iPhone SE (2020) iPhone SE from Walmart

[BigDO]

Walmart had a good deal on iPhone SE, so I asked my mate to get it for me (I’m not US based) and bring over.

When the phone arrived he saw this (was not mentioned anywhere on the page when ordering):

Does this mean this phone is SIM locked (i.e. it will not activate when I put in a SIM from my SP), or is this a very aggressive sales push from this network?

 

[Beelzbub]

Unfortunately yes it is locked. I have family members that were on Straight Talk had outright bought their phones at Walmart. When they wanted to leave Straight Talk to go to another carrier, Straight Talk refused to unlock their phones even tho the phones were able to work on AT&T & Verizon. They were told by Straight Talk the phones were property of Straight Talk and cannot be used on another network. The sales reps at AT&T & Verizon went round and round with the people at Straight Talk over the phone issue and could not get them unlocked. Eventually my family members purchased new phones through AT&T & Verizon.

 

[jetsam]

Unfortunately yes it is locked. I have family members that were on Straight Talk had outright bought their phones at Walmart. When they wanted to leave Straight Talk to go to another carrier, Straight Talk refused to unlock their phones even tho the phones were able to work on AT&T & Verizon. They were told by Straight Talk the phones were property of Straight Talk and cannot be used on another network. The sales reps at AT&T & Verizon went round and round with the people at Straight Talk over the phone issue and could not get them unlocked. Eventually my family members purchased new phones through AT&T & Verizon.

Doesn't help your family members now, but since Verizon has bought Tracfone, there are new rules. For phones activated before 11/23/21, the phone must be active on Straight Talk for 1 year to be unlocked. After that date, only 60 days of service is required. iPhones will be automatically unlocked when they meet the unlocking criteria.

See:

https://www.straighttalk.com/support/terms-conditions#inPage_tc9

and

https://www.tfwunlockpolicy.com/wps/portal/home/

The latter web site lets you actually check to see if a phone is eligible for unlocking.

 

[webkit]

Walmart had a good deal on iPhone SE, so I asked my mate to get it for me (I’m not US based) and bring over.

When the phone arrived he saw this (was not mentioned anywhere on the page when ordering):

Was it ordered directly from the Walmart website? Walmart sells both unlocked and locked iPhones and the locked phones state on the website they are locked to the particular carrier in question and must be (at least initially) used with that carrier. They are a "good deal" because of the carrier plan incentive. Your best bet may be to send it back to your "mate" (unfortunately, at an expense) and have them return it for a refund.

 

[BigDO]

Luckily still with him, so he returned the POS without an expense.

Crazy that this primitive practice is not regulated in US. Lol.

 

[JPack]

The iPhone SE is cheap and intended for very price sensitive customers. To add to it, it’s a last gen model. You didn’t think there would be a catch? On the plus side it enables the low SES population to use an iPhone.

If you prefer regulation, you end with expensive Apple products all over Europe.

 

[webkit]

Luckily still with him, so he returned the POS without an expense.

Well, that's good.

Crazy that this primitive practice is not regulated in US. Lol.

I personally don't see it as primitive or an issue. There can essentially be two phone prices. The "full" retail price which doesn't have any carrier or plan requirements and a lower (or inflated trade-in) price which have carrier and plan requirements. The customer simply chooses which one works best for them based on their carrier or plan needs, preferences, etc.