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Carrier U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s

C

cheso

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 13, 2009
28
0
Hey everyone,

I'm a frequent traveler between the U.S. and Europe. I recently purchased an iPhone 5s for full retail at U.S. Cellular, since they have the best reception in my area. Now, this is the A1453 model. Both Apple and U.S. Cellular told me that there should be no problem whatsoever using it with a SIM card on GSM in Europe and that there is no unlocking necessary. Is there any way I could check whether this is really true? I don't want to end up in Europe having to use my 4s because the SIM tray on the 5s is locked. Thanks!

P.S. Yes, some people use U.S. Cellular
 
Are you truly still on US Cellular or are you in a part of the country where US Cellular was sold to Sprint (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio)?

I don't have any suggestions as far as how to check if you are truly unlocked or not, but if you are indeed affected by the sale of portions of US Cellular's network to Sprint then I would be concerned because Sprint is fairly draconion when it comes to unlocking.
 
eyoungren said:
Are you truly still on US Cellular or are you in a part of the country where US Cellular was sold to Sprint (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio)?

I don't have any suggestions as far as how to check if you are truly unlocked or not, but if you are indeed affected by the sale of portions of US Cellular's network to Sprint then I would be concerned because Sprint is fairly draconion when it comes to unlocking.
Click to expand...

Nope, true U.S. Cellular all the way
 
Assume if you travel this much, do you have a SIM from a country in Europe you can try?
 
alphaod said:
Assume if you travel this much, do you have a SIM from a country in Europe you can try?
Click to expand...

You're right, problem is it's in my 4s and therefore it is a microSIM and not a nanoSIM :/
 
So for those who are wondering about the U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s (probably just a few people, but still), I decided to follow through and contacted U.S. Cellular via email. I asked them about whether I can use the iPhone 5s abroad with a nanoSIM of my choice and this is the response I got:

The iPhone is a world phone so you do have the capability to use it overseas. Here’s how to do so:
1) Disable International CDMA (under Settings/Cellular/Roaming) – disabling this setting enables GSM roaming.
2) Purchase a GSM SIM abroad (SIM cards purchased for use on US GSM networks [AT&T, T-Mobile] will not work in a USCC iPhone).
3) Power-off the device and install the GSM SIM card (when the customer arrives at their international destination).
4) Power-on the device and look for the international carrier’s name in the upper left-hand corner of the display.
Click to expand...

I hope this resolves it for those wondering about it. I guess U.S. Cellular is somewhat like Sprint, but they don't require an international unlock since they can't provide any good international roaming, which makes sense.
 
cheso said:
So for those who are wondering about the U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s (probably just a few people, but still), I decided to follow through and contacted U.S. Cellular via email. I asked them about whether I can use the iPhone 5s abroad with a nanoSIM of my choice and this is the response I got:



I hope this resolves it for those wondering about it. I guess U.S. Cellular is somewhat like Sprint, but they don't require an international unlock since they can't provide any good international roaming, which makes sense.
Click to expand...

I think US cellular is correct .the steps should resolve your problem. have you done it ? i can check the locked activation policy for you .
 
cheso said:
Hey everyone,

I'm a frequent traveler between the U.S. and Europe. I recently purchased an iPhone 5s for full retail at U.S. Cellular, since they have the best reception in my area. Now, this is the A1453 model. Both Apple and U.S. Cellular told me that there should be no problem whatsoever using it with a SIM card on GSM in Europe and that there is no unlocking necessary. Is there any way I could check whether this is really true? I don't want to end up in Europe having to use my 4s because the SIM tray on the 5s is locked. Thanks!

P.S. Yes, some people use U.S. Cellular
Click to expand...

Hi, friend, My friend bought a US-Celluar iPhone5s for me, So according to your thread, USC iPhone can international used, right? Does it mean that I can insert the local gsm card and it can works fine. Have you traveled aboard and can you have a confirmation for it now? Need your reply, thanks
 
Okay, I bought a US cellular iPhone5s on ebay, and I inserted my local Singapore gsm sim card, and it says the sim card is not valid.So the phone is not international unlocked. It is locked to USC carrier and can not be unlocked. Do not buy for it for international use.
 
I have bought an iphone5s us cellular. When I travelled to England,I found the phone was LOCKED.It can't use loacal GSM simcard.The phone is locked by US Cellular.different from Verizon.
 
cheso said:
So for those who are wondering about the U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s (probably just a few people, but still), I decided to follow through and contacted U.S. Cellular via email. I asked them about whether I can use the iPhone 5s abroad with a nanoSIM of my choice and this is the response I got:



I hope this resolves it for those wondering about it. I guess U.S. Cellular is somewhat like Sprint, but they don't require an international unlock since they can't provide any good international roaming, which makes sense.
Click to expand...

Can you confirm if you have tested this? Is your US Cellular iPhone 5S unlocked? [have you tested it with a SIM in foreign country?]
 
Samunlocks.net said:
Can you confirm if you have tested this? Is your US Cellular iPhone 5S unlocked? [have you tested it with a SIM in foreign country?]
Click to expand...

Okay so for me it indeed did work in Europe, that's that. Takes about 30 seconds for the phone to connect to the network, restarting it might/might not be necessary, I just did it to be sure. Really I don't know what the deal is with you guys' phones but my works like a charm and it is as advertised (or maybe unadvertised) locked domestically, unlocked internationally.
 
US Cellular

cheso said:
Okay so for me it indeed did work in Europe, that's that. Takes about 30 seconds for the phone to connect to the network, restarting it might/might not be necessary, I just did it to be sure. Really I don't know what the deal is with you guys' phones but my works like a charm and it is as advertised (or maybe unadvertised) locked domestically, unlocked internationally.
Click to expand...

Hello, I am also a true US Cellular customer and have an iPhone 5s that I got on November 8, 2013. We are going to Italy and then on a Mediterranean cruise. If you would be so kind, could you please answer a few questions for me? I am not very tech savvy :(
How do I know if my phone is able to be unlocked internationally?
Where would I buy a sim card when we get to Rome? Price?
My son also has a US Cellular iPhone 5s co if he gets a sim card also, we could text/call each other?
How hard is to change out the sim card?
Any problems getting back on US Cellular when back in the states?
Any charges from US Celluar?
Do you know any thing about using phone on the ship when in port to call or text family out touring in the city?
Any info is greatly appreciated.
I got conflicting info from US cellular tech support and customer service so hopefully you can help.
Thanks so much!
 
Geecee said:
Hello, I am also a true US Cellular customer and have an iPhone 5s that I got on November 8, 2013. We are going to Italy and then on a Mediterranean cruise. If you would be so kind, could you please answer a few questions for me? I am not very tech savvy :(
How do I know if my phone is able to be unlocked internationally?
Where would I buy a sim card when we get to Rome? Price?
My son also has a US Cellular iPhone 5s co if he gets a sim card also, we could text/call each other?
How hard is to change out the sim card?
Any problems getting back on US Cellular when back in the states?
Any charges from US Celluar?
Do you know any thing about using phone on the ship when in port to call or text family out touring in the city?
Any info is greatly appreciated.
I got conflicting info from US cellular tech support and customer service so hopefully you can help.
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

This might be a late response but there's no problems whatsoever, just purchase a local Sim card once abroad, put it in instead of the USCC one... There are no problems getting back on the network but I have no idea what the deal is in case of cruise ships and reception
 
cheso said:
This might be a late response but there's no problems whatsoever, just purchase a local Sim card once abroad, put it in instead of the USCC one... There are no problems getting back on the network but I have no idea what the deal is in case of cruise ships and reception
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I'll let you know how it goes.
 
I thought all LTE phones were unlocked? I think I may have a US Cellular phone Model A1453 somewhere my cousin gave me. I don't think he paid his bill but I'm not sure. He owed me $50 so he gave me the phone.
 
24kmex said:
I thought all LTE phones were unlocked?
Click to expand...
This made me laugh!

Sprint's unlock policy is not even a year old. Verizon only unlocks LTE phones due to an agreement with the FCC. And Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T will only unlock if the bill is paid off - or you pay full price.

If you buy a SIM free model direct from Apple it will be unlocked as well.

But the USA is far, far, far away from every LTE capable phone being unlocked out of the box.

P.S. Depending on how old that bill is the IMEI on that phone may or may not be blacklisted for lack of payment.
 
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