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Question

How to unlock an Apple Smart phone?

Sep 24, 2014 8:19AM PDT

I was given an Apple Smart phone but it's been locked. I would like to upgrade from my flip phone with Verizon but I need to learn what cables to buy for it and then get it unlocked. Is this possible?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
LINK FREE ZONE.
Sep 24, 2014 8:24AM PDT

Due to the spammers this thread shall be link free.

Also, there are some models that must be Jail Breaked to unlock. I'm sure you know why so I won't bore you with all the prior discussions.

"Only your carrier can unlock your iPhone." is the OFFICIAL ANSWER!
Bob

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Google this.
Sep 24, 2014 8:33AM PDT

verizon to ting apple iphone

Notice that Ting shows how but it is NOT unlocking your phone but doing an exchange. This lockdown is pretty tight and let's see what others pile in with. Again, due to the spammers, LINK FREE POSTS only.
Bob

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ONLy Carrier can Unlock?
Sep 24, 2014 10:13AM PDT

Any suggestions on how to find out who the carrier was?

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That's the Apple and carrier Official answer.
Sep 24, 2014 10:32AM PDT

"Q: I just upgraded my iPhone but now cannot activate it because I don't know the carrier that it's locked to. How can I find out which SIM/carrier that this iPhone is locked to?

- Sly

A: Unfortunately, there's no straightforward way to do this as it's actually based only on your iPhone's International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number, or IMEI. Unlike most other cellular phones, Apple doesn't allow any carrier-specific branding on either the hardware or software, so there's nothing obvious you would find on an iPhone that would indicate which carrier it came from.

If you know anybody who uses an iPhone on an alternate network that your iPhone might possibly be locked to, you could simply try popping in their SIM card and see what happens. This is obviously a trial-and-error method, and may not be practical if you've purchased the iPhone from an online site, since it could conceivably be locked to any carrier in the world.

Another option would be to try visiting a local Apple Store, where they might be able to look up your iPhone's IMEI number and let you know which carrier it is locked to. Apple does have this information in a database"
ilounge.com

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Verizon only permits their own phones to be used...
Sep 24, 2014 3:46PM PDT

...on their network. At least since the last time I checked. It's the one disadvantage of a CDMA system. That's why with the links Bob lead you to, it involves a Sprint (CDMA carrier) MVNO (in this case, Ting) providing a (network compatible) Sprint issued iPhone in exchange for a non-Sprint network compatible/permissible version of the iPhone.

What you need to do is, figure out which actual flavor of iPhone you own (e.g. hardware/software). Go into Settings > General > About, and post here what you see. *Just don't post the IMEI. Skip all the info between 'Network' and 'Version'.

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Answer
CNET writes about TING and their tool.
Sep 24, 2014 11:09AM PDT