Can a locked iPhone 4s be used as a iPod?

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Can a locked iPhone 4s be used as a iPod?

Hi,

My car has Lockpick which interfaces my iPhone 4 to the stereo. I like how it works.

I want to upgrade to an iPhone 5s but the new interface won't work with my car. Since my iPhone 4 memory is filled with songs (32g) I was thinking of getting a used iPhone 4s 64g and using it in my car exclusively. There's no reason to make calls anymore since I'll be using it mostly as a disk device.

Question... Can I buy a "locked" iPhone from eBay, which sell for less than working phones, and use it as a iPod touch? Plus bluetooth and wifi.

To clarify, I'd like to buy a locked phone, connect it to my Mac, download songs, then play them in my car (which uses a wired connector via the 30 pin interface).

I assume I might need to put my iPhone 4 32g (which is my current phone) sim into the locked iPhone 4s 64g I plan to buy used.

And again, the lockpick (tm) interface in my car won't work with the new iPhone 5s, I don't want to use it even if I could. I'd rather install a no functioning phone/computer permanently in my car.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

IPad, iPhone, iOS 4

Posted on Mar 26, 2014 9:55 AM

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Answer 1

Kevin11721 Author

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Mar 26, 2014 9:58 AM in response to Kevin11721

To be clear,

Will I need to install my iPhone 4 sim into the 4s to get iTunes to load songs, then put the sim back into my old iPhone 4 to use it as a phone again?

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Answer 2

varjak paw

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Mar 26, 2014 10:10 AM in response to Kevin11721

If by "locked" you mean a carrier lock, then if the iPhone is not activated when you get it you would need a valid SIM from the carrier to which the iPhone is locked to activate it, though a contract with that carrier should not be necessary. A SIM from another carrier will not work.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3406

Beware of buying used iPhones from eBay or anywhere else where you don't know the seller. Many such iPhones are hacked to unlock them. The device may also have Activation Lock on it and the seller won't cooperate to remove it, rendering the iPhone useless.

Regards.

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Answer 3

Kevin11721 Author

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Mar 26, 2014 1:04 PM in response to varjak paw

So if I unserstand you correctly there are two types of locks. One from the carrier (which can be circumvented with another valid sim) and a device lock from apple (Bricked?) which can never be undone.

Is there a visual indicator of the perminent lock on the screen?

Thanks so much!

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Answer 4

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Mar 26, 2014 1:28 PM in response to Kevin11721

Kevin11721 wrote:

So if I unserstand you correctly there are two types of locks. One from the carrier (which can be circumvented with another valid sim) and a device lock from apple (Bricked?) which can never be undone.

Actually there are other types of locks, but the only ones you'd need to worry about are the lock to the carrier and the Activation Lock.

Is there a visual indicator of the perminent lock on the screen?

No. There is no indicator of any type of the carrier lock. You won't know until you try to use another carrier's SIM. You'd find the Activation Lock if you tried to change the iCloud settings or erase or restore the iPhone. If Activation Lock is set, it would insist on the previous owner's Apple ID and password.

Regards.

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