Unlock and iPhone 6s bought from the Apple store

[nickeva]

I recently bought an unlocked iPhone 6s outright from the Apple Store and put my Vodafone pay monthly sim in it.

As I was going abroad I wanted to use a local sim to use. When I inserted the sim I found out that the phone had been locked to Vodafone. Spoke to the Apple Store and they said its a Vodafone issue as no other mobile provider locks the phone.

I then completed the Network unlock request form which was rejected as "You recently asked us for your network unlock code (NUC), but we can not give you this until you have at least three cleared consecutive payments."

I have been a loyal customer with Vodafone for over 5 years and just want my store bought phone unlocked.

Any help with this issue would be appreciated

[drey_p]

Hi there

If Apple sold you the phone as unlocked, if I were you I would be asking them to provide me with what I bought.

However, more often than not, they supply handsets which lock automatically to the first SIM card that is inserted - this should have been made clear at point of sale

What you have been told is correct, Vodafone will only unlock your handset once they have 3 cleared payments on your current contract.  

[nickeva]

Spoke to Apple and they said all their phones are unlocked at point of sale. If you use any other providers SIM ie EE, Three, O2, the phone remains unlocked, it seems it is a known issue that the only provider that locks the phone is Vodafone.

Apple told me to contact Vodafone and Vodafone contact Apple. Just been on chat and was told to complete the Network unlock request form again so hopefully it will be successful this time

[drey_p]

Hold on a sec, Apple sold you a phone and then claimed that Vodafone locked it?  That is totally incorrect.  Apple sold you a phone that was designed to lock to the first SIM card put in it.  In your case it would have been Vodafone, but could have easily been O2 or EE for example. It is absolute nonsense that Vodafone are the only network that supply locked iPhones - they all do... and it is because Apple want it that way. Also the phones supplied by third parties are designed to lock to the first SIM inserted in them

The problem is that it sounds like Apple didn't warn you of this, and if I were you I'd be taking the handset back and asking for a refund. Was the phone bought with a SIM card at all?

Vodafone can unlock it for you, it just may mean a wait.

[nickeva]

The phone was bought without a sim card i just used my original Vodafone pay monthly SIM. I will contact Apple again. Thanks

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello @nickeva

I always purchase my iPhone's from my local  store and switch around SIM cards all the time. 

Did you pay full retail price for it or did you upgrade in the  store. 

From what ive been advised by the  specialists they are supplied from two different pools of stock. One's supplied on contract can lock out. 

iPhones supplied for factory unlocked do not. 

From the Apple Uk site. 

"Do I need to commit to a long-term contract for my iPhone?
Buying a SIM-free iPhone from apple.com allows you to choose your own carrier and change carriers at any time. iPhone may also be available at a lower price with a contract directly from your wireless carrier."

[jeffkinn]

There is a lot of misinformation here. if you buy an IPhone directly from Apple that is unlocked and off contract it should never lock to a network. Phones from dealers like Carphone Warehouse will lock to the first network it's used with but Apple supplied phones do not, whether it's Vodafone or any other network.

Assuming that you did buy an unlocked phone at full retail price you have to go back to Apple and demand they unlock it.

[nickeva]

I did buy direct from the Apple store but I used their interest free credit option and assumed that I was buying a fully unlocked phone.

Will need to go back to the store and clarify

[jeffkinn]

What price did you pay for the 6S and what spec was it? That's the best way of determining what you actually bought.

[nickeva]

6S 128gb £699