vendredi 20 mars 2015

Unlock a Virgin Mobile USA iPhone 4s -- worthwhile?


I have an iPhone 4s that works with Virgin Mobile USA. Since carriers must unlock phones now I'm wondering about unlocking this one. But I haven't been able to determine if it would actually be worthwhile. Specifically, whether I'd be able to use the phone with a different carrier.


The phone is an iPhone 4s, marked on the back as an A1387, and identifies itself in settings as an MD236LL/A. This is a CDMA refurb model, obtained from an Apple store after the original phone got dropped in a puddle.


What I'd like to do: (a) use the phone with some other US-based carrier while at home, and (b) when traveling outside the USA, use the phone with a local SIM and GSM network.


I've tried searching for unlocking info but I'm getting conflicting answers about whether either of the above are possible:




  • Some sites say that since the 4s is a "world" phone that after unlocking it would work on both domestic (US) GSM networks as well as CDMA networks like Verizon.




  • Some sites say that although it's a "world" phone, it's tied to CDMA when in the USA. While traveling it would work with a GSM network using local SIM but in the USA it could not use a GSM network.




  • Still others say that "world" means nothing here, that it's strictly CDMA and can't use GSM at all.




Can anyone clear this up? I know I can legally get the phone unlocked, but would doing so get me either of the things mentioned above? Virgin Mobile USA's site isn't helping me. They have a chart listing types of unlocks for different phones, but from past experience with them I pretty much assume they're either lying or just plain wrong about most things.





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