Sprint says iphone 5 is unlockable. That makes zero sense to me. What is the workaround for that?

Here is some additional documentation.

First, this is from Apple. Be certain to read Footnote 3.

Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in the United States and Canada - Apple Support

This is from Sprint:

https://www.sprint.com/legal/unlocking_policy.html#!/

Without supplying a reason (that I could find), Sprint states they will not unlock an iPhone 5 for domestic use. They would unlock an iPhone 5S or later.

UPDATE - Also see Sprint's MSL note at the bottom. Perhaps this is your way to proceed!

Unlockable would mean that they cannot be locked.

It sounds like you re saying the opposite. Very confusing.

If you want the iPhone unlocked, then ONLY the carrier to which it is locked can do that. It may be that this iPhones are CDMA only, which means that they could not be used on a GSM (like AT&T) network at all. If Sprint will not unlock it, then it cannot be legally/legitimately unlocked.

Sorry

gatorboy wrote:

If it's not obvious from my question ...

It certainly was not obvious, but I understand now, thanks.

Here are the specifications for your iPhone:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/iphone/specs/apple-iphone-5-a1429-cdma-lte -sprint-verizon-specs.html

Note the same model works with Sprint and Verizon.

It is entirely up to Sprint, your original cellular carrier, what their unlock policies are. But as you can see from a hardware perspective, this same iPhone 5 could use Verizon.

Unlocking is at the discretion of the carrier. It's not up to Apple or anyone else. Only the carrier can authorize unlocking the phone. If you don't meet their requirements for unlocking, it can not be unlocked. It's simple. If you are a Sprint customer and meet their requirements for unlocking, they will do so. If you are NOT a Sprint customer they are under no obligation to unlock it.

gatorboy wrote:

Right, poor choice of words, thanks. Looks like I'll need to look into online sites that claim to unlock iphone 5s, it just sounds absurd to me that an electronic device with this level of sophistication has been designed in such a way that it can only ever be used with one carrier. It's an expensive mistake on my part, but I suppose I'm wiser now.

Unlocking sites you find online are a scam and charge you large amounts of money to hack your device. The next time you have to restore or update the device it will lock back. Why won't Sprint unlock your phone if it is locked to their network. Like was said earlier, only the carrier the device is locked to can authorize the unlock. The iPhones have not been designed to work with only one carrier, except the older iPhones that were designed to only be used with Verizon, since it was a CDMA device and the phone was only designed to be used with that CDMA network.

I may be wrong, but if the iPhone 5 was the first one for Sprint, it may be because the device only had the CDMA radio, and they cannot unlock it. I cannot be for sure, but if the device has a SIM slot, have you tried using another carrier's SIM? If it is the CDMA only device, even Apple cannot unlock it, and Apple does not unlock phones anyway. Only the carrier as I stated earlier.

gatorboy wrote:

I'm not even sure what being "locked" entails, but the idea of only ever being able to use your iphone with a single carrier seems unreasonable.

This was a regular occurrence when carriers were subsidizing phones and would get you to sign a contract and you only paid a fraction of the price for the phone. Most people at the time never really had a problem with that because they appreciated the fact they could get a $700 phone for $199. Times are changing and most carriers will no longer subsidize phones, but you have to specify if you want to purchase an unlocked phone. Even full price phones can come locked, but most carriers offer unlocks. Some charge minor amounts, most are free. But it can also depend on the phone. The iPhone 4 for Verizon in the US was a CDMA only phone and couldn't be used on other carriers. There was also a GSM iPhone 4, and that one had a SIM slot.

They claim it's an Apple iPhone issue.

I would ask them for the documentation that explains/supports this statement.

Other than being Sprint "policy' the only technical explanation is that this model does not "activate" in the expected manner.

Meaning Sprint has no way to send an activation policy to Apple, so that when your phone contacts Apple's activation server, it is given the go ahead to use either a specific carrier or any carrier. Locked vs. unlocked.

As noted, CDMA phones don't do this

gatorboy wrote:

Sprint says iphone 5 is unlockable. That makes zero sense to me.

Oh, so you wish to keep your iPhone 5 locked to Sprint? Well, then, simply do not ask Sprint to unlock it!