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Carrier Verizon iPhone 6 / 6 Plus - Some Locked against International Use
- Thread starter Allthings-I
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Oh this is just a bless post! i look on Apple forum and couldn't find anything worth while but some folks mumbling about things that wasn't true... And someone refering to this post! I'll try firstly contact Verizon (which is the carrier wish is locked to) and see what they come to, since my cell restore and recognize the SIM card, but never have service...
[doublepost=1460252310][/doublepost]Oh! I have an iPhone 5C I'll update any news here
[doublepost=1460252310][/doublepost]Oh! I have an iPhone 5C I'll update any news here
Jana, contacting Verizon may or may not do any good, depending on what your issue is and what phone you have. They can not change the international-lock to free up SIM compatibility which is different than a carrier-lock. There is a lengthy thread in the Apple Forums here:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/29459376#29459376
I'd be curious as to the posts you stumbled upon over there that were not helpful to you in order to follow-up. You could pm me if you have the links in your cache. It also depends on the phone model.
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Just wanted to chime in. I recently visited Colombia back in late Feb / early March and I was able to sim swap between different carriers within the country. (movi and claro). Not sure if it helps, but I'm pretty sure all verizon wireless iphones from 5 and up are all unlocked for usage with any other carrier use.
Comptr, which is your concern? Whether your phone is carrier-locked, or has an international-lock?
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What you say is true, but there is a distinction to be made between a carrier-lock vs and international-lock. These are two different issues handled by two separate entities. And this issue is not so cut and dry at face value. The post here will explain: https://discussions.apple.com/message/29459376#29459376
If you are concerned as to whether your iPhone 6 has an international-lock, then in this context your carrier does not matter. Please read this post https://discussions.apple.com/message/29459376#29459376 which will explain why, and how to find out what you want to know.
Well I called apple care and they told me my phone is "locked" and they say they can't do anything, so they offered to call Verizon and they ended up transferring to Verizon international dept who actually understood the problem and head it more then a few times so she told apple what they need to do and the person kept insisting that apple does not unlock phones. I stepped in read what was written in the post and the Verizon person agreed that is what needs to be done. So the apple senior adviser agreed to move it up, so I should hear back soon. Hopefully they can make this policy change.
Excellent! Happy to help. Please report back with results.
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Because Apple needs to very the international credentials of the original phone you purchased. The only way to do that is to ask you for the order number on your receipt of the original phone.
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What you say is true, yes. However the problem here is concerning replacement phones. For instance if you had a problem with your iPhone 6 or 6S and turned it in and Apple replaced with with a different phone of for you. Then there is a chance you'd have this problem.
Well I got a call back a few days ago and the person read me the reply of the email to he got back from the engineer and they just repeated that verizon already unlocks the iPhones and there is nothing to be done, so I explained to the senior advisor about the "Policy" and how it needs to be the same from the original phone so he said he would email that back and call me back with what they said. Is it possible someone could post what exactly they need to do or if someone had this done can they share their case # or PM me it so that I can give it to the senior advisor so that he can reply that to the engineer.
Just have them read this post:
"Sim Not Valid'' International Solution
This problem is still going on and relatively unknown until people experience it. It appears to be an issue with iPhone 6/6s models that were offered as "Service Replacement" phones by Apple and assigned an "incorrect policy" from Apple's servers. (See below.) The error occurs when the Apple Server tries to validate the iPhone's IMEI number, there is a lack of synchronization between the databases of Verizon Wireless and Apple servers.
The phones will work with U.S. domestic carriers but not with international SIMs when the user receives a "SIM Not Valid" alert.
If the Apple Customer Support person you talk to is uninformed of this issue, tell them the phone is not locked according to FCC guidelines and there is no pending contract with any US carrier. What needs to be done is to escalate the case to a Level 2 Support Technician or a Senior Level Advisor who will agree to forward a request to Apple's engineers who can fix it from their side. This is the only way to fix it by getting the "activation policy" corrected by Apple engineers. Email your Apple Customer Care Representative a direct link to this post and it will help you as it has helped others to solve this issue for you. (I believe many posts in this thread incorrectly refer to an Apple Customer Support Representative as an Apple Engineer. You will not get to talk to an Apple Engineer, you must go through Apple Customer Support.)
When properly identified, Apple will tell you that you have "a replacement device with an incorrect activation policy" (which takes 30 minutes to 24 hours for engineers to correct). Sometimes the iPhone needs to be restored after Apple makes the change to the activation policy for the phone, before it will work with an international sim.
Most people who have run into this issue get stuck in a loop where Apple tells them their iPhone is locked to AT&T or Verizon. (Yes, we all know Verizon can not legally lock phones.) AT&T or Verizon will accurately say the phone is not locked to their servers. The result is a frustrated phone owner. Unfortunately many find out only when they get overseas.
The SIM Free iPhone "appears" to be locked "internationally" when in reality it is an Apple server setting that essentially acts like an international lock. It can require quite a bit of patience to be nice and persistent with Apple Customer Care Service, and repeated calls/visits to find someone who is open to the idea, since it is an obscure problem relative to the number of total Apple customers, but a large problem for those in need of international phone use. "Service Replacement" iPhone 6/6s iPhones appear to be identified by model numbers starting with an "N".
Should someone plan to use the phone internationally, or want to get more value upon resale, it would be wise for anyone who has received a replacement SIM Free iPhone 6/6s to check their phone. This information is also good for future buyers of iPhone 6/6s who wish to use the phone internationally. There have already been cases where honest owners have sold their phone, not knowing it would not work overseas when the buyer has expectations of it working globally. Neither party is typically at fault, since the SIM Free 6/6s iPhones are promoted as/and are unlocked to begin with.
When contacting Apple Support, it is strongly recommended to provide the AppleCare+ work order created during the "replacement" and the "order number". This will ensure that the "replacement phone" has the same "policy" as the original phone to ensure that all International SIM's will work. Receipts from your original phone prior to the replacement might help also.
The policy for the phone to work domestically and internationally should read:
US Verizon LTE MM N61/N56/N51/N48/N42 = Fully Factory Unlocked for U.S. + Worldwide Use
As opposed to something like:
US GSM/VZW N61/N56 Service Policy = Unlocked Domestically / Locked Internationally
Thanks sspire and others for detail instructions for resolving this issue. I was able to talked to a senior advisor and got engineering adjusted the activation policy on my Replacement Verizon iphone6s. However I noticed another issue with the phone (on IOS 9.0.2), not sure it is also related to some activation policies. On my phone, whenever I do Cellular -> Enable LTE -> Data Only, my phone will go to "No Service". Already tried Reset Networking settings but not able to resolve the issue. Somehow the phone only works on "VOLTE" mode, but not data only. However my older iphone 6 plus (on IOS 8.4) has no problem doing "data only" mode. Anyone experience similar situation? I also tried my SIM card on my wife's unlocked AT&T 6s plus (IOS 9.0) and it also works, so it is not a SIM problem.
I admire your courage in speaking the truth.
Yet I can't help but think that the truth is the last thing these revved up, would be activists, will accept.
My first hand Verizon experience while frequently traveling to international destinations for work, reveals that my iPhone just works. Come to think of it, so do the plethora of other Verizon phones used by my well traveled colleagues.
snowfox16, please copy and paste your other "issue" and use it to create a new thread with appropriate subject heading so as to call attention to it to get help from others, because it is a different topic.
If you are the original owner, just look for the apple number. If you are not, contact the old owner and ask him for thos informations. The guys from will request it to check if the original unit was international unlocked, so they can unlock your phone. It's totaly stupid since Verizon don't lock their phones at any circustance.
I would like to reply to here just because of all the contentious haters. I have a Verizon iPhone 6 which is supposedly unlocked. I am currently in Zambia. Guess what? The SIM card is invalid. I called (no, chatted, because I obviously can't make calls!!) Verizon and was told that it was because I had the global traveler plan. And one they took that off my account, it would be fixed, and if not then just go get a SIM card. Ok, so it WASNT fixed and the new Zambian SIM card gives the same issue. My son's iPhone 5s (which I unlocked when I had it) works perfectly fine. So even though this thread doesn't give me an answer, this is clearly the issue, it exists and the OP is NOT making this up. Ridiculous.
Sure, that was my experience too, until you go somewhere that Verizon doesn't offer the international plan.
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Sure, that was my experience too, until you go somewhere that Verizon doesn't offer the international plan.