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

[eyoungren]

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.

Each carrier has it's own agreement with Apple. It specifies how many iPhones each carrier must sell by a certain point.

Sprint entered this agreement in 2011. Initially they decided (with the iPhone 4s) that new phones would be unlocked. Shortly after that they rescinded their decision and the phones have been locked domestically ever since.

I do not know what prompted that, but my educated guess is that they discovered people were buying the Sprint iPhone, discovering that the network sucked in their area and then leaving. Since subsidies were still the thing back then, Sprint was still on the hook for the full price of the iPhone.

So, they made it difficult for the customer to leave and use the phone on any other network other than Sprint, thus keeping at least some of their profits.

Sprint's agreement with Apple bars Apple from entering an IMEI in the unlock database for domestic use. Apple can only insert the IMEI when requested by the carrier. Sprint could, but will NOT make the request for domestic use.

Simple as that.

----------

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.

Sprint''s agreement with Apple prevents Apple from submitting any IMEIs for domestic use to the unlock database. Only Sprint can request that and they refuse.

Additionally, the iPhone 4s and 5 are paired to their SIM cards, per Sprint's request of Apple. No service without the paired SIM. The iPhone 4 (Sprint) has no SIM and is locked to Sprint's network.

The 5c, 5s, 6 and 6+ have a different SIM. That SIM can be swapped between models, but since Sprint will not submit any IMEIs to the domestic unlock database, the iPhone is still locked to Sprint.

----------

Sorry for the double quote, but something weird is going on while posting and I can't edit the dang post.

 

[KPOM]

Sprint''s agreement with Apple prevents Apple from submitting any IMEIs for domestic use to the unlock database. Only Sprint can request that and they refuse.

Additionally, the iPhone 4s and 5 are paired to their SIM cards, per Sprint's request of Apple. No service without the paired SIM. The iPhone 4 (Sprint) has no SIM and is locked to Sprint's network.

The 5c, 5s, 6 and 6+ have a different SIM. That SIM can be swapped between models, but since Sprint will not submit any IMEIs to the domestic unlock database, the iPhone is still locked to Sprint.

True, but then that means there really isn't a technical reason why the AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile iPhones lack the TD-LTE bands. Even if they had them, like the European unlocked model, Sprint could still keep them off their network. I wonder why Apple created a special version of the iPhone that lacked those bands. It would have been easier for all the phones to have all the bands activated.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

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.

That all seems to be true about Verizon. I will add that they were including SIM cards with 3G world phones in 2010 and possibly earlier, but the SIM wasn't needed to get service on the phone.

If Sprint were to start acting more like Verizon has been, they might be able to keep customers.

 

[eyoungren]

True, but then that means there really isn't a technical reason why the AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile iPhones lack the TD-LTE bands. Even if they had them, like the European unlocked model, Sprint could still keep them off their network. I wonder why Apple created a special version of the iPhone that lacked those bands. It would have been easier for all the phones to have all the bands activated.

That's the point. There is no technical reason, except for the one Sprint demanded Apple build into the phone. The sole purpose of this technical reason is to keep Sprint phones locked to Sprint.

Sprint CSRs never bother to mention that little fact when they tell you the phone cannot be unlocked for technical reasons.

I imagine Apple did Sprint's bidding to get a sale. The carriers still have some power and can still demand certain things if Apple wants to sell phones on their networks.

The fact though, whatever the ultimate reason, is that Sprint phones are locked domestically.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

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.

Nah, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile requested the more limited model. Sprint has always since the release of the 5c and 5s has the model with the most LTE bands supported. Since Verizon was forced to keep GSM services unlocked, out of spite they will order a radio configuration with the least support for other LTE networks as possible. If you look at Verizon's LTE android phones they only support Verizon's bands while the other variants support much more. The China Mobile iPhone 6/6+(Model A1589/A1593) does support CDMA I believe, but it's disabled while inside mainland China to prevent it being used on China Telecom, a CDMA-based competing network. WCDMA(UMTS) is also disabled on this model while in the mainland so you can only use 2G on other carriers in China. Basically the same thing as Sprint.

 

[KPOM]

Nah, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile requested the more limited model. Sprint has always since the release of the 5c and 5s has the model with the most LTE bands supported. Since Verizon was forced to keep GSM services unlocked, out of spite they will order a radio configuration with the least support for other LTE networks as possible. If you look at Verizon's LTE android phones they only support Verizon's bands while the other variants support much more. The China Mobile iPhone 6/6+(Model A1589/A1593) does support CDMA I believe, but it's disabled while inside mainland China to prevent it being used on China Telecom, a CDMA-based competing network. WCDMA(UMTS) is also disabled on this model while in the mainland so you can only use 2G on other carriers in China. Basically the same thing as Sprint.

That's plausible for VZW, but doesn't explain AT&T or T-Mobile, though. They could conceivably have asked for the iPhone 6 not to have an active CDMA radio (just like the iPhone 5s), but their models do run on Verizon's CDMA network with an active SIM.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

That's plausible for VZW, but doesn't explain AT&T or T-Mobile, though. They could conceivably have asked for the iPhone 6 not to have an active CDMA radio (just like the iPhone 5s), but their models do run on Verizon's CDMA network with an active SIM.

Maybe it was cheaper to order the model without TD-LTE? The only carrier in the U.S. that uses TD-LTE is Sprint and AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are all known to do the bare minimum to get phones running on their network and they probably weighed the cost(in addition to Verizon's hatred for customers who take advantage of their forced unlocked SIM policy) and decided it wasn't worth the extra money to get the model with the 4 extra TD-LTE bands as they had no use for it. I don't think they asked for Apple to disable CDMA on those models, Apple works pretty closely with carriers on what type of radio hardware they need enabled and disabled. The GSM Softbank iPhone 5c/5s(A1453/A1456) was actually the Sprint model and could work on Verizon with LTE once unlocked.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Each carrier has it's own agreement with Apple. It specifies how many iPhones each carrier must sell by a certain point.

Sprint entered this agreement in 2011. Initially they decided (with the iPhone 4s) that new phones would be unlocked. Shortly after that they rescinded their decision and the phones have been locked domestically ever since.

The first batch of Sprint iPhone 4s(10/14/2011 launch weekend) were only unlocked for international use, they still did not support domestic SIM cards. I believe they did not relock the SIM slot for those who had purchased it during that period but new Sprint iPhone 4s activations had the SIM lock pushed to them in-store.

 

[eyoungren]

The first batch of Sprint iPhone 4s(10/14/2011 launch weekend) were only unlocked for international use, they still did not support domestic SIM cards. I believe they did not relock the SIM slot for those who had purchased it during that period but new Sprint iPhone 4s activations had the SIM lock pushed to them in-store.

I would buy that, except for the fact that I am aware of one user who has a Sprint 4s that is completely unlocked.

 

[Electroni]

Each carrier has it's own agreement with Apple. It specifies how many iPhones each carrier must sell by a certain point.
...

Slightly off-topic but I wanted to mention that I think Apple's practice of selling T-Mobile's iPhones unlocked works to T-Mobile's advantage in an unusual way... I have purchased a couple of iPhones for family members who live overseas from Apple this way and I know of several others who have done the same. I assume that these units count against T-Mobile's quota with Apple, making it easier for T-Mobile to meet its commitments to Apple.

 

[eyoungren]

Slightly off-topic but I wanted to mention that I think Apple's practice of selling T-Mobile's iPhones unlocked works to T-Mobile's advantage in an unusual way... I have purchased a couple of iPhones for family members who live overseas from Apple this way and I know of several others who have done the same. I assume that these units count against T-Mobile's quota with Apple, making it easier for T-Mobile to meet its commitments to Apple.

I'd have to agree with you there. Sprint got the iPhone before T-Mobile and originally the phone was unlocked.

This might have been happening, who knows. I've always felt that Sprint locked the phone down because it wanted to recoup it's money. When T-Mobile got the iPhone they were already in the process of being the Uncarrier, with no contracts and so. Up until last year you could only buy a Sprint iPhone at full price at an Apple store. There was no Easy Pay or IPL lease thing. So, each phone Sprint sold was subsidized.

T-Mobile's way of getting their money back is different and if we add in your argument it makes sense for them to allow the phones to be unlocked.

Sprint has never been very forward thinking, despite the zillions they proclaim to put into research on new technologies.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

A bit off topic but you can get a Sprint iPhone unlocked for domestic use by getting a replacement at the Apple Store and selecting the carrier as Appalachian Wireless or Straight Talk, though it won't work on Sprint anymore as the MEID isn't in their whitelist. Still a good thing to do if you need the A1586/A1524 model because of the extra TD-LTE bands, the phone will also be compatible with Verizon SIM cards too as CDMA is left enabled even when choosing a carrier other than Sprint.

 

[Electroni]

That's plausible for VZW, but doesn't explain AT&T or T-Mobile, though. They could conceivably have asked for the iPhone 6 not to have an active CDMA radio (just like the iPhone 5s), but their models do run on Verizon's CDMA network with an active SIM.

Now that the Sprint variant has all the other carriers' bands and then some, this whole situation befuddles me as well.

I would love to know the real reason behind the 2-SKU US iPhone 6 situation. Not sure I buy the "just to spite" argument If Verizon was going to force Apple to create an un-necessary second US variant I imagine then that they might as well at the same time insist on that device lacking LTE band 17, thus rendering it essentially useless on AT&T but still giving it decent international roaming capabilities. Instead, their variant is fully supported on AT&T and T-Mobile... and with respect to Sprint it doesn't matter anyway because even if it did support Sprint band-wise, then due to Sprint's silly activation rules you still wouldn't be able to activate it on them regardless. Anyway, this situation just doesn't make any sense. There certainly don't seem to be any technical reasons behind this. The last two cellular iPad generations for example used the Sprint variant's radio for the one-and-only US iPad variant.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when the 6S comes out. By then Sprint will finally be unlocking devices (Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!). If this bizarre 2-SKU situation persists, then anyone interested in paying in full price for a device would be foolish not to buy the Sprint variant since it would provide the most band support. (Though one thing I am not sure about with respect to that though would be VoLTE support on Verizon: Somewhere I remember reading about a rumor that VoLTE on Verizon would only work with Verizon-originated handsets due to some limitation having to do with what they store on their SIMs not being sufficient to configure the device for VoLTE.)

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Now that the Sprint variant has all the other carriers' bands and then some, this whole situation befuddles me as well.

I would love to know the real reason behind the 2-SKU US iPhone 6 situation. Not sure I buy the "just to spite" argument If Verizon was going to force Apple to create an un-necessary second US variant I imagine then that they might as well at the same time insist on that device lack LTE band 17, thus rendering it essentially useless on AT&T but still giving it decent international roaming capabilities. Instead, their variant is fully supported on AT&T and T-Mobile... and with respect to Sprint it doesn't matter anyway because even if it did support Sprint band-wise, then due to Sprint's silly activation rules you still wouldn't be able to activate it on them regardless. Anyway, this situation just doesn't make any sense. There certainly don't seem to be any technical reasons behind this. The last two cellular iPad generations for example used the Sprint variant's radio for the one-and-only US iPad variant.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when the 6S comes out. By then Sprint will finally be unlocking devices (Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!). If this bizarre 2-SKU situation persists, then anyone interested in paying in full price for a device would be foolish not to buy the Sprint variant since it would provide the most band support. (Though one thing I am not sure about with respect to that though would be VoLTE support on Verizon: Somewhere I remember reading about a rumor that VoLTE on Verizon would only work with Verizon-originated handsets due to some limitation having to do with what they store on their SIMs not being sufficient to configure the device for VoLTE.)

AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone 6/6+ works fine on VoLTE with Verizon, however international GSM only devices that support Band 13 cannot use VoLTE due to an issue with SIM provisioning(Can't remember exactly why). Honestly it could be due to the fact that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all have no use for TD-LTE, and the cost of buying the TD-LTE unit wholesale was more expensive than buying the FDD-LTE only unit. It makes sense when you think about it, none of the networks that have the A1549/A1586 model use TD-LTE, thus they could save money on wholesale units by buying a unit with TD-LTE omitted.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

Update:

There have been cases where AT&T/T-Mobile customers with defective iPhones have gotten their phone swapped out with a Sprint iPhone that was unlocked for domestic use. All you need to do is just insert your SIM and select Appalachian Wireless or Straight Talk as the carrier and your device will be unlocked domestically.

 

[solodogg]

Update:

There have been cases where AT&T/T-Mobile customers with defective iPhones have gotten their phone swapped out with a Sprint iPhone that was unlocked for domestic use. All you need to do is just insert your SIM and select Appalachian Wireless or Straight Talk as the carrier and your device will be unlocked domestically.

wouldn't you have to obtain an Appalachian or ST card, since there is nothing that pops up on a new phone asking which carrier you want to use?

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

wouldn't you have to obtain an Appalachian or ST card, since there is nothing that pops up on a new phone asking which carrier you want to use?

On a replacement iPhone, it DOES ask what carrier you want to use. This has been confirmed and reconfirmed countless times...

If you aren't prompted to select a network to lock an iPhone to, your iPhone has already been permanently domestically locked to Sprint.

 

[solodogg]

On a replacement iPhone, it DOES ask what carrier you want to use. This has been confirmed and reconfirmed countless times...

If you aren't prompted to select a network to lock an iPhone to, your iPhone has already been permanently domestically locked to Sprint.

so this is for a Sprint iPhone only, because the replacement Verizon phones I've seen definitely have not asked, nor are they locked to the carrier. Once the device is set to Straight Talk, is it safe to assume Sprint would no longer activate it?

It sure would be nice to have a phone that would work on all 4 domestic post-paid carriers, allowing users to switch at will between any of them.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

so this is for a Sprint iPhone only, because the replacement Verizon phones I've seen definitely have not asked, nor are they locked to the carrier. Once the device is set to Straight Talk, is it safe to assume Sprint would no longer activate it?

It sure would be nice to have a phone that would work on all 4 domestic post-paid carriers, allowing users to switch at will between any of them.

My replacement Verizon iPhone 5 that I received from the Apple Store in June 2013 asked me to select a carrier. I could have chosen Verizon or a regional carrier.

 

[solodogg]

My replacement Verizon iPhone 5 that I received from the Apple Store in June 2013 asked me to select a carrier. I could have chosen Verizon or a regional carrier.

weird! I've gotten numerous replacement 5's, a 5s, and now a 6 from Apple, and none of them have ever asked. One of the 5's, and the 5s were from the Apple store, the rest have been shipped to me. All Verizon devices.

 

[KPOM]

weird! I've gotten numerous replacement 5's, a 5s, and now a 6 from Apple, and none of them have ever asked. One of the 5's, and the 5s were from the Apple store, the rest have been shipped to me. All Verizon devices.

My replacement Verizon iPhone 5 that I received from the Apple Store in June 2013 asked me to select a carrier. I could have chosen Verizon or a regional carrier.

If you are using an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM in a Verizon phone it will not ask you to select a carrier. If you activate it with a Verizon SIM it will ask you to enter in your account information. It's a holdover from the CDMA days. Verizon activates the SIM when they register your phone to the account.

 

[beergirl]

Need help please

My daughter wants an IPhone 5 for Xmas. We are on the Virgin Mobile $35 unlimited plan. I have been trying to buy a phone from The Virgin website, but they have been out of stock for a month straight! My only option now was to look on Ebay. I found a brand new Sprint IPhone 5 in the link at the bottom of this post, and wondered if I can activate this on Virgin Mobile? Also do brand new phones come with the needed sim cards or do I have to buy that separate? I live in the US by the way.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...1377723765?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1e96b8f975

 

[maflynn]

I found a brand new Sprint IPhone 5 in the link at the bottom of this post, and wondered if I can activate this on Virgin Mobile?

No, Sprint doesn't unlock their phones.

 

[eyoungren]

My daughter wants an IPhone 5 for Xmas. We are on the Virgin Mobile $35 unlimited plan. I have been trying to buy a phone from The Virgin website, but they have been out of stock for a month straight! My only option now was to look on Ebay. I found a brand new Sprint IPhone 5 in the link at the bottom of this post, and wondered if I can activate this on Virgin Mobile? Also do brand new phones come with the needed sim cards or do I have to buy that separate? I live in the US by the way.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...1377723765?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1e96b8f975

As Mike said, Sprint does not unlock their phones for domestic US use. The phone would have to be unlocked to work on VM.

Second, VM like Sprint, does not activate phones (unlocked or not) that were not originally intended for their network. It has to be a VM phone for VM to activate it.

 

[HarrisonTaylor]

My daughter wants an IPhone 5 for Xmas. We are on the Virgin Mobile $35 unlimited plan. I have been trying to buy a phone from The Virgin website, but they have been out of stock for a month straight! My only option now was to look on Ebay. I found a brand new Sprint IPhone 5 in the link at the bottom of this post, and wondered if I can activate this on Virgin Mobile? Also do brand new phones come with the needed sim cards or do I have to buy that separate? I live in the US by the way.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...1377723765?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1e96b8f975

Nope, Sprint CDMA information has been permanently provisioned to the iPhone 5, it won't work with Virgin Mobile even though it's on the same network. You can use a Sprint 5c on Boost or Virgin though but only a Boost or Virgin store can activate it. When I tried to activate a Sprint 5s on Boost it ignored the SIM and said it wasn't activated even though it was. Maybe it was because the 5s I used was reported stolen, idk

----------

That all seems to be true about Verizon. I will add that they were including SIM cards with 3G world phones in 2010 and possibly earlier, but the SIM wasn't needed to get service on the phone.

If Sprint were to start acting more like Verizon has been, they might be able to keep customers.

Verizon 3G world phones could only be unlocked for international use including the 4s. The SIM wasn't needed because the phone was using it's NV partition to access the network but all Verizon 4G LTE devices require an active SIM to be installed to use CDMA AND LTE.