Background: I had a no-commitment unlocked store iPhone 4S purchased release day (so there was no official SKU available, only the AT&T SKUs); I had to do an exchange a few months ago. My replacement was unlocked as well. I suspect this means Apple sold the phone unlocked and for all intents and purposes, the iPhone is factory unlocked.
Yesterday: I had an old factory unlocked 3GS which broke and I had Apple replace it at a good price. It's now locked again and I'm not even sure to what carrier (I have an idea, since I did buy this in Australia). Well I think it's locked (since it's won't activate; gives me the "There is a problem with your iPhone" error; also it's reboots constantly, symptom of being SIM locked and unable to activate), and the Genius Bar has no idea really. They have ordered me another replacement device (because they only had one 32GB 3GS replacement in stock), and we agreed it would be a good idea to order a replacement, "just in case."
I submitted an unlock request through AT&T and got a turnaround promise of 48 hours. That's sounds reasonable; my concerns is:
1) Are my assumptions correct? My assumption is the phone is SIM locked to another carrier and not actually broken.
2) Will they be able to unlock this device? My replacement is locked a SP other than AT&T.
3) If they do unlock and my phone breaks again and I need a replacement, will the replacement be unlocked? Or do I need to go through these shenanigans again?
Thanks!
Yesterday: I had an old factory unlocked 3GS which broke and I had Apple replace it at a good price. It's now locked again and I'm not even sure to what carrier (I have an idea, since I did buy this in Australia). Well I think it's locked (since it's won't activate; gives me the "There is a problem with your iPhone" error; also it's reboots constantly, symptom of being SIM locked and unable to activate), and the Genius Bar has no idea really. They have ordered me another replacement device (because they only had one 32GB 3GS replacement in stock), and we agreed it would be a good idea to order a replacement, "just in case."
I submitted an unlock request through AT&T and got a turnaround promise of 48 hours. That's sounds reasonable; my concerns is:
1) Are my assumptions correct? My assumption is the phone is SIM locked to another carrier and not actually broken.
2) Will they be able to unlock this device? My replacement is locked a SP other than AT&T.
3) If they do unlock and my phone breaks again and I need a replacement, will the replacement be unlocked? Or do I need to go through these shenanigans again?
Thanks!
