Sidebar Sidebar
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!!!

thefish2019 said:
Would you like to know what isn't misinformation?



That's really all that needs to be said.
Click to expand...

Nope. Binding legal contract
www.apple.com

iPhone Upgrade Program Terms and Conditions

www.apple.com

iPhone Upgrade Program. The iPhone Upgrade Program is available to qualified end-user customers who finance and activate an eligible iPhone with an AppleCare+ Plan, as set forth below.
...
Wireless Service Activation. The Financed iPhone requires wireless service activation on a new or existing wireless service plan with an eligible carrier under the carrier’s terms, and may be subject to an additional fee charged by your carrier.
Click to expand...
[automerge]1569142085[/automerge]
Banglazed said:
United States – Unlocked SIM-free
  • 64GB Space Gray MWGY2LL/A
  • 256GB Space Gray MWH42LL/A
  • 512GB Space Gray MWH82LL/A
  • 64GB Silver MWH02LL/A
  • 256GB Silver MWH52LL/A
  • 512GB Silver MWH92LL/A
  • 64GB Midnight Green MWH22LL/A
  • 256GB Midnight Green MWH72LL/A
  • 512GB Midnight Green MWHC2LL/A
  • 64GB Gold MWH12LL/A
  • 256GB Gold MWH62LL/A
  • 512GB Gold MWHA2LL/A
United States – Verizon Wireless
  • 64GB Space Gray MWGF2LL/A
  • 256GB Space Gray MWGK2LL/A
  • 512GB Space Gray MWGP2LL/A
  • 64GB Silver MWGG2LL/A
  • 256GB Silver MWGL2LL/A
  • 512GB Silver MWGQ2LL/A
  • 64GB Midnight Green MWGJ2LL/A
  • 256GB Midnight Green MWGN2LL/A
  • 512GB Midnight Green MWGT2LL/A
  • 64GB Gold MWGH2LL/A
  • 256GB Gold MWGM2LL/A
  • 512GB Gold MWGR2LL/A
United States – Sprint
  • 64GB Space Gray MWG22LL/A
  • 256GB Space Gray MWG62LL/A
  • 512GB Space Gray MWGA2LL/A
  • 64GB Silver MWG32LL/A
  • 256GB Silver MWG72LL/A
  • 512GB Silver MWGC2LL/A
  • 64GB Midnight Green MWG52LL/A
  • 256GB Midnight Green MWG92LL/A
  • 512GB Midnight Green MWGE2LL/A
  • 64GB Gold MWG42LL/A
  • 256GB Gold MWG82LL/A
  • 512GB Gold MWGD2LL/A
United States – AT&T
  • 64GB Space Gray MWF92LL/A
  • 256GB Space Gray MWFE2LL/A
  • 512GB Space Gray MWFJ2LL/A
  • 64GB Silver MWFA2LL/A
  • 256GB Silver MWFF2LL/A
  • 512GB Silver MWFK2LL/A
  • 64GB Midnight Green MWFD2LL/A
  • 256GB Midnight Green MWFH2LL/A
  • 512GB Midnight Green MWFM2LL/A
  • 64GB Gold MWFC2LL/A
  • 256GB Gold MWFG2LL/A
  • 512GB Gold MWFL2LL/A
United States – T-Mobile
  • 64GB Space Gray MWFN2LL/A
  • 256GB Space Gray MWFT2LL/A
  • 512GB Space Gray MWFX2LL/A
  • 64GB Silver MWFP2LL/A
  • 256GB Silver MWFU2LL/A
  • 512GB Silver MWFY2LL/A
  • 64GB Midnight Green MWFR2LL/A
  • 256GB Midnight Green MWFW2LL/A
  • 512GB Midnight Green MWG12LL/A
  • 64GB Gold MWFQ2LL/A
  • 256GB Gold MWFV2LL/A
  • 512GB Gold MWG02LL/A
The part numbers does not clearly differential GSM/CDMA. If you were to break each letter of the part number down, it basically specify the device such as retail unit/replacement unit, carrier, iPhone name, capacity, color and region. As stated in Apple LTE support page, GSM/CDMA differentiating models starts with A like A2161. If you go on your iPhone and go to Settings>General>About>Model Number>Tap the model number to get the AXXXX that will specify LTE models. If you go into Verizon/Sprint and AT&T/T-Mobile store, it should match what I said below:







Model A2161 GSM/CDMA iPhone 11 Pro Max
Model A2160 GSM/CDMA iPhone 11 Pro
Model A2111 GMS/CMDA iPhone 11

The iPhone Wiki

www.theiphonewiki.com www.theiphonewiki.com
Click to expand...

You're just stating irrelevant facts that aren't under dispute at all. You aren't connecting the fact that when you activate your iPhone, a server at Apple looks at your serial number, decides whether you got a CDMA or GSM configuration, and locks out CDMA as appropriate.

Nothing you say is wrong here. I'm not disputing the fact that the A model numbers are identical. I'm not disputing the fact that the hardware is identical.

I'm saying there is a software CDMA lockout based on the carrier the phone was intended for. It's delivered to the phone the same way the SIM locks are delivered.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jpn
thefish2019 said:
According to supervisors at both Verizon and Apple, with whom I spent 3 hours on the phone today, this is incorrect.
Click to expand...
They gave you incorrect information. It is unlocked. I have a Verizon iPhone Upgrade Program iPhone 11 Pro that was activated on Friday with the Verizon SIM it came with and yesterday I put active T-Mobile and AT&T SIM cards in it and it worked on both carriers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: michie0708, Arndroid, Stratus Fear and 1 other person
konqerror said:
Nope. Binding legal contract
www.apple.com

iPhone Upgrade Program Terms and Conditions

www.apple.com


[automerge]1569142085[/automerge]


You're just stating irrelevant facts that aren't under dispute at all. You aren't connecting the fact that when you activate your iPhone, a server at Apple looks at your serial number, decides whether you got a CDMA or GSM configuration, and locks out CDMA as appropriate.

Nothing you say is wrong here. I'm not disputing the fact that the A model numbers are identical. I'm not disputing the fact that the hardware is identical.

I'm saying there is a software CDMA lockout based on the carrier the phone was intended for. It's delivered to the phone the same way the SIM locks are delivered.
Click to expand...

I responded to your initial claims that markyr17 made the wrong assumptions. However, I was pointing out that you are correct. In previous models, Apple had two different model suppliers (Intel for GSM) and (Qualcomm for GSM/CDMA). However, starting last year, there was only one modem supplier Intel (GSM/CDMA) which clearly showed that there were no distinction between GSM/CDMA variant. However, you claim that software limited CDMA capability on GSM models. Back then, the GSM only models does not support CDMA network as I noted previous with the iPhone X (A1865 GSM/CDMA, A1901 GSM only). When looking at the reddit post you linked, some IUP users with last year iPhone shows as not compatible with Verizon (does not mean the software limited CDMA. There are other reddit threads that provided solutions that it was the carrier database at fault, Verizon. Software does not limit CDMA but it is at the discretion of the carrier for locking iPhone. Activation server grabs the carrier info such as account, number, policy etc and compare the part number to verify if this is from an authorized retailer that Verizon can lock down the device for 60 days and LTE model for network compatibility. Carrier, specific part number, can request Apple servers to release the lock once their customer satisfy their requirement. Hence, Apple servers only act as a gate keeper between you and your carrier. If carrier said this iPhone owes them money and wants it locked down to their network, Apple server will change the activation policy from unlocked to locked. Carrier can blacklist the IMEI from their network for unpaid balance or fraud.

https://www.reddit.com/r/verizon/comments/9ms0qk
https://www.reddit.com/r/verizon/comments/9yjmbp
https://www.reddit.com/r/verizon/comments/9r6yt9/_/e8h4lxb
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Azathoth123
macfacts said:
Apple controls both the hardware and software yet let carriers install bloatware and carrier locks. Awesome.
Click to expand...

There is no carrier bloatware on iPhones. Carriers control their own networks and businesses, not Apple. Apple provides a service to their customers consistent with the carrier rules that customers agree to when they finance phones.

Look, the OP made a mistake out of ignorance and embarrassed himself to his girlfriend and the MR forum, and is trying to blame anyone but himself. Return the phone and buy SIM free or add her to his plan as any decent boyfriend would do after bricking his girlfriend’s phone.

There’s no graceful way out of ignorance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachz, naturalstar, jpn and 3 others
thefish2019 said:
Would you like to know what isn't misinformation?

View attachment 862058

That's really all that needs to be said.

I'm going to let you fanboys take over now. You have confirmed the reputation of this board as a cesspool of Apple propaganda and complete nonsense. Enjoy your bubble!
Click to expand...

This is amazing. You’ve been told many times that the phone isn’t unlocked until after it’s been activated on the wireless carrier you chose during the ordering process, and that you can’t simply do SIM swaps before it’s been activated. It’s been pointed out to you that this is required in the terms and conditions, and several folks here have even cited the specific terms showing it. Several folks who use Verizon have chimed in confirming the above successfully unlocks the phone. The only reason any of this could possibly be an unreasonable hassle for you is if you were madly in love with your existing Verizon SIM card, because literally all you need to do is activate the phone with the new Verizon SIM in it, take that SIM out and put it in your existing phone, and put your girlfriend’s T-Mobile SIM in the new phone, and toss your old SIM. That is literally all you would have to do. Stating any of this makes no one a fanboy; folks here have only been stating the facts. What you, for some reason, stubbornly continue to want to do was not meant to work and will not work. Apple’s activation and unlock policy for IUP is set up this way to ensure IUP activations are only on specific carriers and you can’t circumvent it. End of story. Continue to enjoy bashing your head on a wall if you want. I’m sure folks here would rather see you a happy customer, though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lobwedgephil, iGeneo and BeeGood
thefish2019 said:
I got my girlfriend the Verizon version of the iPhone 11 Pro Max. I used the iPhone Upgrade Program directly through the Apple Store app. I'm with Verizon, she's with T-Mobile. I wanted to get the Verizon version in case she ever wanted to be able to switch. After clicking on "Will my iPhone be unlocked" and reading this incredibly clear, unambiguous statement, I ordered, thinking that Apple wouldn't lie to me in such a provably false way. I thought it would actually be the truth. However, sadly, they LIE right on the order page. Here's the statement:

View attachment 861859

The phone arrived yesterday. When my very excited girlfriend put her TMobile Sim Card in it, it wouldn't let her activate it. It said to contact Apple or Verizon. After a total of more than 3 hours on the phone today, Verizon says the phone is locked to them for 60 DAYS - even though the phone IS NOT FINANCED THROUGH VERIZON and the above statement is incredibly clear about the phone coming from the factory unlocked.

It's sad that Apple has chosen to lie to people like this, presumably to inflate sales to unsuspecting users that rely on their unambiguous statements like the one above. However, they have, and now the community needs to be warned. We now have a $1500 useless piece of garbage that we will have to drive a total of 120 miles to exchange...if we can even get one in stock.

DO NOT BELIEVE THE STATEMENT ABOVE. IT IS A WHOLESALE LIE. THESE PHONES ARE NOT UNLOCKED IN ANY WAY.
Click to expand...

Seems pretty clear to me.
 
So with this new Verizon locking policy, if someone were to buy a SIM free iPhone from Apple and put a Verizon SIM in the phone, would they also lock that one for 60 days? I realize the SIM wasn’t pre-installed in the phone like it is with the iUP program, but what’s the difference?
 
Collin789 said:
So with this new Verizon locking policy, if someone were to buy a SIM free iPhone from Apple and put a Verizon SIM in the phone, would they also lock that one for 60 days? I realize the SIM wasn’t pre-installed in the phone like it is with the iUP program, but what’s the difference?
Click to expand...

The policy only applies to phones either bought from Verizon or phones bought via Verizon contract/financing. If you buy SIM-free from Apple, or use IUP, it does not apply.
 
thefish2019 said:
Would you like to know what isn't misinformation?

View attachment 862058

That's really all that needs to be said.

I'm going to let you take over now. You have confirmed the reputation of this board as a cesspool of Apple propaganda and complete nonsense. Enjoy your bubble!
Click to expand...
Apple should change it to choose YOUR carrier. It clearly tells you have to choose a carrier.

You were trying to play games and failed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: iGeneo
So at this point we are pretty sure despite what OP says that his partner definitely turned the phone on with a Verizon SIM before swapping it out for her TMobile one?
 
Long story short, my uncle got his iPhone in the United States through his Verizon account (financed, has active line) but for reasons not worth discussing, did not activate the included SIM.

He flew to Japan (where he works) and attempted to use his Japanese SIM and was denied (phone locked).

what’s the recourse now? does he have to send his phone back to us in the US to activate, and we send it back? Or can we send him the SIM to have it activated abroad? Is that even possible? We are in possession of the new Verizon SIM here in the US.

thank you all in advance
 
cannono said:
So at this point we are pretty sure despite what OP says that his partner definitely turned the phone on with a Verizon SIM before swapping it out for her TMobile one?
Click to expand...

That and/or it came IMEI locked because he ordered it as Verizon. It sounds to me like he was playing games trying to cover the possibility of having to return to CDMA at some point, and thought the only way of hedging against that was to have a Verizon device.

I think I have that right anyway. None of this makes any goddamn sense to me. I read through some of the iUP terms and FAQs and I swear to god I can lease a car with less confusion.

Pick a carrier, buy the phone. How hard is this?
 
Collin789 said:
So with this new Verizon locking policy, if someone were to buy a SIM free iPhone from Apple and put a Verizon SIM in the phone, would they also lock that one for 60 days? I realize the SIM wasn’t pre-installed in the phone like it is with the iUP program, but what’s the difference?
Click to expand...

No. SIM free unlocked phones can never be locked AFAIK. I have also been told albeit several years ago by Verizon folks when I had my iPhone 4s unlocked, that once unlocked, a phone can never be locked again.
 
What Verizon is doing seems twofold. First, the phones are said to be locked BEFORE sale. This is to make phones stolen before sale unusable, and this lock is removed when the phone is activated on Verizon’s network. I have no proof of this but it seems like a good idea.

The 60-day lock is I think, to discourage people from buying an unlocked phone on a Verizon payment plan and then switching carriers without ever using a Verizon network plan. It certainly seems to have discouraged the OP from doing it, except he’s blaming the wrong company. That would mean Verizon is giving you a no-interest loan to use its competitors. A lot of folks did exactly this before Verizon began locking them for 60 days, and there was nothing wrong with it, everything was perfectly legit, it was about the only way to get an unlocked phone on a no-interest payment plan. But I can see Verizon not being overjoyed about it.

Anyway, the OP could have bought SIM-free with a credit card then paid it off whenever he liked, but he’d be paying interest on the money at some point.

Another point that’s often glossed over is how carriers can legally lock your phone, and I suspect that until you pay the phone off, it isn’t legally your phone, it still belongs to the carrier etc. Does any carrier keep phones locked after they’re paid off, aside from incompetence?

Yes, there seems to be more untold to the OPs story.
 
I didn't read past the first page but wanted to say that I just tested my purchased through IUP (Verizon) iPhone 11 Pro phone with a friend's ATT SIM card and it worked. So, mine is unlocked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Azathoth123
markyr17 said:
The OP did buy through iUP.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t replying to the OP.
[automerge]1569177553[/automerge]
SisterBlue22 said:
It won't show up on your credit as a loan. It won't show up at all. Never has, since the first year of the iUP.
Click to expand...

An inquiry will show on your report when you open a brand new IUP though. But you’re right, the account never gets reported after that.
 
techiegirl said:
I did exactly that and my phone was still locked to AT&T. Ended up returning and rebuying.
Click to expand...
Dumb question. How did you know it was locked, did you put in another carriers SIM card to see?
Edit: after reading I see you put in an XFINITY SIM card in.
 
Last edited:
thefish2019 said:
I got my girlfriend the Verizon version of the iPhone 11 Pro Max. I used the iPhone Upgrade Program directly through the Apple Store app. I'm with Verizon, she's with T-Mobile. I wanted to get the Verizon version in case she ever wanted to be able to switch. After clicking on "Will my iPhone be unlocked" and reading this incredibly clear, unambiguous statement, I ordered, thinking that Apple wouldn't lie to me in such a provably false way. I thought it would actually be the truth. However, sadly, they LIE right on the order page. Here's the statement:

View attachment 861859

The phone arrived yesterday. When my very excited girlfriend put her TMobile Sim Card in it, it wouldn't let her activate it. It said to contact Apple or Verizon. After a total of more than 3 hours on the phone today, Verizon says the phone is locked to them for 60 DAYS - even though the phone IS NOT FINANCED THROUGH VERIZON and the above statement is incredibly clear about the phone coming from the factory unlocked.

It's sad that Apple has chosen to lie to people like this, presumably to inflate sales to unsuspecting users that rely on their unambiguous statements like the one above. However, they have, and now the community needs to be warned. We now have a $1500 useless piece of garbage that we will have to drive a total of 120 miles to exchange...if we can even get one in stock.

DO NOT BELIEVE THE STATEMENT ABOVE. IT IS A WHOLESALE LIE. THESE PHONES ARE NOT UNLOCKED IN ANY WAY.
Click to expand...

Just use your old phone in the mean time or use a Verizon (pre-paid) sim. I understand your anger (this sucks, honestly), but it's only 60 days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back