Unlocked iPhone Apple Card Financing

The other way is to purchase an iPhone and just bypass the activation request the carrier has preinstalled on the iPhone. The iPhones from Apple and the carriers are unlocked. But when you turn the iPhone on you’ll see a screen requesting activation through the carrier you purchased. I recommend t-mobile because theirs is the easiest to bypass. T-mobile activation allows you to say later and you’ll be asked 2 more times to click later and the activation is bypassed.

Once bypassed, you can activate on any network that supports the eSIM on the iPhone. If you’re going to use an Apple Watch, the carrier needs to support Apple Watches. This may exclude many of the extreme discounters. If you don’t need a Watch activated on a plan, you’re good to go.

You don't have time to find out what you want to know?

Goldman Sachs was mistaken. You would have found that out, by taking just 3 minutes in this thread. The iPhones bought through the installments are and have always been unlocked.

You are the one needing to buy the iPhone. not us. If you can't be bothered to read, then you are going to be assuming things that are not correct as is the case here throwing blame and buying some other device.

Clearly if this is important to you, you would make the time to do the legwork. We can't do the work for you, and its not going to just pop up in front of you as if by magic.

If you don't want to read and find out what you can and cannot do, then that's entirely up to you.

I have posted the reply multiple times in this very thread. What you want is for me to post it again just for you? Why do you believe you are entitled to that? You cannot be bothered to read a couple pages, not even the entire thread but expect me, to just post what has been said dozens times already?

I volunteer here. I don't get paid. If you can't take 5 minutes to find the answer, then I have no real incentive to want to help you.

The whole whole benefit of the card is the the 0% financing on apple products. If I choose to buy a new iphone still (I'm not the primary on the account so I'm not able to use the carrier option) I won't even be using my apple card. I'll be using one that does have 0% interest. Or this may be the time to finally make the jump back to a new flip phone.

There are multiple benefits to the card. Interest free installment payments is just one of the many benefits.

One of the nice thing about discussion forums is that community members can post comments with solutions and workarounds that mitigate the issue. This thread contains multiple solutions. You’ll just need to take the time and make the effort to learn how to do it. 😀😀

Well looks like during checkout there is a page that asks for T-Mobile number and T-Mobile pin else you cannot proceed with the next steps of buying the phone by selecting T-Mobile as the carrier. This is about the method Donald had recommended. Any way out of this?

My friends call me Jeff, but you wouldn’t be the first to call me Donald. 😁 How close are you to an Apple Retail Store? I saw a post on Reddit about something similar a few weeks ago. But they were in store and signed up for an account and then cancelled it as soon as they go home.

Yours is the first report of this. I’ll do some digging around and see what I can find and we can compare notes in a day or two. If I don’t post, just post a reply to this or basically bump the post. We’ll figure it out.

koustubh272 wrote:

Well looks like during checkout there is a page that asks for T-Mobile number and T-Mobile pin else you cannot proceed with the next steps of buying the phone by selecting T-Mobile as the carrier. This is about the method Donald had recommended. Any way out of this?

An active line with one of the carriers is required to access the monthly installments yes. This has been the case for a long time now.

The active line does not need to be yours. You can borrow one from a friend or relative just for the checkout procedure.

Once you get the phone and are setting it up, you can do what Jeff suggests to bypass the T-Mobile setup screen and use your own carrier.

You don't believe Apple has monetized this by funneling every new phone purchase on the apple card through the big 3?

Not in any meaningful way. Apple Card issuer had more to lose than Apple.

You’re welcome. Hit your $500 Signup Bonus and It pays for ½ your iPhone.

Thought it was $200?

You can still by an unlocked iPhone. You just can’t do installments as easy as before and trade can be an issue. The option is to just buy the iPhone outright.

Yes that true, but the APR is some crazy amount. Might as well charge it to a credit card at 6%.

So, what is it exactly you want to do? Are you just venting or do you want a possible solution for what your end goal is?

I just did the exact same thing! Thanks to the other poster for letting us know.