Does no-commitment iPhone4s equal to unlocked?

eddiewang · ‎11-10-2011

As the price of no-commitment iPhone 4s provided by AT&T equals to 649.99 to 849.99, the same as the official apple store.

I was wonder wether the no-commitment iphone 4s equal the unlock iPhone on the apple store. Can I choose not to using AT&T network?

I am asking my friend in US to bring me one to Hong Kong.

Looking forward to your response. Thanks~

Facci · ‎11-30-2005

No. No commitment does not mean unlocked.

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

A no-commitment AT&T iPhone is not unlocked. Only an unlocked iPhone is...unlocked. As far as I know, the unlocked iPhone 4S has not been released yet. Apple has only said that it is coming in November, with no exact date.

kdfederer · ‎07-20-2008

On the Apple site, the unlocked version will be 16gb $649 - 32gb $749 - 64gb $849. Available in November. Doesn't give a date when in November.

XurXes · ‎11-04-2011

Just buy the unlocked one, same price and it's not locked like the no commitment att one.

Wild Banchi · ‎12-11-2009

As already stated, an iPhone purchase at no-commitment price from Apple or AT&T itself does not mean that it is unlocked. Make sure your friend purchases an unlocked iPhone for you.

Remember that Wild Banchi... 1993-2010

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

The unlocked GSM iPhone 4S is available from Apple starting today. I heard that shipment time is 1-2 weeks, but I haven't tried to verify this.

tonester · ‎07-14-2006

eddiewang wrote:
As the price of no-commitment iPhone 4s provided by AT&T equals to 649.99 to 849.99, the same as the official apple store.

Assuming that the above is indeed accurate...can someone please explain as to how/why AT&T would/could sell a no-commitment but still-locked iPhone for the same price as that for a no-commitment but unlocked iPhone directly from Apple itself? The only reason I can think of is that AT&T is looking to prop their iPhone sales figures from the sales of such phones (however relatively small the number of sales of such phones may be), whereas sales of unlocked phones purchased from Apple wouldn't necessarily count directly towards the sales figures of the carriers.

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

tonester wrote:
eddiewang wrote:
As the price of no-commitment iPhone 4s provided by AT&T equals to 649.99 to 849.99, the same as the official apple store.

Assuming that the above is indeed accurate...can someone please explain as to how/why AT&T would/could sell a no-commitment but still-locked iPhone for the same price as that for a no-commitment but unlocked iPhone directly from Apple itself? The only reason I can think of is that AT&T is looking to prop their iPhone sales figures from the sales of such phones (however relatively small the number of sales of such phones may be), whereas sales of unlocked phones purchased from Apple wouldn't necessarily count directly towards the sales figures of the carriers.

I don't know if I can answer your question, but the iPhone 4S carries the same unsubsidized price across all carriers and regardless of whether the phone is locked. Technically, AT&T is doing nothing different from what VZW and Sprint are doing as far as the pricing is concerned. It just looks different because the unlocked iPhone is GSM-only.

archermoo · ‎11-29-2006

tonester wrote:
eddiewang wrote:
As the price of no-commitment iPhone 4s provided by AT&T equals to 649.99 to 849.99, the same as the official apple store.

Assuming that the above is indeed accurate...can someone please explain as to how/why AT&T would/could sell a no-commitment but still-locked iPhone for the same price as that for a no-commitment but unlocked iPhone directly from Apple itself? The only reason I can think of is that AT&T is looking to prop their iPhone sales figures from the sales of such phones (however relatively small the number of sales of such phones may be), whereas sales of unlocked phones purchased from Apple wouldn't necessarily count directly towards the sales figures of the carriers.

I think a better question would be: What is AT&T's incentive for selling an unlocked iPhone? I can't really think of one.

AT&T isn't really in the business of selling phones. They're in the business of selling service. Obviously they do sell phones, but that isn't their focus. Selling a no-commitment phone is already a bit of a stretch, but as long as it is still locked to them it is still at least likely to generate them income on an ongoing basis.

On the other hand, selling a no-commitment phone that isn't locked to them is much less likely to do so. And outside of an iPhone launch, AT&T isn't particularly concerned with the number of phones they sell. They're concerned with the number of subscribers they have.

Lcove · ‎11-23-2011

If you go to an apple store and say you want the AT&T iPhone without a contract and pay the full price for it, when you hook it up to iTunes it'll be unlocked.

dwill05 · ‎04-06-2005

Lcove wrote:
If you go to an apple store and say you want the AT&T iPhone without a contract and pay the full price for it, when you hook it up to iTunes it'll be unlocked.

You need to buy the specific unlocked phone. As this thread shows, no contract does not equal unlocked.

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

Lcove wrote:
If you go to an apple store and say you want the AT&T iPhone without a contract and pay the full price for it, when you hook it up to iTunes it'll be unlocked.

I had heard this rumor earlier. I also heard the rumor that Apple caught this error and stopped it. Since the unlocked phone has been released, it is safer just to get the unlocked phone and not play the game of chance with the AT&T no-contract phone. It's the same price, anyway, so there's nothing to lose by getting the unlocked iPhone 4S.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

21stNow wrote:

Lcove wrote:
If you go to an apple store and say you want the AT&T iPhone without a contract and pay the full price for it, when you hook it up to iTunes it'll be unlocked.

I had heard this rumor earlier. I also heard the rumor that Apple caught this error and stopped it. Since the unlocked phone has been released, it is safer just to get the unlocked phone and not play the game of chance with the AT&T no-contract phone. It's the same price, anyway, so there's nothing to lose by getting the unlocked iPhone 4S.

different skew numbers on the phone you buy the normal at discount or full retail or you select a unlocked phone hyer link. If you sleect the carier link and are not eligible for a discount you are offered the phone at full price - still carrier locked

Iphone unlocked.PNG

21stNow · ‎07-07-2010

As I said in my previous post, there was an error that occurred somewhere when customers walked into Apple stores, requested a no-commitment AT&T iPhone, and received an iPhone that was unlocked when plugged in to iTunes.

I can figure out how the process was supposed to work, and know that different models of cellular phones have different "SKU" numbers. I also know that sometimes humans make mistakes and can put the phones in the wrong boxes. Once Apple became aware of what was happening, they fixed the error.

There is more than one user on the iPhone threads on T-Mobile's forum that took advantage (they didn't have to wait until November for the unlocked phone) of the error. The point of my post was to warn that the error has been caught so that people don't waste their time trying to get an unlocked phone without waiting for the phone to ship.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

21stNow wrote:

As I said in my previous post, there was an error that occurred somewhere when customers walked into Apple stores, requested a no-commitment AT&T iPhone, and received an iPhone that was unlocked when plugged in to iTunes.

I can figure out how the process was supposed to work, and know that different models of cellular phones have different "SKU" numbers. I also know that sometimes humans make mistakes and can put the phones in the wrong boxes. Once Apple became aware of what was happening, they fixed the error.

There is more than one user on the iPhone threads on T-Mobile's forum that took advantage (they didn't have to wait until November for the unlocked phone) of the error. The point of my post was to warn that the error has been caught so that people don't waste their time trying to get an unlocked phone without waiting for the phone to ship.

agree, pictures just adding additonal informationt hat the apple site has two different links for the iphone - locked and unlocked

As far as the ones that where unlocked in error - wonder if they will lock on the next ios upgrade - interesting thought

johninsj · ‎07-07-2010

eddiewang wrote:

As the price of no-commitment iPhone 4s provided by AT&T equals to 649.99 to 849.99, the same as the official apple store.

I was wonder wether the no-commitment iphone 4s equal the unlock iPhone on the apple store. Can I choose not to using AT&T network?

I am asking my friend in US to bring me one to Hong Kong.

Looking forward to your response. Thanks~

Nope. You need to get that phone from Apple, so send your friend to the Apple store, or online here

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4s

Select color, size, and then Click "Or get iPhone unlocked and contract-free"

$650/$750/$850 for 16/32/64gb

"The unlocked iPhone works only on supported GSM networks, such as AT&T in the U.S. When you travel internationally, you can also use a micro-SIM card from a local GSM carrier. The unlocked iPhone will not work with CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint."

There you go.