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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

KiltedTim

Level 10

203,746 points

Apr 8, 2015 12:17 PM in response to rbaide87

If the phone was at any point hacked or jailbroken to unlock it, it may now be impossible to process a legitimate unlock. Restore it again in DFU mode. If that doesn't work, since Apple has already confirmed that it should be unlocked, then try to get your money back.

Apr 8, 2015 12:19 PM in response to rbaide87

Then most likely the phone was hacked some time in the past to unlock it by replacing the baseband firmware. There is not much more you can do at this point. You can try taking it to an Apple store and let them restore it, but if they get the same result you are out of luck. Also, are you sure that the phone you have is the phone that AT&T unlocked? Do the serial number and the IMEI agree? One trick that unscrupulous sellers do is to tell you a different serial number than the one on the phone that you bought.

rbaide87

Level 1

0 points

Apr 8, 2015 12:29 PM in response to ASE84

Yeah we did confirm with apple serial and imei number . att just asked me for imei . I did send another request to unlock with Att and will do process again, guess I'm out of luck with this iphone. Now, if the phone was hacked or jail broken...can I do that again to have it unlocked? Thank you all for your help.

May 20, 2015 5:36 AM in response to NKAL2004

Did you ever get a response from Apple Senior Care Advisor? I am currently in the same predicament and waiting for a response from a senior advisor also.

May 20, 2015 8:16 AM in response to compscibabs

The answer is in the other messages in the thread.

May 20, 2015 9:13 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

The issue was only able to be resolved through Apple. A senior care advisor had to get in touch with the engineers to have the activation policy adjusted. My phone is now functioning with an international SIM.

lanstrat

Level 1

0 points

May 27, 2015 10:47 AM in response to compscibabs

What number did you call on?

Jun 1, 2015 11:08 AM in response to Harrison_Taylor

it does not work yet!

Jun 1, 2015 11:10 AM in response to compscibabs

to what number did you called?

deggie

Level 10

167,327 points

Jun 1, 2015 11:12 AM in response to lanstrat

You call AppleCare (click on the link on the bottom right of this page that says "Contact Us") call AppleCare and ask to speak to a Senior Advisor.

Jun 2, 2015 8:37 AM in response to compscibabs

Hi compscibabs -

I have the same exact issue with my iPhone 6 plus - unlocked in US, but locked for international use :-(((

Next Tether: US GSM/VZW N61/N56 Service Policy

Lock Status: Locked

Spoke to senior Apple care engineer today, they are saying phone is locked to AT/T (which I doubt). My seller was using it with Verizon and I think thats where the lock is. (so it was working well with Verizon and ATT in the USA, but does not work internationally)

How do I proceed now? I have so far talked to Verizon, AT&T and Apple with minimal success so far :-( Really need it to use it with International GSM carrier.

Thanks!!

Jun 2, 2015 8:40 AM in response to KrazyPalms

Additionally, when I asked the senior support care person to do this - " A senior care advisor had to get in touch with the engineers to have the activation policy adjusted." - they said that phone is locked to AT/T. They didnt even understand this "Next Tether: US GSM/VZW N61/N56 Service Policy " which is disappointing 😟

Any chance you know the name of the senior care advisor you spoke to? Looks like not every advisor in Apple support knows or understands this issue.

Once Apple did the right activation on their side, did you have to do anything more from your side to make it work? (like restoring via iTunes?)

Thanks.

Jun 2, 2015 8:42 AM in response to KrazyPalms

KrazyPalms wrote:

Hi compscibabs -

I have the same exact issue with my iPhone 6 plus - unlocked in US, but locked for international use :-(((

There is no such thing. A phone is either locked or unlocked. Unless it has been hacked to unlock it; in which case anything can happen. So that's most likely the explanation. Apple will know who it is locked to, as Apple's database determines the lock status (it's the primary source of lock implementation, so if Apple says it is locked to AT&T, it is locked to AT&T). I don't know where you got different information; if it was from one of the scam websites that claims to know about lock status ... well, it's a scam.

Jun 2, 2015 8:48 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence,

please read this -- http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/verizon-iphone-6-6-plus-some-locked-against- international-use.1846197/

Since this has happened to other people and I am also a victim going through the same issue, I tend to believe that this is possible. Of course, one has to actually hit this issue in order to believe that its possible. (before I hit this issue, I also did not know that there is a mode called unlocked within US, but locked for international use)

Anyway, Apple claims phone is locked by AT/T and I have submitted request to AT/T to unlock. Not sure if this is going to work, but looks like others like compscibabs had worked with Apple support to resolve the issue. Fingers crossed.

Thanks.

Jun 2, 2015 10:27 AM in response to KrazyPalms

Unfortunately I can not seem to find the extension for the specific Senior Adviser I spoke with but I will keep my eyes open for the paper I wrote it down on. Now the issue I described with the activation policy was strictly for a Verizon sold phone. You will have to do research on how AT&T phones work for international use. As far as I know though, AT&T is not like Verizon in the sense that their 4G phones do not come factory unlocked. You will have to call AT&T and have them unlock the phone for you or give you some sort of PIN (not positive as I've never had AT&T).

I did not have to do any extra steps once Apple found the activation issue and adjusted it. I just inserted the international SIM and proceeded with activation.

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