walterpr

Q: 4s changed from AT&T to Sprint

My 4s was unlocked by Sprint and I was using it on AT&T.  The phone updated itself back to Sprint.  How can I change it back to AT&T again?

iPhone 4S, iOS 9.3.5

Posted on Sep 6, 2016 8:15 PM

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Q: 4s changed from AT&T to Sprint

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  • by ChrisJ4203,

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to walterpr
    Level 9 (57,012 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to walterpr

    Try explaining how this device changed back to Sprint. What makes you think that it has updated back to Sprint? How did you have this device unlocked?

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to walterpr
    Level 10 (120,054 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to walterpr

    Call AT&T.

  • by walterpr,

    walterpr walterpr Sep 6, 2016 9:45 PM in response to ChrisJ4203
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2016 9:45 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

    I was talking on the phone Saturday night was the phone stopped working.  I looked at it and I could see it was updating. After it finished updating it did not work. It required an activation and it said the SIM was not supported.  I look at the carrier in settings and it showed Sprint.  I have used this phone on AT&T for over a year. I took it to an AT&T store and the young man said it was on Sprint.  It no longer shows the hot spot option that I have used many times.

  • by ChrisJ4203,

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Sep 6, 2016 9:49 PM in response to walterpr
    Level 9 (57,012 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2016 9:49 PM in response to walterpr

    I'll ask my question again. How did you have it unlocked? I'm not exactly sure you could unlock the 4s on Sprint. And the phone cannot arbitrarily update itself like that. It almost sounds as if it was a carrier update, but those also require user input to run. It sounds as if the device was hacked or jailbroken to use on AT&T.

  • by walterpr,

    walterpr walterpr Sep 6, 2016 10:08 PM in response to ChrisJ4203
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2016 10:08 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

    I Purchased ($179.95) the phone on eBay vendor (cs@embphones.com) that has many phones for sale. I have had it for over a year and it worked fine. I had done al the updates that had come out. I contacted the vendor and he said he obtains them unlocked and that he can do nothing for me.  Sprint said they will not unlock it because I am not the original owner.  At this momnet it appears to be locked. Should I pay $50.00 to have it unlocked locally and will this be permanent or will it revert back at a later date?

  • by ChrisJ4203,

    ChrisJ4203 ChrisJ4203 Sep 7, 2016 6:17 AM in response to walterpr
    Level 9 (57,012 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 7, 2016 6:17 AM in response to walterpr

    Paid services to unlock phones are generally a ripoff and do not permanently unlock the devices. As you can see, the place you purchased the device from on eBay had a hacked phone, and now it is locked again. Your best bet is to replace it, and do that with Apple or an authorized Apple retailer. That way you know what you are buying.