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Unlocked/off contract/full price iPhone 5 ?
- Thread starter soya
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If you buy off contract from Apple there is no contract for ATT and it is unlocked but Verizon and Sprint do not sell the GSM unlocked version but you can buy off contract
$650 for 16gb
$750 for 32gb
$850 for 64gb
Assuming they have the sane structure as the 4S
Where do you go to pay 10$ to get the phone permanently unlocked? I bought a no commitment iPhone 5 as well since I'm still under contract and will be unlocking it as soon as my contract ends in May 2013.
I'm an AT&T customer and just made a preorder at Best Buy for TWO iPhones. One I used my eligible upgrade on, and one I bought at full price 32gb ($750). Once I receive the full price phone Sept. 21st, I can take it to an ATT store (or online) and request that they unlock the phone?
I just want to be sure I'm on solid footing with my understanding of this. Thanks!
I just want to be sure I'm on solid footing with my understanding of this. Thanks!
I dont see why not.
And if the IMEI unlocks are still available I dont see why you cant unlock your on contract i5 too for $15-20 on ebay.
the 15-20 unlock on ebay is that the same as these companies that ask for the IMEI and send it to apples servers?
Yes, pretty much.
If they can do all iphones including the latest 4S I dont see why not the i5 too.
Just for the fun of it, it's worth noting that Canada was the first Apple store to sell factory unlocked iPhones. Started with the iP4 I believe. Pretty cool.
Canada was also one of the first places where shared unlimited data plans could be had. Free iPad/iPhone tethering etc.
Canada was also one of the first places where shared unlimited data plans could be had. Free iPad/iPhone tethering etc.
So if I want a factory unlocked Verizon iPhone I can't purchase one from Apple? The best I can do is a non contract phone purchase and have Verizon unlock for international use?
Kinda/sorta. Yes, at the introduction to the iP4, both the 4 and 8GB 3GS were made available in an unlocked version in Canada on launch-day. However, the Apple Online Store in Hong Kong has been selling unlocked iPhones direct to customers since the 3G in 2008.
-- Nathan
In Asia yeah. Actually you could get ANYTHING in HK unlocked since 1980 j/k. I'm talking G7 here.
Warning!
FYI to all you international students, or anyone who wants to use the phone abroad - there are TWO versions of the GSM model of the iPhone 5. One is the A1428, the other is A1429. AT&T + Tmobile's LTE will work on the bands supported by the A1428 BUT if you want to use it for a GSM carrier abroad (Germany, Japan, etc) the LTE WILL NOT WORK. The LTE for most other carriers in the world is only supported by the A1429 version of the iPhone 5. Just keep that in mind before you buy the phone.
If you buy an AT&T iPhone 5 but plan to use it mostly abroad, you wont have the ability to connect to the LTE speeds.
FYI to all you international students, or anyone who wants to use the phone abroad - there are TWO versions of the GSM model of the iPhone 5. One is the A1428, the other is A1429. AT&T + Tmobile's LTE will work on the bands supported by the A1428 BUT if you want to use it for a GSM carrier abroad (Germany, Japan, etc) the LTE WILL NOT WORK. The LTE for most other carriers in the world is only supported by the A1429 version of the iPhone 5. Just keep that in mind before you buy the phone.
If you buy an AT&T iPhone 5 but plan to use it mostly abroad, you wont have the ability to connect to the LTE speeds.
Good news for T-Mobile users, nanosims are expected to be available starting mid-october. I guess unlocked iPhone 5 will be as well available around that date. Maybe they will have some special pricing
Huh, isn't T-Mobile still using Edge Network?
Why take a powerfull IP5 and put it in a nuch slower network? Especially at full cost?
Tmobile has been refarming their network
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Do you know if you can take a verizon off contract phone and use it with striaght talk? what about using it with other cdma carriers/mvnos? I read that straight talk supports both the att and verizon networks
Here are just my thoughts on how the off-contract iPhone being unlocked.
The trick happened right after you purchased the phone, for any carrier locked iPhones, they would plug in the phone to the computer to activate it at the store after the purchase was made, hence locked the phone to the carrier by IMEI in the system. But if you pick up the phone off- contract, they won't connect the phone to the computer, you could perform the activation at home or via wifi, that way giving you an unlocked phone.
This is purely my speculation. But from my last year's experience, it seemed to work this way. I bought the off-contract iPhone 4S at day 1 release and it had an At&t model number(I had learned months later that the official unlocked iPhone 4S selling by Apple had a different model number), I plugged in the phone at home to the iTunes, and it was unlocked and activated according to the iTunes.
Essentially I think Apple makes iPhones with no different for a unlocking model or carrier-locked model. The magic happens in where you activate the phone. If you activate the phone at the store, then it is locked, but at home, it is unlocked.
Just my two cents, Please feel free to chime in.
Now I need to figure out which apple store I should go for tomorrow's launch, grand central seems to be a good bet by the discussion above.
The trick happened right after you purchased the phone, for any carrier locked iPhones, they would plug in the phone to the computer to activate it at the store after the purchase was made, hence locked the phone to the carrier by IMEI in the system. But if you pick up the phone off- contract, they won't connect the phone to the computer, you could perform the activation at home or via wifi, that way giving you an unlocked phone.
This is purely my speculation. But from my last year's experience, it seemed to work this way. I bought the off-contract iPhone 4S at day 1 release and it had an At&t model number(I had learned months later that the official unlocked iPhone 4S selling by Apple had a different model number), I plugged in the phone at home to the iTunes, and it was unlocked and activated according to the iTunes.
Essentially I think Apple makes iPhones with no different for a unlocking model or carrier-locked model. The magic happens in where you activate the phone. If you activate the phone at the store, then it is locked, but at home, it is unlocked.
Just my two cents, Please feel free to chime in.
Now I need to figure out which apple store I should go for tomorrow's launch, grand central seems to be a good bet by the discussion above.