This is the same bunch of buttholes that is about to take over T-mobile and ruin everything for everybody. So I understand OPs passion.
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Carrier Sprint Users! READ! New Automatic Domestic Unlock Policy Change!
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This is the same bunch of buttholes that is about to take over T-mobile and ruin everything for everybody. So I understand OPs passion.
I'm not passionate about unlocking my iPhone at all. I've been on Sprint for 15 years. I'm not going anywhere yet.
But I created this thread and I link to it in my signature because at the time I started it there was no less than three threads in the same day about people wanting to unlock their Sprint iPhones domestically.
How many times do you have to type "you can't" before people get it? It's a lot like endlessly repeating "you can't downgrade to jailbreak" to people who don't want to hear it. So, I made this thread.
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Again, if I'm passionate then it's a passion about getting people to stop cluttering the MR forums with questions about how to unlock their Sprint iPhone for domestic use. The answer is always, you can't.
Off-topic, if you take a look at the news on this you will realize that while Sprint may be buying T-Mobile (should the deal go through) at the behest of Softbank, Sprint's corporate owner, it's actually Sprint that will be going away and not T-Mobile.
The T-Mobile management team will take over. Legere will be CEO and Dan Hesse will be out. Both CEOs have publicly confirmed this. Since T-Mobile and Sprint have LTE in common between them the integration will not be as painful as some might think. Coverage will increase. Masayoshi Son, gets rid of the Sprint culture that holds everything back by replacing it wholesale with T-Mobile's culture.
The only question is what it will be called. Either T-Mobile or Softbank USA. Either way, it WON"T be called Sprint and the old Sprint will be gone. I'm actually wanting that to happen. I'd much rather be on T-Mobile than Sprint at this point.
Can a new Sprint SIM be placed in an existing Sprint iPhone
I read this thread through, and I understand the issue. If I have overlooked the answer to this, please forgive me and answer (or direct me to the right answer...)
Background:
I purchased an iPhone 5s at Radio Shack. Got Boost service (Which I understand to be using the Sprint Network).
Wife didn't like the phone, so I sold it as a Sprint Phone. I removed the SIM card b/c I figured (incorrectly, according to this thread) that had personal/private info, and that the buyer would have his/her own SIM to insert. I don't recall for certain, but I THINK I destroyed the SIM.
Buyer now indicates that the phone is not a Sprint phone and cannot activate on Sprint Network.
Question:
Can buyer insert a Sprint SIM and activate this phone? OR, is there ANY way that this phone can be activated on Sprint?
Thank you for this informative post.
Cheers,
I read this thread through, and I understand the issue. If I have overlooked the answer to this, please forgive me and answer (or direct me to the right answer...)
Background:
I purchased an iPhone 5s at Radio Shack. Got Boost service (Which I understand to be using the Sprint Network).
Wife didn't like the phone, so I sold it as a Sprint Phone. I removed the SIM card b/c I figured (incorrectly, according to this thread) that had personal/private info, and that the buyer would have his/her own SIM to insert. I don't recall for certain, but I THINK I destroyed the SIM.
Buyer now indicates that the phone is not a Sprint phone and cannot activate on Sprint Network.
Question:
Can buyer insert a Sprint SIM and activate this phone? OR, is there ANY way that this phone can be activated on Sprint?
Thank you for this informative post.
Cheers,
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The short answer is no.
The long answer is still no, Boost is an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). It is owned and operated by Sprint, but it has a completely different billing and activation system. That system is still locked to Sprint's network of course, but Boost phones are particular to Boost.
Sprint proper didn't sell the phone, they won't activate it.
With that said, I once was looking at taking my HTC Touch Pro over to Boost. Boost told me I couldn't. There was an eBay seller for a while that was taking phones and for a price getting them on the Boost network for you. But that's going in the opposite direction. And that was a while ago too and I don't think they did iPhones.
Anyway, just like with Sprint, it's locked to Boost so it's not going to be able to be activated on any network other than Boost. No idea about an international unlock though.
ting.com
i've a tmobile iphone and carry a ting mifi as a spare.
ting says that they can take over a used sprint iphone after evaluating the esn.
i'd thought to get a used sprint iphone5 and use that as my mifi.
i wonder what will become of legacy sprint iPhones once tmobile is in charge?
(ting currently doesn't accommodate the 5c or 5s.)
i've a tmobile iphone and carry a ting mifi as a spare.
ting says that they can take over a used sprint iphone after evaluating the esn.
i'd thought to get a used sprint iphone5 and use that as my mifi.
i wonder what will become of legacy sprint iPhones once tmobile is in charge?
(ting currently doesn't accommodate the 5c or 5s.)
Good to know, thanks for that info! I didn't realize Ting could do that.
Well, I imagine the IMEI/ESN/MEID databases will be merged. I imagine you'll still be able to activate an older phone for quite a while.
The interesting point is how the unlock policy will change after 2015. Yes, Sprint has agreed to these new FCC rules, but Sprint is owned by Softbank and if merged with T-Mobile then both are owned by Softbank.
Softbank is the Sprint of Japan when it comes to unlocking phones. So, we'll see I guess.
sprint phone on ting
i haven't done it yet and i'd have to risk the price of a used iphone to see if ting as an MVNO has it right with their ESN pre-check.
they do the iphone 4/4s as well but my thought is that LTE on iphone5 is more likely to move forward (?)
i only fire up my backup ting device when i need to test a firewall or lack a connection and need some software stat.
tmobile iphone 5 has "hostspot" enabled but i'm afraid to test the limits ..
i haven't done it yet and i'd have to risk the price of a used iphone to see if ting as an MVNO has it right with their ESN pre-check.
they do the iphone 4/4s as well but my thought is that LTE on iphone5 is more likely to move forward (?)
i only fire up my backup ting device when i need to test a firewall or lack a connection and need some software stat.
tmobile iphone 5 has "hostspot" enabled but i'm afraid to test the limits ..
Hey folks, I am wondering what the best way is to travel abroad with Sprint? I am wondering if, once my phone is unlocked for international use, I can simply use any nanosim card for my 5s? Would that assign a new number to my phone? Or does my Sprint phone have to have its factory SIM installed in order for it to work? I'm a novice with this. I believe the data plan would be $80+ for international use, plus the cost per MB which varies by country. I would like to keep the cost lower if possible.
If I can use any nanosim, do you have service provider recommendations? Or would any card do? Thank ya! Very informative thread, hope this doesn't stray too far off topic.
If I can use any nanosim, do you have service provider recommendations? Or would any card do? Thank ya! Very informative thread, hope this doesn't stray too far off topic.
I recently bought an Iphone of which I thought was a sprint Iphone because a friend was using it on sprint and he said he just upgraded to a new phone. I went ahead and tried activating it online sprint and it wouldn't go through with the activation as it said the serial # wasn't in their database. I popped out the sim to double check it was a sprint sim and it is. At the top left it said sprint. I went ahead and went on www.swappa.com/esn and checked the esn. It came back as a Verizon phone. What I believe happened was he took a sim that was on his Iphone that he broke and used it on this one. Somehow it managed to go through with the activation. I'll be trying to use someones sim card that is already active with a sprint Iphone 5 and will report back if I get any success.
If Sprint unlocks your iPhone for international use then you can put in any international SIM that supports the frequencies your 5s uses. That SIM card is specific to that carrier and your phone number would be assigned by that carrier. Put your old Sprint SIM back in and you get Sprint service back at your old (domestic) number.
I myself also have a iPhone 5 that shows up on Swappa as a Verizon A1429 that i currently have activated with Sprint that was actually an Apple Store warranty swap. However when i attempt to use any other sim card from AT&T or even Verizon, it shows the card as an "Invalid Sim". I thought all Verizon phones were suppose to be factory unlocked. It even qualifies as an eligible Verizon iPhone 5 on the Verizon website for activation. Does Verizon require a simcard to be linked with a particular iPhone for the activation to take effect?
No.... You phone is not a Verizon phone. It is a Sprint phone. Swappa's information was inaccurate.
Purchase of A1524/A1586 outside US, activate on Sprint?
So my understanding is the Sprint iPhone 6 models are the A1524/A1586 models, which have the most number of network bands/frequencies. So in truth, those are the true 'world' iPhones (even more so than the Verizon models). Now the A1524/A1586 are sold unlocked overseas if purchased full price (you can go to the Apple Canada website and see this).
Not that I'd imagine many people would do this... But what prevents someone from buying one of those models overseas, bringing it to the US, giving Sprint their MEID number off the box, and asking them to activate it on their network (even though it wouldn't have the UICC SIM card)? It's a compatible model phone (literally the same phone hardware).
I mean, the iPhone 4 (CDMA model) didn't have a SIM card, and it works on Sprint's network. So I have to question why technically the UICC SIM is 'required' in this case (specifically, activating an overseas-purchased A1524/A1586).
Trying to understand...
So my understanding is the Sprint iPhone 6 models are the A1524/A1586 models, which have the most number of network bands/frequencies. So in truth, those are the true 'world' iPhones (even more so than the Verizon models). Now the A1524/A1586 are sold unlocked overseas if purchased full price (you can go to the Apple Canada website and see this).
Not that I'd imagine many people would do this... But what prevents someone from buying one of those models overseas, bringing it to the US, giving Sprint their MEID number off the box, and asking them to activate it on their network (even though it wouldn't have the UICC SIM card)? It's a compatible model phone (literally the same phone hardware).
I mean, the iPhone 4 (CDMA model) didn't have a SIM card, and it works on Sprint's network. So I have to question why technically the UICC SIM is 'required' in this case (specifically, activating an overseas-purchased A1524/A1586).
Trying to understand...
How do the recent phone unlocking laws affect this? Shouldn't Sprint have to unlock a device by law now?
And what happens when you pay off your phone? I thought by law a carrier had to unlock your phone at your request then even before the new laws were put into place.
And what happens when you pay off your phone? I thought by law a carrier had to unlock your phone at your request then even before the new laws were put into place.
I don't understand why Sprint would turn away a customer who brings an unlocked phone to their door. Even if one were to assume that Sprint makes some small margin over the sale of the phone, thats just pennies compared to signing up that customer for a repeating monthly payment for years in the future.
Lots of companies have policies that I don't like - but I can see rationalizations ending in those companies making more money. But, I can't think of any reason why Sprint would turn away customers walking in to signup for monthly service?
Lots of companies have policies that I don't like - but I can see rationalizations ending in those companies making more money. But, I can't think of any reason why Sprint would turn away customers walking in to signup for monthly service?
In your scenario the phone would be truly unlocked but on Sprint. The pairing I mention is for phones sold domestically by Sprint or by Apple for Sprint.
However, Sprint has a policy to not activate any phone that it either did not sell or was sold for Sprint nor any phone not originally intended for the Sprint network. So, what's stopping you in this instance is that Sprint will refuse to activate the phone.
The iPhone 4 didn't have a SIM card because it was hardware locked on the inside of the phone.
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The new laws don't have any effect. They simply make unlocking legal again, they do not force the carrier to unlock.
Second, Sprint has already rewritten their unlock policy to blame the manufacturers for locking the phones down. This way Sprint can hide behind a technical point to deny you a domestic unlock.
And Sprint will grant you an unlock at this time. But it's only an international unlock. They will point you to the policy where they blame the manufacturers if you insist on a domestic unlock - and will continue to deny you that domestic unlock.
This will continue to be the case until February 2015. However, it won't apply to any phone made before that time. So, the iPhone 6/6+ are not going to fall into this category.
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I just want to note that all LTE carriers use UICC SIM cards, that is not unique to Sprint. Sprint may or may not pair the UICCs to certain IMEIs; I have no first hand knowledge of that.
Because the only money they make off you is the thin margin they get for your monthly service. If they sell you the phone, especially if it's subsidized, they either make that money up by locking you into a contract or they can charge you an ETF.
If you bring your phone and decide you want to leave after less than a month they haven't really made any money off of you, especially if you cajole them into waving any activation fees. If you stay for awhile, they still only get a small profit from your monthly fee.
You're free to leave at any time. There is nothing stopping you from leaving. So they have no idea how much or how little they will make off you.
Also, they cannot guarantee that your device will play nice with the network.
I have heard that a few people have gotten phones from different carriers activated on Sprint, but in general it's just not going to happen.
With the FCC unlocking policy changing effective Feb 2015 (although not retroactive) and the overturning of the insane law that made unlocking phones from outside the provider illegal I would go ahead and get it fully unlocked from one of those websites....Sprint are insane with their strict UICC SIM card being locked to the phone and only allow one unlock per account per year....I mean God knows they need it since their company sucks, I hope this changes because even though I didn't like Sprint's past and current service and deployment plan the new CEO is really changing things up to a more sensible solution. If Sprint phones were unlocked it would be nice to get to use on AT&T or T-Mobile since you get TD-LTE bands which can be useful for roaming internationally....
Thanks for that. When I first started this thread this was all relatively new to me. It's been a learning process.
The UICC card would need to be activated on the line to be associated with the device. The UICC card that comes with the phone will be for that device only. A simple call to Care will help with that or by going to a store in the event of needing to replace the UICC card.
eyoungren -- Good dialog about this. We're all learning.
Hopefully, starting with new phones designed and released after February 2015, the situation, or at least clarity around the topic, might improve somewhat.
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