Our 2 years are up. We have paid for those iphones and fulfilled our Obligation. Sprint is refusing to unlock OUR iphones for domestic use.
We completed our contract with Sprint. We have in good faith paid for 2 years of Sprint Service. During those 2 years most of us have endured dropped calls, tower upgrades, extremely poor data speeds and last but not least, the pathetic Sprint customer Service, which has re-written the book on Customer Apathy. Now after the 2 years are up, Sprint is refusing to unlock our iphones for domestic use.
This article has been updated on 2/11/2015 ( originally written May 2014)
Update
On 2/11/2015 – Sprint updated their unlock policy to provide domestic unlocks for Iphones 5c and above. Sprint is still not providing Domestic unlocks for iphones 4s and iphone 5
Prior to 2/11/2015 Sprint had maintained that
“”Specifically, devices manufactured with a SIM slot within the past three years (including, but not limited to, all Apple iPhone devices), cannot be unlocked to accept a different domestic carrier’s SIM for use on another domestic carrier’s network. Sprint has no technological process available to do this.”
So what changed and what prompted Sprint to do a reversal on their unlock policy? Well the CTIA agreement went in effect and Sprint was forced to do the right thing and unlock the iphones.
Why is Sprint not unlocking the older 4s and 5? Why this continued unethical stance?
We have fulfilled the one-sided Sprint contract (which by the way, does not guarantee service) and our end of the bargain. All the other major carriers – AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile unlock their iphones after the first few payments are made on time. Verizon LTE phones come factory unlocked. You can put a T-Mobile or AT&T sim card in a Verizon iphone 5 ( or higher) and it will start showing T-Mobile or AT&T as the carrier. This is relevant because the Verizon iphone 5/5c/5s shares the same FCC id and Apple part number as its Sprint counterpart. They are the same device!! Sprint has willfully told Apple to lock the GSM portion of the iphone
These phones are useless in the US, unless they are used on the Sprint network. Why does Sprint feel like they want to hold their customers hostage? They do not own the iphones. We customers who have paid for these phones own them. This was a purchase – not a lease. Sprint or any other corporation for that matter needs to earn our business by providing a quality service and by providing value. I can understand Sprint not unlocking device prior to the completion of the contract as those devices are subsidized and Sprint needs to recover their part of the subsidy. However once the contract is paid for, whether by completion or by paying a contract cancellation fee, Sprint is MORALLY and ETHICALLY required to unlock those devices. Sprint however, even refuses to unlock iphones that were purchased from the Apple Store and paid in full.
By refusing to unlock our devices Sprint is knowingly hurting the consumers specifically those that trusted Sprint by signing their 2 year contract. Nowhere in that contract does it say that the device will permanently be locked to the sprint network. Moving to different carrier becomes financially prohibitive as consumers have to shell out another $200-$800 for another device. Why should the US consumers do that – we have a perfectly good phone. Once Sprint unlocks those devices, the GSM bands on those devices will allow consumers to move to cheaper carriers like Straight talk, T-Mobile, Metro PCS, Cricket, and even AT&T. Why would Sprint want to treat their customers who have completed their contracts this way? This is an act of pure desperation by a sinking ship. Survey Says “31% of Sprint subscribers whose contracts were up within the next six months wanted to find a new carrier.” (http://bgr.com/2014/01/16/t-mobile-sprint-subscriber-additions-analysis). Making it financially prohibitive to leave is the last option Sprint has to stop the customer from fleeing!
Sprint Reps will tell you that the devices cannot be unlocked or it is technically impossible or the phones are not designed to work on US GSM networks. That is a bunch of bull. Sprint is willing to unlock the devices for international use, as mentioned in their unlock policy. If you take a Sprint Internationally unlocked phone and take a NON-US SIM card to the phone, while still in the US – AT&T or T-Mobile show up as the carrier. Any calls using that NON-US Sim card will be routed on the AT&T or T-Mobile network. How can Sprint claim that the device is not “designed” to work on US GSM carriers. This is a World phone and last time I checked the US was part of it. More importantly as pointed out by @cpvideomaker the carrier bundles of all the US carriers are already present in the Sprint iphone
Sprint came up with its unlocking policy in November of 2013. However, Sprint started selling the iphones in October 2011. There was no unlock policy in place when Sprint started selling us the phones. When Sprint shipped the first batch of iphone 4S’s back in October 2011 – they were fully unlocked. I mentioned the facts to a Sprint customer “disservice” rep and his answer was “this is a legal issue”. Okay then – game on.
Excerpt from their unlocking policy:
“Specifically, devices manufactured with a SIM slot within the past three years (including, but not limited to, all Apple iPhone devices), cannot be unlocked to accept a different domestic carrier’s SIM for use on another domestic carrier’s network. Sprint has no technological process available to do this.”
Sprint is absolutely correct in saying that it is impossible for Sprint to unlock the phone. “Sprint has no technological process available to do this.” They really don’t and they are using words to confuse you. This falls under corporate double speak. That is because this is not a Sprint phone, it is an Apple phone. Sprint does not own the hardware or the firmware on the phone. The only thing Sprint has on this device is very small Carrier Specific prl file that is downloaded over the Air. There is no Sprint logo on the hardware or the software when you boot up the phone.
Apple can and will unlock the device once they receive the request from Sprint. All Sprint needs to do is to file a request with Apple and the Technical Marvel that is Apple will take care of the rest. It is the same procedure that Sprint employs when they request Apple to unlock the phone for International use. Hint! Hint! Sprint DOES NOT have the “technological process” to unlock the phone for international use either. All they do is place the request to Apple. For fully factory unlocking the phone, It is an extra check box on the request. It is truly as simple as that.
Sprint does not have access to the internals of the iphone. To unlock the phone you need access to the activation_records folder in the Lockdown directory of the phone. Only Apple has access to that directory.
As far as Sprint is concerned, this is a process issue and not a technical issue. Once Apple receives the request from Sprint, they will be more than happy to unlock the phone. All Apple needs is the serial number from Sprint. Apple will move the serial number of the phone into their white database. Restore your iphone via itunes on an internet connected computer, itunes will connect to the white database behind the Apple firewall, verify that your phone serial number is in the white database and you have an unlocked phone. AT&T and T-mobile file that same request with Apple once you clear certain criteria. Verizon does not need to file the request as their phones are already unlocked. AT&T has a web page where you can enter your phone information and the request is automatically sent to Apple (see link for AT&T Unlock ) Why can’t Sprint do the same? Why is Sprint the only company that is holding your phone hostage?
This is a process that Sprint does not want to undertake and their clueless, poorly trained CSR’s have given out a lot of technically incorrect information. Those CSRs have been brainwashed into believing that the phone just cannot be unlocked and they have even gone as far as calling people who want their fully paid for phones unlocked as “entitled”. Are you kidding me? Does anyone at Sprint even understand how mobile networks work? Or how a world phone like a CDMA iphone 4s (or higher) , can work on ANY GSM network? Look a the Specs of the CDMA iphone. It has all the GSM frequencies available on that device. Speaking of entitlement, What entitles Sprint to hold my fully paid for device hostage? Sprint is, in all reality, banking on the gullibility of the American Consumer and getting away with double speak and misinformation. I am very surprised that the FCC or the FTC have not fined them for blatantly misleading the American Consumer. What say you Chairman Wheeler@ FCC or Chairwoman Ramirez@FTC? Sprint is also misrepresenting the abilities of Apple’s flagship product. Tim Cook are you really going to stand for that? I am guessing Apple allows Sprint to misrepresent their Intellectual Property as that means more iphones get sold. Mr Cook haven’t you sold enough iphones. This inaction by Apple is morally reprehensible. For Further proof read Apple’s Unlock Policy. It clearly states “You can unlock your iPhone for use with different carriers.”
- See if your carrier offers unlocking. Only your carrier can unlock your iPhone.
- Contact your carrier and request an unlock. You might need to meet requirements to qualify for unlocking. After your carrier submits the unlocking request, it may take up to seven days.
Apple unlock policy clearly states that they will unlock the phone once they receive the request from the Carrier. They leave it up to the carrier to decide if the carrier wants to unlock the phone. As a matter of last resort Sprint will offer to give you the Master Subsidy Lock (MSL code) for the iphone. The MSL code does not work for Apple devices because the firmware on the Apple devices has not been written by Sprint. Apple does not allow anyone to write anything to their phones – they have full control on the device. The MSL works for the CDMA portion of the devices where Sprint wrote the firmware. We are not asking to unlock the CDMA part of the device – just the GSM radiios which have nothing to do with MSL. Take the HTC EVO, when you start that phone, the Sprint logo comes up – because Sprint wrote some of the software on that phone. When you start the Apple phone – where is the Sprint logo – it does not exist – Why not? Apple WILL NOT give any carrier access to the internals of their device. Apple controls the hardware, the software, the firmware, the eco-system and lets carriers have the privilege of carrying their phone. Giving the MSL code is meant to send the Sprint customer on a wild goose chase. Good luck taking that MSL code to the other carriers, they will not know what do with it. Just to save you from this wild goose chase I will disclose the MSL code. Drum Roll Please!!! . The MSL code is 000000. Sprint is not going to unlock the iphones until it is publicly shamed to do the right thing. Sprint reps who seem to have extremely poor reading comprehension skills have been pointing out that all phones will be unlocked on or after 2/112015. Again this is a play on words and more misinformation from Sprint. The policy states “Sprint has committed to ensure that all of its devices produced after February 11, 2015, are capable of being unlocked.” That means that an iphone 6 or iphone 6 plus purchased brand new in March 2015 will not be eligible to be unlocked . Think twice before getting the Sprint version of the iphone 6. Sprint cut the BS. Unlock OUR FULLY PAID FOR Devices.
Like the facebook “Sprint – Do the ethical thing and unlock or Contract free iphones” page. We need to shame Sprint into doing the right thing.
Update : The iphone 6 released by Apple on Jan 6th 2014 bursts all the myths in Sprint’s Unlock policy. You can purchase the phone directly from Apple (full price) and that single phone will work on every carrier. Read about it here
Some other options:
Option 1 (as mentioned by the Sprint rep)
http://consumerist.com/2008/01/21/suing-big-companies-in-small-claims-court-is-fun-and-easy/
Does it work? Keep in mind, AT&T refused to unlock iphones until a lot of small claims cases started popping up everywhere in the country.
Option 2
You have a very good phone that is completely paid for and Sprint is holding it hostage. You do have the option to move to Ting, a Sprint MVNO (https://ting.com)
Ting is an independent company and runs on the same Sprint Network. It has 2 things going for it. Depending on how much data you use, you could be getting your service about 5 times cheaper than Sprint and their customer service is 10x better. A lot of Sprint phones will work on Ting. They have a full list on their site. They even have a complete comparison on how much you could save based on your calling and data patterns. Your Sprint bill has all the information you need for the comparison. If you are a data hog, ting is not for you.
There is one issue with Ting that you need to be aware of. You cannot move an active number from Sprint to Ting. You will have to cancel your Sprint Service and sign up for a new service with Ting. There is a very good possibility you will lose your current Phone number.
If you do decide to cancel your service make sure you cancel it 5 days prior to the monthly bill date. If your phone is cancelled even 1 day after the bill date, Sprint will charge for the entire new month. There is no pro-rating of the bill with Sprint. Sprint is a sinking ship and is losing customers by the boatload, they are truly desperate for your money.
Option 3
Unlock the Sprint phone using the SIM interposer method.
Disclaimer: I have no connection with this. This is purely for informational purposes. This unlock method may require you to jailbreak your phone and may not work with the next ios upgrade. Jailbreaking your phone will void your warranty and you will forgo all future Apple support. This is not a long term solution.
All information in this section falls under Use at your own risk.
There is a way to unlock the Sprint phone for about $10-$15. The Sim interposer fakes the phone into believing you are using a Sprint SIM. You can purchase GPP or “RSim Air” cards from Ebay and unlock the phone yourself. Full set of instructions for the GPP unlock can be found here. This Youtube video shows how to unlock using the R-Sim Air 2 (unlocks 5s and 5c for international only) If you do buy the GPP or RSIM Air 2 from ebay make sure they give you a full refund.
There are people who claim they will unlock the phone for $50 to $100. They are using the same methods above. But do you really want to give them your phone with all your personal information and private photos (frappening anyone!). If you do follow this route, it is best that you do it yourself. If for some reason you have to restore your phone, all the programming will disappear and you will have to run the entire unlock process again ( you do not have to purchase a new chip). Do you want to keep paying someone every time you need to unlock?
Recently, I have heard of another unlock method call x-sim evo. It does not require you to jailbreak the phone. It is not widely available in the US yet but it seems to work. You can purchase it on ebay. Here is the link for it . It does not seem to have the battery drain issues that the R-SIM and GPP seem to have. More importantly it seems to unlock even the iphone 6.
The need to unlock the phones has reached a critical point, I have seen 3rd party sites offering to factory unlock the phone and some even offering full money back guarantee. The only way they can do that is if they are working directly with apple or an apple employee who has access to the internal apple databases and is unlocking phones on the side. I have checked with my back channels at Apple and they claim that Apple is not working with anyone other than the carrier. I have looked at these sites and some of them are mentioned here – there are others
- http://www.legitunlockingcodes.com/sprint-unlock/ has the cheapest prices (for now)
- http://www.unlockboom.com/unlock-sprint-iphone-6-5s-5c-5-4s
- http://www.jgtechblog.com/collections/frontpage/products/factory-unlock-supports-sprint-and-tmobile-not-clean-att-iphone-from-4s-5-5s-5c
Option 4
This will literally take less than 10 minutes of your time. It is worth the effort.
Open a BBB case against Apple. These BBB complaints go directly to Tim Cooks Office.
This is what you want to put in the complaint (copy, paste and further embellish if you want to) :
I have completed my contract with Sprint and Sprint does not know how to unlock my iphone. I know that you want me to contact Sprint to get the iphone unlocked but Sprint in their Unlock policy at (http://www.sprint.com/legal/unlocking_policy.html) clearly state that :
“Specifically, devices manufactured with a SIM slot within the past three years (including, but not limited to, all Apple iPhone devices), cannot be unlocked to accept a different domestic carrier’s SIM for use on another domestic carrier’s network. Sprint has no technological process available to do this”
At this point I am caught between 2 large corporations. I can provide proof that I have in good faith completed my contract with Sprint and have fully paid for the device.
Sending me back to Sprint does not do me any good as Sprint has clearly said they do not have the technology to unlock my iphone. If Apple does not unlock my iphone – I will have no choice but to jailbreak it and use a Sim Unlocker. I rather not do that as I like the security that the Apple Eco-system provides. Jailbreaking puts me at another major disadvantage as It will also prevent me from upgrading to ios 8 until ios 8 is jailbroken. This fully paid for iphone without a factory unlock is now a very expensive ipod.
I beg of you to understand the dilemma I am in and help me. I truly appreciate any help you can provide.
Regardless of how this turns out, I will be a fervent Apple fan. Keep up the great work.
Submit the complaint to Apple via the BBB and see what happens. This is worth a shot because Apple does not want anyone to jailbreak their phones and get apps outside their eco-system. This is something Apple holds sacred above all else. They also want people to move to iOS 8 so that they can improve their stats against Android.
Other Things You should do
1) Open a case with the FTC (
www,ftc,gov). FTC just fined AT&T for throttling unlimited users data and lying to the customer.
2) Open a case with the FCC (
www.fcc.gov)
3) Open a case with the BBB against Sprint
4) Open a case with the Attorney General of your state.
short link to this page http://bit.ly/1kbd7tE
jackmehra 