Verizon is starting to SIM-lock all phones, will Google let them lock Pixel phones?
Feb 16, 2018, 8:11 am
#1
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Verizon is starting to SIM-lock all phones, will Google let them lock Pixel phones?
since Verizon is starting to SIM-lock all phones(including Apple iPhones and all Samsung Galaxy phones), will Google let them lock Pixel phones as well?
I know Verizon says the phones will be unlocked as soon as the phone is activated by the customer, but starting later in the year, Verizon will require the phones to be active on a Verizon postpaid account for a number of months before customers are allowed to unlock them. (which is just like what AT&T and other carriers have always done)
I know Verizon says the phones will be unlocked as soon as the phone is activated by the customer, but starting later in the year, Verizon will require the phones to be active on a Verizon postpaid account for a number of months before customers are allowed to unlock them. (which is just like what AT&T and other carriers have always done)
Feb 16, 2018, 9:33 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,365
I wouldn't count it out
at&t was allowed to lock their version of Nexus 6
https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/ATT-MOTOROLA-NEXUS-6-SIM-UNLOCK-DEVICE-NO-LONGER-SUPPORTED/td-p/5216337
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/att-n6-sim-locked-t3074220
at&t was allowed to lock their version of Nexus 6
https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/ATT-MOTOROLA-NEXUS-6-SIM-UNLOCK-DEVICE-NO-LONGER-SUPPORTED/td-p/5216337
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/att-n6-sim-locked-t3074220
Feb 16, 2018, 9:40 am
#3
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I wouldn't count it out
at&t was allowed to lock their version of Nexus 6
https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/ATT-MOTOROLA-NEXUS-6-SIM-UNLOCK-DEVICE-NO-LONGER-SUPPORTED/td-p/5216337
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/att-n6-sim-locked-t3074220
at&t was allowed to lock their version of Nexus 6
https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/ATT-MOTOROLA-NEXUS-6-SIM-UNLOCK-DEVICE-NO-LONGER-SUPPORTED/td-p/5216337
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/att-n6-sim-locked-t3074220
Since Google likes to imitate Apple, I guess it won't be that surprising if Verizon is allowed to SIM-lock the pixel phones. Let's see what Apple and Google have in common: both lack headphone jacks, both lack MicroSD card slots, both overcharge for higher storage capacity and until recently, both were the only high-end phones that had non-removable batteries....
Feb 18, 2018, 12:43 pm
#4
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since Verizon is starting to SIM-lock all phones(including Apple iPhones and all Samsung Galaxy phones), will Google let them lock Pixel phones as well?
I know Verizon says the phones will be unlocked as soon as the phone is activated by the customer, but starting later in the year, Verizon will require the phones to be active on a Verizon postpaid account for a number of months before customers are allowed to unlock them. (which is just like what AT&T and other carriers have always done)
I know Verizon says the phones will be unlocked as soon as the phone is activated by the customer, but starting later in the year, Verizon will require the phones to be active on a Verizon postpaid account for a number of months before customers are allowed to unlock them. (which is just like what AT&T and other carriers have always done)
Feb 18, 2018, 12:49 pm
#5
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Feb 19, 2018, 1:04 am
#6
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I would speculate this is aimed at the iPhone US retailer flex activation policy, where reseller scum typically buy large amounts of iPhones from Best Buy, Costco, Sam's, Target, etc. and use a VZW SIM to trick the phone into unlocking and they go off on their merry way scamming people for near MSRP prices, financed/blacklisted or otherwise.
The other source of butthurt is of course entitled T-Mobile subscribers, because T-Mobile is cheap as .... and won't let any retailer make money off them (Costco seems to be an exception at times) so their customers never get any national retailer promos. Instead they go around signing up for ATT/Sprint/VZW service for a new phone and then cancelling/unlocking after the fact.
If anyone really wanted an unlocked phone they can easily buy direct from Apple/Google/what have you but of course that means paying MSRP (or even when there's promo w/ some freebie), and of course no one is honest enough to do that...
Feb 19, 2018, 8:55 am
#7
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Verizon is just tightening the noose around reseller scum that regularly defraud retailers like Best Buy and Target. It instantly unlocks for anyone with a valid VZW account and SIM so no legit buyer would even notice. If anything, this is cutting out the thieves and reseller parasites out of the loop. And nothing too earth-shattering either if you think of this as a creative re-interpretation of license terms...
I would speculate this is aimed at the iPhone US retailer flex activation policy, where reseller scum typically buy large amounts of iPhones from Best Buy, Costco, Sam's, Target, etc. and use a VZW SIM to trick the phone into unlocking and they go off on their merry way scamming people for near MSRP prices, financed/blacklisted or otherwise.
The other source of butthurt is of course entitled T-Mobile subscribers, because T-Mobile is cheap as .... and won't let any retailer make money off them (Costco seems to be an exception at times) so their customers never get any national retailer promos. Instead they go around signing up for ATT/Sprint/VZW service for a new phone and then cancelling/unlocking after the fact.
If anyone really wanted an unlocked phone they can easily buy direct from Apple/Google/what have you but of course that means paying MSRP (or even when there's promo w/ some freebie), and of course no one is honest enough to do that...
I would speculate this is aimed at the iPhone US retailer flex activation policy, where reseller scum typically buy large amounts of iPhones from Best Buy, Costco, Sam's, Target, etc. and use a VZW SIM to trick the phone into unlocking and they go off on their merry way scamming people for near MSRP prices, financed/blacklisted or otherwise.
The other source of butthurt is of course entitled T-Mobile subscribers, because T-Mobile is cheap as .... and won't let any retailer make money off them (Costco seems to be an exception at times) so their customers never get any national retailer promos. Instead they go around signing up for ATT/Sprint/VZW service for a new phone and then cancelling/unlocking after the fact.
If anyone really wanted an unlocked phone they can easily buy direct from Apple/Google/what have you but of course that means paying MSRP (or even when there's promo w/ some freebie), and of course no one is honest enough to do that...
ELI5, please.How could a thief or scam artist rip off Best Buy? I assume it starts by going into the store and buying a whole bunch of phones at a promotional price but I'm not sure how it actually works after that.
Feb 19, 2018, 2:01 pm
#8
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Then there are people who actually rob cell phone shipments. This has been occurring from time to time and makes the news when it’s really big...
Feb 19, 2018, 3:48 pm
#9
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Typically, some reseller will open multiple lines/accounts and buy as many phones as they can, and as new phone purchases are all on credit now they can use stolen SSNs, fake IDs, or even recruit idiots on Craigslist to ruin their credit after they’ve done it under their own credit. They then default on their loan for the phone (resulting in blacklisted phones) but by then they’ve probably already sold plenty and scammed the buyers of “unlocked” “new” phones on fleaBay. An alternative is to enroll each phone under insurance and claim it’s stolen after the sale which also blacklists the phone. Even blacklists are not impossible to get off now as carrier employees are at times recruited into cell phone unlock rings to illicitly remove blacklisting/unlock for any other carrier. Access to these unlocks are then chopped up and sold on a per incident basis on fleaBay through “distributors”, these are the “unlockers” the end consumer interacts with.
Then there are people who actually rob cell phone shipments. This has been occurring from time to time and makes the news when it’s really big...
Feb 19, 2018, 9:15 pm
#10
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A carrier locked phone is much harder to sell. Carriers in a particular country have their own blacklists, and usually share nationwide blacklists. It's always YMMV if the blacklist can be circumvented (at an inconvenience and extra cost to the reseller), but if you export the phone out of the US you're home free. If the phone has no carrier subsidy lock (as is the case with all Verizon phones right now) there's nothing holding back the reseller from cashing in.
If you look at the most anti-consumer, ....-tier MVNOs like Tracfone, they are by far the most hostile to subsidy unlocking as their phones are usually bought up en mass by resellers and exported back to Mexico somewhat ironically because their phones are heavily subsidized in the US to lure people in.
If you look at the most anti-consumer, ....-tier MVNOs like Tracfone, they are by far the most hostile to subsidy unlocking as their phones are usually bought up en mass by resellers and exported back to Mexico somewhat ironically because their phones are heavily subsidized in the US to lure people in.
Feb 19, 2018, 9:51 pm
#11
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I've been buying Verizon iPhones outright on release day for the past few years since I can just pop in any sim after activating and getting the 'congratulations, your iPhone is unlocked' message. Sure apple sells "SIM-free" unlocked iPhones, but they usually don't release those until a couple of weeks after the initial launch. I really hope that this new sim-locking policy is only applied to phones purchased on installment plans.
Feb 20, 2018, 7:35 am
#12
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If the goal is to stop theft, why would the plan under which the phone is sold make a difference? I doubt phones are tagged for a sales channel when shipped in bulk to stores.
Jun 26, 2019, 5:01 pm
#14
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Officially approved today: https://www.pcmag.com/news/369245/ve...es-for-60-days
