No, that would NOT have solved the problem. It would STILL be locked for 60 days.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 11 Pro Warning: iPhone Upgrade Program 11 Pro's ARE NOT FACTORY UNLOCKED!!! THEY ARE LYING!!!
- Thread starter thefish2019
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Verizon is wrong. Ignore what they said. What they say is only for phones purchased from Verizon, not Apple. They are confused.
If you had activated your phone under the account you used when you purchased it, there would have been no problem.
The problem is you didn't activate an IUP Phone on the account it was purchased on.
Apple didn't get their commission from Verizon.
Therefore, the phone is locked until they do.
Simple as that.
Last edited:
Did you not read the rest of the thread, or just the first post?
I seriously doubt Apple is intentionally lying. They have nothing to gain from it. This sounds like a Verizon thing. They sell unlocked phones with no sim and you should have gotten that.
The Verizon rep looked up the IMEI and verified that it was locked in Verizon's database for 60 days. She put me on hold and called whoever they call at Apple, and then directly connected me to the "senior advisor" at Apple that she had been talking to while I was on hold. That person then said, essentially, that I was screwed for 60 days, or I could go exchange the phone.
FWIW, Verizon was locking phones well before July 23rd.
I sold my Verizon launch day 8 (purchased in 2017) to my friend a couple months ago who wanted to use it on Sprint, and it absolutely turned out to be locked to Verizon, even well after I owned the phone outright, and that phone in theory should've never been locked, period. It was a big hassle to get it definitively unlocked, by Verizon.
Also, my wife's launch day Verizon Xs and my Xs purchased in March - before July 23rd - also both definitively locked to Verizon - when dealing with the 8 I decided to ask about those two phones and sure enough, those were also locked and I went through the PUK process with Verizon to finally unlock them for real and got the unlocked text afterwards.
Moral of the story, they've been locking them for at least two years, regardless of what the internet says.
I almost feel like everything is locked unless you buy outright sim free from Apple, and everything the internet says otherwise is ****. I remember tons of threads about Verizon devices being locked when people traveled abroad, and it was a rude awakening for many who were certain they were not supposed to be locked due to whatever FCC agreement crap they supposedly had.
Oh calm down with the apple is lying bit.
I planned to switch carriers (old AT&T to new Verizon) with my new phone, but the IUP does not allow you to register new accounts, as you said. So I bought a Verizon SIM, activated it in my old iPhone X, and then bought an iPhone on the IUP on my old AT&T account. When my new iPhone 11 Pro Max came, I popped out the AT&T SIM it came with and put the Verizon one in, hooked it up to my laptop, and activated it just fine. Only issue so far is no AppleCare enrollment, though I'm told to call back if it doesn't resolve itself in 72 hours. So, messing with carriers like that is eminently possible if you don't get a Verizon phone.
It is a Verizon thing. Whether or not the lying on the Apple website is intentional remains to be seen. We now know that any Verizon iPhone is locked for 60 days. The problem is that Apple says they are unlocked. Granted, this could be as simple as a gigantic oversight by whomever was responsible for updating their website. It could also be that Apple knew that Verizon's new policy would put a dent in sales, which would be bad for the stock, so they just let the old language remain and decided to let customers deal with a very nasty surprise. The phone they sold me still counts as another iPhone sold - one they would not have sold if they had told the truth up front.
Just out of curiosity as we don’t have the IUP here (that I’m aware of). Isn’t it just for the personal use of the person who’s approved the loan?
Is it going against any terms to ‘give’ it to someone else, as it’s technically Apple’s (or the loan company’s until you’ve completed payments)?
If so, how does that work with parents buying them for children?
I’m relieved to hear the op hadn’t actually paid the full 1,500 as it seemed, but only one installment of around $65. I’m pretty sure that these kind of agreements having a cooling off period during which he could simply cancel it and start again with a new agreement and new phone. Annoying but not as bad as being ripped of to the tune of 1,500 as originally claimed...
Is it going against any terms to ‘give’ it to someone else, as it’s technically Apple’s (or the loan company’s until you’ve completed payments)?
If so, how does that work with parents buying them for children?
I’m relieved to hear the op hadn’t actually paid the full 1,500 as it seemed, but only one installment of around $65. I’m pretty sure that these kind of agreements having a cooling off period during which he could simply cancel it and start again with a new agreement and new phone. Annoying but not as bad as being ripped of to the tune of 1,500 as originally claimed...
Last edited:
I suggest filing a complaint about false advertising to the FTC.
FCC “we agree with Verizon that a temporary 60-day lock will not have an impact on an appreciable number of Verizon’s customers, nor will it have a material impact on their ability to switch carriers”
FCC says Verizon can lock phones to its network for 60 days after purchase
Verizon says it will start locking newly purchased phones “very soon.”
www.theverge.com
It's an unsecured loan, like a credit card, so the bank has no security interest in or ownership of the phone.
There is generally no cooling off period in the US. The OP does have Apple's standard return period.
What you could have done, and the OP should have done, is to just run the full activation process and get the new phone on AT&T, in your case. Then just pop the new AT&T SIM into your old device and do whatever you want with the new phone.
The key is to simply complete activation fully on the new device, then you can swap things around. Don't screw with anything before this. A rather simple concept is being lost.
Last edited:
And then wait 60 days for your "factory unlocked" iPhone to actually be unlocked.
is this under the tos link when using IUP? I’ve never used it so just curious
I did sign in under my Verizon account when ordering (it was 5AM, I think I did anyway). But I selected the option to set it up as a new phone, not on MY number.
this is what konqerror is trying to tell you. Being signed into your Verizon account and doing the IUP phone even as “New phone” will still tie it to your Verizon account.
I’m not in this thread to take sides or protect Apple or whatever. I’ve worked in the tech field long enough and have to deal with phone activations since the 3GS and have friends that still work for carriers via first party stores and this **** is a ****ing mess still. Carriers want to play their games, Apple wants to be fair to its customers but also needs to follow the carrier rules because they ultimately provide the service and it’s not like the old days where Apple has all of the pull with the carriers(think early iPhone days where they pretty much made ATT get better and join the current generation in tech. Same with Verizon and sprint. Activating a sprint iphone back in the day was a ****ing nightmare).
either way the bolded part is why your phone is locked and Verizon is a ****** ****ing company. Always were and always have been and the recent “FCC” (read ajit ****ward bs) is proof of that. They have no reason to lock your phone especially for 60 days. Legality, contracts, tos, whatever aside they are the only carrier doing this under IUP and it’s complete *********.
anyway as others have said definitely return it. I would call Apple again, ask to be escalated cause you already spent 3 hours and would like someone who can give you results. You should get a senior advisor or supervisor who can expedite your order and get you a different phone. If you truly paid $1500, buy the sim free outright. If your goal is to be able to upgrade every year (well girlfriends goal or your goal for your girlfriend) then you are stuck following Verizon’s ******** rule or getting a T-Mobile phone until next year when you upgrade and you should be able to change carriers then.
Lastly, in my opinion you are spending more time on these forums defending your “Apple is fraud” and other comments versus just driving to Apple 120 miles away and making a trip out of it with your girlfriend or just getting back on the phone and demanding the customer service you expect through Apple. No you shouldn’t have to but customer service isn’t always going to be flawless even for Apple and given it’s launch weekend I’m sure some manager(s) are breathing down their advisors necks to get calls done quickly and follow rules by the book versus providing true Apple customer support.
those are my two cents, I hope you find a solution quickly.
Repeating the same false statement over and over again doesn't make it right, doesn't change my mind one bit, nor does it solve your problem.
That doesn't change what the Apple says on its site about the phone being unlocked. I'm perfectly happy to have an unlocked phone associated with my account, as long as it's unlocked. However, as has been thoroughly discussed here, it was not unlocked as Apple said it would be.
I just verified that the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 11 Pro ordered through the iPhone Upgrade Program are both indeed unlocked. These phone were not SIM-free models. They came with carrier SIMs. I put a T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon SIM card in both phones and they both worked on all three carriers.
Your phone wasn't unlocked because you didn't complete the activation process. You failed activate it on the account you gave when purchasing, so your phone was not unlocked from the default Verizon configuration.
If you had completed the process, your phone would be unlocked as a Apple IUP phone, just like everybody else's IUP phone.
I've said this multiple times but you simply won't believe it, and rather throw accusations of fraud around. I even explained why this policy is so, multiple times.
You are correct. After 60 days, the locked phone I was shipped (after being told I was being shipped an unlocked phone) would be graciously unlocked by Verizon, just like all other IUP phones.
Nope. Look at the post before me. You even liked that post! You were proven wrong once again!
Yes, but again, my point is that the phone was unlocked. I don't think I could have activated it on AT&T because I had already ported my phone number to Verizon? I did try to think this through; I'm a professional software developer.