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Carrier Possible to unlock Sprint iPhone 5S?
- Thread starter JohannesT
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No, next time purchase an unlocked gsm iphone.
Not a cheap sprint iphone that is useless to anyone besides a sprint USA customer. If he didn't say that the phone is unlocked then its not unlocked obviously. He doesn't have to say its not unlocked, it says Sprint iphone 5S. If you did a little research you'd know all Sprint iphones are locked.
So now you get that's the reason it was so much cheaper than all other 5S models sold right?
Not a cheap sprint iphone that is useless to anyone besides a sprint USA customer. If he didn't say that the phone is unlocked then its not unlocked obviously. He doesn't have to say its not unlocked, it says Sprint iphone 5S. If you did a little research you'd know all Sprint iphones are locked.
So now you get that's the reason it was so much cheaper than all other 5S models sold right?
With today's iOS 8 jailbreak you might be able to use a work around method like an R-SIM to sidestep the lock. Obviously a factory unlocked phone would be preferable, but you might want to wait a little bit and see if any of the unlock companies release new SIM interposers for iOS 8.
You can unlock it - for your use. How willing are you to work at it?
Method 1.
Establish service with Sprint. May require you to move or visit the United States.
Pay your bill on time for 90 days, no ASL account.
Call Sprint and ask for international unlock.
Method 2.
www.iphoneunlockguys.com About $145 or so, no waiting reported
chronicunlocks.com About $159.99, backlog
Both methods are INTERNATIONAL unlock only. There is no domestic US unlock possible.
Method 3.
SIM Interposer. Gevey or R-SIM. I've heard they run around $80. Be careful because updating can cause them to stop working.
Those are your only options.
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P.S. OP you probably posted here in the hopes that a jailbreak would save you. About four years ago that might have been possible with a software unlock. But those are dead now.
Method 1.
Establish service with Sprint. May require you to move or visit the United States.
Pay your bill on time for 90 days, no ASL account.
Call Sprint and ask for international unlock.
Method 2.
www.iphoneunlockguys.com About $145 or so, no waiting reported
chronicunlocks.com About $159.99, backlog
Both methods are INTERNATIONAL unlock only. There is no domestic US unlock possible.
Method 3.
SIM Interposer. Gevey or R-SIM. I've heard they run around $80. Be careful because updating can cause them to stop working.
Those are your only options.
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You don't need a jailbreak to use a SIM Interposer.
P.S. OP you probably posted here in the hopes that a jailbreak would save you. About four years ago that might have been possible with a software unlock. But those are dead now.
Thanks eyoungren for such a thorough answer. With the first method could I just contact the prior owner and ask for him/her to call Sprint and ask for International unlock and in that case would the unlock be permanent?
Applejuiced, You are being rude. I ordered another Sprint one and I can use it perfectly here in Europe.
Sorry bud, just letting you know the reality and how Sprint iphones are.
Next time make sure the Sprint iphone you're buying is internationally unlocked. Educate yourself before you waste your money.
Unless you want to buy now and then find out the hard way later like you did with this phone.
You can try that. There may be some wiggle room, but in the past Sprint has required the phone to have an active line of service before they will do an international unlock.
The seller might not be on Sprint anymore or may be unwilling to do this for you. Assuming of course that all it would take is a phone call.
However, I have heard of instances where Sprint has done an international unlock for previous Sprint customers with paid off phones/contracts so Sprint may be relaxing that policy somewhat.
In short, all I can tell you is to contact the seller and see if they are willing. You might also try calling Sprint, but I don't think you'll have any luck - which is why I gave you method 1.
P.S. AJ wasn't being rude. He was just being direct in pointing out that a bit of research before purchasing may have saved you some aggravation. Just saying.
I was in a sprint store yesterday and they were going to activate my Verizon 5S is I was to start a plan with them. I thought that was interesting. All I needed was 85 a month for unlimited everything. After seeing their coverage map.....I couldn't jump ship. I have unlimited data too.
You're sure they would let you use your verizon 5S on Sprint?
Cause I'm pretty sure Sprint doesn't allow other carriers devices.
Or maybe they thought you could until they actually tried to get it to work on Sprints network.
Yes they said that since Verizon was using phones with all the bands and that they are doing it.
I'm wondering if Marcelo Claure isn't starting to break down all this BS that is preventing people who WANT to come to Sprint from coming to Sprint.
It seems that lately every time I turn around there is a new exception to the old rules.
Sprint just tossed out over 80 VPs from KC headquarters so perhaps this is what's happening. I know I actually made a rep mad on the Sprint BAW forums yesterday and that has NEVER happened. They repeat the same old crap even when you're screaming in their face.
Not that this changes anything for me, but it's nice to see Sprint finally changing – if my speculation is correct, that is.
It seems that lately every time I turn around there is a new exception to the old rules.
Sprint just tossed out over 80 VPs from KC headquarters so perhaps this is what's happening. I know I actually made a rep mad on the Sprint BAW forums yesterday and that has NEVER happened. They repeat the same old crap even when you're screaming in their face.
Not that this changes anything for me, but it's nice to see Sprint finally changing – if my speculation is correct, that is.
That's a good thing.
Before they wanted people to buy whole new Sprint iphones to get into their junk network.
Trust me. This is not junk you want. Or junk you want to get into. Leave this junk alone.That's a good thing.
Before they wanted people to buy whole new Sprint iphones to get into their junk network.
Trust me. This is not junk you want. Or junk you want to get into. Leave this junk alone.
Exactly, its not junk in the trunk that Sir-Mix-a-lot talks about
lol
I'm pretty sure that there is a jailbreak only patch required to ensure full MMS and Data support on an R-SIM using a Sprint device.
Trust me. This is not junk you want. Or junk you want to get into. Leave this junk alone.
So I guess I dodged a bullet?
I am paying 59.99 for 450 min, unlimited text.
29.99 for unlimited data
9.99 for insurance.
10 bucks of misc fees.
Sprint would have 85 bucks out the door per month.
I didn't want to chance the network coverage. So I stayed with verizon. I'm not under contract with them.
Might be but sim adapters are not a good option IMO.
People like to update their ios devices and if they do that then the gevey becomes useless and they're stuck with a phone they can't use any more. Also if the phone has any software issues and needs an itunes restore then again they're stuck updating to the latest ios version and back to a locked phone.
Well, I was trying to make a joke based off of what AJ was saying, but yes, you probably dodged a bullet.
Where Sprint has good coverage the service is excellent. You can expect moderate to fast speeds and you won't have to worry about your data. But where Sprint has poor coverage then it's just awful. LTE speeds less than 3G and 3G speeds that will make you want to take an ice pick to your head.
sensorly.com would be best to check coverage. It's independent and sourced from real customers who drive around with their phones mapping to Sensorly. Thus you know that if it's on Sensorly, someone had signal.
Honestly though, since the advertising/marketing departments at Sprint are the real groups that do the maps (and not the tech/engineering departments), if those guys aren't showing good coverage on their maps it's just likely to be non-existant.
You may be right. But we get a lot of users through here asking about SIM interposers who do not have jailbroken phones. So, based on that observation
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No problem.
Oh, you can also check s4gru.com
That site has been keeping track of the Network Vision rollout since it started. They have individual threads based on the market, so if you look up your market thread you can get a sense of what's happening. They also have their main market thread where they show the completion of LTE buildout in each market and a semi-daily thread where they post how many new towers have been LTE accepted based on market.
It's all there. If you join and donate you can also get access to maps and tower info. Although, I've been informed that the info is somewhat not worth a donation. Take a look and decide for yourself though.
International unlock
Hey. So i come to know sprint iphones cannot be used with domestic carriers other than sprint while in the US. Thats understood but if i unlocked a sprint iphone 6 to use internationally (I dont live in the US) will it remain unlocked or will it RELOCK after any ios update?
Hey. So i come to know sprint iphones cannot be used with domestic carriers other than sprint while in the US. Thats understood but if i unlocked a sprint iphone 6 to use internationally (I dont live in the US) will it remain unlocked or will it RELOCK after any ios update?
Apparently you neglected to read the thread. Sprint can unlock their phones for International use only of GSM carriers, no unlock is done for US GSM carriers. There are a couple of other unlock options mentioned @ $150+