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

Thanks Shekie2000 - please keep me posted if they are able to unlock. IF they are, I will try the same thing. Its been frustrating wait for a month without any working solution.

Hi Lawrence - with all due respect, unless you have hit this problem like some of us, please refrain from commenting; your continuous comments about scam sites does not add any value to this discussion. Please understand that we do not live in a perfect world - in a perfect world, Apple/Verizon/AT&T would put customers first and try to solve the problem - but thats not happening. Each of them is passing the buck to the other. I paid full unlocked price for this phone and did not get it with a contract subsidy. Now, when the phone is not actually unlocked, we are looking for solutions. So it will be great if you understand our situation and emphathize with what we are going through. Feel free to live in your perfect world, I am glad its working out well for you.

NO ONE other than the carrier the phone is locked to has the legal authority to authorize unlocking it. There are NO 3rd parties that can intervene on your behalf and get it legitimately unlocked.

It may not be a perfect world, but your denying the reality of it will not alter it in any way.

With all due respect, if you want to use a scam site and take the risk, by all means do it. But you have been warned.

Ive read all 6 pages of history of this thread, I'm still trying to understand "some" people's input, value and intent on this conversation? I literally have refrained myself from posting that previously, but I can no longer. Some people are just typing to be heard.

My Iphone 5 was locked for years, I've tried with At&t, multiple times to no avail. None, because I bought the phone used, but it was still under some sort of business contract. So as a temp fix a few years ago, I went to a tech store, explained to them my situation and they installed a Chinese sim plate contraption which allowed me to insert any use any other sim into my locked phone, I used it with international sim cards abroad and it worked great, but I knew it was a temp fix. Now when I needed a permanent unlock, since at&t denied me many times, I did some research and used a 3rd party service. They were able to factory unlock my Iphone in a few days. I just had to do a restore and the unlock congrats screen appeared. You know how amazing that feels.

@KrazyPalms, I'll keep you updated, I paid via Paypal and it's actually a service someone was offering on Ebay. Yes they're many scams out there, but there is also 3rd party legitimate help. And as I recall reading the previous messages, Lawrence was ignorant about the situation and didn't even believe there could be an Iphone domestically unlocked/and internationally locked. I really don't understand the point of just shouting things off or even being in a part of a discussion that doesn't affect you or having the genuine knowledge or interest to add value to help. Hopefully, we'll figure this out. In the meantime I'm just going to ignore unhelpful posts.

Both the "Chinese sim plate contraption" you used and the 3rd party service were/are illegal.

There are only 2 ways a 3rd party can "unlock" an iPhone.

1) Hacking the phone.

2) Using an insider at a supported carrier to illegally submit the serial number/IMEI of the phone to Apple to be listed in the database of unlocked phones. In this case, they will eventually be found out and re-locked.

YOU are the one who is "ignorant" here. I suggest you not only "ignore" the posts you don't agree with, but that you stop posting crap.

i have sprint and i am trying to activate it under a different carrier. it wont let me put in the unlock code or anything

iPhones don't use an unlock code. Did you unlock this phone through Sprint? As far as I know Sprint still does not unlock the GSM side for use with domestic carriers.

ASE84,

I have the same issue as you describe, have Verizon or Apple given you a solution? I also have an iPhone 6 Plus 128G

Much appreciate if you can reply

There are a dozen different problems described in this thread, so it really isn't clear what your specific problem is. Why don't you post a NEW message and describe your problem fully, rather than tag on to this thread with over 90 replies? Or read all of the replies; some of them may help you solve whatever problem you have.

Here is your (partial) answer, having just gone through this with a client using a VZN iPhone 6+ (purchased in U.S.A.) in Italy. First, there is apparently an issue that has come up related to this as of 7/17/2015, which they cannot even pinpoint all the symptoms of nor do they know the solution, but it generates the same error quoted from L Finch below. Second, and more importantly, VZN confirmed that if you remove your VZN SIM from your phone while abroad (or before leaving the U.S.), you will not be able to use it in your phone again until you are back homeside. In my/my client's case (I'm a tech consultant), she got to Italy and purchased a Vodaphone SIM, then tried to switch back to the VZN SIM and got that error. So I think the error is more accurately described as follows: a VZN SIM needs to be on its local (U.S.) network in order to (re-)activate onto the network, otherwise you get the below error message (confirmed).

It sounds like there is a new issue which has cropped up which I mentioned in "first" above, which is why my client is also having a problem getting her Vodaphone Italian SIM to work in the phone, but that's a separate issue.

Hope that helps...

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.

After two weeks of iPhone ****, my "SIM not valid" activation error has been resolved. The problem was improper "policy" assignments for my phone on Apple's activation servers. Specifically, the Genius Bar looked up the policies assigned to my device and this was the result.

Current policy: Verizon

Next policy: Sprint

The Genius Bar had not seen this problem and quickly elevated the support. They requested a fix from Apple's policy/activation server group and the phone worked the next morning.

Background and Summary:

Model: iPhone 5 64GB Black

Carrier: Verizon

Source: Phone is a replacement from Apple Genius Bar for an iPhone covered under AppleCare

Problem Onset: After using iOS 9 beta, performed a DFU factory restore.

Problem Cause: DFU instigated assignment of "next policy" on activation servers.

Resolution: Apple corrected policy assignment on activation servers.

Time Required To Resolve: 12 hours after submission to activation server group, however, it took two weeks of investigating for me to ask the right question.

Great, I'm glad it's resolved.

Stop saying what you don't know or never experienced please!! It is now a known fact that some verizon iphone 6 and iphone 6 plus are internationally locked. They will work with all gsm carriers in us but locked for international use. I have seen over 5 of them. Still looking for a way to unlock them.

IF you do a carrier check, they all confirm its Locked.

tthis is an example

IMEI:***************

S/N: F7*******5MF

Model: SVC IPHONE 6 MM 16GB GOLD CI/AR

ICCID: 89014104277760835995

Activated: Yes

iOS: 8.3

First Activation Date: 2015-05-04

Last Activation Date: 2015-08-06

Warranty Ends on: 2016-04-22

Purchase Date: 2015-04-23

Bluetooth Mac Address: 9CFC01BD16B7

WiFi Mac Address: 9CFC01BD16B6

Find my iPhone: OFF

ZIP/SSN Required: NO

Initial Activation Policy Description: 2320 - US GSM/VZW iPhone 6/6 Plus Service Policy

Applied Activation Policy Description: 2320 - US GSM/VZW iPhone 6/6 Plus Service Policy

Next Tether Policy Details: 2320 - US GSM/VZW iPhone 6/6 Plus Service Policy

Lock Status: Locked

<Personal Information Edited by Host>

I Think your phone is unlocked now