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Levites7

Q: Factory unlocked Iphone 4s is locked?

Here's the thing. I purchased a used iPhone 4s on ebay, with its description that it was factory unlocked. However when the phone arrived, and I tested it with another sim; it didn't work. It says that it doesn't support the carrier/sim. So I get back to the seller and asked her about it. She told me that she got her description from the box of the phone which she scanned through her iPad. True to her word, I scanned the imei bar code and it says that it was "factory unlocked".

 

The seller didn't tell me anything about locking her phone with her carrier (at & t), or if she is in any sort of contract. She just said that right after she bought it from the apple store, she went to AT & T, and told them to connect her phone to them.  What could've happened? Is the phone locked to ATT? We have already requested for the unlock of the phone and as others experienced, it is taking long. Is there any way to restore the phone's factory unlocked setting? Can Apple help me with this?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

PS. I tried restoring and backing up and even updating the phone several times through iTunes, and as you have guessed, nothing happened.

iPhone 4S, iOS 7.1

Posted on Mar 19, 2014 12:17 PM

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Q: Factory unlocked Iphone 4s is locked?

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  • by kewl man,

    kewl man kewl man Mar 19, 2014 12:57 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 3 (503 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 12:57 PM in response to Levites7

    you can contact apple to make sure it is unlock. you want to look at the IMEI on settings > general > about on the iphone. you can also try a repair shop. some of them can unlock the iphone from att.

  • by Levites7,

    Levites7 Levites7 Mar 19, 2014 1:00 PM in response to kewl man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 1:00 PM in response to kewl man

    what about the imei? what should i do with it? thanks.

  • by kewl man,Helpful

    kewl man kewl man Mar 19, 2014 1:06 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 3 (503 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:06 PM in response to Levites7

    IMEI is what apple can see if the iphone is locked to a carrier or if it is unlocked to any carrier.

  • by Rojmer,Helpful

    Rojmer Rojmer Mar 19, 2014 1:08 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 4 (1,524 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:08 PM in response to Levites7

    Just where did you scan de Imei bar code and it says unlocked.  There are some website that seem to offer this information, but from what I know none of them are trustworthy.  For example I tried my own iPhone which I know is unlocked as I bought it from Apple for its full price and have tried it with several carriers, and they all say my iPhone is locked, so go figure.

     

    From everything you have described, it seems that your Iphone is locked to AT&T and, if this is the case, only they can authorize the unlock.  Restoring it through iTunes will not produce any result until and unless AT&T authorizes the unlock.

  • by Levites7,

    Levites7 Levites7 Mar 19, 2014 1:12 PM in response to kewl man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 1:12 PM in response to kewl man

    I see. Can I know this online? Or do I need to go to an Apple store? Thanks man.

  • by Rojmer,

    Rojmer Rojmer Mar 19, 2014 1:13 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 4 (1,524 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:13 PM in response to Levites7

    You can call Apple Care on the phone.  You cannot search for this information online.  Either contact Apple Care by phone or chat or go to an Apple Store.

  • by Levites7,

    Levites7 Levites7 Mar 19, 2014 1:17 PM in response to Rojmer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 1:17 PM in response to Rojmer

    thanks for your reply. i scanned the box of the phone myself using my iPad, and it appeared there that the phone is "factory unlocked". I also suspected as you did- that the phone was locked to ATT. But when I knew about the description on the box (through the imei bar code), i began to have doubts now... or maybe hopes that the phone isn't really unlocked... What do you think happened there? Do you have an idea?

  • by Rojmer,

    Rojmer Rojmer Mar 19, 2014 1:22 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 4 (1,524 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:22 PM in response to Levites7

    I really don't know what happened to get such feedback after scanning barcode.  I can try to guess that one possibility is that the box does not belong to that iPhone.  Check the Serial number and IMEI inside the iPhone > Settings > General > About and scroll down.

     

    Another possibility is that the scanning application you have in your iPad searches the web to interpret the barcode and the web has returned incorrect information about the barcode.

     

    But all we can do is guess and we can guess wrong.  Call Apple Care to get this information from the right source,

  • by roaminggnome,

    roaminggnome roaminggnome Mar 19, 2014 1:22 PM in response to kewl man
    Level 10 (97,225 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 1:22 PM in response to kewl man

    kewl man wrote:

     

    you can contact apple to make sure it is unlock. you want to look at the IMEI on settings > general > about on the iphone. you can also try a repair shop. some of them can unlock the iphone from att.

    ONLY the carrier to which an iphone is locked can legally/legitimately unlock an iphone.  No one else at all can do this.

  • by kewl man,

    kewl man kewl man Mar 19, 2014 1:29 PM in response to roaminggnome
    Level 3 (503 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:29 PM in response to roaminggnome

    consumer laws are still in effect. I dont know where he is. maybe us but maybe in germany because att is all over.

  • by kewl man,

    kewl man kewl man Mar 19, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 3 (503 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Levites7

    levites7 the best option is to contact ebay info them about the issue then get ebay to use that buyers protection they have in the worst case.

  • by Levites7,

    Levites7 Levites7 Mar 19, 2014 1:54 PM in response to Rojmer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 1:54 PM in response to Rojmer

    it is definitely the box of the phone. I tried to scan it in two different apps (one from android), and it says the same.

  • by Rojmer,

    Rojmer Rojmer Mar 19, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Levites7
    Level 4 (1,524 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 19, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Levites7

    There is no point in continuing to try to guess the barcode scanning issue.  If your iPhone were unlocked it would work with other networks.  If it doesn't, it is not unlocked.  At least if you call Apple Care you can get your answer once and for all.

     

    You could also do as Kewl is suggesting and contact ebay to try to get a refund on the basis that the iPhone is not what the seller described.

  • by Levites7,

    Levites7 Levites7 Mar 19, 2014 2:02 PM in response to kewl man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 2:02 PM in response to kewl man

    I intend to give benefit of the doubt to the seller, and give her a chance maybe until 10 days because she had already requested ATT to unlock the phone. But I will definitely file a complain if this won't be settled. Today is the third day of the request from ATT. One more question, does ATT respond to the requests whether it is approved or not?

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