If you buy them at an Apple Store and pay full price (unsubsidized) the phone will be unlocked. As the XR is expected to have higher demand and supplies might be constrained for a while, priority is given to carrier customers.
Warning! I bought an XR (T-Mobile but I never activated). Paid 100%. Tried to put it on Verizon. After 8+ hours with Verizon tech support they were not able to get it to work. The phone came with an IMEI, etc. but the metadata behind the IMEI (wherever that's kept in the cloud - good luck) was never released by Apple. Without this device registry the phone cant be put on any network. A very sneaky lock. I returned the phone.
You bought a GSM model and then tried to use it on a legacy CDMA carrier. What Verizon was looking for was the MEID number but since you have a GSM model iPhone there isn't one. You also couldn't have used that iPhone on Sprint for the same reason. It is nothing sneaky at all.
As I understand it the newest phones have both GSM and CDMA.
Also, Verizon tech support was able to get the phone working. It worked for several days. Some features refused to work, however, because the phone had to be loaded onto the Verizon network as an "experimental tablet". (That's just what I was told). They couldn't get it set up correctly without a valid IMEI. Apparently there are a lot of technical specifications for the phone that go with the number. My IMEI came up as "an unrecognized number".
Anyway, I was told by Apple, before I bought the phone, that it was an unlocked phone that could be used on any of the major carriers.
Not true.
I've been told by Apple that SIM free, carrier free XRs will be for sale online on 11/14.
If you want an real unlocked phone, wait a few more days.
Does iPhone XR not come in an unlocked variant?
