Will it be possible to unlock iPhones which were bought without contract? I payed full price for it and it would be fair if Apple or AT&T would just remote unlock those phones...
iPhone 4, iOS 4.3.2
We're just users like you. No one here knows the answer to that question, no matter how many times it is asked (and it has been asked many, many times, as a search of the forum will show).
I recall reading somewhere that AT&T will not, under any circumstance, unlock an iPhone, ever. However, it wouldn't hurt to ask them directly. All they can do is say no. Apple will never unlock a phone locked by another carrier. No other company will every unlock a phone locked for another entity.
I just called Apple and they said they cannot unlock my iPhone 4 that I just bought at full price, only ATT can do it. This really makes me very upset. I just bought the iPhone 4 to replace my iphone 3G that I lost. So at first I was mad at myself for losing my iPhone that I loved, but now I'm mad at Apple because I travel a lot and if I knew they were going to do this I would waited for months for one of these unlocked iPhones. I hope ultrasn0w comes out with a new revision soon to make my phone more useful. Either way I'll think twice before buying another iPhone! I was an big Apple fan until this.
If you just bought it (meaning in the past month) you can return it.
Ok now I'm really mad. Apple is going to start unlocking phones at the counter when you pay full price. When I talked to them on the phone he made it sound like that's impossible. He said specifically that Apple cannot unlock iPhones set up for ATT and that only ATT could do it. I thought that sounded a little odd. Now they say they can if they don't have any unlocked phones in stock.
My problem is I bought the phone in April and I'm currently in Italy (in an area where there are no Apple stores) until September so there is no way I can get this done until then provided Apple will do this. I will go into the Apple Store when I'm back in the States and I hope they take care of me.
I really could have used an unlocked iPhone for this trip. I pray that on my next long trip I will have an unlocked phone.
Apple has just started selling unlocked iPhones in the U.S. The GSM iPhone will be sold at an AT&T no-contract price which does not mean unlocked or as unlocked, which must be specified with the purchase.
You purchased an iPhone at AT&T's no-contract price. It is up to the carrier and the carrier only an iPhone was sold as carrier locked with to initiate an official unlock for the iPhone with Apple. AT&T does not unlock an iPhone for any reason or under any circumstances.
I wouldn't waste any prayers on this since Apple will not be able to do so - not unless AT&T sends Apple an unlock request for the iPhone, which they will not do.
Just By the bye....Apple has been selling unlocked, sim-free, no contract, do what you like with it phones for around a year now. I bought one, here in the U.K. Unlocked iPhones are not news, unless you are in the U.S. ;-)
Why in the world are you mad? You got exactly what you paid for. Life isn't fair. Deal with it.
Well you can do now but only if you buy another one full price!
Big deal... we've had unlocked jailbroken iPhones since 2007.
Maybe, but mine had full warranty and Apple support, and has no problem with
John, i think the problem lies in the fact that many people who purchased the phone outright would like at least the option to unlock their phone. But it has not been given. Apple has said they cannot unlock the phone only AT&T can but we see now that is a lie.
I myself purchased the iPhone 4 at a no contract price from the beginning meaning I paid for it in full but is it really truly mine to do as I please? No not really. Now the same phone is being sold unlocked (for the same price). So we should be given that option.
I have a feeling that will change soon we just need to be patient.
Yeah, and everytime Apple updates the OS, you've had to wait (often weeks or months) for hackers to re-hack the phone before you can benefit from the new OS. Whoopty-doo!
Apple has said they cannot unlock the phone only AT&T can but we see now that is a lie.
WRONG! Apple cannot unlock an AT&T locked iPhone without the authority of AT&T. So far, Apple has never been given permission by AT&T to unlock an iPhone locked to their network.
In other countries, many (most) networks do allow Apple to unlock iPhone's - but AT&T do not.
Apple has said they cannot unlock the phone only AT&T can but we see now that is a lie.
Not a lie.
For the uninformed and/or clueless, Apple had an exclusive contract with AT&T for the iPhone sold in the U.S. until recently. When the exclusive contract with AT&T expired, this allowed Apple to manufacture and sell a CDMA iPhone with Verizon followed by Apple selling an unlocked GSM iPhone as well, which was just announced within the last week or two.
Only the carrier an iPhone was sold as carrier locked with can initiate an unlock request with Apple to unlock the iPhone. Apple cannot unlock an iPhone sold as carrier locked with any carrier anywhere in the world without the carrier the iPhone was sold as carrier locked with initiating an unlock request for the iPhone.
I myself purchased the iPhone 4 at a no contract price from the beginning meaning I paid for it in full but is it really truly mine to do as I please?
No, especially when service with AT&T being required along with AT&T's logo is on the retail sales box.
The sales model for cell phones sold in the U.S. includes the phones being sold as carrier locked with a particular carrier especially when the full retail sales price for phones is subsidized by a carrier for signing a two year contract. This also includes the ability to purchase a phone at the full retail sales price without a contract which does not automatically equate to the phone being sold as unlocked. AT&T will unlock some phones when requested by a subscriber during the two year contract term for a subsidized phone or when the contract period has expired for a subsidized phone, and the same for a phone purchased at the non-contract or full retail sales price, but not for all phones.
There is no law in the U.S. that requires a cell phone manufacturer to sell their phones as unlocked, and no law that requires a cell phone manufacturer or cell phone carrier to unlock a phone that was sold as carrier locked originally. This is up to the carrier and the carrier only a cell phone was sold as carrier locked with - in this case it is up to AT&T and AT&T only.
As an example, the iPhone was old as carrier locked with O2 only in the UK for a year or two. When Apple's exclusive with O2 expired, the iPhone became available with a number of GSM carriers along with the iPhone being sold as unlocked by Apple. O2 decided to unlock iPhones sold as carrier locked with O2 after certain conditions had been met by the subscriber, but I don't believe there is any law in the UK that required O2 to do so. Not sure how many GSM carriers are available in the UK, but many more than just the two major GSM carriers in the U.S. - AT&T and T-Mobile, and AT&T is in the process of purchasing T-Mobile.
Now that Apple is selling unlocked iPhones...
