Use iPhone 4s as iPod Touch, Can't Activate

Question

Level 1

4 points

Use iPhone 4s as iPod Touch, Can't Activate

Hello all,

I have an old Sprint 4s that I'd like to keep using as an iPod Touch and don't need cell service on. I wiped it clean when I got my new phone and haven't touched it in about a year. I turned it on and it started to take me through the activation process but I keep getting the error message "Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable" So I plugged it into iTunes and when I click the on the iPhone in iTunes I get a message that says "Your request couldn't be processed. We're sorry, but there was an error processing your request. Please try again later." I tried restoring the phone and got the same messages. Then I tried putting the phone in recovery mode, restoring it, and I got the same messages after it updated the ios.

I had a chat session with Apple and after some troubleshooting to do things I had already done, they transferred me to a supervisor who basically said "you need a support sim, go search the forums." Anybody know anything about this? Is the sim card really the problem, and how do I get a support sim card?

Thanks in advance.

Matt

iPhone 4S, iOS 8.1.2

Posted on Jan 24, 2015 1:08 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 24, 2015 1:11 PM in response to mmnielson

A Sprint iPhone 4S should not require a SIM to activate as it is primarily a CDMA phone. It didn't require a SIM to activate it originally. Beyond that, I'm sorry, I don't really know what to tell you. It should activate if you connect it to iTunes.

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Answer 2

fjnt

Level 1

0 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:11 PM in response to mmnielson

For activate the iPhone you need a sim. I have an iPhone 4 and i need a sim for activate but after you dont need a sim for use. Do you try to put the sim of a friend to activate the iPhone?

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Answer 3

Jan 24, 2015 1:15 PM in response to fjnt

fjnt wrote:

For activate the iPhone you need a sim. I have an iPhone 4 and i need a sim for activate but after you dont need a sim for use. Do you try to put the sim of a friend to activate the iPhone?

Your information would be correct if the phone were anything but a Sprint or Verizon iPhone 4S. There is no such thing as a Sprint 3G SIM.

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Answer 4

mmnielson Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:24 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Yeah I didn't think the sim card was necessary for activation with Sprint, but I figured the Apple Chat folks knew better than I did. At any rate, I found somebody else with a 4s and swapped sim cards but got the same results.

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Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,309 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:27 PM in response to mmnielson

My understanding of the Sprit SIM is that it is matched to the particular device, so using one other than the one for the phone may be the reason it is not working. I'm guessing the one that you attempted to use was a Sprint SIM.

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Answer 6

Jan 24, 2015 1:28 PM in response to mmnielson

The best course of action at this point would probably be to contact Sprint.

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Answer 7

Jan 24, 2015 1:39 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

ChrisJ4203 wrote:

My understanding of the Sprit SIM is that it is matched to the particular device, so using one other than the one for the phone may be the reason it is not working. I'm guessing the one that you attempted to use was a Sprint SIM.

The iPhone 4S on Sprint wouldn't have required any SIM to activate. It would only have used a SIM for international roaming. Domestically, it would simply be working on the CDMA network. As I recall, the phones generally had to be connected to a computer with iTunes installed in order to activate them. What the OP did should have worked.

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Answer 8

Jan 24, 2015 1:40 PM in response to mmnielson

mmnielson wrote:

Yeah I didn't think the sim card was necessary for activation with Sprint, but I figured the Apple Chat folks knew better than I did. At any rate, I found somebody else with a 4s and swapped sim cards but got the same results.

Yeah, that SIM was for international roaming. It wouldn't have anything to do with activation. Can you restore the phone through iTunes?

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Answer 9

mmnielson Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:48 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

I tried that. Even put it into recovery mode and tried it that way through iTunes. It went through all the steps - downloaded the latest ios, installed, verified the install, rebooted, and then popped up with that same "Your request couldn't be processed" message.

Yes, both sim cards I tried were Sprint.

I think I know the answer to this, but there's no way to bypass the activation process, is there? Would jailbreaking do it? Or is this truly some weird problem with Sprint? (I just sent them a support request, so that is in process).

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Answer 10

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,309 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:48 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Yes, but from what I understand, they still ship with a SIM, that is just used to help identify the device. You remove that and then insert an international SIM if using it internationally. I read this from a Sprint user/employee on another Mac forum. I know the support document about using an older iPhone as an iPod has been archived by Apple. I'm not sure if things have changed that much to how you would use one that way.

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Answer 11

Jan 24, 2015 1:49 PM in response to mmnielson

Jailbreaking cannot be discussed here, is a bad idea and won't solve your problem (and probably cause some).

As suggested, contact Sprint to find out why it won't activate.

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Answer 12

mmnielson Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:50 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

I saw that archived post and it gave me some options I hadn't tried before, but none of them helped.

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Answer 13

mmnielson Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 24, 2015 1:51 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123

Ah, ok. Thanks.

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Answer 14

Jan 24, 2015 1:52 PM in response to mmnielson

Good luck, let us know what they say.

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Answer 15

Jan 24, 2015 9:05 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

ChrisJ4203 wrote:

Yes, but from what I understand, they still ship with a SIM, that is just used to help identify the device. You remove that and then insert an international SIM if using it internationally. I read this from a Sprint user/employee on another Mac forum.

Unless the Sprint iPhone 4S is vastly different than the Verizon one, I don't think this is correct. The Verizon 4S shipped with a Vodafone SIM. If you took it out, the phone still activated fine. CDMA doesn't require a SIM of any kind and, in the U.S., the Sprint 4S only works on Sprint's CDMA network. But, Sprint has done some pretty weird things before.

Yeah, I tried to pull up that article, too. I believe it used to have information on how to use a CDMA phone as an iPod.

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