Carrier Sprint Users! READ! New Automatic Domestic Unlock Policy Change!

[HarrisonTaylor]

There are many reports on this forum (perhaps in this thread itself) that confirm the sprint 6 and 6 plus sign onto US GSM networks when using foreign sims. If the same doesn't happen for CDMA roaming, then there's something going on. The baseband processor itself could easily restrict it even if the activation policy doesn't. And for that matter, the only thing the activation policy checks is the IMSI of the SIM. It cannot be used to authenticate a network while disallowing domestic towers. So if the phone is authenticating the SIM but unable to connect to a network, then the issue is likely at a lower level

Probably just an issue with CDMA roaming. I plan on travelling to Asia next year and will try a CDMA network there with my iPhone 6. It wouldn't make sense for Sprint to allow access to a SIM but not allow it to connect to a local tower. If they don't want you using a phone on a certain network, they will ask Apple to block it completely. Which tells me that whatever problem with CDMA roaming has nothing to do with Sprint restricting the radio and is instead a hardware issue, it just wouldn't make sense.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

There are many reports on this forum (perhaps in this thread itself) that confirm the sprint 6 and 6 plus sign onto US GSM networks when using foreign sims. If the same doesn't happen for CDMA roaming, then there's something going on. The baseband processor itself could easily restrict it even if the activation policy doesn't. And for that matter, the only thing the activation policy checks is the IMSI of the SIM. It cannot be used to authenticate a network while disallowing domestic towers. So if the phone is authenticating the SIM but unable to connect to a network, then the issue is likely at a lower level

Update: we're 100% wrong.

Enabling International CDMA on a Sprint iPhone 6/6+ with a au/KDDI SIM DOES cause the phone to roam on Verizon. Dialing *2 presents a "Welcome to Verizon Wireless" message. "Roaming" is also displayed when the KDDI UIM is inserted.

 

[terraphantm]

Update: we're 100% wrong.

Enabling International CDMA on a Sprint iPhone 6/6+ with a au/KDDI SIM DOES cause the phone to roam on Verizon. Dialing *2 presents a "Welcome to Verizon Wireless" message. "Roaming" is also displayed when the KDDI UIM is inserted.

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Cool, thanks for checking.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

As of the release of the iPhone 5c and 5s, it would appear Sprint is no longer pairing your UICC/SIM to your account. iPhone 5 and 4G LTE android phones are still using the USIM parity system though. Which means you can take a active Boost SIM, insert it into a Sprint iPhone and get service.(Must be a CSIM card with part number SIMGLW416C. Does not work for iPhone 4s or 5.). Sprint is STILL pairing the UICC to your account if you have an iPhone 5. You cannot swap SIMs between Sprint iPhone 5 without calling Sprint. Additionally Sprint iPhone 5 will not work with Virgin because it is activated by MEID, where the 5c/5s/6/6+ are activated with a CSIM card, very similar to Verizon Wireless and conventional CDMA networks.

 

[mohdnasser]

One last thing, to back up what you said earlier about device only Sprint iPhones coming unlocked for international use, I've heard of instances where people have bought Sprint iPhones full price from the Apple Store, realized they were locked and complained to Apple, if the phone was sold as device only, it will still be locked, but for those who have complained to Apple some have had their SIM slot unlocked for international use ONLY. The device only Sprint iPhone is still locked, but since it was bought off contract Apple has the right to force Sprint to unlock it for international use(Domestic use is currently not possible with the current agreement between Apple and Sprint, see my earlier post).

I have one fully paid , not on a contact , clean IMEI , still sprint not accepting to unlock it for international use . What do you recommend to me? complain to apple?

 

[eyoungren]

I have one fully paid , not on a contact , clean IMEI , still sprint not accepting to unlock it for international use . What do you recommend to me? complain to apple?

Do 90 days on Sprint. Pay the bill on time. Ask for an international unlock.

If you can't do that, sell the phone and buy an unlocked phone. If you can't do that, find an unlock service. If you can't do that get a Gevey or an R-SIM or equivalent.

Those are your only options.

You can complain to Apple if you like, but Apple has nothing to do with Sprint's unlock policy and does not control the carriers in this manner. Only Sprint can submit an unlock to Apple's unlock database and Sprint refuses to do that for domestic use and per their agreement with Apple, Apple is prohibited from doing that.

So, complaining to Apple will get you nowhere. As will complaining to Sprint.

You can ask this question as many times as you like in more than one thread – you will get the same answer.

 

[mohdnasser]

Do 90 days on Sprint. Pay the bill on time. Ask for an international unlock.

If you can't do that, sell the phone and buy an unlocked phone. If you can't do that, find an unlock service. If you can't do that get a Gevey or an R-SIM or equivalent.

Those are your only options.

You can complain to Apple if you like, but Apple has nothing to do with Sprint's unlock policy and does not control the carriers in this manner. Only Sprint can submit an unlock to Apple's unlock database and Sprint refuses to do that for domestic use and per their agreement with Apple, Apple is prohibited from doing that.

So, complaining to Apple will get you nowhere. As will complaining to Sprint.

You can ask this question as many times as you like in more than one thread – you will get the same answer.

Thanks for help. Any 3rd part unlock service that you recommend ? just to unlock it for international unlock?

 

[eyoungren]

Read post #1. I believe swiftunlocks is mentioned.

Chronic is also mentioned but they have since removed Sprint from their site.

Keep in mind, any one telling you that they can fully unlock for you is scamming you. International (which is what you are looking for anyway) only.

 

[mohdnasser]

Read post #1. I believe swiftunlocks is mentioned.

Chronic is also mentioned but they have since removed Sprint from their site.

Keep in mind, any one telling you that they can fully unlock for you is scamming you. International (which is what you are looking for anyway) only.

I have looked in swiftunlocks website , sprint unlock is not included unfortunately

 

[eyoungren]

I have looked in swiftunlocks website , sprint unlock is not included unfortunately

Thanks for the info. I have updated Post #1 accordingly.

 

[mohdnasser]

Thanks for the info. I have updated Post #1 accordingly.

even 3rd parties unlocking servers are getting away from sprint. too bad

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Do 90 days on Sprint. Pay the bill on time. Ask for an international unlock.

If you can't do that, sell the phone and buy an unlocked phone. If you can't do that, find an unlock service. If you can't do that get a Gevey or an R-SIM or equivalent.

Those are your only options.

You can complain to Apple if you like, but Apple has nothing to do with Sprint's unlock policy and does not control the carriers in this manner. Only Sprint can submit an unlock to Apple's unlock database and Sprint refuses to do that for domestic use and per their agreement with Apple, Apple is prohibited from doing that.

So, complaining to Apple will get you nowhere. As will complaining to Sprint.

You can ask this question as many times as you like in more than one thread – you will get the same answer.

90 day service is not required if you can answer 3 questions about your credit report. It still must be active on an account though.

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I have one fully paid , not on a contact , clean IMEI , still sprint not accepting to unlock it for international use . What do you recommend to me? complain to apple?

The only cases where Apple has forced a Sprint IMEI into their unlock database is those who mistakenly purchased it full price from the Apple Store. It's still locked for domestic use because the IMEI is tied to Sprint's activation policy which does not permit the use of domestic carriers. Apple won't help you and neither will Sprint. You must either have the device active on a Sprint account and answer 3 questions correctly about your credit report, or be active on a account for 90 days. Otherwise you have a fancy iPod Touch.

 

[eyoungren]

90 day service is not required if you can answer 3 questions about your credit report. It still must be active on an account though.

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You must either have the device active on a Sprint account and answer 3 questions correctly about your credit report…

I haven't mentioned that simply because when it comes to credit reports and Sprint's relation to the customer, things may not be the same for everyone – if you know what I mean.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

I haven't mentioned that simply because when it comes to credit reports and Sprint's relation to the customer, things may not be the same for everyone – if you know what I mean.

The only questions they asked me were about property I owned a few years ago as well as when my house was built and the model of my car. It's basically just information to prove it's you.

 

[zorinlynx]

Update: we're 100% wrong.

Enabling International CDMA on a Sprint iPhone 6/6+ with a au/KDDI SIM DOES cause the phone to roam on Verizon. Dialing *2 presents a "Welcome to Verizon Wireless" message. "Roaming" is also displayed when the KDDI UIM is inserted.

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Why do CDMA phones say "Roaming" rather than the name of the network you're roaming on?

This is something that always annoyed the hell out of me back when I was on Sprint and I'm aghast that it's not been fixed yet.

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I think the CDMA networks Verizon and Sprint are starting to get ready to end their "Only phones purchased through us work on our network" policy.

What you just stated is some evidence of that, along with the fact that people have been able to take active Verizon SIM cards and put them into unlocked AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone 6 units and get perfect service.

Baby steps, but we will get there. There's no reason why the iPhone 6 shouldn't be usable on every carrier.

As of the release of the iPhone 5c and 5s, it would appear Sprint is no longer pairing your UICC/SIM to your account. iPhone 5 and 4G LTE android phones are still using the USIM parity system though. Which means you can take a active Boost SIM, insert it into a Sprint iPhone and get service.(Must be a CSIM card with part number SIMGLW416C. Does not work for iPhone 4s or 5.). Sprint is STILL pairing the UICC to your account if you have an iPhone 5. You cannot swap SIMs between Sprint iPhone 5 without calling Sprint. Additionally Sprint iPhone 5 will not work with Virgin because it is activated by MEID, where the 5c/5s/6/6+ are activated with a CSIM card, very similar to Verizon Wireless and conventional CDMA networks.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Why do CDMA phones say "Roaming" rather than the name of the network you're roaming on?

This is something that always annoyed the hell out of me back when I was on Sprint and I'm aghast that it's not been fixed yet.

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I think the CDMA networks Verizon and Sprint are starting to get ready to end their "Only phones purchased through us work on our network" policy.

What you just stated is some evidence of that, along with the fact that people have been able to take active Verizon SIM cards and put them into unlocked AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone 6 units and get perfect service.

Baby steps, but we will get there. There's no reason why the iPhone 6 shouldn't be usable on every carrier.

Since the launch of their LTE network back in 2011, Verizon has always allowed non-Verizon CDMA phones on their network if the device contained a R-UIM slot. They just don't advertise it.

Sprint is still not allowing non-Sprint phones on Sprint even if they are compatible. Placing a Sprint SIM into a Verizon iPhone and trying to make a call will return a "your account is not authorized to use this number" message.

Many people say CDMA never uses SIM cards and GSM always does, but the truth is they are just two different air interfaces, they have nothing to do with physical SIM cards other than it being an available configuration for the network. Is is possible to configure a CDMA network to use a SIM card(Called a CSIM or R-UIM on CDMA networks) and it's also possible to run a GSM network without a SIM card. When CDMA first launched in Asia, almost all operators used a R-UIM card. U.S. CDMA2000 operators never have used SIM cards(except for GSM roaming) until the launch of LTE, the new LTE SIM cards on Verizon contain CDMA + LTE capability and Sprint iPhone SIMs(Excluding Android) also contain CDMA + LTE capability.

So yeah, when Verizon finally adopted the CSIM in 2011 they allowed any CDMA devices with a CSIM slot to run on their network. Sprint however, is a different story. Hopefully Masayoshi Son will change this.

You can also blame Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile for getting a crippled iPhone 6/6+ model instead of the model Sprint and every other network in the world has that supports TD-LTE. The reason GSM iPhone 6/6+ can run on CDMA networks like Verizon and au(KDDI) is because Apple left the CDMA2000 1xRTT/EV-DO radio enabled on GSM models. It was disabled last year in the U.S. GSM 5c and 5s even though they had the same model number as the Verizon one.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Sorry if I'm in this thread a lot but I once again have more information to share.

Does Sprint pair the SIM to your iPhone?
Yes, and no. Sprint uses two different types of SIM cards for the iPhone and are two completely different types of card and are completely incompatible with each other.

1. USIM(Universal Subscriber Identity Module, Part No. SIMGLW406R): This is a Nano SIM card that contains ONLY LTE access information. Your phone number, CDMA services, and account information(billing, etc) are NOT stored on this SIM. 1x and 3G services as well as your phone number reside in the actual iPhone itself. However if you remove your SIM, you cannot use any cellular services AT ALL. The iPhone 5 requires the USIM to be installed to use CDMA services even though CDMA does not require a SIM card. If you try to swap SIM cards, nothing will happen. Your phone number is not stored on this card so if you change your SIM you will still have your original phone number as well as billing account. Even though the Sprint iPhone 5 is configured this way, you can still use international CDMA UIM cards if your device has been unlocked for international use. But swapping the Sprint SIM with another Sprint SIM will not have any affect on the device.

2. CSIM(CDMA Subscriber Identity Module, Part No:SIMGLW406/410C)
This card contains ALL information pertaining to both the Sprint network and your account. CDMA services are dependent on this card and cannot work without it, similar to Sprint's USIM card. You can place your Sprint SIM into any Sprint-branded CSIM compatible device and use service immediately. With this system, Sprint is NOT requiring the MEID and ICCID to be on the account to use service. You can also activate a Boost or Virgin CSIM and install it into a Sprint CSIM device and get both CDMA and LTE service.

Basically, the Sprint USIM card for the iPhone 5 doesn't do anything other than tell the phone to use the PRL in the modem for CDMA as well as tell it where to look for LTE towers. It does NOT contain ANY account information. It literally just tells the phone where to look for towers and switching SIMs will have no effect.

The only reason Sprint is using CSIM for Apple products is because Apple refuses to support Sprint's parity ************* anymore and Apple is forcing Sprint to develop a special SIM card for iPhones. Let's hope Verizon sells some of it's lower C block 700 MHz LTE to Sprint so they'll be forced by the FCC to keep 700 MHz LTE capable devices unlocked(All Sprint iPhones support this band except the 4s), and it'll help Sprint expand too. But it's unlikely because Verizon is in bed with the FCC and will do whatever they want. I doubt Masayoshi Son is a big fan of unlocking, SoftBank doesn't even offer unlocking and it's expensive as hell to submit a SoftBank IMEI to Apple's unlock database.

 

[eyoungren]

Sorry if I'm in this thread a lot but I once again have more information to share.

Does Sprint pair the SIM to your iPhone?
Yes, and no. Sprint uses two different types of SIM cards for the iPhone and are two completely different types of card and are completely incompatible with each other.

1. USIM(Universal Subscriber Identity Module, Part No. SIMGLW406R): This is a Nano SIM card that contains ONLY LTE access information. Your phone number, CDMA services, and account information(billing, etc) are NOT stored on this SIM. 1x and 3G services as well as your phone number reside in the actual iPhone itself. However if you remove your SIM, you cannot use any cellular services AT ALL. The iPhone 5 requires the USIM to be installed to use CDMA services even though CDMA does not require a SIM card. If you try to swap SIM cards, nothing will happen. Your phone number is not stored on this card so if you change your SIM you will still have your original phone number as well as billing account. Even though the Sprint iPhone 5 is configured this way, you can still use international CDMA UIM cards if your device has been unlocked for international use. But swapping the Sprint SIM with another Sprint SIM will not have any affect on the device.

2. CSIM(CDMA Subscriber Identity Module, Part No:SIMGLW406/410C)
This card contains ALL information pertaining to both the Sprint network and your account. CDMA services are dependent on this card and cannot work without it, similar to Sprint's USIM card. You can place your Sprint SIM into any Sprint-branded CSIM compatible device and use service immediately. With this system, Sprint is NOT requiring the MEID and ICCID to be on the account to use service. You can also activate a Boost or Virgin CSIM and install it into a Sprint CSIM device and get both CDMA and LTE service.

Basically, the Sprint USIM card for the iPhone 5 doesn't do anything other than tell the phone to use the PRL in the modem for CDMA as well as tell it where to look for LTE towers. It does NOT contain ANY account information. It literally just tells the phone where to look for towers and switching SIMs will have no effect.

The only reason Sprint is using CSIM for Apple products is because Apple refuses to support Sprint's parity ************* anymore and Apple is forcing Sprint to develop a special SIM card for iPhones. Let's hope Verizon sells some of it's lower C block 700 MHz LTE to Sprint so they'll be forced by the FCC to keep 700 MHz LTE capable devices unlocked(All Sprint iPhones support this band except the 4s), and it'll help Sprint expand too. But it's unlikely because Verizon is in bed with the FCC and will do whatever they want. I doubt Masayoshi Son is a big fan of unlocking, SoftBank doesn't even offer unlocking and it's expensive as hell to submit a SoftBank IMEI to Apple's unlock database.

Awesome info! Thanks!

As to Son and Softbank, yes, Softbank is the Sprint of Japan when it comes to unlocking I'm told.

 

[terraphantm]

2. CSIM(CDMA Subscriber Identity Module, Part No:SIMGLW406/410C)
This card contains ALL information pertaining to both the Sprint network and your account. CDMA services are dependent on this card and cannot work without it, similar to Sprint's USIM card. You can place your Sprint SIM into any Sprint-branded CSIM compatible device and use service immediately. With this system, Sprint is NOT requiring the MEID and ICCID to be on the account to use service. You can also activate a Boost or Virgin CSIM and install it into a Sprint CSIM device and get both CDMA and LTE service.

Does this mean an unlocked iPhone 6 would work on Sprint with an iPhone CSIM?

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Does this mean an unlocked iPhone 6 would work on Sprint with an iPhone CSIM?

The Verizon iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6+ are all technically compatible with Sprint provided you are using a CSIM card. However in the tests I've done Sprint still runs the MEID/IMEI against it's database and if it isn't in there you won't be able to make calls or use data. Trying to call out will get you a "Your account is not authorized to make calls to this phone number" message. If Sprint removes this restriction, then yes, a unlocked iPhone that contains CDMA capability(All Verizon iPhones except 4s and 4 as well as AT&T/T-Mobile 6/6+) can work on Sprint. This idea of removing the MEID restriction isn't as unrealistic as it used to be now that Masayoshi Son owns Sprint. Bearing in mind that SoftBank is a GSM carrier that encourages BYOD(They don't sell any flagship Samsung, LG, or HTC smartphones, you're expected to bring your own instead) I could see Son ditching the MEID restriction for Verizon iPhones.

Also for Post #1, if you'd change the following I will love you forever and owe you my gratitude:
Sprint iPhone 5 series (5/5s/5c) and iPhone 6 series (6/6+) come with a UICC SIM card. Unlike regular SIM cards these cards do NOT store data (contacts, etc.). The UICC card is encrypted and paired to your device. Without the card, you do NOT get LTE!

to

The Sprint iPhone 5 contains a USIM card, NOTHING pertaining to your account or phone number is stored on this card and swapping another Sprint SIM will do nothing to the phone. You're stuck with it on your account until you call Sprint to remove it or swap another device.
All LTE capable iPhones after the iPhone 5 contain a CSIM card that can be swapped into another Sprint iPhone(Provided it isn't a 4s or 5) and all of your account information as well as your phone number will be transferred to your new iPhone. The Sprint iPhone 5 SIM(SIMGLW406R) is NOT compatible with 5c/5s/6/6+ and will result in both an invalid SIM card error and no service. The Sprint iPhone 5c/5s/6/6+ SIM(SIMGLW416C) is fully compatible with the aforementioned models and can easily be swapped from another device without calling Sprint. You can also swap these iPhones in between Boost, Virgin, and Sprint just by changing the SIM.

 

[eyoungren]

Also for Post #1, if you'd change the following I will love you forever and owe you my gratitude:
Sprint iPhone 5 series (5/5s/5c) and iPhone 6 series (6/6+) come with a UICC SIM card. Unlike regular SIM cards these cards do NOT store data (contacts, etc.). The UICC card is encrypted and paired to your device. Without the card, you do NOT get LTE!

to

The Sprint iPhone 5 contains a USIM card, NOTHING pertaining to your account or phone number is stored on this card and swapping another Sprint SIM will do nothing to the phone. You're stuck with it on your account until you call Sprint to remove it or swap another device.
All LTE capable iPhones after the iPhone 5 contain a CSIM card that can be swapped into another Sprint iPhone(Provided it isn't a 4s or 5) and all of your account information as well as your phone number will be transferred to your new iPhone. The Sprint iPhone 5 SIM(SIMGLW406R) is NOT compatible with 5c/5s/6/6+ and will result in both an invalid SIM card error and no service. The Sprint iPhone 5c/5s/6/6+ SIM(SIMGLW416C) is fully compatible with the aforementioned models and can easily be swapped from another device without calling Sprint. You can also swap these iPhones in between Boost, Virgin, and Sprint just by changing the SIM.

Done.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Done.

luv u

Hopefully Marcelo Claure or Masayoshi Son change the activation policy regarding domestic use. It's completely possible and all it takes is a Sprint corporate exec to call up Apple and ask for a policy change. I honestly think that even iPhones that were made before February 2015 are gonna be able to be domestic unlockable.

 

[eyoungren]

luv u

Hopefully Marcelo Claure or Masayoshi Son change the activation policy regarding domestic use. It's completely possible and all it takes is a Sprint corporate exec to call up Apple and ask for a policy change. I honestly think that even iPhones that were made before February 2015 are gonna be able to be domestic unlockable.

I don't know. My history with Sprint suggests that Sprint will yet find a way to deny unlocking.

I hope they unlock, but ultimately it's not going to matter for us in the new year as we are getting out. Be interesting to watch Sprint next year though.

 

[eyoungren]

Post #1 updated to reflect new information about the carrier unlock agreement. It has now been codified into law.

 

[KPOM]

You can also blame Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile for getting a crippled iPhone 6/6+ model instead of the model Sprint and every other network in the world has that supports TD-LTE. The reason GSM iPhone 6/6+ can run on CDMA networks like Verizon and au(KDDI) is because Apple left the CDMA2000 1xRTT/EV-DO radio enabled on GSM models. It was disabled last year in the U.S. GSM 5c and 5s even though they had the same model number as the Verizon one.

Is it their fault, or is it something in Sprint's agreement with Apple? China has a version of the iPhone with the TD-LTE bands but not the CDMA radio. Europe, which doesn't even use CDMA, gets the "Sprint" version that has all the LTE bands and the CDMA radio activated. There's no logical reason why the US wouldn't have gotten that version (since it would be one less SKU to worry about) apart from something in Sprint's agreement with Apple. Why else would AT&T, Verizon, AND T-Mobile not want an iPhone capable of supporting the extra TD-LTE bands? The phones already support lots of other bands that those carriers don't use and don't plan on using.