Verizon iPhone 4S SIM UNLOCK Tutorial

[Obscurelight]

very interested in this. I called Verizon earlier and they confirmed to me the process is legitimate. Now if only there is a way to confirm this other than to pop an international sim in would be nice. European or Asian SIMs aren't exactly easy to come by in the states lol. Maybe a person can call apple so they can check it? Would be terrible if Verizon told you your phone was unlocked and then you find out once you are overseas that it isn't

 

[niteriderxp]

Would be terrible if Verizon told you your phone was unlocked and then you find out once you are overseas that it isn't

You call Verizon Global Support airtime free using your Verizon SIM when roaming.
Then you make them feel very uncomfortable until they fix it in some manner.

 

[climber20]

Can anyone confirm whether or not you have to connect your phone to iTunes after popping in a foreign SIM card in order for it to work? I'd prefer to not have to haul my computer to the other side of the world just to have iTunes available.

 

[chinatti]

Can anyone confirm whether or not you have to connect your phone to iTunes after popping in a foreign SIM card in order for it to work? I'd prefer to not have to haul my computer to the other side of the world just to have iTunes available.

I can't confirm this, but the VZW rep told me that I could either connect via USB or WiFi once I had a new SIM plugged in...

 

[ThomasJL]

So, has even one person been able to successfully unlock the SIM slot of their Verizon iPhone 4S yet?

 

[erdog]

I just disabled Wi-Fi (to verify that I didn't need Wi-Fi to activate the SIM) then inserted a Vodafone Spain SIM I had from a recent trip. The SIM card had not previously been used with the iPhone 4S. It seemed to work; see the screenshot I've included. The SMS banner is covering the status bar, but it did say "AT&T 3G".

I did not have to connect the phone to iTunes.

Can anyone confirm whether or not you have to connect your phone to iTunes after popping in a foreign SIM card in order for it to work? I'd prefer to not have to haul my computer to the other side of the world just to have iTunes available.

 

[b24pgg]

I just disabled Wi-Fi (so that the iPhone couldn't contact any Apple servers) then inserted a Vodafone Spain SIM I had from a recent trip. The SIM card had not previously been used with the iPhone 4S. It seemed to work; see the screenshot I've included.

This was after you called to get it unlocked, right?

 

[erdog]

Yes it was. So, despite my unlock being in "pending" status, I was able to insert a new international SIM with no Wi-Fi and no iTunes. It seemed to work, since I got a flood of administrative SMS'es from the SIM card provider after the phone connected to the cell network.

This was after you called to get it unlocked, right?

 

[niteriderxp]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Nice, we have one confirmation that international SIMs work without having to use iTunes or wifi.

My unlock was also pending when I had called back on Friday.
I wonder if it actually completely went through and if it has not what will happen when it does.
Need to ask Verizon what they show for status when they call back sometime this week.

 

[Obscurelight]

I will try this on wednesday and see how this goes. Whats the best way to find an international sim for cheap in NYC?

 

[bidwalj]

I just disabled Wi-Fi (to verify that I didn't need Wi-Fi to activate the SIM) then inserted a Vodafone Spain SIM I had from a recent trip. The SIM card had not previously been used with the iPhone 4S. It seemed to work; see the screenshot I've included. The SMS banner is covering the status bar, but it did say "AT&T 3G".

I did not have to connect the phone to iTunes.

Image

I have a suspicion vodafone might have something to do with it working.

 

[ThomasJL]

A Vodafone SIM does NOT prove it's unlocked

I just disabled Wi-Fi (to verify that I didn't need Wi-Fi to activate the SIM) then inserted a Vodafone Spain SIM I had from a recent trip.

I wouldn't be too sure that your phone is unlocked if you only tested it with a Vodafone SIM card. That's because Verizon's roaming card (the one they give their American customers who travel abroad) is from Vodafone.

 

[ThomasJL]

This is worrying. I really don't want to be in a situation where a Verizon rep tells me my iPhone 4S has been unlocked, then I arrive in a foreign country, and finally discover it's either not unlocked or only works with certain GSM carriers instead of with all GSM carriers.

 

[b24pgg]

So, has even one person been able to successfully unlock the SIM slot of their Verizon iPhone 4S yet?

Quite a few people have (see here, here, and here, for example.) The Verizon unlock will work with foreign SIM cards only. AT&T and T-Mobile SIMs will not work because of either an MNC or MCC restriction. You will be able to use a foreign SIM to roam on AT&T/T-Mobile though.

 

[bidwalj]

Quite a few people have (see here, here, and here, for example.) The Verizon unlock will work with foreign SIM cards only. AT&T and T-Mobile SIMs will not work because of either an MNC or MCC restriction. You will be able to use a foreign SIM to roam on AT&T/T-Mobile though.

I'm trying to get my rodgers prepaid card to work. Will the unlock work for that? I'm hoping only AT&T and t-mobile are blocked.

 

[ThomasJL]

Is there a GSM-only mode?

For the people who have managed to get Verizon to unlock your iPhone 4S, while your SIM card is inserted, is there a way to choose between CDMA and GSM-only mode? If so, how do you do that?

 

[b24pgg]

For the people who have managed to get Verizon to unlock your iPhone 4S, while your SIM card is inserted, is there a way to choose between CDMA and GSM-only mode? If so, how do you do that?

Go to Settings -> Carrier...although Carrier doesn't show up initially for some reason. You have to wait 15-30sec and the Carrier menu should appear. Then you can take it off Automatic and switch manually.

EDIT: Your SIM needs to be in the phone for this to work...here's a video:

 

[ThomasJL]

Go to Settings -> Carrier...although Carrier doesn't show up initially for some reason. You have to wait 15-30sec and the Carrier menu should appear. Then you can take it off Automatic and switch manually.

When I go to Settings and wait three minutes, there is no Carrier tab appearing. Do I have to have a SIM card in there for the Carrier tab to show up?

 

[b24pgg]

Do I have to have a SIM card in there for the Carrier tab to show up?

Yup

 

[Obscurelight]

yup it will not activate a AT&T card. This is scary, what happens if I insert a random international sim and it doesn't work. Is there a way to obtain a cheap foreign sim for testing?

 

[b24pgg]

yup it will not activate a AT&T card. This is scary, what happens if I insert a random international sim and it doesn't work. Is there a way to obtain a cheap foreign sim for testing?

See post #64. If you called Verizon to get it unlocked, it will work with a foreign SIM.

 

[bidwalj]

yup it will not activate a AT&T card. This is scary, what happens if I insert a random international sim and it doesn't work. Is there a way to obtain a cheap foreign sim for testing?

Out of the box it won't activate my Rodgers sim. I'll have to call and have then unlock and see my results. I havent called yet since I'm a new customer.

 

[JasonR]

There's got a be way to get it work with AT&T...it's the same hardware.

 

[GoGoGadget1]

See post #64. If you called Verizon to get it unlocked, it will work with a foreign SIM.

Im glad they are unlocking with just a phone call. what scares me about this is they have the power to reinstate the lock ANYTIME they want, right?

 

[b24pgg]

Im glad they are unlocking with just a phone call. what scares me about this is they have the power to reinstate the lock ANYTIME they want, right?

I suppose, but why would they? There's no historical precedent whatsoever to suggest that Verizon would do that...