unlocked iphone 5 ios 6.1.4 activation

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unlocked iphone 5 ios 6.1.4 activation

hi i have a unlocked iphone 5 uk i have had a o2 sim and a t mobile sim in the phone previously, recently i restored to ios 6.1.4 and put a three sim in the iphone at the set up progress language>country>etc it shows my phone has signal with the bars shown and the 3G signal comes on as well (surely this shows the sim has been recognized) but at activation it says 'this iphone is not currently setup to work with the carrier youre attempting to use. please insert another sim card from a supported carrier or request that this iphone be unlocked' what the??!!?!? im sure you used to be able to set up through itunes until a sim card arrives😠 when plugged into itunes it says the same message ive tried it through wifi no luck and ive tried it through mobile data (again showing that the sim has been recognized) any help????

iPad, iOS 6

Posted on May 26, 2013 1:50 AM

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Answer 1

diesel vdub

Level 7

22,178 points

May 26, 2013 6:31 AM in response to kieseary

The device is not unlocked based on the message that is displaying.

What leads you to believe the device is unlocked?
Was it purchased as unlocked from Apple (the only source of unlocked devices in the UK)?

Was it unlocked by the carrier?

I suspect it was hacked or jailbroken to unlock based on your posting, in which case no support can be provided via these forums.

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Answer 2

kieseary Author

Level 1

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May 26, 2013 8:59 AM in response to diesel vdub

I bought it from cex they sold it as a unlocked iphone ive never jailbroken it. After the restore I also noticed that when it comes up to set the language it doesn't show the languages floating past it just has a list and when I get to country it doesnt show the map floating past just a list and when it comes to wifi and it says cellular data then when I click start over and get back to the wifi screen it says mobile data ive restored a few times. I think theres a problem with the software

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Answer 3

wegras

Level 6

15,305 points

May 26, 2013 10:19 AM in response to kieseary

Who are CEX

As already stated by dv the ONLY source of unlocked iPhones in UK is Apple and they sell them at full price

You have a grey import which has been hacked to unlock it from the original (probably US) carrier

Updating iOS has locked it back to that carrier

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Answer 4

kieseary Author

Level 1

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May 26, 2013 3:34 PM in response to wegras

Google them, 2nd hand games phones everything really, they displayed it and sold it to me as unlocked I still have my receipt, someone can buy a iPhone from apple then trade it in to cex, it's not even possible to hack a iPhone like that

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Answer 5

kieseary Author

Level 1

0 points

May 26, 2013 3:44 PM in response to wegras

Also I've typed my Imei number on uk apple and it says I have warranty till jan 14, there is a valid purchase date

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Answer 6

wegras

Level 6

15,305 points

May 27, 2013 8:52 AM in response to kieseary

You have a hacked iphone

Take it to an Apple genius bar and find out ...................

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Answer 7

kieseary Author

Level 1

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May 27, 2013 8:53 AM in response to wegras

Think best thing to do is take it back to cex

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Answer 8

May 27, 2013 8:56 AM in response to kieseary

Having a warranty has nothing to do with whether it is locked to a carrier or not. If you call Apple they can tell you if it is locked to a carrier or if it is unlocked.

Note that in the UK you can purchase SIM-FREE iPhones. This does NOT mean they are unlocked; they can be activated with any carrier, but once activated they become locked to that carrier. Carphone Warehouse is famous for passing off SIM-free phones as unlocked, even though they have this restriction.

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Answer 9

kieseary Author

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May 27, 2013 8:59 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thank you, first thing people assume us that its been hacked, I'll see if cex will swap it for me but surely they should of tested that, also I've had O2 and a t mobile sim in but ah we'll

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Answer 10

May 27, 2013 9:11 AM in response to kieseary

I saw that you said it had worked with both O2 and T-Mobile, but then I didn't take that into consideration when I answered. That should mean that it is unlocked. To the best of my knowledge there has yet to be a jailbreak for the iPhone 5 that allows it to be unlocked (unless it happened very recently), so you are correct on that. I would still call Apple or visit an Apple store to confirm that it is unlocked.

After confirming that it is unlocked make sure the 3 SIM you have is provisioned for an iPhone; not all SIMs will be. And call 3 for help in verifying that it is.

One last thing, if you have ever used your computer to hack or jailbreak any iDevice its network database may be corrupted. You can check this by looking in the hosts file. If it contains any lines referencing gs.apple.com you need to delete those lines.

Mac: /etc/hosts

Windows: c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

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Answer 11

wegras

Level 6

15,305 points

May 27, 2013 9:31 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

FYI ,

Only CarphoneWarehouse pull this stunt

Apart from them ALL legitimate iPhones in UK are carrier locked OR non carrier locked from Apple online or in Store

No such thing in UK as a "sim free" apart from above and non authorised outlets such as "CEX"

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Answer 12

kieseary Author

Level 1

0 points

May 27, 2013 3:24 PM in response to wegras

right so basically someone has bought a iphone from carphone warehouse, for example used a O2 sim and the iphone is now locked to o2, this person has gone to cex traded the phone in as 'unlocked' and ive bought it even though it is locked? ive managed to get hold of a tmobile sim of someone at work and this does the same shows the signal bars and 3g but cant get past activation, so i assume first sim was a o2 now locked to o2

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Answer 13

May 27, 2013 3:54 PM in response to kieseary

Yes. Or it was bought from O2 originally. Then sold through CEX.

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