Do unlocked iPhones get an exception? I plan to immigrate to the US and use my 4S on Sprint for unlimited data. It's unlocked and currently on the Canadian carrier Bell.
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Carrier Sprint Users! READ! New Automatic Domestic Unlock Policy Change!
- Thread starter eyoungren
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Well…you're on the other end of things. It's Sprint's policy that they never activate a phone that does not have Sprint branding or in the case of the iPhone was not sold by them (or by Apple for them). So, as scaredpoet says, no.
Apple is the only one that can force Sprint to activate an iPhone and that's because of the agreement that Sprint has with them. I can hear you thinking at this point, "Well, if I take my phone to an Apple store then maybe I can get it activated on Sprint."
I don't think it works that way. Apple will just tell you to call Sprint or take it to a Sprint store…where of course, Sprint will say no.
Lastly, I don't know anything about Bell, but if Bell is a GSM carrier, then, even if Sprint were to allow this it would do you no good. Sprint is a CDMA carrier and GSM phones won't work on Sprint (or Verizon for that matter).
You should be able to take it to T-Mobile though.
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Did you read any of this thread? I don't think you did.
I will repeat: You cannot unlock a Sprint iPhone for domestic use.
If you want an international unlock, you must be a Sprint customer for 90 days with your bill paid on time. THEN, you can call Sprint and have them unlock for international use.
There is no other way to unlock and any unlock you get will be from Sprint only and will be international only.
Huh? Aren't the iPhone 4S dual band and can work on GSM and CDMA? Well if Sprint has such a policy then oh well. I don;t need infinite data anyways, I think 10gb is good for me on ATT.
Honestly, it doesnt matter if your iPhone is CDMA or not. GSM is irrelevant because Sprint is a CDMA carrier and does not use GSM. Even if Sprint wanted to they cannot activate a GSM phone on their network.
But if your phone is CDMA Sprint still will not activate it. They did not sell you the phone and it's their policy not to activate phones they did not sell.
You could try Boost or Virgin Mobile, both of which use Sprint's network, maybe Ting. Virgin Mobile is prepaid. But I do not know if any of these support bring your own device. Lastly, because those carriers provide service on Sprint, your phone would still need to be CDMA.
Also, I have no clue if your phone is dual mode like that and no idea, even if it does have CDMA, if it would support the frequencies Sprint uses.
But all this is a moot point. Take it to Sprint and because you did not buy it from them, they will not activate it.
You have maybe a 0.00000000000001% chance (maybe) of that happening.
Apple has plenty of warranty stock for all models. You'll get the exact model back that you walked in with.
Soory old thread bump lol
This is correct. I walked in with a broken iphone 5s 32gb on crappy Sprint, guess what they gave me. A chimichanga? No, exactly what I walked in with.
So there is still absolutely NO way to unlock a Sprint 5S? If this is still the case, Sprint is crap.
Not just sprint iPhone, but all of sprint smartphones are impossible to unlock [Except a few that can be done with extensive software modification]. It sucks that sprint has dipped to such low level as technology advances because major it of those phones are soo capable of being used on all networks ....
Its clear sprint didn't want their customers leaving them because they knew how poor their networks was, but sad for them as people are leaving anyway by ditching them and their locked phones lol
Its clear sprint didn't want their customers leaving them because they knew how poor their networks was, but sad for them as people are leaving anyway by ditching them and their locked phones lol
Well I bought an unlocking Rsim device on eBay that was made for Sprint iphone 5c/5s's. The guy claims that it should work, and that it was tough but he is confident that it will work. He also said that if it doesnt work, then I get my money back. I personally doubt it'll work. Also, I spoke with somebody on eBay that succesfully unlocked his iPhone 5s on sprint for domestic AND international use. He gave me the tutorial on how to do it. This will be interesting...hehe 
mvno
well from my understanding you can use a iphone 4 and 4s on straight talk or now the new red pocket as they are mnvo of sprint still using there towers but not paying there high prices
well from my understanding you can use a iphone 4 and 4s on straight talk or now the new red pocket as they are mnvo of sprint still using there towers but not paying there high prices
Are they any prepaid carriers in the US that will activate sprint 5c or 5s? I know they can't be unlocked for GSM, but how about the BYOP CDMA programs such as NET10 or Redpocket (they have CDMA plans) and/or Page Plus (I believe this is Verizon based so probably not).
Interesting read and very informative. I have Verizon and have considered my options if my parents decide I'm on my own for my cell phone in the future (VZW iPhone 5 contracts ends in Jan. 2015; bf has T-Mobile).
I also read because one of my friends has Sprint (his late father worked for Sprint corporate). He just got his brother's Galaxy Nexus and switched it to his line (inserted the SIM from his old phone and it works). I think all he did with the store was have his contacts transferred from his old phone.
I did find the fact that contacts are not stored on the SIM interesting. Is that a CDMA thing? I got my VZW iPhone 5 in Jan. 2013; my BlackBerry Storm2 completely white screened and died, and I had to enter my contacts into my iPhone by hand since no data from the BB could be recovered. That could also be Verizon reps being stupid. When I got my BB on 2010, they told me they could get my contacts off of my flip phone but couldn't reset that phone to factory. That one I had to delete everything by hand before donating to one of those military or veterans groups.
I also read because one of my friends has Sprint (his late father worked for Sprint corporate). He just got his brother's Galaxy Nexus and switched it to his line (inserted the SIM from his old phone and it works). I think all he did with the store was have his contacts transferred from his old phone.
I did find the fact that contacts are not stored on the SIM interesting. Is that a CDMA thing? I got my VZW iPhone 5 in Jan. 2013; my BlackBerry Storm2 completely white screened and died, and I had to enter my contacts into my iPhone by hand since no data from the BB could be recovered. That could also be Verizon reps being stupid. When I got my BB on 2010, they told me they could get my contacts off of my flip phone but couldn't reset that phone to factory. That one I had to delete everything by hand before donating to one of those military or veterans groups.
I can't really speak to the SIM on the Nexus you mention. I'd imagine that because it was still a Sprint SIM it worked. The fact though is that Sprint locks down all of their phones, not just the iPhone. I think the only variation is just how much and that's dependent on model. I don't think Sprint pairs EVERY SIM with the device, but most assuredly they do with the iPhone.
The iPhone was a desperate deal that Hesse entered into with Apple. They were losing customers fast at the time and so they took a serious financial hit to gamble that the iPhone would help them in the long run. So, they weren't about to just let people up and leave.
As to contacts on the SIM card. Nope, no contacts. The only thing the SIM card is used for in a Sprint phone is for whatever it is that lets the phone use the Sprint network. That could be a CDMA thing, I don't know.
Sprint has only started using phones with SIM cards in the last two or three years. CDMA phones on Sprint before that time never had a SIM slot. Even the Sprint iPhone 4 did not come with a SIM slot. So, all of this is new to Sprint and you are likely to find Sprint reps who STILL don't have any clue about it.
Maybe the Nexus had something to do with the lines being on the same plan?
My Verizon flip phone from 2005 didn't have a SIM slot (unless it somehow involved unscrewing the case; it was one of those Samsungs where the battery was basically the back of the phone), but my BB from 2010 did. It seems to be a new thing for CDMA phones around the time "world phones" and 3G became big things. And of course now with LTE being GSM-based.
I think the SIM with no contacts is probably becoming less of an issue with iCloud and similar services for android and Windows mobile. My contacts are all in my iCloud account, so switching to another VZW iPhone or even one on a different network would be easy. Whether it's a Sprint thing or a CDMA thing, I haven't been able to find out.
Early Sprint LTE devices from 2012 only came with an embedded SIM that was built into the motherboard and were non removeable. Bad for those who travel internationally as you were forced to pay for Sprint's international roaming instead of using your own foreign SIM.
FWIW: RSIM and similar devices aren't true unlocking. They're known as SIM "interposers." All that's happening there is a bit of hackery in the form of a man-in-the-middle attack. Literally. The RSIM is sandwiched between the foreign SIM and the contacts of the SIM reader on the phone. When the phone tries to read from the SIM, the interposer will exploit some weaknesses inherent in the type of encryption used for SIM authentication, and trick the phone into believing that the SIM is "native" to whatever carrier the phone is locked to, and that it's just roaming.
These methods aren't foolproof. Frequently, updates to a phone's baseband, or to the software on the SIM, will patch the exploits and render the rSIM useless until a new hack is found.
100% true. Though, as it is a fact, R-SIM is still capabable of unlocking any iPhone to anything, not excluding Sprint. I personally dont like using the R SIM device. No kidding, I hate it. I was attempting to unlock this iPhone 5S to resell at a little better price, was succesful, yay clap clap kudos to me. I'm done with it. I hate it and prefer buying the extra mile for an Apple factory unlocked iPhone.
I bought an iPhone 5s off contract from Virgin Mobile USA. I received it and the next week I left US and I will be back most probably on November. I have not used the Virgin UICC SIM card (although it is from Virgin Mobile USA, there is the Sprint logo on the UICC) and I have not make a plan with Virgin Mobile USA, because I don't want to pay $ 30 per month (this is the lowest plan) till November that I will be back in USA. Till then is there any way to use iPhone in Greece, where I am now??? Do I have to contact Virgin Mobile USA and ask them to unlock the iPhone for use in Greece? Or do I have to search for another way to unlock it?
IpadSC400 could you send me details? Maybe a pm with a url from eBay? Or the tutorial? Thanks in advance!
Well I bought an unlocking Rsim device on eBay that was made for Sprint iphone 5c/5s's. The guy claims that it should work, and that it was tough but he is confident that it will work. He also said that if it doesnt work, then I get my money back. I personally doubt it'll work. Also, I spoke with somebody on eBay that succesfully unlocked his iPhone 5s on sprint for domestic AND international use. He gave me the tutorial on how to do it. This will be interesting...hehe
IpadSC400 could you send me details? Maybe a pm with a url from eBay? Or the tutorial? Thanks in advance!
Looks like you'll have to top off and call them:
https://community.virginmobile.com....get-my-Virgin-Mobile-handset-unlocked/ta-p/82
From this page:
7.5 Unlocking your handset: Handsets that are used to access our Services are locked to the Network. If you wish to unlock your handset from the Network you will need to contact our Team and pay the Charges for unlocking your handset as set out in the Tariff Table. You will also need to have paid all Charges owing on your account before we unlock your handset. For security reasons you will also need to register the handset you wish to unlock with us before we unlock it for you.
At the end of it all, since VM uses Sprint's network I have no idea if the unlock is International only or a complete unlock. You'll have to ask Virgin.
EDIT: I am guessing too that all of this assumes you have established service with Virgin Mobile. They probably cannot do anything for you if you never had service with them.
When I find the time I will....it was an "under the circumstances" kinda deal. I will fish through my messages to locate it.
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