Sprint Offers Clarification on iPhone 4S International Micro-SIM Unlocking

[iVoid]

Starting to look more promising for Sprint.

In my case, AT&T has horrible service at my work location. And spotty at home. Version should be better at both based on tests.

Sprint? Hard to tell right now, but I do like the idea of unlimited data.

Hate to give up voice+data at the same time, but AT&T just won't work for me.

Verizon and Sprint + unlockble GSM? Very good choice for me.

I wonder if it will only be for international use? Be interesting if I could use AT&T after the 2 years (assuming they improve reception). Since, I've had my 3G for over three years, I might have the 4S for that long as well, so it would be nice to have options.

 

[rorschach]

Is this it? Is this the end of Apple's "complete control" of iOS? I mean so far, any update to iPhones are delivered by Apple, not carriers. It would be sad if Apple succumbed to the US carriers.

Nope. Carriers have pushed OTA updates before. AT&T issued a mandatory one last summer that automatically installed.

 

[zap2]

If I purchase a Verizon phone with month-to-month, does this mean that the phone is unlocked?

Further, let's say that you unlocked the phone after 60 days. Does this mean you could suspend the service with Verizon, pop in an AT&T sim card (for prepaid) and all will work?

I don't think you can, I'm under the impression the iPhone requires a 2 year agreements when ever you buy it(unless you buy an unlocked one from Apple)


I'm curious if Apple could put out a software update allowing iPhones running on Verizon and Sprint's network to also use a SIM card to get GSM service along with CDMA service all at one time(and vice versa if AT&T was reasonable and unlocked their phone like Verizon/Sprint) I don't know if the hardware supports it, but I think it would be a cool concept.

That'd be great, with 4G speeds on HSPA+ and Verizon's service for voice. Probably wreck the battery life, but still a cool use of the technology. I think it would mostly end up being used for people who are traveling into an area where you're main provider's service isn't so hot, but another company's is.

Apple almost had perfected(for the US) the phone part of the iPhone with 3 of the 4 big providers being able to use the phone. If they had added T mobile service, I would be all over the unlocked model, it'd be totally worth it knowing I can leave any provider and take my iPhone with me.

 

[Tiger8]

Bluffing

I am moving to Sprint next week but I know this whole SIM being locked is bluffing. I guess for some reason they say it is locked,,, but oh wait, someone actually tried it and says it worked? Well it will be locked soon, then unlocked again if you are good.

Love you Sprint, but your PR department is a disaster. Last time their shares dropped significantly because they refused to disclose the details about their deal with Apple, making everyone think it is indeed the 30 million story in WSJ, and now they apologized and they will 'set things straight'.

My 2 cents? It is unlocked, it will always be unlocked. bluffing

 

[japanime]

"It's unlocked!" "It's locked!" "It's unlocked but we're going to lock it!" "After we lock it, we'll unlock it if we like you!"

Which is it, Sprint?

I'll tell you what it is. It is pure nonsense. And proof that all carriers are equally bad and consumer-unfriendly.

 

[Shanpdx]

I am moving to Sprint next week but I know this whole SIM being locked is bluffing. I guess for some reason they say it is locked,,, but oh wait, someone actually tried it and says it worked? Well it will be locked soon, then unlocked again if you are good.

Love you Sprint, but your PR department is a disaster. Last time their shares dropped significantly because they refused to disclose the details about their deal with Apple, making everyone think it is indeed the 30 million story in WSJ, and now they apologized and they will 'set things straight'.

My 2 cents? It is unlocked, it will always be unlocked. bluffing

How you know? Let me ask, What about Verizon iPhone 4S?

 

[mralmostpopular]

I am moving to Sprint next week but I know this whole SIM being locked is bluffing. I guess for some reason they say it is locked,,, but oh wait, someone actually tried it and says it worked? Well it will be locked soon, then unlocked again if you are good.

Love you Sprint, but your PR department is a disaster. Last time their shares dropped significantly because they refused to disclose the details about their deal with Apple, making everyone think it is indeed the 30 million story in WSJ, and now they apologized and they will 'set things straight'.

My 2 cents? It is unlocked, it will always be unlocked. bluffing

I'm not even sure that it's bluffing. Wasn't the status as of a couple of days ago that it didn't even have a sim card slot? It sounds more like their PR person has absolutely no idea what he/she is talking about and keeps pushing out statements without ever really checking to see if the information is correct or not. Sprint is used to being able to push OTA updates to its phones, but that's not how Apple works, or at least has worked in the past.

 

[LoadStar]

Honestly, all of this just seems to me like Sprint is not ready for the iPhone. I tend to agree that this whole "It's locked! No, it's unlocked! No, it's unlocked until it's locked!" stuff just sounds like they have no idea what they are doing. As attractive as some of their pricing seems, I think I'm better off sticking with Verizon or AT&T.

 

[iMikeT]

Ships unlocked, push software to re-locks, then unlock upon request?

Sounds like the perfect plot for a M. Night Shyamalan movie complete with a twist!

 

[odedia]

A perfect example of why, sometimes, government regulation is a GOOD thing.

In Israel, a recent regulation forces all carriers in the country to unlock a phone for any customer without paying any fees or any other requirements. You simply go to any service center, say you want to unlock your iPhone (for example), and they do it. End of story.

 

[jent]

Has the rumor that Verizon will unlock the micro-SIM slot on the iPhone 4S after sixty days for customers in good standing been confirmed? Will it be automatic or will it require a call to tech support?

And have there been any rumors about the iPhone 4S on AT&T? I would love it if this unlocking competition from Sprint and Verizon caused AT&T to open up a bit. If not, I will either stay happy with my iPhone 4 or buy an officially unlocked iPhone 4S at full price.

 

[TallManNY]

The point is very simple. The iPhone is heavily subsidized by Sprint based on plan to make lots of money off of the 2-year contract. The early termination fee is not enough to make up that subsidy and not even close to enough to return a nice profit. Sprint just wants you to have paid some monthly bills. If they make it a year of bills, well that is annoying and you don't get your world phone function. But if they make it two months of bills, then that basically eliminates the incentive for people to buy and cancel right away because they won't be getting an unlocked GSM phone that can be used for prepaid deals all across the world. Instead people will have to buy $200 + ETF $350 + 2 months of bills (at least $160, I think). That equals $710 which is more than most carriers are going to sell an unlocked phone for.

----------

A perfect example of why, sometimes, government regulation is a GOOD thing.

In Israel, a recent regulation forces all carriers in the country to unlock a phone for any customer without paying any fees or any other requirements. You simply go to any service center, say you want to unlock your iPhone (for example), and they do it. End of story.

Let me know how much iPhone 4S on contract is going for in Israel. There has to be a restriction because Apple is getting paid a lot more than $200 per iPhone 4S. Or you are going to have a huge ETF. The carrier needs to make enough money to pay Apple for the phone.

 

[flux73]

Man, Sprint is blowing a GOLDEN opportunity to steal away customers like crazy from Verizon and AT&T. All they need to do is come out with a definitive policy that ends up with the SIM being unlocked. Immediately would be ideal if they want to take Verizon customers too, but 60 days if they want to at least match them, but still take AT&T customers. If they're that worried about early termination then increase the ETF to essentially eliminate the subsidy and even turn a profit. This would eliminate all incentive to game the system. But all this flip-flopping on this policy is only causing potential customers to hesitate.

Sheesh. Who are the monkeys running the Sprint PR department??

 

[eliotw]

Sprint isn't offering a deal

The Sprint press release says:

"Sprint's policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future.

Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world... "

So it appears their definition of "lock" and "unlock" is the ability of the device to roam onto GSM networks at all. Customer in good standing will have the roaming capability enabled for the pre-installed Sprint SIM and they can pay Sprint's hefty roaming rates. They certainly don't seem intent on letting you use any one else's SIM.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I don't understand why US carriers are so strict about unlocking. You're tied into a contract anyway! O2 in the UK unlocks your iPhone free of charge on request - a simple web form. Seriously, if you're on a contract, why does it matter to them if you're locked or not?!?

 

[laurim]

The Sprint press release says:

"Sprint's policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future.

Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world... "

So it appears their definition of "lock" and "unlock" is the ability of the device to roam onto GSM networks at all. Customer in good standing will have the roaming capability enabled for the pre-installed Sprint SIM and they can pay Sprint's hefty roaming rates. They certainly don't seem intent on letting you use any one else's SIM.

Hope that's not true. When I called T-Mobile before my trip to Italy in 2008, they gave me the unlock code for my phone so I could use an Italian sim card (I'm going to miss T-Mobile, sniff). I suppose I could bring that phone on my next trip to Spain but it would be nice to just use my iPhone.

 

[mds]

Works for me. I've been a customer for 10 years and only want to use it when I travel internationally. Sounds like they'll unlock for me, which is great!

 

[SirStrumalot]

US carriers are ridiculous. Sprint could have played this differently, and really made an impact; I know I would definitely switch from AT&T to Sprint if the sim is unlocked or maybe even if this information is true. I don't mind being in a contract, but I would like to be able to use my phone abroad without roaming charges.

 

[flux73]

I don't understand why US carriers are so strict about unlocking. You're tied into a contract anyway! O2 in the UK unlocks your iPhone free of charge on request - a simple web form. Seriously, if you're on a contract, why does it matter to them if you're locked or not?!?

My guess is it's because GSM/CDMA dual-mode phones are still relatively uncommon, and carriers probably haven't figured out a business plan for how to deal with them and so stick to their default mode of keeping it locked to just their network , the same as if it was a pure GSM or pure CDMA phone.

 

[odedia]

----------
Let me know how much iPhone 4S on contract is going for in Israel. There has to be a restriction because Apple is getting paid a lot more than $200 per iPhone 4S. Or you are going to have a huge ETF. The carrier needs to make enough money to pay Apple for the phone.

Well, just because I unlocked the phone doesn't mean I don't have my contract with the cell phone carrier, right? It just says that I can stick whatever sim I want when overseas, and that I can also switch to another carrier if I want, but still pay the monthly bill to the original carrier.

Most offers here are to get the iPhone for free with contract, or to pay "full price" but get refunded each month up to the phones monthly price, if you go over a certain monthly bill price. The commitment term is 18 months maximum, they can't make it longer (another regulation). There is usually no "flat rate" charge here, it's minute-by-minute with discounts if you go over certain amount of minutes. There aren't any unlimited minutes or unlimited text or unlimited data anywhere to be found, though, but the final bill is usually cheaper that in the U.S. Also - in Israel (and most of Europe as far as I know), you don't pay for incoming calls/text. Only outgoing.

And here's another great regulation: it's called "handset & network decoupling". This means that if I buy an iPhone on the U.S. and join a network in Israel, they have to give me the same terms as if I bought the phone from them.

For example: Let's say plan A offers an iPhone at full or subsidized price, with a monthly refund of 100 shekels if I go over 250 shekels on my bill. If I do this for 36 months - i can get the phone for "free". Well, this regulation says that if I buy an iPhone in the United States, the Israeli cellphone carrier must offer me the same deal on my american iPhone, meaning - a refund of 100 shekels every month if I go over 250 shekels, even though I didn't buy the phone from them.

This might sound strange to american customers, but will sound very familiar to European customers, because the regulation on our countries usually say that THE CELL PHONE CARRIER SHOULD SELL NETWORK, NOT PHONES. If they do want to sell phones - they should offer the same benefits to competing handset retailers.

 

[rzyvo]

2) Tired to order phone online but as a new customer I could not. So Sprint who desperately needs customers couldn't allow a new customer (400/month usage) to order online? I would think they should have massage girls (or men depending on sex and preferences) hand delivering to new customers.

I think that was a policy with Apple. I'm making the switch to Sprint from T-Mobile with the iPhone 4s and thought I'd pre-order through Apple's website, only to get the message saying that pre-orders were limited to existing customers. I called their bluff and went to Sprint's website after that and was able to pre-order without issue as a new customer

 

[DCAlexandria]

Excellent news!

 

[Novaoblivion]

As an AT&T user, I can honestly say that I'm a bit jealous. Well done, Sprint.

Really, at least they actually will unlock it if you are "good". AT&T won't ever from my understanding

 

[thadoggfather]

Yeah I think AT&T should just offer a fee for unlocking the phone (although free would be great, like all the 'other phones' it offers) if they want to capitalize on it. I drop so many calls with AT&T I'd consider switching to a CDMA carrier if I had to foot the bill and was looking for competitive rates with what I've been told is better service (VZW -- but I would miss talk and data on AT&T 3G) or cheaper and unlimited a la Sprint (which has better coverage in certain areas too, it's hard to make universal statements about coverage/dropped calls/speeds because it varies all over the place. in my area, AT&T data is great, but calls not so much. Luckily, I don't like talking on the phone much)

But people are otherwise just upset they have locked phones.

Also, I think Apple is losing money they could otherwise be making from people having ultrasn0w/gevey and reselling them at a higher price than market value locked iPhones (but not as expensive as factory unlocked from Apple direct, which is where Apple loses a potential sale) for having those compatible basebands. Or even those people, whoever they were (the mob?), pocketing $199 for IMEI factory unlock services, which I read got shut down. That seemed like the cleanest 'dirty' route about using a locked phone unlocked, but with paranoia maybe it will re-lock itself and these IMEI's will be targeted, not worth forking over $199.

I had ultrasn0w while in Europe, it was great having an unlocked iPhone, but it wasn't always the best with sim errors sometimes. and Gevey, that just seems like a pain of a process to do every time you turn on the phone. I should say, if my phone were still locked and there was no alternative, I would NOT have used AT&T service for 4 months while abroad, I would have just taken the SIM out, used my iPhone as an iPod Touch, and gotten a cheapie and prepaid minute/text plan. So AT&T didn't effectively lose out on any potential money from me.

I haven't had need for an unlock in a year. But, I understand AT&T's master plan: use SIM and roam and rack up a bill.

But, if you're overseas for more than a vacation (which is even costly on its own with those fees and hotel expenses as well, travelling, etc), NOBODY roams for 1 month+ while there. It's just not feasible. So the alternative is, sticking with the plan of shutting down iPhone for cellphone purposes, and getting a different smartphone or a cheapie go phone and using local cell carrier prepaid plans.

Hopefully AT&T stays in line with competition (the trend Verizon and Sprint are setting with these 'unlockings' -- plus, when iPhone 6 comes out, we'll see a flood of 'Sprint iPhone 4s -- carrier unlocked' will go for higher price than a 'factory locked at&t iphone 4s, I'll bet AT&T will loosen up eventually). They can make money from this and satisfy long term international travellers as well.

 

[shrtmkr]

GO SPRINT! (Coming from a current AT&T customer)