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Guillermo78201's profile

Teacher

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16 Messages

Thursday, February 6th, 2014 10:25 PM

went from iphone 4s to a flip phone, what do I do with the iphone now?

Hi. I had an iphone 4s, but could not afford the bill any longer, so I dug out my old pantech, and now have a lower bill bill due to not having a data plan, so now I'm left with my iphone. I chatted with the rep that helped me do the change, and she said I could not sell it because It would be locked. since my contract hasnt expired. but I wondered, I see used iphones on ebay being sold under different carriers, one being at&t. wouldn't I be able to list my iphone as being locked with at&t? and the buyer would have to be an at&t customer. isn't it that simple? or am I missing something?

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Guru

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552 Messages

10 years ago

It's not locked to your account, it's locked to ATT. So as long as the buyer uses it on ATT it will work.

Expert

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12.2K Messages

10 years ago


@Guillermo78201 wrote:

Hi. I had an iphone 4s, but could not afford the bill any longer, so I dug out my old pantech, and now have a lower bill bill due to not having a data plan, so now I'm left with my iphone. I chatted with the rep that helped me do the change, and she said I could not sell it because It would be locked. since my contract hasnt expired. but I wondered, I see used iphones on ebay being sold under different carriers, one being at&t. wouldn't I be able to list my iphone as being locked with at&t? and the buyer would have to be an at&t customer. isn't it that simple? or am I missing something?


No it is that simple, just make sure you state that it is locked to att and is not eligible for a unlock. the buyer can use it on a prepaid or a post paid att account

Teacher

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16 Messages

10 years ago

so is that how people sell them on ebay when they are listed under at&t?

Expert

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12.2K Messages

10 years ago


@Guillermo78201 wrote:

so is that how people sell them on ebay when they are listed under at&t?


given the number of requests for unlock that are posted on the forums, would suspect that 80 percent or more do not state that the phone is locked to the carrier and is not eligible for unlock by the purchaser of the device, the seeler "forgets" to mention that and leaves the buyers up the creek without a paddle with a expensive paper weight. Being up front is always the best policy

Master

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10.2K Messages

10 years ago


@wingrider01 wrote:

@Guillermo78201 wrote:

so is that how people sell them on ebay when they are listed under at&t?


given the number of requests for unlock that are posted on the forums, would suspect that 80 percent or more do not state that the phone is locked to the carrier and is not eligible for unlock by the purchaser of the device, the seeler "forgets" to mention that and leaves the buyers up the creek without a paddle with a expensive paper weight. Being up front is always the best policy


Agree with you 100%. I refuse to even look at a listing where a seller does not list the carrier that the phone is locked to. I wish that people would be up front and honest when trying to sell expensive devices - especially those that are carrier-locked being sold internationally. Perhaps online auction sites such as eBay or even Craigslist should have sellers specify the carrier that the phone is locked to (if applicable) as part of the listing process. This would save so many headaches in the long run. 

Scholar

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100 Messages

10 years ago

You can definitely sell it; but it will be locked to At&ts network, which means who ever you sell it to can only use it  for postpaid, and prepaid( Gophone). Keep in mind that there are a lot of other avenues that you can use to sell your old device.

 

Just to list a few:

1. Swappa.com

2. Target's in store trade in program(Target Mobile)

3. At&t Corporate Store

4. Best Buy trade in Program

and many others...

Teacher

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16 Messages

10 years ago

Harryspar, that's what I was wondering. thanks! I see an option ebay if I want to only look at phones through a certain carrier, one of them is AT&T, and there's a long line of them. so that's how I would list mine, in the AT&T category, so only people on AT&T would look at my ad. that's what I wanted to be sure about. the phone is not locked to my account, only tp AT&T. thanks

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