Unlocked No-Contract iPhone 5?

[elias]

Hello all,

I intend to buy an iPhone 5 from a retail store here in the US.
It's for a friend abroad and I need it to be: 1) Factory Unlocked 2) No-contract

Are devices with such characteristics sold at apple stores or not?

Thank you!

 

[willerz2]

In terms of right out of the box factory unlocked AND no-contract, depends on your store. Some Apple Stores will have them already done so straight before putting it into the box, some Apple stores will take it out of the box and unlock it on the spot (which takes about a day or two to kick in), and some will just take your order and say they'll have it shipped to you. You can give them a call and ask them.

 

[idave23]

Are there any verified instances of this actually happening at a US Apple Store? I just spent the last week looking into this, including a visit to our local store, and came away with the impression you can't get one this way, at least in the US.

 

[scifan57]

Hello all,

I intend to buy an iPhone 5 from a retail store here in the US.
It's for a friend abroad and I need it to be: 1) Factory Unlocked 2) No-contract

Are devices with such characteristics sold at apple stores or not?

Thank you!

You should check first to make sure that the LTE frequency bands in your friend's country are compatible with the LTE bands on an iPhone intended for use in the USA.

 

[willerz2]

You'll need to get a rep that is either a senior rep or a branch manager who has a say

 

[elias]

Are there any verified instances of this actually happening at a US Apple Store? I just spent the last week looking into this, including a visit to our local store, and came away with the impression you can't get one this way, at least in the US.

You'll find one at Verizon stores at retail price (650$) + 1 month prepaid (40$) which you can cancel afterwards, for a total of 690$ for a 16GB. I called yesterday and got this confirmed. You can buy it online as well under "Smartphones with wireless" or something like that.

 

[idave23]

You'll find one at Verizon stores at retail price (650$) + 1 month prepaid (40$) which you can cancel afterwards, for a total of 690$ for a 16GB. I called yesterday and got this confirmed. You can buy it online as well under "Smartphones with wireless" or something like that.

Thank you, I'll look into those. Assuming I can get one from a Verizon store, it'll work in China correct?

 

[idave23]

You'll need to get a rep that is either a senior rep or a branch manager who has a say

That didn't seem to be an option at our store unfortunately. They just kept saying "no".

 

[elias]

Thank you, I'll look into those. Assuming I can get one from a Verizon store, it'll work in China correct?

I believe it will work, though I'm not sure the 4G will (Apple iPhone 5 LTE Data Plan Won't Work On China's Largest Network).

Please let me know if you do get it from Verizon, so that if I haven't already I can use some advice from you or something. thanks!

 

[idave23]

I believe it will work, though I'm not sure the 4G will (Apple iPhone 5 LTE Data Plan Won't Work On China's Largest Network).

Please let me know if you do get it from Verizon, so that if I haven't already I can use some advice from you or something. thanks!

Well I just went to the Verizon store and was clearly not informed enough to do what I want to do so I need some clarification on some things. They said they have no way of selling the phones without attaching numbers to them and activating them and that it wouldn't be prepaid but billed after. You mentioned the $40 "prepaid" in your earlier post. Does that mean I go ahead and buy the phones and go through the whole process of them assigning numbers and then sign up for month to month plans and just cancel the plans at some point later? And would that mean that the people in China these are eventually going to will just remove the SIM cards, insert their own and be good to go? And if that's the case, how long do I need to wait before I cancel the month to month? Is there a charge for that? I know I could just ask the guy at the Verizon store but I already looked fairly clueless when I went in this morning so I'd like to be as informed as I can be before I go back the next time.

I'm also curious if anyone knows, can I do all this with Verizon phones bought through Best Buy or at an Apple Store? Sorry for all the questions but my wife leaves in a week for China and I don't want to spend this much money on phones that may not work when she gets them there.

Thanks for any help.

 

[willerz2]

It'll work as long as it's an unlocked iPhone. Yes, you'll just insert the SIM and it should work on most networks. On the ones that don't, you might need to set up the APN settings according to the Chinese carrier she's trying to use. As for the prepaid no contract plan, you can cancel it immediately really, but you'll be charged the initial $40 for it regardless of whether you cancel it immediately after buying the iPhone or on the last day of the month cycle (not the end of the month literally as in the 30th of the month, but as in the last day of the monthly rotation)

 

[idave23]

It'll work as long as it's an unlocked iPhone. Yes, you'll just insert the SIM and it should work on most networks. On the ones that don't, you might need to set up the APN settings according to the Chinese carrier she's trying to use. As for the prepaid no contract plan, you can cancel it immediately really, but you'll be charged the initial $40 for it regardless of whether you cancel it immediately after buying the iPhone or on the last day of the month cycle (not the end of the month literally as in the 30th of the month, but as in the last day of the monthly rotation)

Thank you. So I should just go through the procedure of letting them sign me up as if I was going to be using the phone here?

 

[willerz2]

When you register the line for the phone, tell them that you want it unlocked and on a prepaid no-contract plan so that they'll assign you a number. What you do with the number is up to you since it's a requirement for Verizon to sell you the iPhone that way. Make sure that it's unlocked. If you can, bring a working SIM from another carrier to the store with you so that you can test it out.

 

[idave23]

When you register the line for the phone, tell them that you want it unlocked and on a prepaid no-contract plan so that they'll assign you a number. What you do with the number is up to you since it's a requirement for Verizon to sell you the iPhone that way. Make sure that it's unlocked. If you can, bring a working SIM from another carrier to the store with you so that you can test it out.

Now I'm a little confused. When I mentioned the word "unlocked" the guy said "We can't unlock them." I told him all Verizon iPhone5s are already unlocked and he seemed surprised by that. So what's actually the case? Are they already unlocked as I've been reading which means they or I don't need to do anything to them at the store or do they physically need to unlock them somehow? I wouldn't even know how to test another SIM card to know if it's unlocked.

 

[willerz2]

What the hell am I say.... Forgot this is about the 5 LOL. Yes, for the 5, it's already unlocked, and Verizon has no plans of locking them as of yet. YET. Half of the Verizon reps you see at the store won't know this since they're just focused and trained on how to set up the phone itself. Unlocking a device will need a more experienced rep or even the store manager/senior rep to do.

To test whether or not the iPhone is unlocked, just pop open the SIM tray on the right side of the iPhone, remove the Verizon LTE nano SIM, and replace it with a nano SIM from another company. If you know someone or if you're currently on an AT&T iPhone 5 or a phone that uses a nano SIM, you can just slip it out of the other phone and put it into the Verizon one you just bought and see if you can make calls, surf the web and text as a brief test.