iPhone 8/Plus Need help with setting up my 8+ for a new owner.

[ssledoux]

Ok bear with me. I’m gonna try to explain as briefly as possible, but I need to know the best/easiest way to do this.

Paid off 8+ through my AT&T to do upgrade (this particular phone is actually my daughter’s, but it’s on my AT&T account). A friend is buying it. She has AT&T, and an older phone (5C).

What do I need to do to have the phone ready for her? Is just paying it off and removing from Apple account okay or do I need to do an unlock as well?

ALSO, what does SHE need to do to be able to use it? Can her SIM card from her 5C just be put in it, OR does she need to go to AT&T and have them do something with the phone/SIM?

Just want to be prepared so the process can go as smoothly as possible.

I should know these details considering the number of phones I have sold in the past, but I generally unlock them and send them on, so I don’t know what people are having to do on the other end.

Thanks for the help!

 

[JD2015]

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201351

In regards to iPhone ensure it is unlocked by going to current cellular provider unless the new owner is with same network.

With all that should be ready to go.

 

[jpn]

Ok bear with me. I’m gonna try to explain as briefly as possible, but I need to know the best/easiest way to do this.

Paid off 8+ through my AT&T to do upgrade (this particular phone is actually my daughter’s, but it’s on my AT&T account). A friend is buying it. She has AT&T, and an older phone (5C).

What do I need to do to have the phone ready for her? Is just paying it off and removing from Apple account okay or do I need to do an unlock as well?

ALSO, what does SHE need to do to be able to use it? Can her SIM card from her 5C just be put in it, OR does she need to go to AT&T and have them do something with the phone/SIM?

Just want to be prepared so the process can go as smoothly as possible.

I should know these details considering the number of phones I have sold in the past, but I generally unlock them and send them on, so I don’t know what people are having to do on the other end.

Thanks for the help!

hi

the key thing is to really ensure that your phone is truely unlocked by ATT first.

then, the link that JD2015 gave ( https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201351 )is the best link to follow. make sure you do the steps in exactly the order apple lists, including delisting the connection to iMessage with that phone.

your friend who is getting the phone most likely needs to do nothing with her SIM card. usually just putting it into a new device works (magically) as long as the new phone is compatible with that SIM's carrier.

there are horror stories about not shutting off all the services before wiping the phone, etc. so do follow the steps in the provided link and it should be ok.

 

[Jordan921]

Ok bear with me. I’m gonna try to explain as briefly as possible, but I need to know the best/easiest way to do this.

Paid off 8+ through my AT&T to do upgrade (this particular phone is actually my daughter’s, but it’s on my AT&T account). A friend is buying it. She has AT&T, and an older phone (5C).

What do I need to do to have the phone ready for her? Is just paying it off and removing from Apple account okay or do I need to do an unlock as well?

ALSO, what does SHE need to do to be able to use it? Can her SIM card from her 5C just be put in it, OR does she need to go to AT&T and have them do something with the phone/SIM?

Just want to be prepared so the process can go as smoothly as possible.

I should know these details considering the number of phones I have sold in the past, but I generally unlock them and send them on, so I don’t know what people are having to do on the other end.

Thanks for the help!

Is she an AT&T also? If she is no need to unlock it. Just restore the phone and she can just put her sim in and use it.

 

[ssledoux]

Thanks for the info.

Yes, she is with AT&T. I will remove my phone from my Apple ID, restore it to factory settings, and I just didn’t know if I needed to unlock, but she has AT&T so it seems that won’t be necessary.

And I wasn’t sure if she could just put her SIM in, especially since she is using a much older phone, but I’m glad it appears she can!

 

[Jordan921]

Thanks for the info.

Yes, she is with AT&T. I will remove my phone from my Apple ID, restore it to factory settings, and I just didn’t know if I needed to unlock, but she has AT&T so it seems that won’t be necessary.

And I wasn’t sure if she could just put her SIM in, especially since she is using a much older phone, but I’m glad it appears she can!

No they both use the same sims. I mean you can have it unlocked since it’s paid off, but since she has AT&T she can just put her sim in and use it.

 

[ssledoux]

Great! I was hoping we could take care of it outside of AT&T since I imagine the stores will be hectic for a bit.

 

[eyoungren]

Thanks for the info.

Yes, she is with AT&T. I will remove my phone from my Apple ID, restore it to factory settings, and I just didn’t know if I needed to unlock, but she has AT&T so it seems that won’t be necessary.

And I wasn’t sure if she could just put her SIM in, especially since she is using a much older phone, but I’m glad it appears she can!

Just to comment here. Since it's paid off, even though it is not necessary to unlock it, you might do it. I mention that because it's easy and ultimately you may be doing yourself a favor.

Here is the unlock portal: https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/unlockstep1

I had a 3GS once (a few years ago) that my sister gave me. It had been paid off for at least two or more years when I gave it to a friend who had T-Mobile. When my friend made the request to unlock the phone AT&T wanted to know the phone number that it was originally tied to. Cue me having to contact my sister and she having to try and remember a phone number that she had two numbers prior. It all worked out, but it ended up getting two other people involved to do it.

Now, granted your friend is on the same network, but if she ever decides to move or sell the phone on or give it away at some future date and it's NOT unlocked - it's reasonable to assume you might get dragged into unlocking it in some way.

Just pointing this out…

 

[ssledoux]

Just to comment here. Since it's paid off, even though it is not necessary to unlock it, you might do it. I mention that because it's easy and ultimately you may be doing yourself a favor.

Here is the unlock portal: https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/unlockstep1

I had a 3GS once (a few years ago) that my sister gave me. It had been paid off for at least two or more years when I gave it to a friend who had T-Mobile. When my friend made the request to unlock the phone AT&T wanted to know the phone number that it was originally tied to. Cue me having to contact my sister and she having to try and remember a phone number that she had two numbers prior. It all worked out, but it ended up getting two other people involved to do it.

Now, granted your friend is on the same network, but if she ever decides to move or sell the phone on or give it away at some future date and it's NOT unlocked - it's reasonable to assume you might get dragged into unlocking it in some way.

Just pointing this out…

Good point. And though she is still carrying around the 5C I sold her quite a few years back, you just never know...

Besides, it really doesn’t take me a minute to do it, so why not. I just mainly wanted to know if it had to be done so that even if it wasn’t completed, we could still get all her stuff set up.
[doublepost=1537485184][/doublepost]Well, paid the device off several days ago and the unlock link is telling me I need to pay off the device before they can unlock it. Idiots.