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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 157991 times)

Offline talmid chuchem

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #520 on: June 13, 2017, 08:09:58 PM »
AT&T LG B470 from Target.
Can it be unlocked? Yoni claims that not because of the way target scans their phones.

Online JudahMcB

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #521 on: June 22, 2017, 11:08:45 AM »
I have a Sprint iPhone 6 bought outright from BestBuy that was on RingPlus for 6 months and is now on TPO Mobile (a Sprint MVNO). Is it possible to unlock? Sprint won't unlock it because I've never actually been a Sprint customer directly. And TPO doesn't do unlocking. Any other ideas?

Offline cozmohoot

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #522 on: June 22, 2017, 01:22:21 PM »
I have a Sprint iPhone 6 bought outright from BestBuy that was on RingPlus for 6 months and is now on TPO Mobile (a Sprint MVNO). Is it possible to unlock? Sprint won't unlock it because I've never actually been a Sprint customer directly. And TPO doesn't do unlocking. Any other ideas?
EBay sellers can unlock

Offline Thingywingy

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #523 on: July 04, 2017, 06:38:06 PM »
Can I use straight talk iphone 5s from Walmart on Verizon?

linky
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Offline efflpetzel

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #524 on: July 05, 2017, 10:54:07 AM »
Can a Samsung galaxy S7 on Sprint be unlocked to work on Verizon

Offline jmz

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #525 on: July 05, 2017, 11:00:00 AM »
Can a Samsung galaxy S7 on Sprint be unlocked to work on Verizon
Doesn't seem like it.

Offline eli1571

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #526 on: July 30, 2017, 11:37:08 AM »
how can i unlock a nokia lumia 640 locked to cricket ?

Offline shwarmabob

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #527 on: July 30, 2017, 11:56:28 AM »
how can i unlock a nokia lumia 640 locked to cricket ?
Call cricket or you may have to pay for an unlock service

Offline eli1571

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #528 on: July 30, 2017, 11:58:05 AM »
Call cricket or you may have to pay for an unlock service
cricket charges for it, unless i used their service for 6 months, where can i get a cheap unlocking service ?

Offline cozmohoot

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #529 on: July 30, 2017, 12:34:15 PM »
Doesn't cricket give it for free if you're on the unlimited plan? It may pay to be on that plan for 1 month...

Offline eli1571

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #530 on: July 30, 2017, 12:37:48 PM »
Doesn't cricket give it for free if you're on the unlimited plan? It may pay to be on that plan for 1 month...
thats also $55, i dont need the service, trying to find a way for free or cheaper.

Offline shwarmabob

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #531 on: July 30, 2017, 12:48:53 PM »
thats also $55, i dont need the service, trying to find a way for free or cheaper.
unlocking is usually between 20-25 dollars

Offline eli1571

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #532 on: July 31, 2017, 08:24:50 AM »
unlocking is usually between 20-25 dollars
where ?
anywhere i an get the code online for that price ?

Offline Alexsei

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Offline eli1571

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Offline joe1234

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #535 on: August 02, 2017, 05:12:47 PM »
Can an iPhone se At&t go phone be unlocked to Verizon or sprint?

Offline Alexsei

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #536 on: August 03, 2017, 07:50:24 AM »
thanx, How much do they charge ? And r they reliable, as in who am i trusting with the imei of my phone ?
Always look at seller feedback
AFAIK a IMEI is not ssn
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Offline bbsd

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #537 on: August 14, 2017, 08:04:23 PM »
How can i unlock a prepaid Verizon iPhone ?

Offline hvaces42

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #538 on: September 03, 2017, 03:14:59 PM »
Sprint changed their unlock policy that if you're on lease they will not unlock the phone unless you pay them off in full. Any workarounds?
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Offline yakov116

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #539 on: September 05, 2017, 11:53:36 AM »
Sprint changed their unlock policy that if you're on lease they will not unlock the phone unless you pay them off in full. Any workarounds?
Since when is this "Change in policy" Has always been like this for ALL carriors
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