Article: Apple Already Selling Unlocked iPhone 4Ss as "Off-Contract" Devices

[Phillip Swanson]

Apple announced its plans to offer an unlocked iPhone 4S for purchase sometime in November earlier this month, but that promise appears to have come a little early.

Reports are surfacing that a number of individuals have already received an unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple. It appears phones purchased at Apple and other retail outlets as “off contract” devices come already unlocked. These devices are sold at full price (between $649 and $849) and require no contract commitment to any carrier.

IDownloadBlog was able to purchase a retail iPhone 4S and use it on T-Mobile with no problems, and other MacRumors users have reported similar findings. The users purchased their phones for full price without extending their contracts and upon restoring their device saw the above prompt congratulating them on their unlocked iPhone.

Sprint iPhone 4Ss appear to be unlocked as well. Readers have reported their phones working on GSM networks after inserting their SIM cards. The micro-SIM slot for Sprint users is unlocked to allow customers to use the phone internationally. As of now the phones ship with “roaming SIMs” allowing customers to use the phone internationally, but at an extreme cost to the customer. Sprint has promised to allow customers in “good standing” to unlock the micro-SIM and use lower cost foreign prepaid SIM-cards. While the Sprint iPhone 4Ss are currently unlocked, Sprint has promised to lock them soon.

Have any MMi users been successful unlocking their phones? Were they “off-contract” devices?

Source: iDownloadBlog

[Anthony Bouchard]

Great, if this is true then I will be buying one very soon.

[lorderick70]

I'll be getting one soon as well if that's the case.

[raceking777]

Will 3G work on t mobile's network?

[azxken]

...

[allanes5]

Yes, I would like to buy two (wife and I) white off cotract ASAP) Online

[hingeinc]

Why can't AT&T unlock the iPhone 4 I bought last year?

[emtee25]

can anyone confirm this? if this is true then i will go buy one right away

Here in the UK you can buy them unlocked straight from apple all the time

[exNavy]

Odd my iphone 4 never gave me the congratulations screen, it just worked.

[g12007]

y would sprint lock it if Apple already made it "unlocked"

[spyder2005]

New Sprint customer here. Can confirm that the Sprint iPhone 4S is unlocked. Removed Sprint SIM card, phone stayed on Sprint network until I inserted a German Prepaid Micro SIM. Switched Carriers without having to reboot! Im keeping this phone!!!

[azxken]

...

[babyydaveyy]

I know it probably sounds dumb, but perhaps some phones that were supposed to go to Canada are being sold in the States . Because here in Canada they are always unlocked if bought at full price from apple store

[Gyngabread Man]

npw if only i could find a spinrt 4S that would be something

[KingRichard]

We'll could anyone make a check list area of Apple Store that sold the Unlocked iPhone 4S? I know Minnesota (Mall of America) Apple Store dont sell it. They keep saying that the unlock version is not in any Apple Store until November.

[Simon]

I think it's silly that apple says November for the unlocked ones online. Don't see any reason for it. Apparently some of their stores don't either.

[mutethoughts]

I want a Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4S officially unlocked. I have AT&T but if I'm going to pay retail I want to have the highest resale value possible.

[azxken]

This does not work! I just went to Apple Store today (in OR) and got myself a contract-free iphone 4s 32gb for $749 and test it but it didn't work. I activated the phone and tried inserted my T-mobile micro sim card in and it said "no service"

I guess there are only a few that work.. So let just wait until Nov when Apple officially release their unlocked iphones.

[Holyloktar]

Will 3G work on t mobile's network?

No, it will still be restricted to Edge.

[nightsoarer]

can anyone confirm this? if this is true then i will go buy one right away

Actually yes, I can! Before any of this news got out, I was going to post about it! It really does! When I bought my iPhone 4S, no-contract AT&T 64Gb, they told me they had to activate it for me, so they did. When I got home, I restored my iPhone from backup and once the firmware finished installing it took me to that "Congratulations" screen you see in the pic. I was perplexed because I heard they would not sell unlocked iPhones until November, but apparently they were probably just trying to reduce the amount of resellers by telling people that they would not be unlocked. Even when I was in line, the gentleman behind me was asking about it and two different sales associates said the same thing, that all the iphones would be locked to whatever carrier it was tied to and would not come unlocked. All I know is when I did that, iTunes went ahead and unlocked it for me, no jail-breaking necessary.