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Unlock Cricket iPhone 5?????

N

npodsiadlo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2014
10
0
Hello,

I purchased an iPhone 5 from Cricket Wireless about a year ago and it is about time for me to change my provider. I have contacted Cricket and they refuse to unlock my phone for use with other US carriers they will only unlock it internationally. I find this extremely frustrating because I have paid over $700 for this phone and it will eventually become a $700 paperweight if Cricket will not let me change my carrier. Does anyone know if it is possible to unlock my phone myself, legal or not, does not matter to me.

Thank you.
 
They do unlock phones at cricket. Have them unlock it. It's the same as the ATT iPhone so it will be unlocked for domestic use as well. Look at what it says on their website.

----------

You paid $700 for a locked phone when you could have bought an unlocked one from the get go, why?
 
I talked to their customer service and they said they dont...
So is what you are saying is that there are no other means to unlocking the phone other then cricket doing it.

----------

It does not make sense to me what their customer service told me because I read this on their website...

If you bought a Cricket phone, it may have been programmed with a lock that prevents it from operating with other compatible wireless networks. Cricket will provide the unlock code upon request, provided Cricket has the unlock code or can reasonably obtain it from the manufacturer, and you have met the following unlocking requirements:

You are a Cricket customer in good standing, and your account is not cancelled.
The device you want to unlock has been associated with your account for at least six (6) months of paid service.
The device is designed for use on and is locked to Cricket's network.
The device was purchased from Cricket or an authorized Cricket distributor.
The device has not been reported lost or stolen.
The device is not associated with a fraudulent account.

I meet all the criteria...maybe because policy isn't effective until 12/7/14?
 
No other way to get it unlocked.
Unless you want to go for a gevey sim hardware unlock that is very unreliable and unlock is lost if you ever upgrade the iOS version.
Cut your losses. Sell it as is to a cricket subscriber and get one that's either unlocked or that works on the carrier you want.
 
They do unlock, but there is a minimum amount of time you have to be their customer. I think its 6months or 1 year. can't remember
 
npodsiadlo said:
Hello,

I purchased an iPhone 5 from Cricket Wireless about a year ago and it is about time for me to change my provider. I have contacted Cricket and they refuse to unlock my phone for use with other US carriers they will only unlock it internationally. I find this extremely frustrating because I have paid over $700 for this phone and it will eventually become a $700 paperweight if Cricket will not let me change my carrier. Does anyone know if it is possible to unlock my phone myself, legal or not, does not matter to me.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

If the device is not blacklisted then definitely unlockable.

Use their service and get the unlock quote:

http://www.pakgamers.com/forums/f188/permanent-iphone-factory-unlock-service-171861/
Click to expand...

They are offering unlock for worldwide carriers.

Hope it helps in your case!
 
I also Got same problem . But I didn't got any support from Customer care. So I decided not to buy any Iphone again. Then I shifted to Sony. Felling happy with that
 
maybe the customer service person you are talking to thinks you have a cdma phone or you are a cdma customer

i read the unlock policy and it says we do unlocks for customers with 4 months of service
and effective december it will be 6 months

okay heres the deal from what i understand
if you have an "original" cricket iPhone 5 you are denied an unlock
if you purchased an iPhone 5 after june 18th 2013 you can get an unlock

you need to remember that cricket and aio were two different companies, and they merged
it was AT&T AIO that bought cricket. and not the other way around

i think you should start hitting up cricket stores instead of calling customer service
maybe they can call for you and get a supervisor on the phone

i figure what you do is go into settings, general , and about
if you see "MEID" you have a CDMA iPhone 5 and they won't unlock you
if you do not see "MEID" you have a GSM iPhone 5 and they will unlock you

yah yah yah i know its lte = gsm but cricket doesn't

if you wait till feb 2015 , they might be more open about unlocks then, because of that cellular industry voluntary agreement



https://www.cricketwireless.com/o/support/devices-and-accessories/smartphones/iphones.html
 
Last edited:
rigormortis said:
maybe the customer service person you are talking to thinks you have a cdma phone or you are a cdma customer

i read the unlock policy and it says we do unlocks for customers with 4 months of service
and effective december it will be 6 months

okay heres the deal from what i understand
if you have an "original" cricket iPhone 5 you are denied an unlock
if you purchased an iPhone 5 after june 18th 2013 you can get an unlock

you need to remember that cricket and aio were two different companies, and they merged
it was AT&T AIO that bought cricket. and not the other way around

i think you should start hitting up cricket stores instead of calling customer service
maybe they can call for you and get a supervisor on the phone

i figure what you do is go into settings, general , and about
if you see "MEID" you have a CDMA iPhone 5 and they won't unlock you
if you do not see "MEID" you have a GSM iPhone 5 and they will unlock you

yah yah yah i know its lte = gsm but cricket doesn't

if you wait till feb 2015 , they might be more open about unlocks then, because of that cellular industry voluntary agreement



https://www.cricketwireless.com/o/support/devices-and-accessories/smartphones/iphones.html
Click to expand...

I do have an meid field but it does not make sense because I purchased this phone September 2013. When I talk to new cricket (att) they say they will unlock it and then say that my phone is not a cricket phone and when I talk to legacy cricket customer service they say that it can only be unlocked internationally because of their agreement with Apple. Maybe I should try and go into a store and see if I can get something done because this is just absolutely ridiculous
 
617aircav said:
What does that have to do with my statement? If you are going to pay full price it makes sense to buy an unlocked one.
Click to expand...

The reason why I bought it from cricket was because they offered me financing where I didn't qualify for Apple's financing option. Wish I would have just bought an unlocked iphone From apple
 
617aircav said:
What does that have to do with my statement? If you are going to pay full price it makes sense to buy an unlocked one.
Click to expand...

you said to buy an AT&T iPhone.
when you go to cricket and buy an iPhone you are buying an AT&T iPhone
AT&T will unlock all phones upon request as long as you meet the minimum terms.

if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone, it will come LOCKED and its up to you to submit an unlocking request.

even if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone from AT&T you still have to be a customer for at least 60 days to be eligible for an unlock

if you want an unlocked iPhone at full cash price YOU MUST either buy one from Verizon or the apple store

cricket at the time was a cdma company. and you cannot bring unlocked "gsm" iPhones paid for cash to CDMA networks. because their CDMA radios were disabled.

the iPhone 6 changes this. the iPhone 6 cdma radio is not disabled. as long as you have a valid and activated sim you can use unlocked iPhone 6 phones on verizon. but you can't start a line of service with one


so your line about buying the AT&T iPhone is moot

----------
npodsiadlo said:
I do have an meid field but it does not make sense because I purchased this phone September 2013. When I talk to new cricket (att) they say they will unlock it and then say that my phone is not a cricket phone and when I talk to legacy cricket customer service they say that it can only be unlocked internationally because of their agreement with Apple. Maybe I should try and go into a store and see if I can get something done because this is just absolutely ridiculous
Click to expand...


as we go farther into the cricket and AT&T merger, at one point the cricket CDMA network will be shut down. so i figure sometime between feb and the cdma shutdown , they will eventually unlock your phone haha

please let us know what they say. please keep pressuring cricket.

was cricket cdma a sprint roaming partner??? thats probably the reason right there. if sprint can't unlock their prepaid carriers (boost mobile, etc) then cricket can't.

or was cricket a separate cdma network ??

----------

idea:

go to the cricket store. if you have not already. and ask them to give you the new AT&T gsm sim and remove the old sim from your account.

verify the imei # is on your prepaid account at the cricket store

(AT&T likes to slip and not post imei numbers on your account, i got hella flamed for saying it, but its true )


maybe that will be a start and get the ball rolling

sometime over the next year or so, AT&T will be sending old / legacy cricket customers new AT&T sims, because of the cricket cdma shutdown

while you are at the cricket store. ask them for your actual cricket prepaid account number. you may need it for future unlock requests. the phone number might not be the actual account number. you need this account number if you want to port your # out anyway. AT&T go phone numbers are not the account numbers used for porting
 
if the iPhone 5 runs sprint ispw's then i can understand why cricket legacy can't unlock it

i don't know how to easily tell the difference between a sprint iPhone and a verizon iPhone, because the model #s are the same
 
rigormortis said:
you said to buy an AT&T iPhone.
when you go to cricket and buy an iPhone you are buying an AT&T iPhone
AT&T will unlock all phones upon request as long as you meet the minimum terms.

if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone, it will come LOCKED and its up to you to submit an unlocking request.

even if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone from AT&T you still have to be a customer for at least 60 days to be eligible for an unlock

if you want an unlocked iPhone at full cash price YOU MUST either buy one from Verizon or the apple store

cricket at the time was a cdma company. and you cannot bring unlocked "gsm" iPhones paid for cash to CDMA networks. because their CDMA radios were disabled.

the iPhone 6 changes this. the iPhone 6 cdma radio is not disabled. as long as you have a valid and activated sim you can use unlocked iPhone 6 phones on verizon. but you can't start a line of service with one


so your line about buying the AT&T iPhone is moot

----------




as we go farther into the cricket and AT&T merger, at one point the cricket CDMA network will be shut down. so i figure sometime between feb and the cdma shutdown , they will eventually unlock your phone haha

please let us know what they say. please keep pressuring cricket.

was cricket cdma a sprint roaming partner??? thats probably the reason right there. if sprint can't unlock their prepaid carriers (boost mobile, etc) then cricket can't.

or was cricket a separate cdma network ??

----------

idea:

go to the cricket store. if you have not already. and ask them to give you the new AT&T gsm sim and remove the old sim from your account.

verify the imei # is on your prepaid account at the cricket store

(AT&T likes to slip and not post imei numbers on your account, i got hella flamed for saying it, but its true )


maybe that will be a start and get the ball rolling

sometime over the next year or so, AT&T will be sending old / legacy cricket customers new AT&T sims, because of the cricket cdma shutdown

while you are at the cricket store. ask them for your actual cricket prepaid account number. you may need it for future unlock requests. the phone number might not be the actual account number. you need this account number if you want to port your # out anyway. AT&T go phone numbers are not the account numbers used for porting
Click to expand...


Wrong. Att iPhone bought at full price from Apple is unlocked.
 
617aircav said:
Wrong. Att iPhone bought at full price from Apple is unlocked.
Click to expand...


the original poster did not say he bought his iPhone from the apple store
he said he bought it from a cricket store, because cricket agreed to let him finance it


no where did i say if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone at the apple store it is locked. i was strictly talking about AT&T stores, cricket and aio stores

even if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone from AT&T you still have to be a customer for at least 60 days to be eligible for an unlock

if he would of bought a AT&T phone for full price from the apple store and brought it to cricket
they would of refused to activate it because it's cdma radio is disabled

cricket was bought by AIO ( AT&T ) so now this is no longer true. but we were not discussing how it is now. you are not helping this discussion. your advice of paying for the phone at full price at the apple store
does not apply to 2012-2013 because back then cricket was a CDMA carrier
 
Last edited:
i think npodsiadlo has a chance if he asks them to give him a AT&T GSM SIM
because eventually they will have to mail him one anyway


that will unlock it
or point to the direction of a future unlock

if not they will officially tell all of their customers to buy a new device
 
rigormortis said:
you said to buy an AT&T iPhone.
when you go to cricket and buy an iPhone you are buying an AT&T iPhone
AT&T will unlock all phones upon request as long as you meet the minimum terms.

if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone, it will come LOCKED and its up to you to submit an unlocking request.

even if you pay full price for an AT&T iPhone from AT&T you still have to be a customer for at least 60 days to be eligible for an unlock

if you want an unlocked iPhone at full cash price YOU MUST either buy one from Verizon or the apple store

cricket at the time was a cdma company. and you cannot bring unlocked "gsm" iPhones paid for cash to CDMA networks. because their CDMA radios were disabled.

the iPhone 6 changes this. the iPhone 6 cdma radio is not disabled. as long as you have a valid and activated sim you can use unlocked iPhone 6 phones on verizon. but you can't start a line of service with one


so your line about buying the AT&T iPhone is moot

----------




as we go farther into the cricket and AT&T merger, at one point the cricket CDMA network will be shut down. so i figure sometime between feb and the cdma shutdown , they will eventually unlock your phone haha

please let us know what they say. please keep pressuring cricket.

was cricket cdma a sprint roaming partner??? thats probably the reason right there. if sprint can't unlock their prepaid carriers (boost mobile, etc) then cricket can't.

or was cricket a separate cdma network ??

----------

idea:

go to the cricket store. if you have not already. and ask them to give you the new AT&T gsm sim and remove the old sim from your account.

verify the imei # is on your prepaid account at the cricket store

(AT&T likes to slip and not post imei numbers on your account, i got hella flamed for saying it, but its true )


maybe that will be a start and get the ball rolling

sometime over the next year or so, AT&T will be sending old / legacy cricket customers new AT&T sims, because of the cricket cdma shutdown

while you are at the cricket store. ask them for your actual cricket prepaid account number. you may need it for future unlock requests. the phone number might not be the actual account number. you need this account number if you want to port your # out anyway. AT&T go phone numbers are not the account numbers used for porting
Click to expand...

I will go into the store in the next few days and try this and let you all know what happened. Thanks everyone for your feedback much appreciated!

Also cricket was its own network previously not a subsidiary of any other networks.
 
i got phonedog mad at me ,they did this interview with cricket today and didn't even ask about you people with iPhone 5 phones that can't be unlocked., i bugged them about it on Facebook, and they got all mad


i am just here to revise this thread and say that it seems now cricket is allowing you to trade in CDMA iPhones or get a GSM SIm. i don't know any details on how the trade in works. i don't know if you have to pay the difference or whatever.

here is a link
https://www.cricketwireless.com/migrate
 
rigormortis said:
i got phonedog mad at me ,they did this interview with cricket today and didn't even ask about you people with iPhone 5 phones that can't be unlocked., i bugged them about it on Facebook, and they got all mad


i am just here to revise this thread and say that it seems now cricket is allowing you to trade in CDMA iPhones or get a GSM SIm. i don't know any details on how the trade in works. i don't know if you have to pay the difference or whatever.

here is a link
https://www.cricketwireless.com/migrate
Click to expand...


Free. Lol. It's a trade in offer and we all know how that goes. And this is only in one state.
 
617aircav said:
Free. Lol. It's a trade in offer and we all know how that goes. And this is only in one state.
Click to expand...

i got phonedog mad at me, cuz they did this big interview / article with cricket about their gsm switch over, and didn't even waste their own time to ask about all the people who are stuck with cdma cricket iPhones. and they got mad me for trolling.

old cricket has basically said we can't unlock your gadget, and phonedog didn't even ask about it

i guess they interviewed jake mullins and forgot to ask him
 
Last edited:
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