Man, easy to unlock the iPhone 5 off-contract, Verizon model is unlocked straight from the factory.....what is going on here? I can see myself buying a lot of bad ESN Verizon models and putting them on cheap GSM carriers.
If you order it online, you risk getting a new contract with ATT, even if you pay full price. Better to get the phone, like I did, directly from Apple.
Did you order it online from Apple or in an Apple Store? The problem on the online Apple Store is that there appears no way to purchase a no-commitment phone. On the AT&T site, you can choose a no-commitment phone but it forces you to also buy a plan. I understand that once you have a no-commitment iPhone 5 how to technically unlock it, but so far no one has really explained the procedure to buy a no-commitment AT&T iPhone 5 model without even a monthly plan.
Did you order it online from Apple or in an Apple Store? The problem on the online Apple Store is that there appears no way to purchase a no-commitment phone. On the AT&T site, you can choose a no-commitment phone but it forces you to also buy a plan. I understand that once you have a no-commitment iPhone 5 how to technically unlock it, but so far no one has really explained the procedure to buy a no-commitment AT&T iPhone 5 model without even a monthly plan
You have to buy it IN PERSON at Apple store. ATT will not have unsubsidized phones for sale for quite awhile. Apple's phones will be no contract and unlocked already, and you can activate your new phone with Att without incurring a new contract commitment. That's exactly what I did.
This is how you can quote two or more posts at once. "Multi" stays selected as you select more posts, and until you hit "Quote" on another post.
Never touch Reply. Don't get in that habit. It's useless. I don't know why it's there at all, just as I don't know why the "Start a New Thread" button is on every thread instead of just the subforum hubs.
ATT will not have unsubsidized phones for sale for quite awhile.
This part isn't actually true. If you go to the online AT&T store, you can definitely purchase a no-commitment iPhone 5. You simply change the contract term drop down to "No Commitment". The new prices of 649/749/849 are then reflected in the order. The problem is that you can't complete the order without adding a plan. However, the plan is not a contract term. It's just month-to-month. If you want to actually use AT&T as the service provider, this isn't a problem. However, for anyone who wants to go with Straight Talk or T-Mobile it's essentially wasting money to pay for a month of AT&T service.
You have to buy it IN PERSON at Apple store. ATT will not have unsubsidized phones for sale for quite awhile. Apple's phones will be no contract and unlocked already, and you can activate your new phone with Att without incurring a new contract commitment. That's exactly what I did.
What's the price of the unsubsidized iPhone 5 at the Apple Store? Is it $649/749/849?
What's the price of the unsubsidized iPhone 5 at the Apple Store? Is it $649/749/849?
Yes. Apple announced those prices last week for unlocked ones when they are available. They are the same prices that the unlocked 4S was at. And those prices match the no-commitment prices on the AT&T online store.
Vodafone owns half of Verizon. Deutsche Telekom (aka T-Mobile Germany) owns 100% of T-Mobile US.
You are correct - my mistake. It was Deutsche Telekom that I believe I used 2 years ago in Germany, with a sim card for my ipad2, until it started to roam in Austria - so I stopped using it there, and had to wait until I got to Italy to try to find another sim card -- but had zero luck getting a sim that worked from anyone in Venice, so I gave up looking. Resorted to using Skype from my wi-fi connection when I got back to the hotel each night, which was hit and miss, because the hotel used a stupid Linksys home router for the whole hotel - couldn't even get it to work well sitting right next to the router in the downstairs lobby. Hopefully, the next trip I will have better luck using a nano-sim with my iphone5.
I paid for an early upgrade from an iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 and called AT&T last night to unlock my iPhone 4S. While I was at it, I asked if i could do the same for the iPhone 5. The customer service rep said "Yes" and something along the lines of "It's your phone and you should be able to do whatever you want with it." I followed the instructions (backup then restore) for each phone and now they are both unlocked.
I paid for an early upgrade from an iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 and called AT&T last night to unlock my iPhone 4S. While I was at it, I asked if i could do the same for the iPhone 5. The customer service rep said "Yes" and something along the lines of "It's your phone and you should be able to do whatever you want with it." I followed the instructions (backup then restore) for each phone and now they are both unlocked.
You must have been out of contract. Otherwise the ATT person made a mistake. How do you really know both are unlocked? The Apple manager said there is no way to tell without trying out a sim card from another carrier, so I wonder.....
For the 5, I got the "Congratulations, your phone has been unlocked" message after the restore. For the 4S, iTunes didn't start up after I restored, so I didn't get the message. I was able to get a T-Mobile SIM to work on it though. Both phones have "n/a" listed as the phone number when I connect to iTunes.
hmm - how do you cut down the sim card? my wife's iPhone 4 qualifies for an upgrade but my iPhone 4S does not until mid 2013. If I could use her number to upgrade then swap around sim cards that might get me to upgrade sooner than later.
You can get a cutter that will cut a 2FF and/or 3FF (micro) SIM to 4FF (nano) SIM or you can try to do it yourself using an exacto knife. This is the cutter that I got, it works great:
Officially the nano SIMs are supposed to be slightly thinner than the old ones, but I found that I did not need to do any sanding with both my wife's and my SIMs. The difference in thickness is no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper.
Comments
http://www.iclarified.com/24489/printable-nanosim-and-microsim-cutting-guide-download
Man, easy to unlock the iPhone 5 off-contract, Verizon model is unlocked straight from the factory.....what is going on here? I can see myself buying a lot of bad ESN Verizon models and putting them on cheap GSM carriers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagman
If you order it online, you risk getting a new contract with ATT, even if you pay full price. Better to get the phone, like I did, directly from Apple.
Did you order it online from Apple or in an Apple Store? The problem on the online Apple Store is that there appears no way to purchase a no-commitment phone. On the AT&T site, you can choose a no-commitment phone but it forces you to also buy a plan. I understand that once you have a no-commitment iPhone 5 how to technically unlock it, but so far no one has really explained the procedure to buy a no-commitment AT&T iPhone 5 model without even a monthly plan.
You have to buy it IN PERSON at Apple store. ATT will not have unsubsidized phones for sale for quite awhile. Apple's phones will be no contract and unlocked already, and you can activate your new phone with Att without incurring a new contract commitment. That's exactly what I did.
Originally Posted by indiekiduk
You can use pre paid AT&T, it's called Go Phone.
How do you quote?
Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers
i have no idea...
Quoting Tips!
This is how you do a single quote.
This is how you can quote two or more posts at once. "Multi" stays selected as you select more posts, and until you hit "Quote" on another post.
Never touch Reply. Don't get in that habit. It's useless. I don't know why it's there at all, just as I don't know why the "Start a New Thread" button is on every thread instead of just the subforum hubs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagman
ATT will not have unsubsidized phones for sale for quite awhile.
This part isn't actually true. If you go to the online AT&T store, you can definitely purchase a no-commitment iPhone 5. You simply change the contract term drop down to "No Commitment". The new prices of 649/749/849 are then reflected in the order. The problem is that you can't complete the order without adding a plan. However, the plan is not a contract term. It's just month-to-month. If you want to actually use AT&T as the service provider, this isn't a problem. However, for anyone who wants to go with Straight Talk or T-Mobile it's essentially wasting money to pay for a month of AT&T service.
I'll try the Apple Store to see.
What's the price of the unsubsidized iPhone 5 at the Apple Store? Is it $649/749/849?
Originally Posted by axual
So there's a 5s now? I think not.
PLURAL. It's not like sheep.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AIA
What's the price of the unsubsidized iPhone 5 at the Apple Store? Is it $649/749/849?
Yes. Apple announced those prices last week for unlocked ones when they are available. They are the same prices that the unlocked 4S was at. And those prices match the no-commitment prices on the AT&T online store.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagman
particularly since I like to use Vodaphone in Europe whenever possible (owns T-mobile for those who may not know).
Vodafone owns half of Verizon. Deutsche Telekom (aka T-Mobile Germany) owns 100% of T-Mobile US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oberpongo
Vodafone owns half of Verizon. Deutsche Telekom (aka T-Mobile Germany) owns 100% of T-Mobile US.
You are correct - my mistake. It was Deutsche Telekom that I believe I used 2 years ago in Germany, with a sim card for my ipad2, until it started to roam in Austria - so I stopped using it there, and had to wait until I got to Italy to try to find another sim card -- but had zero luck getting a sim that worked from anyone in Venice, so I gave up looking. Resorted to using Skype from my wi-fi connection when I got back to the hotel each night, which was hit and miss, because the hotel used a stupid Linksys home router for the whole hotel - couldn't even get it to work well sitting right next to the router in the downstairs lobby. Hopefully, the next trip I will have better luck using a nano-sim with my iphone5.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chris87
I paid for an early upgrade from an iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 and called AT&T last night to unlock my iPhone 4S. While I was at it, I asked if i could do the same for the iPhone 5. The customer service rep said "Yes" and something along the lines of "It's your phone and you should be able to do whatever you want with it." I followed the instructions (backup then restore) for each phone and now they are both unlocked.
You must have been out of contract. Otherwise the ATT person made a mistake. How do you really know both are unlocked? The Apple manager said there is no way to tell without trying out a sim card from another carrier, so I wonder.....
For the 5, I got the "Congratulations, your phone has been unlocked" message after the restore. For the 4S, iTunes didn't start up after I restored, so I didn't get the message. I was able to get a T-Mobile SIM to work on it though. Both phones have "n/a" listed as the phone number when I connect to iTunes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilgto64
hmm - how do you cut down the sim card? my wife's iPhone 4 qualifies for an upgrade but my iPhone 4S does not until mid 2013. If I could use her number to upgrade then swap around sim cards that might get me to upgrade sooner than later.
You can get a cutter that will cut a 2FF and/or 3FF (micro) SIM to 4FF (nano) SIM or you can try to do it yourself using an exacto knife. This is the cutter that I got, it works great:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=20067504316
Oh look, the same cutter is also available on Amazon (though at 5x the cost!): http://www.amazon.com/Cutter-iPhone-Convertor-adapters-Shenit/dp/B009FWTEEC/ref=pd_sim_cps_3
Officially the nano SIMs are supposed to be slightly thinner than the old ones, but I found that I did not need to do any sanding with both my wife's and my SIMs. The difference in thickness is no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper.