Carrier Help SPRINT wont unlock my phone 5- I'm traveling

[elDiego18]

I had a contract with sprint and I'm traveling for a few months. they refused to unlock my iPhone 5 saying theres a history of going over my data, and not paying my bills in time. now i'm stuck with a phone that can't use outside the US since they don't have network.

i look on ebay and found a bunch of cheap ways to unlock iPhones from att&t but none from Sprint.

anyone knows if this can be done and how?
seems that in att&t cases is as easy as sending your IMEI and paying $5

please any help would be much appreciate it.

 

[iPhonemaster5S]

I had a contract with sprint and I'm traveling for a few months. they refused to unlock my iPhone 5 saying theres a history of going over my data, and not paying my bills in time. now i'm stuck with a phone that can't use outside the US since they don't have network.

i look on ebay and found a bunch of cheap ways to unlock iPhones from att&t but none from Sprint.

anyone knows if this can be done and how?
seems that in att&t cases is as easy as sending your IMEI and paying $5

please any help would be much appreciate it.

If the contract isn't finished then its going to be a hard time getting them to unlock it for you, the most you can really do is just call and ask again and hope you get a nice person. If you don't pay your bills on time that's even more of a reasons to not unlock it for you. Now if you do pay your bills on time and they are saying you don't then that's an issue you will have to take up with sprint.

 

[eyoungren]

^^^This.

And note that there is no magical unlock that you can buy or follow instructions that will unlock a Sprint iPhone, either for international or domestic use or both. Sprint has to do it.

There is a database of unlocked iPhones that Apple maintains for the carriers. Sprint does not and will not allow any iPhone intended for it's network to be in that database, which is why there is nothing like I mentioned above. The only exception being international unlocks as long as you've met the previously mentioned requirements.

 

[elDiego18]

So basically I'm stuck with a $700 phone that can't use?

 

[iPhonemaster5S]

So basically I'm stuck with a $700 phone that can't use?

Yup it more or less came down to you not paying bills on time and not being finished with the contract. Now had you had both requirements they would gladly do it for you. Sadly that's not how the mobile telecommunications market works. Nothing against you but if you don't pay them they don't have to help you. You can try calling again and hope that they help you, just have to get a good person.

 

[eyoungren]

So basically I'm stuck with a $700 phone that can't use?

You can use it. You just have to use it on Sprint domestically. For international use you'll need to get it unlocked or pay Sprint for roaming charges.

But if you can't get it unlocked as you've indicated and you don't want to pay international roaming charges (who would!) then, yes, you're stuck.

It's Sprint's intent to keep iPhones intended for it's network ON it's network, except for international use.

 

[kmichalec]

Sorry to hear, but it sounds like your stuck.

You might have to get yourself a Google Voice number, download TalkTone, and use it when on Wifi only. Either that or buy a used, unlocked old iPhone off eBay and use that while travelling.

 

[elDiego18]

Just sucks that they didn't say any of this when I bought it, and I've paid all my bills just sometimes a couple of days late.
So no code what so ever will unlock it? What about jailbrake?

 

[eyoungren]

Just sucks that they didn't say any of this when I bought it, and I've paid all my bills just sometimes a couple of days late.
So no code what so ever will unlock it? What about jailbrake?

There is nothing you can do to unlock it yourself. And even if you could the only unlock you could do would be international.

Jailbreaking is something completely different than unlocking. Jailbreaking allows you to run software on your device that is not approved by Apple. Unlocking allows you to use a device on a network other than the one it was intended for. Two totally different things.

There may be some unlocks that require jailbreaking, but not for Sprint phones. Lastly, to jailbreak you need to be on iOS6.1.2 or lower. If you are on 6.1.3 or 6.1.4 there is no current jailbreak available. Apple plugged the holes with 6.1.3.

 

[moonman239]

Buy a Gevey UltraSIM device, then follow the instructions given at this URL: http://www.gevey.com/unlock-cdma-iphone-4s/

Note that you can only use your phone on Sprint and GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Also note that in the US, unlocking your phone without your carrier's permission is illegal until your contract has expired, because legally it's your carrier's phone. Annoying, right?

 

[elDiego18]

what if i get an old sprint phone and change my 100 and something plan to a non iPhone plan, would that make them unlock my phone then?

btw I'm looking at iPhone plans in france and we get ripped off in the US

 

[kmichalec]

Personally, I'd buy a used, unlocked iPhone 4/4S/5, and then turn around and resell it after you are done with it in a couple months. You should get most of your money back out of it if it's only for a short period.

 

[lordofthereef]

what if i get an old sprint phone and change my 100 and something plan to a non iPhone plan, would that make them unlock my phone then?

btw I'm looking at iPhone plans in france and we get ripped off in the US

I am not sure what you are not understanding here. By your own admission Sprint doesn't want to unlock your phone because of your track record with paying bills. It doesn't matter what phone you transfer on to that account, the phone you bought on contract is what is tied to YOUR contract. Even if you gave said phone to someone else on Sprint and THEY tried to unlock it, the phone shows up as under YOUR contract.

As far as plans, this has been beaten to death. To start, look at the size of France. Compare it to the size of the US. See where I am going? Also, I don;t believe (correct me if I am wrong) France does subsidized phones. You can think of US plans another way; about $20 per month of your plan is going towards the cost of your phone. At the end of the two year conract you didn't spend just $200 on your iPhone. You will have spent $700 plus services. It's just broken down differently. That's all. All that said, I do believe US plans are overpriced, but expecting them to be the same price as a small european country isn't realistic.

So we pay more for mobile plans. Look at the prices on electronics and everything else with their ridiculously high VAT and see what is better. Americans (myself included) tend to bitch about the things we don't have rather than seeing the things we do. Here is an example: the base cost of an iPhone in france is a little over $900, while in the states it is $650.

 

[eyoungren]

Here's another thought for the OP. As far as I know, Sprint has very little history with SIM cards. So, picking up an "old" Sprint phone probably won't do the OP any good because an old Sprint phone is going to be CDMA and won't have a SIM card slot. Even if that type of phone could be "unlocked", and I highly doubt that this concept applies here, you'd still need a SIM card slot which would not be physically present on the device.

Maybe some "old" Sprint phones do have SIM card slots (maybe Android phones) but they probably aren't used. The whole SIM card thing is quite recent to Sprint.

 

[iPhonemaster5S]

If you really need an iPhone for the trip just by a used one, when your done turn round and sell it. That's basically the best thing you can do.

 

[CEmajr]

Just sell your Sprint phone and buy a GSM one.

 

[elDiego18]

After hours on long distance with sprint:
they wont unlock my phone and no for bad history but because my account is blocked (I forgot the exact word they used, means you have no credit on record when I started).
this means that even if I cancel my contract and pay the fees for finishing the contract early they will still not unlock it. such a BS considering you don't have a service with them any more.
the only way to "clear" the account is if i have a 12th month of paying on time ($120 of a plan that i'm not using) and using the line for at least 90 days (another BS since i'm outside the US and they don't even have a network where I am)
yeah going to a non smart phone plan wont unlock the phone either.

as I read in another forum, is like you buy a car but you can only put a certain brand of gas on it. and if you don't buy that gas then you cant use the car, even if you paid for the car.

So lordofthereef I paid way more than $200 for the phone and I think you are seeing things from a particular point of view. to me, more users/more contracts should lower the price of the services and no the other way around, so a tinny country like france shouldn't be cheaper than the states. they have plans without contract that go for 60 bucks, full data, unlimited international and iphones at way less than 650.
But i don't want to make this conversation about how much the US should charge but about how could I use this phone.

any recommendations on trustworthy sites that would unlock it for me would be much appreciate it.

 

[eyoungren]

any recommendations on trustworthy sites that would unlock it for me would be much appreciate it.

There are none. You'll need a Gevy SIM or something like that if you want to use it.

The carriers have a right to lock any phone on their network to their network. It's a service and since they are providing the service they can dictate the terms because it's their network. It may be your phone, but it's not your network.

Sprint is not generous like the other carriers. But just because the other carriers are, this does not mean Sprint has to be. Sprint is also and has been for a very long time in third place. From their viewpoint it makes no sense allowing their customers to leave their network by unlocking their phones.

This is why there is a lot of Sprint phones for sale. Because people assume things about Sprint that are not so and then get stuck. Buy a Sprint phone, sign a contract, either or, or both, you are agreeing to be limited, even if you didn't do your homework before you purchased or signed.

If you don't like the terms there are other carriers. It's just the way it is. Maybe not fair, but the carriers don't have to be fair. They are not in business to be fair. They are in business to make money off the customer. And there is no US law that says they have to be or that makes them be fair on this subject.

 

[TheProFTW]

After hours on long distance with sprint:
they wont unlock my phone and no for bad history but because my account is blocked (I forgot the exact word they used, means you have no credit on record when I started).
this means that even if I cancel my contract and pay the fees for finishing the contract early they will still not unlock it. such a BS considering you don't have a service with them any more.
the only way to "clear" the account is if i have a 12th month of paying on time ($120 of a plan that i'm not using) and using the line for at least 90 days (another BS since i'm outside the US and they don't even have a network where I am)
yeah going to a non smart phone plan wont unlock the phone either.

as I read in another forum, is like you buy a car but you can only put a certain brand of gas on it. and if you don't buy that gas then you cant use the car, even if you paid for the car.

So lordofthereef I paid way more than $200 for the phone and I think you are seeing things from a particular point of view. to me, more users/more contracts should lower the price of the services and no the other way around, so a tinny country like france shouldn't be cheaper than the states. they have plans without contract that go for 60 bucks, full data, unlimited international and iphones at way less than 650.
But i don't want to make this conversation about how much the US should charge but about how could I use this phone.

any recommendations on trustworthy sites that would unlock it for me would be much appreciate it.

Go with BBB, claim you will pay the ETF and cancel the service if they unlock it. They will give you a hand.

 

[corry20]

I have a Iphone 4S on Sprint is unlocked and still under contract.I think they unlocked mine for international use because I kept complaining about slow data and horrible service and they didn't want to lose me.If you keep bothering them they may unlock your phone.

 

[Xdrive]

Buy GPP card

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251305095657?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

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Another way is to swap phones with have someone else on sprint, then have activate your iPhone on their account and request the unlock, after it's unlocked then swap the phones again