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Apple just closed a popular workaround for buying an unlocked iPhone
9to5Mac • • general
Key Points:
- Apple and its carrier partners have ended a workaround that allowed customers to buy unlocked iPhones with carrier financing from T-Mobile and Verizon, effective this month.
- Previously, iPhones purchased with financing through these carriers remained unlocked, enabling use with other carriers or internationally, but now devices are locked until fully paid off.
- This change aligns T-Mobile and Verizon with AT&T’s existing policy, restricting unlocked iPhones to those bought outright without carrier financing.
- The move limits customers from combining carrier promotions and trade-in offers with the flexibility of an unlocked device, impacting those who valued switching carriers or using dual SIMs before paying off their phones.
- Consumers seeking unlocked iPhones at potentially lower prices might consider alternatives such as purchasing renewed unlocked models from retailers like Amazon.
