Taking Straight Talk iPhone 5 to Verizon, Problem

Verizon will not support a phone that was not purchased for use with Verizon. That is a Verizon decision, having nothing to do with Apple. Some functions will work if you use a previously activated SIM, but you can't activate a new SIM because the IMEI/MEID of the phone is not in Verizon's database. But even if you use a previously activated SIM, the phone will not work in areas that do not have LTE service, and some functions, such as Visual Voicemail, call forwarding, and "short codes" to access Verizon services usually won't work. You will also be unable to add features, such as International data plans, to the phone, because its IMEI/MEID is not in Verizon's database.

bnelsonr wrote:

OK. What you said am sure is correct. So that being said, what do the different carriers do to the iPhone to make them proprietary?

Can whatever is done be undone? Also if I bought a iPhone from the Apple Store, does the carrier you put it on become the only carrier

you can register it on there after?

Nothing was done to the phone itself. Carriers that use CDMA and LTE (in the U.S. that includes Sprint and Verizon) cannot activate the CDMA part part of the phone unless the phone's information is loaded into their device databases. Apple provides them with that information for the phones that are sold for those carriers. Most carriers do provide a way for the consumer to add a phone to the database. I've only heard of it being done for a customer when Apple provided a replacement phone that was supposed to be for a carrier but wouldn't activate. It required carrier tech support to talk directly to Apple. Eventually, both Sprint and Verizon will move away from CDMA.

For carriers that use GSM and LTE, it is only required that the phone be unlocked and that you have the appropriate SIM.

No, a phone you buy from Apple is not locked to the first carrier you use.

On a side note, the phones Verizon sells are unlocked. They will work on Verizon's network as they are intended to. The will also work on any GSM/LTE carrier (e.g. AT&T, TMobile, and networks in other countries)>

I have a very similar yet different problem. The iphone5 that I have is a Verizon phone, with a Verizon IMEI/MEID. The problem is, when I called Verizon to activate it, they said the ICCID was changed to be used with StraightTalk, and they could not do anything to change it back to Verizon. It was/is a Verizon phone. It has a SIM card. (I'm assuming it's a StraighTalk SIM card/ICCID, I've looked up the ICCID, but can't find anything). So how can I switch this phone back to Verizon? Thanks in advance.

I have a very similar yet different problem. The iphone5 that I have is a Verizon phone, with a Verizon IMEI/MEID. The problem is, when I called Verizon to activate it, they said the ICCID was changed to be used with StraightTalk, and they could not do anything to change it back to Verizon. It was/is a Verizon phone. It has a SIM card. (I'm assuming it's a StraighTalk SIM card/ICCID, I've looked up the ICCID, but can't find anything). So how can I switch this phone back to Verizon? Thanks in advance.

Take the phone into a Verizon Store and see if they can activate it for you.