Unlocked iPhone Apple Card Financing

I am also very disappointed Apple remove the financing option for unlocked phones. That was the main reason I got an Apple card but now I have to find a better solution for it and is not as viable to buy the whole upfront value for the phone to get it unlocked. I don't use the main carriers and also love having the flexibility to change carrier whenever I want. Hope this can get reinstated so we can buy unlocked phones with the financing option soon.

Totally agree. At this point I will not be buying a new iPhone. I have typically upgraded every other year using the interest free financing. I find it discriminatory that you can only get it if you are signed up with the big three.

It's outrageous. Why do I have to use one of their overpriced & unnecessary plans in order to use the benefits of MY Apple Card?

Thank you Apple. You just lost another client.

I am honestly turned off to Apple. I can afford to shell out the cost of a new iPhone or Watch, but have no desire to do so.

I would much rather pay $50 a month for 2 ish years than a single payment of $1000.

its basic pricing psychology. That $50 a month makes the perceived cost if the phone … $50 and not $1000.

I’d love to grab a iPhone15 but I’m seriously thinking that instead I’ll simply save up and wait two ish years assuming that’ll get me over shelling out $1000 all at once. It may or may not.

Brilliant move Apple. Simply brilliant.

What a phenomenal way to *NOT* sell devices.

I'm not sure why Apple removed this feature, but I am also disappointed with this perk removal. I do not use any of the big 3 wireless carriers and I feel as if though I am punished for not using AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon.

I have been looking for alternative options and the best I have found is Affirm, but you can only get 0% interest with a 4 payment split spread across 4 weeks.

If I find a better option, I'll come back to this post and share what I find.

As for the Apple Card, this was my main reason for having it and its value has greatly diminished for me.

Upon the change to the buying of an iPhone unlocked with same as cash to be limited to those who use the 3 big carriers….you are discriminating against those of us who choose an alternate carrier due to costs. Not everyone needs a “big” plan with a high cost. We are a small business that switched to consumer cellular with half the costs for a sufficient plan. In coordination, not all of us can easily just lay out 1000.00 whether it be planned upgrade, or replacement due to damage or phone failure. Apple just isolated those who need a payment plan in order to be affordable. The timing couldn’t be worse when prices of necessities are at an all time high. Smart phones used to be an option, but they are becoming a necessity in life and business. Yes you can live without, but the world revolves around them now. Extremely disappointed in Apple. I actually called and canceled my Apple Card bc of this poor decision. No reason for it now. I hope many others do the same and they realize the dollars they stand to lose. I’ve never had anything but an iPhone, but it may be time to change.

This has been discussed in multiple posts in the community here and other social media sites. Google is your friend.

Now, with that said, when you purchase an iPhone on installments, it does not come activated or eSIM locked. The easiest to bypass is T-Mobile. The iPhone will ask for your T-Mobile credentials and just pick the option to >Continue< three times and you can then activate the iPhone on any carrier that supports eSIM. You’ll probably have to call their support team or visit a carrier retail location to activate. Generally all they need is your IMEI number in Settings > General > IMEI. It’s also print on the box the iPhone comes in. I hope this helps.

It’s really simple, if you took the time to read any of the solutions offered in this thread and countless others in the community here, Reddit and Facebook groups. The simplest way to do it is buy it unlocked. Nothing is locked, no carrier message or activation will be required. Once the sale is completed, call an Apple Card Specialist within 48 hours and ask the transaction be converted to ACMI (Apple Card Monthly Installments).

CONTACTING — Goldman Sachs Bank 

• Using Messages; chat with an Apple Card specialist

• Call toll-free at 877-255-5923

• Write to: Goldman Sachs Bank, Lockbox 6112, P.O. Box 7247, Philadelphia, PA 19170-6112.

To the original poster, from what I found affirm may actually have 12 months 0% interest at checkout. That is what I will be trying.

As for the suggestion of still using the Apple Card to earn 3% cash back. 3% is nothing when you consider the 20%+ APR that will accrue on the card if you carry a balance. A smart way to carry a balance is on credit cards with a 0% APR which is why I got the Apple Card to begin with.

The reason for the perk removal is more likely because people like myself were buying unlocked devices to use with MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile. With Mint Mobile my bill will be $90 for the entirety of my 12 month period next year with unlimited talk, text & 5G data.

If this were a financial decision then it would have been removed from all options. This was more likely a tactic to force the consumer to use one of the big 3 wireless carriers.

Same. I use visible by Verizon and the only reason I got an Apple Card was to use monthly installments to buy an unlocked iPhone. Them doing this makes the Apple Card useless to me.

I agree. The whole point of getting the Apple Card was to buy an iPhone on monthly payments since I have an unlocked iPhone. So since I need to buy the phone upfront, I need to have the full amount, hence the need to finance without interest. Then I go to buy the iPhone 14 and find out, nope you can’t buy an unlocked version for some reason on 0% monthly installments. Very disappointed. My phone service costs like 1/3 of what the big 3 companies charge a month.

I just drove to the Apple store in Boca Raton to purchase an iPhone Pro Max, but very quickly found out that I couldn’t utilize my Apple Card to finance 0% APR for two years! Thank you Apple for not wanting to sell me an iPhone….

You do have to pick a provider among AT&T, t-mobile and Verizon), or purchase an unlocked iPhone. Picking a provider does not require an account or activation and the device will not be locked. If you go this route I recommend purchasing t-mobile. When you start the process you’ll see an activation screen. Your choices are to activate or later. Press later. This process will repeat 2 more times. Each time press later. After 3 attempts the system bypasses the activation screen and you can have the device activated on the network of your choice as long as they support eSIM.

Another option is to purchase the iPhone unlocked and upon getting home call an Apple Card Specialist at Goldman Sachs Bank and request the device be added to an ACMI.

Blaaaahhh wrote:

Can you elaborate? I think the new eSIM is a little harder to understand. Is it possible to buy a phone and then switch to unlocked?

All iPhones sold by Apple in any payment mechanism are unlocked. No switching necessary. (only exception is if you chose AT&T's own installment plan, then it will be locked to AT&T. Not to be confused with selecting AT&T as a carrier when choosing Apple Card Monthly Installments, they are different things)

Then only thing that changed is requiring an active phone line with one of the 3 major providers to be able to use the Apple Card monthly installment option.

Once you get the iPhone and set it up, you can ignore the selected carrier and use a sim card from any other carrier. This works whether using an eSim or Physical sim.

Abuelmousa wrote:

I’m on not on the big three so guess what it is gone!

Again, it is not. You don't need to be on one of the big three. Have you actually read the replies in the thread you posted in, or are you just assuming things?

See Jeff Donald's post just above yours.

Jeff Donald wrote:

Now, with that said, when you purchase an iPhone on installments, it

does not come activated or eSIM locked. The easiest to bypass is

T-Mobile. The iPhone will ask for your T-Mobile credentials and just

pick the option to >Continue< three times and you can then

activate the iPhone on any carrier that supports eSIM. You’ll probably

have to call their support team or visit a carrier retail location to

activate. Generally all they need is your IMEI number in Settings >

General > IMEI. It’s also print on the box the iPhone comes in.