Frank Miller2

Q: Set up older iPhone

I have a iPhone 4S given to me by a friend to replace my older 3GS as a travel phone - mostly in Europe with a sim based in the UK. This 4S was tied to AT&T, but my friend had it unlocked years ago.  He just got a new phone, erased this old one and removed his apple id.  I popped in my sim, unlocked it with the sim pin, connected it to my Wi-Fi and hit a wall.  The phone wants to connect to an 'Activation Server' which of course it can't do as this sim is based in the UK.  The sim does work here just fine on the T-Mobile network in my 3GS, but why do I need to connect an unlocked phone to a server to activate it.  Is it possible that the phone isn't really unlocked?  Any enlightenment will be greatly appreciated.   Farnk

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Jun 7, 2016 3:24 PM

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Q: Set up older iPhone

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  • by Frank Miller2,

    Frank Miller2 Frank Miller2 Jun 8, 2016 8:37 AM in response to Frank Miller2
    Level 2 (174 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 8, 2016 8:37 AM in response to Frank Miller2

    No ideas??

  • by Michael Black,Apple recommended

    Michael Black Michael Black Jun 8, 2016 8:49 AM in response to Frank Miller2
    Level 7 (24,850 points)
    Jun 8, 2016 8:49 AM in response to Frank Miller2

    In order to use a iPhone, you must Activate it with Apple over a wifi connection or in iTunes. This step has nothing at all to do with the carrier's cellular service setup.  A locked phone will require a SIM from the carrier it is locked to, but if your phone was still locked to AT&T you'd have gotten the message about an incompatible SIM being present.

     

    As long as you have a wifi connection, you should be able to activate an unlocked iPhone with any SIM in the SIM slot (a SIM must be present, but for an unlocked phone it can be any SIM).

     

    If you can't activate your iPhone - Apple Support

  • by KiltedTim,

    KiltedTim KiltedTim Jun 8, 2016 8:56 AM in response to Frank Miller2
    Level 9 (55,990 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 8, 2016 8:56 AM in response to Frank Miller2

    If you're getting an "invalid SIM" message on the phone, then it was NOT unlocked.

  • by Frank Miller2,

    Frank Miller2 Frank Miller2 Jun 8, 2016 1:43 PM in response to KiltedTim
    Level 2 (174 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 8, 2016 1:43 PM in response to KiltedTim

    Thank you to both for your replies.  I am indeed getting an 'invalid sim' message.  I will contact the friend who gave me the phone and see what he says.  He assured me it was unlocked several years ago when his initial contract was paid off.  Thanks again.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Jun 8, 2016 2:42 PM in response to Frank Miller2
    Level 7 (24,850 points)
    Jun 8, 2016 2:42 PM in response to Frank Miller2

    Unlocking with AT&T is not automatic at the completion of a contract. He would have had to specifically contacted AT&T support and requested an unlock. Then, once they approved it, they'd email when the unlock was provisioned. Once provisioned, he would have had to restore the iPhone as a new device in iTunes to apply the unlock. At the end of the rstore he should have seen a message in iTunes confirming the unlock was complete.

     

    If he never did the restore as new in iTunes, you can simply do that now. If the phone is provisioned in Apple's database as approved for unlock by AT&T, a restore as new now should unlock it.

  • by Frank Miller2,

    Frank Miller2 Frank Miller2 Jun 11, 2016 11:58 AM in response to Michael Black
    Level 2 (174 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 11, 2016 11:58 AM in response to Michael Black

    Thank you for your reply.  He did, I believe, restore the phone as a new device, but because I'm getting the 'invalid sim' message, I think the phone is still locked to his account.