Let me preface by saying I am definitely not a newb or stranger when it comes to phones and unlocking, etc... However, the one area where I am out of my comfort zone is buying an iPhone at full cost, no financing or contracts, and know the status of that phone being unlocked without opening it and putting a sim in it.
So anyways, here is my question. I purchased through BestBuy's website, an AT&T iphone 7 32gb Rose Gold at full retail price. However, what was strange is when you chose the option to pay full price, and add it to the cart, the item description shows iPhone 7 32 Rose Gold - Unactivated. Nowhere does it disclose the model number or carrier.
When I picked up the phone this evening, I checked the back of the box and it shows the model number as A1660 which I know is the iPhone 7 which has the CDMA bands as well as the GSM LTE bands which basically is the version used on Verizon and Sprint. I found it odd that they did not give me the A1788 which is the GSM only version of the iPhone 7.
Anyways, the BestBuy rep at the instore pick up counter confirmed with the BestBuy Mobile people that the phone is for sure unlocked, however, and here is the part I am questioning solely based on the fact I purchased from BestBuy, is she told me that once you insert a sim, regardless of carrier, it will then lock the phone to that carrier of the inserted sim forever. I am taking this with a grain of salt based on my well rounded knowledge of unlock protocols.
In my 12 years of my interest in cellphones and tech in general, I have never heard of this being true. I know that iphones purchased at full cost with absolutely no financial obligation attachments are unlocked by default, and I also know that all Verizon phones are unlocked by default by law due to their agreement with the FCC from some years back.
Since I am planning on gifting the phone to someone, before I do, I wanted to reach out to my fellow iMore community members to see if anyone out there has ACTUALLY had this happen to them (not necessarily just being told this by someone) where the phone actually locked permenantly just as the BestBuy Mobile people say it will.
Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated
Again, this is just one area that I have never dealt with as I have always purchased my iPhones from either Apple directly or my carrier store directly.
So anyways, here is my question. I purchased through BestBuy's website, an AT&T iphone 7 32gb Rose Gold at full retail price. However, what was strange is when you chose the option to pay full price, and add it to the cart, the item description shows iPhone 7 32 Rose Gold - Unactivated. Nowhere does it disclose the model number or carrier.
When I picked up the phone this evening, I checked the back of the box and it shows the model number as A1660 which I know is the iPhone 7 which has the CDMA bands as well as the GSM LTE bands which basically is the version used on Verizon and Sprint. I found it odd that they did not give me the A1788 which is the GSM only version of the iPhone 7.
Anyways, the BestBuy rep at the instore pick up counter confirmed with the BestBuy Mobile people that the phone is for sure unlocked, however, and here is the part I am questioning solely based on the fact I purchased from BestBuy, is she told me that once you insert a sim, regardless of carrier, it will then lock the phone to that carrier of the inserted sim forever. I am taking this with a grain of salt based on my well rounded knowledge of unlock protocols.
In my 12 years of my interest in cellphones and tech in general, I have never heard of this being true. I know that iphones purchased at full cost with absolutely no financial obligation attachments are unlocked by default, and I also know that all Verizon phones are unlocked by default by law due to their agreement with the FCC from some years back.
Since I am planning on gifting the phone to someone, before I do, I wanted to reach out to my fellow iMore community members to see if anyone out there has ACTUALLY had this happen to them (not necessarily just being told this by someone) where the phone actually locked permenantly just as the BestBuy Mobile people say it will.
Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated
Again, this is just one area that I have never dealt with as I have always purchased my iPhones from either Apple directly or my carrier store directly.
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