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Surprise: CDMA iPhone 4S Comes With An Unlocked SIM Slot

WannaGoMac said:
Uh, highly doubt that. I don't believe that sort of "partial" control is possible on a SIM unlock. It's either unlocked or it isnt
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There are three components to a SIM card identifier:

Mobile Nation Code (MNC) - identifies the country where the SIM card originated.

Mobile Carrier Code (MCC) - identifies the individual wireless company within that country which issued the SIM card.

Mobile Subscription Identification Number (MSIN) - identifies the individual customer account within that wireless company associated with that SIM card.

Typically, a SIM-locked phone is set up to only recognize SIM cards with one specific combination of MNC and MCC. However, in principle, there's nothing which would prevent different permutations of SIM locking, based on different permitted and prohibited combinations of MNC and MCC.
 
BruiserB said:
Does anyone know if it is possible for carriers to "selectively unlock" phones which is what some are thinking this "international unlock" amounts to? I think the phone is either locked or unlocked....no in-between. Otherwise couldn't ATT just offer to "internationally unlock" your ATT phone and open it up for travel abroad while still locking out T-mobile here?
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First of all, this is entirely possible.. and not with something ridiculous like tying it with GPS as another posted (turn GPS off and presto! unlock??).

While I do not know too much of the specifics, the unlock exists in the baseband (not the sim card slot) and you can easily tell it to let all carriers through, or block some. Each network has it's own unique MCC/MNC tuple... so you can say, "block ALL" or "block AT&T". In the case of AT&T, they have several.. that's how I believe it's probably done currently.

It may exist exactly in the baseband, or the baseband checks a database. Anyone remember the guy who did the factory unlock on locked phones? He had access to some database and could just enter the IMEI number and when you set up your iphone it would just say "Activation Complete" with any SIM (implying unlock).

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goosnarrggh said:
There are three components to a SIM card identifier:

Mobile Nation Code (MNC) - identifies the country where the SIM card originated.

Mobile Carrier Code (MCC) - identifies the individual wireless company within that country which issued the SIM card.

Mobile Subscription Identification Number (MSIN) - identifies the individual customer account within that wireless company associated with that SIM card.

Typically, a SIM-locked phone is set up to only recognize SIM cards with one specific combination of MNC and MCC. However, in principle, there's nothing which would prevent different permutations of SIM locking, based on different permitted and prohibited combinations of MNC and MCC.
Click to expand...


Lol.. beat me to it, but yeah, what you said ;)
 
Don't know...I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
I am confused
 
miguelroboso said:
Don't know...I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
I am confused
Click to expand...

Why are you confused? That's what I and others have kept saying throughout this thread.
 
so sad so mad ...

so unlocked GSM iPhone 4S for $649 is the only way to get international GSM roaming with out carrier tie in...

THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY
 
How about Virgin?

So is there any US provider that allows an unlocked iPhone 4S to be used? How about Virgin Mobile?

I guess T-Mobile does, but only at 2G speeds for data. Does TMobile have data plans that don't require a contract?

It seems that in the US, "unlocked" isn't really unlocked.
 
miguelroboso said:
I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
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Did you call the regular customer service number or the Global Support Team number (1-800-711-8300)?

This is the official VZW SIM unlocking policy:

The following qualifications must be met for the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) to be unlocked:

Must be a Verizon Wireless customer.

•The device being unlocked must be active on a Verizon Wireless line of service.
•The line of service must be active at least 60 days.
•The line of service must be in good standing for the past 60 days.
•Only one SIM Unlock per line every 10 months.
•The customer's manufacturer's device warranty is not affected by a SIM unlock as long as the customer remains with Verizon Wireless.
Click to expand...

If you get a rep who tells you something different than above, call and try a different rep.
 
miguelroboso said:
Don't know...I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
I am confused
Click to expand...

LOL, i can't believe you people keep calling Sprint/Verizon. Flip a coin and get an answer that way, it's about as reliable.

Just wait until Friday, all answers will be provided.
 
Yes, let's wait till Friday.

But it seems that Sprint has already given an answer, and I'm quite disappointed. I was really looking forward to going onto Sprint's affordable and reliable service. Guess now I'll be sticking to AT&T with an unlocked iPhone, seeing that I'll be traveling out of country for 3~4 months every year.

Or maybe I'll just use my old iPhone 3GS... But then that raises the question of AT&T vs Sprint.
 
KJmoon117 said:
Yes, let's wait till Friday.

But it seems that Sprint has already given an answer, and I'm quite disappointed. I was really looking forward to going onto Sprint's affordable and reliable service. Guess now I'll be sticking to AT&T with an unlocked iPhone, seeing that I'll be traveling out of country for 3~4 months every year.

Or maybe I'll just use my old iPhone 3GS... But then that raises the question of AT&T vs Sprint.
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I had a sprint before and.now for 18 months now , Verizon and ATT , what i can tell you is sprint representatives don't know crap about phones, every single think you have to do on you phone when it doesn't work is wrinten down for them to read back to you, about shipment the same, the iphone 4s and every other product in launch day is (shipping wise ) is heavily control under apple and trust me they know how to take care of customers , is frustating to go to a sprint store and repair your phone and they don't know what they getting into because there not properly train, apple side the training is really deep , customer service is outstanding and never had a problem with them wo far ( 5 years with apple products now ) I'm pretty sure we get out iPhone 4s by Friday man just wait :D trust me I'm going crazy too but waiting is the only thing you can do
 
For the record, iPhone's SIM-Locking is controlled by a cryptographically signed XML file sent from the iTunes servers to the phone during activation. The baseband decrypts this file to reveal a list of allowed MNC/MCC's. Devices that are marked as unlocked have this record in the database changed to allow a wildcard (all) MNC's/MCC's.
 
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kjohn said:
They do in Asia. I've purchased them before in Hong Kong and Thailand. If they don't have them, you can just use scissors and cut the sim. It takes only a few seconds and is a better option than *not* using your iPhone.
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And with iPhones expanding worldwide, I think you can expect them to become more readily available.
 
Keep this thread going if you are able to unlock your Verizon/Sprint iPhones.

Who know who are very powerful the can force to unlock the ATT iPhones too :p
 
miguelroboso said:
Don't know...I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
I am confused
Click to expand...

Your agent was slightly confused on at least one point: The SIM slot doesn't need to be unlocked in order to use their global plan SIM. That particular SIM will work out of the box without the need to unlock anything -- all Verizon would need to do is provision an international roaming package on your account.

The trick is that they'd need to unlock it to allow you to use any other SIM.
 
memo90061 said:
I hope this is true because I go to Mexico twice a year for two months, and have been wanting to use an iPhone while in Mexico.
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Not sure which carrier you use, but Verizon has a USA plus Mexico plan that just uses regular CDMA. No GSM required and it makes Mexico your home area. It's as simple as calling CS and having them switch your plan and it is only a few dollars more per month. They also have a US plus Canada plan that works the same way.

Of course if you have at$t or Sprint, this won't help.
 
miguelroboso said:
Don't know...I just called verizon customer support twice, and they told me that the sim slot will remain locked, and they might unlock it for their global plan sim
I am confused
Click to expand...
The reps you spoke with were wrong. Did you call the regular customer service number (1-800-922-0204) or the global support number (1-800-711-8300)? You should call the latter. As long as you meet the requirements, they will do a SIM unlock.
goosnarrggh said:
The trick is that they'd need to unlock it to allow you to use any other SIM.
Click to expand...
I think its possible that Verizon could provide an unlock via iTunes and still impose an MCC or MNC restriction on US providers. That's what they did with the Droid 2 Global last year - even if you got the unlock code from VZW, AT&T and T-Mobile SIM cards wouldn't work.
 
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