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Carrier VERIZON CUSTOMERS W/Iphone6s

zaquinho17

zaquinho17

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 16, 2015
229
53
Sydney | to | New Jersey
Just a handy tip for anyone with verizon who pre-ordered the iPhone 6s:

I am a traveler, also an international student in the US, but I can confirm that all Verizon phones (on a plan/pay per month) are UNLOCKED. You can put any sim card them. Crazy, I know, but all 4G phones from this year on are unlocked no matter how you purchase them from verizon..


NB: if you find counter evidence, I am basing my statement solely on the advice of 2 Customer representatives
 
This has been true for years. I think all LTE-capable phones on Verizon are unlocked and have been just about forever. I've been using a Verizon-model iPhone since 2012 and every one has been unlocked out of the box.
 
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gordon1234 said:
This has been true for years. I think all LTE-capable phones on Verizon are unlocked and have been just about forever. I've been using a Verizon-model iPhone since 2012 and every one has been unlocked out of the box.
Click to expand...

i find it strange where that is the case with verizon only, although they released the 4 with no sim card slot did they not?
 
zaquinho17 said:
i find it strange where that is the case with verizon only, although they released the 4 with no sim card slot did they not?
Click to expand...
It's only common knowledge in these forums bc it's often discussed here. The unlocked LTE phones were part of a deal that VZW made with the FCC when purchasing LTE spectrum.
 
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willmtaylor said:
It's common knowledge in these forums bc it's often discussed. The unlocked LTE phones were part of a deal that VZW made with the FCC when purchasing LTE spectrum.
Click to expand...

very well then, new to me. As Im australian and only been here for two years (US), i was unaware of that deal.

At home, for example, to get out of my iPhone 5 contract to be able to use that phone over here (legally) would cost me $1000 half way through a contract. thus my ecstatic thread
 
zaquinho17 said:
very well then, new to me. As Im australian and only been here for two years (US), i was unaware of that deal.

At home, for example, to get out of my iPhone 5 contract to be able to use that phone over here (legally) would cost me $1000 half way through a contract. thus my ecstatic thread
Click to expand...
Indeed. Glad you're here and glad you're ecstatic. Enjoy both the States and you phone. :)
 
zaquinho17 said:
i find it strange where that is the case with verizon only, although they released the 4 with no sim card slot did they not?
Click to expand...
The 4 Verizon model was a CDMA-only phone and would not have worked on most other networks, with or without a SIM slot (SIM cards are an optional part of the CDMA standard, and US CDMA carriers never use them) all subsequent Verizon iPhones supported LTE. LTE is an evolution of the GSM spec, which mandates SIM cards, so all Verizon LTE phones include SIM slots.

It sounds like you get a pretty bad deal in Australia. Outside of the United States, It's generally been pretty rare for phones to ship carrier-locked. Do you have an option to buy your phone no contract prepaid? Whenever I go to Australia I just get a prepaid Telstra SIM and pop it in. The data and voice rates are fairly reasonable, as I recall.

Carrier locking in the United States seems to be on its way out. Verizon hasn't done it in years, nor has T-Mobile. Sprint generally ships phones locked, but will unlock them for overseas use if your account is in good standing. AT&T has been the last big holdout - they generally will not unlock an in-contract phone for any reason, which is a major pain in the ass if you travel.
 
Broadus said:
This occurred only the past February, didn't it, that Verizon complied then?
Click to expand...
The February law only applies to phones that were out of contract, already, so it really didn't do much at all. There was a time when AT&T would not unlock an iPhone ever, even out of contract, but I believe they had allowed out of contract unlocking for several years by the time this law was passed.
 
gordon1234 said:
The February law only applies to phones that were out of contract, already, so it really didn't do much at all. There was a time when AT&T would not unlock an iPhone ever, even out of contract, but I believe they had allowed out of contract unlocking for several years by the time this law was passed.
Click to expand...

But the February unlock allowed one to put a GSM SIM card in his Verizon so he could connect to ATT or T-Mobile or one of their MVNO's right?
 
gordon1234 said:
The 4 Verizon model was a CDMA-only phone and would not have worked on most other networks, with or without a SIM slot (SIM cards are an optional part of the CDMA standard, and US CDMA carriers never use them) all subsequent Verizon iPhones supported LTE. LTE is an evolution of the GSM spec, which mandates SIM cards, so all Verizon LTE phones include SIM slots.

It sounds like you get a pretty bad deal in Australia. Outside of the United States, It's generally been pretty rare for phones to ship carrier-locked. Do you have an option to buy your phone no contract prepaid? Whenever I go to Australia I just get a prepaid Telstra SIM and pop it in. The data and voice rates are fairly reasonable, as I recall.

Carrier locking in the United States seems to be on its way out. Verizon hasn't done it in years, nor has T-Mobile. Sprint generally ships phones locked, but will unlock them for overseas use if your account is in good standing. AT&T has been the last big holdout - they generally will not unlock an in-contract phone for any reason, which is a major pain in the ass if you travel.
Click to expand...


im a 10 year veteran of Telstra, and yes they were my $1000 buy out. They always did 0 down for phones, since iPhone prices are a minimum 850 (back then).. but my way round it was, I switch my plan to $10 a month (bare minimum plan, as i was in the states i wouldn't even use it) for the last 13 months, paid a total of $140, saving $850!.. but I'm glad when i go home for christmas i can show off my new iPhone 6s plus!
 
Broadus said:
But the February unlock allowed one to put a GSM SIM card in his Verizon so he could connect to ATT or T-Mobile or one of their MVNO's right?
Click to expand...
You could already do that before, since the days of iPhone 5 (when it comes to iPhones, as that was the first one that supported LTE and the Verizon version had to come factory unlocked).
 
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Broadus said:
Then what was so special about what happened in February? From what I had read, owners of Verizon iPhones 4S and up would be able to use their phones On GSM networks.
Click to expand...
In case of Verizon it might have had some impact on non-LTE phones that support GSM and thus can be unlocked, but in case of LTE phones it's basically moot as they are unlocked by default (again, as far as Verizon's phones go).
 
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