I bought a used sprint Iphone 5s on ebay. When I got it, i turned the phone on, the device said "SIM Required". I don't want to open a new line. I just want to use the phone as an IPod. What should I do?
iPhone 5s, iOS 7.1
You must have a SIM in the phone to activate it. The SIM does not need to be one that is currently active; it just needs to be a SIM that is or was valid for an iPhone.
Do you mean any SIM card? T-mobile, AT&T,...
Thanks
If the phone is lcoked to Sprint then you need one of their cards to unlock it Borrow a card from someone. It doesnt need to be an active sim. If it is not locked use any sim to activate the phone. To use as ipod read
USING AN IPHONE AS AN IPOD
Restore your phone as new. Place a SIM card into the phone and connect it your computer with iTunes open and follow the activation assistant to activate the iphone. Once the iphone have been activated remove the SIM card and turn on imessage in settings/messages. Only your Apple ID should appear in the “You can be reached by imessage at” and “Start new conversation from” fields. Read the following article for help http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3406
From my understanding of the new 5S on Sprint, the SIM card has to be matched to the phone. It is serialized and can only be the one for that particular phone. You will have to call Sprint to verify that, but that is what I have read here and on other forums. It has to do with their LTE. You can attempt to do it with another carrier's SIM, but it might not work. Good luck.
Well I will defer to you. After all you are in the US.
Other question, if I update or restore the IOS, do I have to activate again?
Under some circumstances yes, but not all. A restore will require it, but not all updates will.
Yes.
Sprint Iphone 5s need a SIM card to activate
