I have been following this thread with interest as I have an E4 I bought in the USA recently. I was hoping to unlock for use here in the UK. Boost have flatly refused to help me. When I put my sim in the notification bar briefly flashes up with a hidden menu & 'Invalid sim'.

• Moved SIM over and completed activation with Sprint than began getting this message “The SIM card has locked. Please power cycle the device If problem persists contact Customer Service” followed minutes by “Invalid SIM”. Did a reboot, a reset, and carrier updates and it still occurs.
• Sprint greatly appreciates the service that our U.S. Military men and women provide at home and abroad. For military personnel deployed overseas, Sprint has established a favorable unlocking policy, as follows: The device is capable of international SIM unlock.
• Sprint literally has eight different SKUs for its various SIM cards. Each device that the carrier allows on its network is assigned a specific SIM card SKU and the system will only allow.

Want to ditch your Sprint iPhone carrier for another? When you purchase an iPhone from Sprint, your iPhone is locked to Sprint. Your device can only be used on the Sprint network and you won’t be able to get any signal on the phone with a different carrier. That means only unlocking your iPhone from Sprint carrier can let you make the switch.

To switch carriers, you need to rely on the current carrier, i.e. Sprint, to unlock your iPhone. Apple is not able to unlock your iPhone for use with a different carrier. In this article, we will show how to unlock Sprint iPhone, including those older models like iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and 6s.

Check Whether Your iPhone Is Eligible for Unlocking

According to the official site, the eligible postpaid customers can request a SIM unlock. Here are Sprint unlock eligibility requirements for unlocking a Sprint iPhone, in terms of US/domestic use & international use.

Domestic Requirements

• 1. Your iPhone must be compatible with domestic unlocking.
• 2. iPhone should be connected to Sprint for more than 50 days.
• 3. The account’s iPhone contract terms and agreements must all be met.
• 4. Your iPhone must not have any stolen reports.

International Requirements

• 1. Your iPhone must be compatible with international unlocking.
• 2. iPhone should be connected to Sprint for at least 90 days.
• 3. You must be an existing and current Sprint customer and be able to prove yourself as the account owner.
• 4. The account must in good standing.
• 5. Your iPhone has not been reported stolen or lost.

How to Unlock iPhone from Sprint Carrier

If you’re ready to unlock Sprint iPhone, here’s what you’ll need to do.

Step 1 Contact Sprint’s Customer Care at 1-844-665-6327.

Step 2 Submit your Sprint account information and your iPhone’s IMEI number.

Step 3 It might take a few days to unlock after you submit the request. To follow up your request’s status, contact Sprint customer support team.

Step 4 Remove the Sprint SIM card and then insert a new carrier’s SIM card.

Step 5 Set up your iPhone again.

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FAQs about Sprint iPhone Unlocking

What does it mean for my Sprint iPhone to be 'locked?' or 'unlocked?'

The term 'locked' refers to a device that can only be used on the Sprint network and cannot be activated on another carrier's network. An 'unlocked' device refers to a device is no longer locked to Sprint's network and the user can switch to another carrier's network.

How to check if iPhone is unlocked?

To check if the iPhone is unlocked or not, you can go to the Settings app. Tap Cellular or Mobile Data, and then look for the Cellular Data network or Mobile Data Options in the screen. If you find can find either of them, your iPhone is unlocked. Otherwise, your iPhone is locked.

Will Sprint notify me when my device is eligible to be unlocked or has been unlocked?

For postpaid customers with SIM unlock-capable devices, Sprint will automatically unlock your active eligible SIM unlock-capable device. But for prepaid customers, Sprint won’t unlock the device automatically. You will have to call Sprint Customer Care at 855-639-4644 to request your device be unlocked.

Conclusion

Generally, it is a good idea to unlock your Sprint iPhone when you’re going to travel or move to a different region. Additionally, you can also unlock iPhone from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or others. Before unlocking your iPhone, you need to verify that your carrier offers unlocking and the difficulty can vary from carrier to carrier. After submitting the request, it might take a few days to complete the process.

It has never been easier to unlock a Sprint cell phone or Sprint tablet. The carrier is even doing its part to make it easy to unlock a phone by actually notifying a person when their phone is ready to be unlocked. If that’s not enough, models of phones released after February 2015 will unlock on their own once the phone becomes eligible.

That being said, if a person does not want to wait or wants to try their hand at unlocking a phone or a tablet, they will first need to know if their device is eligible, the information needed to unlock the phone, the steps needed to unlock the phone for international use, and the steps needed to unlock the phone for military use.

A Few Things to Take into Consideration before Unlocking a Sprint Phone

Before a person gets too giddy about the idea of unlocking a phone, they should know that activating a Sprint device on a different network is not always as easy as one might think. Both Sprint and Verizon are CDMA carriers. So one would think that since they use the same technology, Sprint phones would be easy to activate on a Verizon service. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Not every Sprint phone was designed to be compatible with Verizon services. First, a person needs to look at their phone's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) to check for compatibility.

Most Sprint phones should work on T-Mobile or AT&T networks. This is because these companies use a GSM network that can be used by LTE capable phones or the iPhone. Some of the phones sold by Sprint are designed to be global or universal phones. These have a space for SIM card and also have CDMA/GSM capability.

But there still catch. Just because the phone is labeled global and just because the phone functions on the GSM service does not mean that all of the phone's features are going to work. A person may not be able to make or receive phone calls or to make or receive texts without CDMA. This is the case even if the phone has the ability to access LTE.

Basically, the model of phone a person has is going to determine how successful they are going to be at unlocking it.

How to Unlock a Sprint Phone

Once it is determined that a Sprint phone not only can be unlocked but that it can be used on the network intended, a person will need to make sure of a few things about the phone itself. First and foremost, the phone can’t be stolen. If it has been reported to law enforcement as stolen or if the phone has been connected with any criminal or terrorist activity, that’s the end of the game. It cannot be unlocked.

Next, a person needs to look at the service plan they purchased when they got the phone. If a service plan was purchased that allowed an individual to subsidize the phone, they are going to have to live out the life of that plan. Before Sprint will allow a person to unlock the phone, their contract should be fully paid up and they should have no outstanding fees and no outstanding bills.

Some people get their phone through Sprint using installment plans. If a person has financed their phone using something like Sprint Easy Pay, Sprint Lease, or IPhone Forever, they will need to have paid off the phone in its entirety. There should be no payments left for the device.

In a similar vein, the account that that a person has with Sprint should be in good standing. Sprint requires that the phone has been active on a Sprint plan for at least 50 days before they will allow it to be unlocked.

How To Unlock a Sprint Phone by IMEI

Sim Card Has Locked Sprint Iphone 7

​You can also use the tool below to unlock your Sprint phone using the IMEI code through our partner, DoctorSIM.

What Is Needed to Request a Sprint Phone Unlock?

Start by contacting a Sprint Customer Care representative. Talk to them about domestic unlocking or Sprint Worldwide Care if the intention is to unlock a phone internationally or if it is for a military unlock.

The first thing they are going to ask you for is the account number that is connected to the phone that will be unlocked. The account holder’s name will also be needed. The password for the account or the last four digits of the social security number of the account holder will be needed as well.

Next, a person will be asked to provide the IMEI or the MEID for the device. This is usually found under the battery cover. On some phones it can be found by dialing *#06#. The phone number of the device will be requested. Deployment papers will be asked for if the unlock is for military deployment.

Unlock a Phone for International Travel as a Civilian or Military Personnel

If a person is looking to travel internationally either as a civilian or as military personnel, it’s a little easier to get a phone unlocked for use overseas. A person simply needs to show that they are a Sprint customer who is the owner of the account or they are authorized to make adjustments. The phone needs to be active on a Sprint account, and it should have been used for at least 90 days. All of the payments must be up-to-date. A person could not have unlocked another phone or device within the last 12 months.

Sim Card Is Locked Sprint

It is good to note that just because a phone is unlocked internationally does not mean that it is unlocked domestically. A person will need to request a second unlock if they choose to use their device with a US carrier.