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ASE84 Author

Level 1

47 points

''Sim Not Valid'' on activation screen! PLEASE HELP

I have purchased the iPhone 6 64GB Silver from Verizon Wireless. I purchased it on November 18th 2014 and i was able to use the phone under the Verizon Network for 2 days I asked Verizon as ALWAYS to have to Unlocked because i was leaving the country in business trip for a week and therefor i wanted to use my iPhone with the Vodafone Network as i have always done this with the previous iPhone's under Verizon network. When i had my iPhone 5 & iPhone 5S i have called Verizon to have it unlocked and therefor they have done it, but now with the new iPhone 6 they tell me that its a 4G Phone and its already unlocked sir, there is nothing they can do to unlock it any further but in reality the iPhone 6 its Lock to Verizon Wireless Network, according to Apple, and Vodafone they both say that its Locked to Verizon Wireless, that's what it shows in their system. Now i have called Verizon and asked them again to unlock my iPhone which they insist and tell me the same thing over and over even their Manager and Global Team Support including the Supervisors they all say the same thing that the iPhone is Unlocked!!!! Now i have contacted Apple again this time Apple said that it is locked to Verizon is what they see on their computer that this IME#354409063763754 is showing Locked to Verizon once again and again and AGAIN! so who is lying here Apple or Verizon?!? Interesting! one of the Apple costumer care could not believe my story after speaking to 5 different one from Apple and 38 different from Verizon, and there for she decided to call Verizon and find out why aren't they unlocking my device. now, after being on the phone 3 way me Apple care and Verizon for 15min Verizon hangs up the phone on Apples face and tells me I can Not Believe they hang up on my face! interesting huh? Well Apple care then said ill transfer you to Seignior Adviser for further help there is nothing that she could do, but transfer me to much higher grade in helping the costumers. Now the Seignior Adviser couldn't believe that i had to go through all this and said I'm here to help and i will help, i said sure you will, will see how much you can. Then he tries and tries and in the end NOTHING! since he couldn't do anything he said let me transfer you to much higher which is their Consumer Relations. Now they couldn't believe that i had to go through all this and that they have never heard such story that this had happen to anyone before, there for he was going to help me resolve my issue. Now they have contacted Verizon and Verizon keeps saying the same thing mean while on the Apple system it still shows Locked to Verizon Wireless.

Now what they Verizon and Apple did to try and resolve this issue is Connecting my iPhone 6 to iTunes and have it Factory Restore! ok! so i did as i was told,

now after 30 min of restoring the iPhone to factory settings im back to Activation Screen from beginning.

1. Choose Language - English

2. Choose Region - United States

3. Choose Wi-Fi

4. Sim Not Valid!

there is no other options, either go back or retry, and none has worked. I have done the Restore 5 times with and with out sim card and still same error,

With out the sim card, after choose the Wi-Fi, it says Sim Required, there is no other options only go back and retry.

I put the sim back in and its still says the same

<Back

SIM NOT VALID

The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone s from a carrier that is not Supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information.

Try Again

Now i cant even go to my home screen what do i do? PLEASE HEP!

I really need to get this iPhone 6 to work, I need help please someone help, they both companies have lied to me Verizon and Apple, and they both not doing a **** thing about it, its been almost 2 months and i haven't been able to enjoy my iPhone, they have got my hard earned $$$$ and they don't send me a new device to have it replaced, I have requested a NEW one since i have paid for new and they Sorry we cant under their Policy and my 14 money back is expired, well its expired because of them not me. they keep on pushing and putting me to wait here and there so time went out and me still without a working device yet they have got my money $$$ 😢

I really need Help Please any suggestions?

I thank you all very much from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read and respond to my need.

THANK YOU ALL

iPhone 6 64GB Silver

Setting - General - About:

Version> 8.1.2 (12B440)

Model> MG642LL/A

Serial Number> DN*********5MH

IMEI> ***********

MEID> 35440906376375

Modem Firmware> 1.04.00

iPhone 6, iOS 8.1.2, null

Posted on Jan 7, 2015 12:05 AM

Top-ranking reply

Ethmoid

Level 6

11,482 points

Posted on Jan 7, 2015 1:29 AM

If you purchase a phone from Verizon, then if you are in the US, then you can only ever use this phone in the US on Verizon and no other operator because Verizon is a CDMA carrier and in the US, then it is locked to Verizon and if in the US, then you need to have a contract with Verizon to be able to use the phone.

However, the Verizon phone does have a GSM sim card tray and this is unlocked and intended for international travel, so that you can use local sim cards in your phone whilst travelling and no incur international roaming charges.

The problem may be that if you are in the US and you are trying to insert a sim card into the phone to activate it that is a GSM sim card, then this will not work because in the US you will only be able to use the Verizon phone on the Verizon CDMA network and no other. If you put a sim card in, this will be local sim cards that are intended to be used whilst travelling.

Also, don't post personal information on this forum - it is a user to user technical support forum and you are NOT talking to Apple here.

View in context

183 replies

Mar 22, 2015 2:06 PM in response to pbsrod

If you got a SIM not valid message the phone is not unlocked. The ONLY way to fix it is to find out what carrier it is locked to and see if they will unlock it. If you bought it directly from an Apple store take it back to that store, with the receipt that says it is unlocked.

drjinsb

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2015 2:05 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Hello Mr. Finch,

from your posts. I'm reading that I can take my new Verizon iPhone6 and iPad and my wife's iPhone6+ to Italy. All I have to do when I arrive in country is find a Vodaphone SIM vendor, install three charged up SIMs and all the devices will function as they do stateside.

Have I got that right??

Thanks for your posts.

drjinsb

Mar 25, 2015 2:19 PM in response to drjinsb

Yes, that's correct. For the iPad, all iPads are sold unlocked. And you can actually get an Apple SIM for the iPad that can be used with many carriers around the world. For the iPhones all Verizon iPhones from the 5 on are unlocked for GSM and LTE.

Mar 29, 2015 1:32 PM in response to ASE84

My father is experiencing the same issue. However, the issue only exists on SERVICE REPLACEMENT Verizon iPhones. You can identify your iPhone as a service replacement by looking at the model number. If it starts with an N, then it was replaced my Apple. There is an issue with Verizon marking Service Replacements as locked for International use.

ekro30

Level 1

0 points

Mar 29, 2015 1:38 PM in response to errorunknown

That is correct, when I was talking with Apple Senior Advisors, they told me mine was a replacement phone and needed the IMEI of the original phone in order to help me. They should have the original imei since they are the ones giving the new phone... anyways there is still no solution if you dont have the original imei

Mar 29, 2015 2:21 PM in response to errorunknown

errorunknown wrote:

If it starts with an N, then it was replaced my Apple.

That is not a reliable way of determining whether a phone is a replacement or not. This is a widely believed myth, but it has no basis in fact. I have a replacement phone and the serial number begins with "C".

Lance787

Level 1

0 points

Apr 4, 2015 10:20 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence, I greatly appreciate your expert advice. Just want to make sure I understand clearly. My wife has a Verizon iPhone 6P. We are moving to Luxembourg for the next 3 years. I arrived two weeks ago and began investigating mobile carriers. When I spoke to someone at one of the carriers, his first reaction was that we would not be able to use her phone in Luxembourg. However, based upon your posts, it seems like we should be able to. Our plan was to move her Verizon number to an inexpensive phone for use when home and to maintain the number. We were going to purchase a SIM card here to use the phone permanently in Luxembourg with a Lux number. This seems like it should work since the 6P is unlocked for GSM carriers. Am I correct?

Apr 4, 2015 12:00 PM in response to Lance787

Yes, that is correct. Verizon iPhones are all unlocked for GSM use. You should register it once on Verizon before traveling, as some people have reported problems taking a Verizon phone that was never activated and had initial problems with other carriers. If you can borrow an AT&T or US T-Mobile SIM for a few minutes to try, if that works any other SIM will work also.

Apr 4, 2015 4:20 PM in response to ASE84

There is an issue with the VZW activation policy deployed to VZW iPhone 6/6 Plus that prevents a non U.S. SIM from activating. Don't worry though, it's not intentional and a call to Apple should have the correct activation policy deployed to your device that will allow non U.S. SIMs to be inserted.

rbaide87

Level 1

0 points

Apr 7, 2015 7:37 PM in response to ASE84

I have the same issue with iphone5 att, I did the unlock request with att ...did restore the iphone trough iTunes and doesn't take my sim (I live in Honduras) . ive been chatting with a senior support from apple , pretty much said that they never received att unlock request, did provide them with the unlock request number but they can't do anything. Apple talked with att and att confirm phone shows to be unlocked with them....but apple said I need to take phone to their store since nothing works! I even have an email from senior support apple agent promising that my iphone will get unlock but seems that this time they will not stand on what they promise you. Anybody has any updates or ideas of what to do? Thanks!

Lance787

Level 1

0 points

Apr 7, 2015 9:31 PM in response to Harrison_Taylor

Thank you. This is very helpful.

Apr 8, 2015 6:40 AM in response to rbaide87

When you restored the phone through iTunes did you restore the backup or restore iOS? You MUST restore iOS and set up as a new phone, and there must be an AT&T SIM card in the phone when you do it. The SIM does not have to be a currently working SIM, but it must be AT&T.

rbaide87

Level 1

0 points

Apr 8, 2015 11:07 AM in response to ASE84

Yeah I restored iOS and set it up as new iphone with att sim card in and doesn't work. I dont know what else to so.

Apr 8, 2015 11:30 AM in response to rbaide87

Did you get a message that said your phone was unlocked after restoring iOS? If you did not get that message then AT&T did not unlock it. If you did get that message and it still doesn't work with another SIM that means your phone had been jailbroken or hacked at some time in the past.

rbaide87

Level 1

0 points

Apr 8, 2015 12:12 PM in response to ASE84

I Did not get that after restoring it. I spoke with att and they said everything shows to be correct and iPhone should be unlocked. Apple talked to att and they confirmed that is unlocked in there system. Since i bought the iPhone thru eBay and im not or dont have an account with att its really hard to get help from they. I have to be Lucky with the agent so he can help me .

''Sim Not Valid'' on activation screen! *PLEASE HELP*