SIM card not activated on unlocked phone

[eyungwir]

Hey all,

My sister bought a new iPhone XR from Bell a few weeks ago and ended up getting a deal where she got a second phone. She sold it to me even though I’m not on Bell as I assumed it would be factory unlocked as I heard all iphones after 2018 were automatically unlocked. I set up the new phone and when I put my PM SIM card in I got a message saying “The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under th activation policy that is currently assigned by the activiation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information."

After this I’ve tried:

1. Backing up, wiping and restoring my phone

2. Calling apple - they said it was likely that my phone was locked to Bell

3. Calling Bell, having them check my IMEI number and telling me that my phone is already unlocked, as I originally expected 

I’m unsure of where to go next. Please help!

[Luddite]

@eyungwir Further reading on this subject https://www.imyfone.com/ios-data-erase/how-to-unlock-a-locked-iphone-4-ways/. Check out "How to Unlock An iCloud-Locked iPhone?" in case the pohone was registered by Bell to your sister's iCloud account.

[Luddite]

@eyungwir If it has been unlocked, syncing with iTunes will usually clear an unlocked phone.

The simplest test is to try your PM SIM an known unlocked phone, and another non-Bell SIM in yours.

[geopublic]

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@eyungwir wrote:

Hey all,

My sister bought a new iPhone XR from Bell a few weeks ago and ended up getting a deal where she got a second phone. She sold it to me even though I’m not on Bell as I assumed it would be factory unlocked as I heard all iphones after 2018 were automatically unlocked. I set up the new phone and when I put my PM SIM card in I got a message saying “The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under th activation policy that is currently assigned by the activiation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information."

After this I’ve tried:

1. Backing up, wiping and restoring my phone

2. Calling apple - they said it was likely that my phone was locked to Bell

3. Calling Bell, having them check my IMEI number and telling me that my phone is already unlocked, as I originally expected 

I’m unsure of where to go next. Please help!

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@eyungwir  Your sister needs to call Bell and ask them to unlock the phone.