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I think there is a big misunderstanding what locked/unlocked means.

All phones that are made are always assigned to a carrier (yes even the ones that say "Factory GSM Unlocked") to prove that just look up the model of the phone and you will see what carrier it was assigned to.

In order for a phone to have service the company has to know that you want service on this phone.

In the past company's like Sprint and Verizon did not work with a sim card they worked with the id of the phone to recognize what kind of phone / what carrier it was assigned to. This is know as CDMA. Yet company's like att/t-mobile did that too but the service was applied by using a sim.

Once LTE came out for what ever reason all company switched to the "Sim technology". There is still one thing that did not change, each carrier has their assigned bands that they have from the FCC that they are allowed to use.

Being that there are standard bands that every one uses (for international or the like) these are included in every phone. So.... All verizon phones will work on att, BUT will only have the bands for slower internet since those are standard bands.

Now verizon's LTE band is NOT a standard nor is their CDMA a standard so an att or a t-mobile phone will NOT be able to accept a Verizon sim.

Now lets go to sprint phones,

All other company's when they had the phones made for them all they do is have it customized for its own use (Read: their own LTE bands). Sprint on the other hand not only did they have them customize it they put a lock in the software blocking all local USA bands (Verizon ATT and Tmobile).

They even go a step farther and they still do the old way of checking the device ID to see if its a sprint phone or not.

Hope this explains a few things feel free to ask any questions.

Att has an easy way to ask for an unlock https://att.com/deviceunlock

How to check a Sprint iPhone (only): You cannot check it with an american sim you must put in a foreign sim. You DO NOT have to backup and restore as sprint sends in the email! Connect to wifi before starting this procedure.

When you put the sim in one of 3 things will happen.
1. It will say no service in the top right corner = Unlocked
2. It will do a soft restart and ask you for your apple id password = Almost unlocked, after putting in the password its unlocked
3. It will do a soft restart and say "Sim not valid" = Phone is locked

If you got number 2. and you dont know the password just put in your old sim and all will return. When you find out the password repeat the steps.

Willmyphonework.net Can check if the phone will work
« Last edited by yakov116 on June 29, 2016, 01:34:42 PM »

Author Topic: cell phone unlocking  (Read 157950 times)

Online Jojo202

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #760 on: December 13, 2021, 11:35:31 PM »
I put a non-active T-Mobile SIM card into another unlocked phone and it showed "searching".
I put it into my (supposedly) unlocked phone and it showed "Device locked. Enter SIM unlocked code (10 tries left)."
Apparently, the phone is not really unlocked.
The seller won't respond.
Ebay rep tells me that although wrong of the seller to advertise the phone as unlocked, they can't do anything since it's just over 6 months from purchase.
(Until now I didn't realize the issue since I was using FreeUP which runs on AT&T network, but I specifically purchased an unlocked phone knowing I wanted to switch down the line.)
Any recourse?
Just pay a few dollars to have it unlocked. not worth fighting at this point

Offline ae123

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #761 on: December 13, 2021, 11:37:13 PM »
Just pay a few dollars to have it unlocked. not worth fighting at this point
That's what I'm doing.
But I might as well get a (partial?) refund too.

Offline ae123

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #762 on: December 13, 2021, 11:39:06 PM »
You used Paypal credit, not a different cc through paypal, correct?
Just checked.
It was actually a CC through Paypal not Paypal credit.

Offline yungermanchik

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #763 on: December 13, 2021, 11:40:30 PM »
Just checked.
It was actually a CC through Paypal not Paypal credit.
Check that CC's purchase protection rules.
Small people talk about other people.
Average people talk about things
BIG PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IDEAS.

Offline ae123

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #764 on: December 14, 2021, 07:23:57 PM »
Check that CC's purchase protection rules.
They say it's only up to 120 days.

Offline WonderingYid

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #765 on: December 16, 2021, 04:43:25 PM »
They say it's only up to 120 days.
Dispute because its not as described?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #766 on: December 16, 2021, 11:15:36 PM »
Dispute because its not as described?
Chase reps say it's too late to dispute.
It's over 6 months.

Offline WonderingYid

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #767 on: December 17, 2021, 02:52:09 PM »
Chase reps say it's too late to dispute.
It's over 6 months.
Not purchase protection. Dispute. HUCA

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #768 on: December 18, 2021, 06:58:54 PM »
Not purchase protection. Dispute. HUCA
Why would HUCA work if its over 6 months? I had a similar case and was told that there is no possibility to dispute after 6 months... is that incorrect?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #769 on: December 19, 2021, 12:29:56 AM »
Why would HUCA work if its over 6 months? I had a similar case and was told that there is no possibility to dispute after 6 months... is that incorrect?
That's what 2 reps told me too.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #770 on: January 31, 2023, 09:38:40 AM »
Anyone here that can unlock a Sonim xp3 plus locked on sprint ?

Offline eli1571

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #771 on: May 16, 2023, 07:47:18 AM »
Anyone here that can unlock a Sonim xp3 plus locked on sprint ?
Bump.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #772 on: May 18, 2023, 06:44:22 PM »
Anyone can unlock a ipad given by the BOE during COVID?

Offline yakovwogi

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #773 on: May 22, 2023, 04:25:55 PM »
If this can help anyone.   I had a locked phone that I paid to unlock, they failed and now I have a credit of $71 with directunlocks.com   willing to sell at $50 and if it can work for you lmk


 Hardlocked by Xfinity USA
Sadly it has not been possible to unlock your iPhone 14 Pro Max 256GB Space Black because the device has been hard locked by the network and the manufacturer will not issue an unlock.

We have given you a full value credit note for $71.00 which you can use on our website by simply clicking 'Use Credit Note' and entering the email address ------------

We will monitor your device periodically, and should the situation change, we will contact you immediately, enabling you to order the unlock again with your credit note. Alternatively you can also use this credit note for any other service from us .

This credit note will not expire and is also transferable, meaning friends or family members can use it.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #774 on: May 22, 2023, 04:50:14 PM »
Ordered on which card?
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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #775 on: June 27, 2023, 09:25:09 AM »
Is there a way to unlock a US Cellular LG Exalt?

Offline Jack out of the box

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #776 on: August 21, 2023, 03:41:38 PM »
How do I know if a smartphone which was purchased through a Verizon plan is unlocked?

Thanks!

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #777 on: August 21, 2023, 07:06:53 PM »
How do I know if a smartphone which was purchased through a Verizon plan is unlocked?

Thanks!
What phone?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #778 on: August 21, 2023, 07:41:27 PM »

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #779 on: August 22, 2023, 09:04:58 AM »
Galaxy A13
Easiest is just to put in any other sim from any other carrier (doesn't need to be active) if your phone goes to a locked SIM screen, you know its locked. Otherwise, its unlocked.