i have done some searching but find many saying it will and many saying it won't, so i figured I would just outright ask.
apparently, unlocked iphones from Sprint only work on the SPRINT network in the U.S.
Not strange. Standard policy. Sprint only unlocks for international use.yet VzN phones can go anywhere?
that seems strange...
Not strange. Standard policy. Sprint only unlocks for international use.
Sprint wants you to stay on their network in the US though, so that's why.
yet VzN phones can go anywhere?
that seems strange...
Any iPhone on Sprint can only be unlocked for international use. The 4/4S and the 5.Is it just the 4s or the 5 is like this as well?
Any iPhone on Sprint can only be unlocked for international use. The 4/4S and the 5.
No matter what model of iPhone you have on Sprint, Sprint will NOT under any circumstance unlock that iPhone for domestic use.
NOTE: It's also Sprint's policy that the will NOT activate any non-Sprint phone on their network. So, will you may have a Verizon iPhone 5 that may work on the Sprint network (not sure if that's possible or not), Sprint won't activate it.
The model used on AT&T and T-Mobile utilizes GSM, which is a wireless network standard. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, which is another wireless network standard. Within GSM or CDMA the carriers operate on different frequencies. So, an unlocked Verizon iPhone may be CDMA, but because it operates on a different frequency can't be activated on Sprint and vice-versa.So i'm confused, what is the difference from the ones sprint sells vs like VzN or even ATT?
Each iPhone (and cell phone) has an IMEI number. The IMEI number of an iPhone that is to be unlocked is entered into a database that Apple maintains. The carriers have access to that database which is how they can unlock an iPhone. Once an IMEI number is entered into that database, the iPhone is unlocked. This was how Apple controlled and locked down the original iPhone to prevent it from operating on any carrier other than AT&T, which in 2008 had the exclusive license with Apple.Does Apple do something to them before they are shipped? Or does Sprint do something to them before they are sold?
Sprint chooses to not have their iPhones unlocked. I don't think they have to "do" anything, it just comes locked because that seems to be the default.If its a matter of Sprint locking them, I thought they legally have to unlock them after your contract is up since you then own the "subsidized" phone
(Stuff)
Thanks for that!The Verizon and Sprint phones are, for all intents and purposes, identical. Sprint simply has a policy of not activating phones that they didn't sell (they keep a whitelist of allowed ESNs). This practice is relatively common; Telecom used to have the same policy here and I think Verizon still does something similar in the US.
As for Verizon's iPhones being unlocked, that's a condition that was imposed on Verizon when they got rights to LTE band 13. As far as I know, all Verizon band 13 phones are unlocked.
Thanks for that!
I have only a basic knowledge of how all this works so I appreciate the further explanation.