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Will an unlocked Sprint 4s get locked?

H

Hemlock.47

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 9, 2011
6
0
Hello, I 'm new here.

I registered because i thought this would be a place to count for a reliable answer.

I 'm in Bangladesh and i have bought an iPhone 4s 64GB off someone. I checked the model number on the internet later and it turned out to be from Sprint. It is unlocked and accepts all GSM operator SIM cards. So far it 's all good and unlocked.

I have flashed and restored the firmware numerous times to see if it gets locked or if there are any issues with the activation process. It passed with flying results.

Now, i have read plenty of articles and done tons of research about Sprint 's statement on locking 4Ss bought and activated after 11/11/11. I understand the point about buying it before or after 11/11/11, but the activation process occurs everytime you restore the firmware.

So, my question is, will there be a moment in the future when i will end up with a locked phone after a firmware restore and get stuck at activation? I have restored 5.0.1 couple of times this month (which definitely means after 11/11/11) and it didn 't get locked.

It 'll take the weight of this world down from my heart if someone is kind enough to answer the question.
 
miles01110 said:
Sprint can't even reach your phone if it doesn't have a Sprint SIM.
Click to expand...

But, I thought the Sprint SIM is built in to the device itself, part of the reason it shows 11.3 in the carrier field when my local SIM card is popped out.

Thanks for the replies guys.
 
Sorry but I am still confused. Can I take a SIM-unlocked Sprint iPhone to Europe (where there is obviously no Sprint coverage), then reset the phone to factory settings and reactivate it using a local European SIM card?
 
glis said:
Sorry but I am still confused. Can I take a SIM-unlocked Sprint iPhone to Europe (where there is obviously no Sprint coverage), then reset the phone to factory settings and reactivate it using a local European SIM card?
Click to expand...

A sprint iPhone will always be a Sprint iPhone. If it is sim unlocked, just pop in your UK sim and go. Restoring the firmware won't change anything. If the phone ever touches US shores again it will pick up a Sprint signal and try to function as a normal spring phone.
 
miles01110 said:
Sprint can't even reach your phone if it doesn't have a Sprint SIM.
Click to expand...

Not true. Carrier settings are pushed through iTunes, not through the SIM. When you connect an iPhone through iTunes, it will see what carrier the iPhone is provisioned for (Sprint in this case) and push the appropriate carrier profile.

They might also be pushed Over the Air, but that can be done through WiFi during OS updates.

The only thing Sprint updates on its own is the Preferred Roaming List (PRL), but for that you HAVE to be on their network, and in any case, the PRL is irrelevant on GSM networks.

In short: Sprint probably could lock an iPhone that was previously shipped unlocked, if they wanted to and provided Apple let them. Though Sprint has said they will not do this.

So, you'll just have to trust that Sprint will stay true to their word, or that Apple has some sort of restriction on letting a carrier (re)-lock a previously unlocked phone.
 
scaredpoet said:
Not true. Carrier settings are pushed through iTunes, not through the SIM. When you connect an iPhone through iTunes, it will see what carrier the iPhone is provisioned for (Sprint in this case) and push the appropriate carrier profile.

They might also be pushed Over the Air, but that can be done through WiFi during OS updates.

The only thing Sprint updates on its own is the Preferred Roaming List (PRL), but for that you HAVE to be on their network, and in any case, the PRL is irrelevant on GSM networks.

In short: Sprint probably could lock an iPhone that was previously shipped unlocked, if they wanted to and provided Apple let them. Though Sprint has said they will not do this.

So, you'll just have to trust that Sprint will stay true to their word, or that Apple has some sort of restriction on letting a carrier (re)-lock a previously unlocked phone.
Click to expand...

With Sprint, I'm guessing it's an Apple thing that won't let them relock it. On their prior world phones, it would be unlocked while you were out of the country, but as soon as it was detected back on their network for 24 hours+, they'd push out a relock, so you had to call every time you were traveling and have it unlocked.
 
I think you should be fine. Sprint seems like a pretty flexible company where they wouldn't all of the sudden take a hard line and ask Apple to lock unlocked phones. And I doubt Apple would be willing to do that. Keep in mind these points:

-Apple ultimately owns the iPhone environment. Unlike other phones, they ultimately control what goes in and goes out of the phone, regardless of the carrier. Other phones, they don't have this luxury and/or demand. And I believe Apple will never lock a previously unlocked phone through and update or by any other means by that means.

-Sprint supposedly has a very giving contract to Apple. Apple has the power in the first point above

-Sprint is one of the most consumer friendly carriers in the US. They are very consumer centric. They aren't like Verizon and AT&T where those companies tell them what is good for them.

Your fine, unless you come to the USA. You'll probably will be on Sprints network. Not sure how that works when you have a phone plan with an international GSM carrier
 
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