers like that of Metro, Boost, Mint, Simple, etc...
30 buckaroos is nothing to me other than a medium grade of whiskey at Costco. I was just wondering what the difference was. With my previous phone that I paid cash for, ATT was very agreeable to unlock them. And with the unlocked phones, I was the "local" boy wherever I roamed outside the country with a local boy sim card in my phone. Cheaper than doing the ATT int'l deal at $10 a day or whatever ATT charged per day.
 
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