AT&T Locks Apple SIM Cards On New iPads 112
As reported by MacRumors, the unlocked, carrier-switchable SIM cards built into the newest iPads aren't necessarily so -- at least if you buy them from an AT&T store. Though the card comes from Apple with the ability to support (and be switched among with software, if a change is necessary) all major carriers, "AT&T is not supporting this interchangeability and is locking the SIM included with cellular models of the iPad Air 2 and Retina iPad mini 3 after it is used with an AT&T plan. ... AT&T appears to be the only participating carrier that is locking the Apple SIM to its network. T-Mobile's John Legere has indicated that T-Mobile's process does not lock a customer in to T-Mobile, which appears to be confirmed by Apple's support document, and Sprint's process also seems to leave the Apple SIM unlocked and able to be used with other carrier plans. Verizon, the fourth major carrier in the United States, did not opt to allow the Apple SIM to work with its network." The iPad itself can still be activated and used on other networks, but only after the installation of a new SIM.
Easy solution (Score:1)
Easy solution:
Don't use AT&T. Ever.
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Easy solution:
Don't use AT&T. Ever.
Or Verizon.
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AT&T....nope
Verizon....Nope
CenturyLink(formerly Qwest)....nope
Google....nope
shit
That makes my decision easier. (Score:2, Funny)
I was going to an LTE iPad and go as needed on the cellular plan, now which carrier to not select.
Go T-Mo (Score:3)
T-Mobile that is.
I had Verizon, before that AT&T. So far I've been happier with T-Mobile than any of them...
T-Mobile I think gives you a free 200mb/month no matter what, so if you use cell network lightly that can be fantastic.
If you do pay for a plan, T-Mobile has free international data. It's not LTE unless you pay more but 3G is fine for most needs.
It's only been a month so I may be in the honeymoon phase but the very fact there is a honeymoon phase instead of a gnawing fear in the pit of my stomac
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...if you finance the iPads through tmobile...
It's common and reasonable to finance a home or maybe even a car. But a fucking iPad...?
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T-Mobile I think gives you a free 200mb/month no matter what, so if you use cell network lightly that can be fantastic.
Do not trust T-Mobile on that promise. I bought two sim cards from T-mobile with the same promise, 200 mb/month "for life" and each sim card doesn't even need to be activated. I read the fine prints very carefully. That was true for about six months, then the sim cards stopped working.
I think T-Mobile just regretted having offered that deal. I would have complained, but I'm just too lazy to do so because I did get some service and I'm just out $40.
Overall, I still think T-Mobile is the least dishonest mobil
Re: Go T-Mo (Score:1)
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Randall Munroe (of XKCD fame) wrote a legendary check to Verizon [xkcd.com] afterwards in response to this incident. "What now, bitches?"
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Re:Go T-Mo (Score:4, Interesting)
What, exactly, does Verizon do that is so dishonest and earns them so much hate?
They lock down their phones, and in the past they've actively disabled features supported by their phones' hardware to force you to use their premium services (Bluetooth modes, Wifi, and GPS have all been casualties of Verizon's lockdown fetish in the past). Compounding matters, there are lots of semi-rural places where Verizon is the only carrier with viable service (or at least, viable service INDOORS). Verizon was also the only carrier who forced bootloader-locking up until AT&T joined the party last year.
That's why T-Mobile is the carrier everyone desperately wants to love, even in areas where their service is poor. They're the only carrier who DOESN'T lock down their phones & try to restrict what you can do with them.
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One shady thing that Verizon has done is to order phones from the manufacturer without an FM radio reciever, or with it disabl
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You seem to believe that people who know that they can unlock/reflash to cyanogenmod or ever figure out how to get it done are the vast majority of the customer base.
Not to mention that the first I heard of crippled phones goes way back, before Android even existed as a dodgy business plan for the company Google would later buy. It wasn't always as easy to find an alternative image to install as today.
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erhaps you have just been using the built-in crapware that Verizon ships with their phones. Also, even though the phones ship with a locked bootloader, I have had no trouble unlocking the bootloader in order to install a custom ROM like cyanogenmod, or rooting the existing rom, or both.
This is not always a practical option; it can void your manufacturer's warranty so if something goes wrong with your $600 phone within the warranty period then you're screwed,
If someone told me I voided my warranty for installing CM, I really would see them in court. They're going to have to show that CM is incompatible, and in the process, they'll basically have to declare that their phone is not an android phone, which will make them look like cunts in the press.
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No need for a lawsuit. Just file a complaint with the FTC under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, then sit back with a bowl of popcorn and watch the manufacturer beg for mercy. Or ask to speak to the front-line employee's supervisor, and just say the magic phrase that pays: "If you don't fix it, I'm going to file a Magnuson Moss complaint with the FTC". They'll blanche, take the phone, charge the usual deductible if you let them, JTAG-reflash it back to stock, and proceed as normal.
The catch with Magnuson Mos
Not dishonest, just greedy (Score:2)
What, exactly, does Verizon do that is so dishonest and earns them so much hate?
I never said they were dishonest, just that I didn't like them. Remember, this is after I have been a customer for two years so I have a lot of experience...
The main reason is just that they charge a lot of fees. Fees for the ability to block a number, fees for this, fees for that - but the worst is truly outrageous data fees for international use, $20 for 200MB of data. And the REALLY bad part of that is, it's per country -
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that's bull.
I use T-Mo on a "bring your own device", no contract monthly billing plan.
i get 2gb of data with unlimited calls and texts for 100/mo. I can get 1gb for 50/mo if i so choose as well. You can cut that down to 200mb and pay some insanely small ammount (I think it was 10/mo?) and i have roamed quite heavily from my initial service area, all the way into other states, and have had no trouble using data on other carrier's towers.
granted, it's not alsways 4G LTE, and is often edge or something simil
Get an AT&T sim card first (Score:1)
So instead of AT&T screwing up the Apple provided sim card, users who want to try AT&T should request an AT&T sim card directly from AT&T and use that instead. Problem solved.
Legality (Score:4, Insightful)
Sign it away in TOS (Score:2)
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If they put it in the fine print, it is legal until a judge declares it not legal.
It's not even in the fine print (well, I'm sure it probably still is, but...). When you try to activate AT&T on the device, you'll get a modal dialog that pops up, warns you about this exact situation, and asks if you would like to continue.
Re: Legality (Score:5, Insightful)
If AT&T wants to lock a SIM to their service, then they should provide the customer a SIM, rather than disabling functionality in the SIM that the customer already has. Putting it in the contract gives them a right to do it, but it doesn't make it a less-scummy business practice.
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Putting it in the contract gives them a right to do it,
Not necessarily.
Just because there's a clause in the contract doesn't mean it is legal and/or conscionable.
I'll say that it's nakedly anti-consumer and I hope a State's Attorney General or three will look into it and pressure AT&T to back off.
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Simple Solution (Score:1)
Break up ATT and Verizon.
Sounds like grounds for a class action anyhow. (Score:2)
If a company is disabling the functionality of a piece of hardware you have then they minimally need to re-enable the functionality.
Some new lawyer could cut their chops on this case I'm sure.
Seems foolhardy for AT&T to expose themselves this way.
What physically happens when they lock the SIM? (Score:3)
Who cares??? (Score:2)
Does anyone actually care about this? So you buy an iPad from AT&T and if you want to use it with T-Mobile, you need to pop in a T-Mobile SIM. Who cares? It's not like it costs money for a SIM when you sign up with a carrier, they will just give it to you. And how is this any different than an unlocked phone?
Re:Non-story? (Score:5, Interesting)
Seems like a non-story, don't most wireless providers require you to change the SIM when switching anyways?
I think that was the entire point of the Apple SIM. You could have one card, and go between carriers with a simple software switch. However, AT&T appears to be intentionally breaking that functionality to FORCE you to buy another Apple SIM if you want to switch. With T-Mobile and Sprint, you just pick which one you want. Tried Sprint, but T-Mo's coverage is better in your area? Just cancel the Sprint account and switch to your T-Mo account in the settings. But if you happen to pick AT&T at any point, that SIM can only EVER be used on AT&T, defeating the whole point of a multi-carrier SIM in the first place.
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It's not a phone, motard, and they're locking up stuff not bought through them.
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apple most likely made this to make it easier to manufacture ipads and cut costs. not to make it easy to switch carriers. all the ipads are the same except for the software. being able to dynamically adjust inventory is a money saver and lessens risk of inventory having to be discounted. for apple and the carriers. i bet they have some internal procedure to transfer unsold ipads between carrier stores just in case, because of the software sims
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It's got to be an "Apple SIM" which probably means it's $599 for a small one that nobody wants and $899 for one that you can actually use.
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Dumbass.
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So... how are AT&T able to technically achieve this?
Did Apple screw up in some manner, that accidentally left a venue open for ATT to successfully be able to lock the SIM?
Is there a way Apple can fix this in a future revision, so the customer will be able to unlock their SIM, or ATT won't be able to lock it?
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Well, if you switch you still have to pay the extra money to quit the plan early (those phones are not cheap and are subsidized through the monthly fee). The point of the Apple SIM as explained to me by some who want it, is for when they travel to other countries when they explain is can be inconvenient to pick up a sim card and take it to a clerk to pay for when you can just give the phone to the clerk instead (or presumably if the infrastructure is ever in place, get the code online).
Though if you buy an
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I don't have a tablet that's connected to cellular, but if AT&T did this to me without me realizing, I'd go to their stores and complain until they either fixed the problem or called the police on me.
It's one thing to be evil, but this is the type of thing that makes me wish the cruel and unusual punishment restriction didn't exist in US law. Fucking bastards.
Re: Non-story? (Score:5, Insightful)
No. This is a terrible practice, it's anti-competitive and needs to be stopped. A customer should not have to justify his actions to leave, particularly when the reasons are usually blatantly obvious.
Re: Non-story? (Score:5, Insightful)
Whether it's convenient or not as long as you are not harassed while switching than a business has every right to try to sway you (within reason) and nothing you say or do will change that.
Exactly what gives them the right to FUCK WITH MY EQUIPMENT AND DISABLE A KEY FEATURE???
Re: Non-story? (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm not familiar with the concept of buying a sim. No really I'm legitimately curious not trying to be funny. I though sims were provided by carriers for their networks. I thought all this is free as part of any contract and that replacement sims are likewise free. I'm struggling with the outrage. Isn't the carrier specific sim the reason for all those phones on the market with more than one sim shot?
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I was under the impression that those phones are used mostly by salespeople and other frequent travellers so they can use the SIM/account that's local to the place they're in currently, without fumbling about for the card(s).
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I'm pretty sure that Verizon doesn't operate a GSM network so saying that they won't support the unlocked SIM seems like a red herring. Verizon is, so far as I know, CDMA all the way.
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And now I read just a little further down and learned from BronsCon that Verizon offers a SIM-based LTE network.
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But it IS reality with every other carrier mentioned above who doesn't do this shit.
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It's my fucking SIM, you idiot, the carrier has no right to fuck with *MY* SIM.
Re: Non-story? (Score:1)
Re: Non-story? (Score:5, Informative)
AT&T will unlock if you call and ask. They want they oppertunity to try and keep your business before unlocking. Last I checked that's good business to try and keep your customer. That being said if you don't like it go with one of the carriers with significantly less LTE coverage.
This isn't about unlocking the device. All iPads are and have always been unlocked. This is about AT&T's decision to disable using the multi-carrier Apple SIM card (new with this iteration of iPads) on any carrier besides AT&T once you use it once with AT&T. (Does Apple even sell the Apple SIM card separately? Maybe in store, but it's certainly not on their website as of now. Your best bet would be just to get an AT&T SIM card if you want to use them and save the Apple card for cooperating carriers.)
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I doubt they'll do it for free. It's uncompetitive and the FCC should step in (but won't)
Re: Non-story? (Score:4, Insightful)
It is good business to try and retain a customer. It is terrible behavior to hold someone's property ransom to force them to listen to your pitch.
Depending on how quickly word gets out, and the reaction, the second may not be a productive way of trying to achieve the first.
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AT & T have no business locking anything I purchase. I buy a car, it's not locked by the dealership, I buy a Skil-saw and I don't have to call to change blades.
No , it's not a good business practice, it's not nice and it is intrusive, invasive and rude. It would be no different than getting married to a hottie, then finding her breeding rights belong to another guy and you can't even touch her cunt unless she gets a new one.
No, just piss on AT&T and their ilk.
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AT & T have no business locking anything I purchase. I buy a car, it's not locked by the dealership, I buy a Skil-saw and I don't have to call to change blades.
No , it's not a good business practice, it's not nice and it is intrusive, invasive and rude. It would be no different than getting married to a hottie, then finding her breeding rights belong to another guy and you can't even touch her cunt unless she gets a new one.
No, just piss on AT&T and their ilk.
If you buy a car these days, the computer is indeed locked by the dealership, although the manufacturer has the keys. Independent mechanics have been up in arms over this for years -- they have to purchase the keys needed to tune the vehicles, even though they're running on a somewhat open system.
That doesn't make either a reasonable course of action though, even with the security arguments.
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Thats the difference between "buying" and "bought", the present tense would be "buy", which I do every now and then w/o dicking with a loan process.
You may not be able to buy a car outright many places, but sometimes you can make the downpayment, then pay the salesman the balance to "jump over a bucket" and he will "give" you the car. Just to be inside legality.
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Unless they decide not to. Or go out of business. Or you haven't paid them enough. Or any of 100 other things. Even if it was 100% their policy to unlock on request, they locked it without my consent or any ethical technical or business purpose, which is itself a problem.
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Well, yes, but generally you buy the SIM through them and not through Apple.
Apparently with the new iPads one of the new features is that they come with "Apple SIMs" that instead of being a SIM provided by the cell provider are a SIM Apple provides. (Unless you're using it with Verizon, in which case you have to use a Verizon SIM. Except I thought Verizon and Sprint used CDMA which required something other than a SIM. Or maybe 4G LTE changes that. I haven't a clue how it works, other than for the longest ti
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How does that work when you're off the LTE network, though? LTE coverage may be generally "OK" where I live near a major city, but I know that my brother who uses Verizon frequently finds himself on whatever Verizon calls their CDMA data service when using data. (I think it's just "3G" but I don't remember.) Do you need a special CDMA card too or does it all use the same SIM card? I'm assuming it all uses the same SIM card? Or do the new iPads just not support CDMA at all?
I'm genuinely curious, I have no id
Re: Non-story? (Score:2)
3G and under require CDMA radios for CDMA carriers. They have to be provisioned on the carriers network to work properly or they simply won't connect except for emergency calls. 4G and LTE variants all require SIM cards on all networks. T-Mo and AT&T are the only carriers (major anyway) that use SIM cards for GPRS,EDGE,3G, and 4G. I'm not sure if the new iPads support anything less than 4G though. I know Samsung has stopped supporting anything less than 3G on a few of their tablets (Note 10.1 2014 for e
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How does that work when you're off the LTE network, though
You have a CDMA radio in the phone as well. How else do you expect that it works?
SIM, CSIM, USIM (Score:2)
I thought Verizon and Sprint used CDMA which required something other than a SIM.
According to Wikipedia [wikipedia.org], CDMA2000 can use a CSIM (CDMA2000 subscriber identity module). But unlike GSM and its successors (UMTS, HSPA, and LTE), CDMA2000 makes use of a CSIM optional, and CDMA2000 with CSIM is more common in Asia than in North America, where Verizon and Sprint have traditionally programmed the subscriber identity directly into the handset. But a single UICC card can act as a removable user identity module for all three cellular flavors: SIM for GSM, CSIM for CDMA2000, and USIM for UMTS, HSPA
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Holy shit you're completely retarded.
Re:The Apple SIM is a terrible idea (Score:4, Insightful)