sim not compatible

[Emma_oh]

so Ive had public mobile for a while now, the other day I removed my sim and factory reset my phone. once it was done it wouldn't accept my SIM card. prior to the reset it was no sim restriction now it shows sim locked. its an XR iPhone and spoke with apple. they said it was locked to t mobile, three way call with t mobile and apple. t mobile said its not Locked to them apple said it was. im a bit buggered now as no one seems to want to help and blames everyone. with the SIM card out the carrier lock on the phone shows sim locked and once I insert my sim it shows sim not compatible. ive factory reset the phone serval times and still can't get anywhere. ive done a google search and seen others with similar issue, I logged a complaint with the crtc as well as the fcc., ive seen that the fcc was able to get head office t mobile to contact the person and they said it was a glitch and unlocked the phone. Anyone here able to offer actual insight please do. the phone was bought outright then replaced by apple at one time, ive switched carriers several times and never had an issue.

[computergeek541]

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@Emma_oh wrote:

it was not refurbished it was replaced by apple. the reason for factory reset is a mute point. I was giving it to my daughter

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Depending on how long you've had the phone for, the replacements given by Apple are actually refurbished.  They will actually seem brand new but aren't.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Emma_oh   The model number is in Settings - General - About, it would be underneath where it says iPhone XR and just above the serial number.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Just adding...  I'm sure you've seen this already as you sound internet savvy.

https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy

Here is another thread that may help.

https://community.t-mobile.com/device-unlock-30

https://www.fcc.gov/general/cell-phone-unlocking

[softech]

@Emma_oh I always ask people to go to different Mobile shops, tell them you need to confirm if theorb sim works on your phone before you will join them. The sales will certainly eager to help 

🙂

[Emma_oh]

XR

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Emma_oh   Just wondering, what is the model number of the phone?

[Emma_oh]

yeah that's what im finding out. just thought someone here might have had a similar issue. ive seen others say try a different carrier sim but I dont have access to another carrier sim until Thursday. my neighbour has PM as well.

[softech]

@Emma_oh uncloking Apple is really something only the original mobile provider and Apple can help and not something Community members would have workaround.  Let us know if FCC willing to step in and help 

[Emma_oh]

I read that the FCC reached out to t mobile with another similar issue and they said it was a glitch in the system and they were able to resolve it. I logged a complaint with them as well but again. just looking for actual solutions that someone here may be able to help with 

[softech]

@Phil_Adelphus I am not sure if OP got it from BestBiy or BestBuy Marketplace.  And it was just an issue after replacement by Apple, I do t see why Aople cannot help

I suspect OP got it from BB marketplace, and Apple did the right thing by replacing the same exact model, and if the exact model was a T-Mobile variant, then that tells you the original phone was not a Canadian version that BestBuy Canada would carry

[Emma_oh]

yeah I figured that out but it was back 2019

[Emma_oh]

oh I wouldn't remember that, it was 2019. ive escalated this to apple to which they said the lock is on from tmobile they said its not locked to them. they wouldn't help anymore bc it was already unlocked in their system 

[Phil_Adelphus]

@softech   The original phone was from Best Buy but was replaced by Apple under warranty, it would appear most likely with a refurbished phone.

[softech]

@Emma_oh did you buy the phone with BestBiybor BestBiy Marketplace.  Look like you had bought it via BestBiy marketplace which are 3rd party seller, not sold by BestBuy. BestBuy just provided a platform for the transaction. Many 3rd party seller sell US phones and hence it is now locked. 

Again, this is not something PM can help as the phone was not sold by PM. You have tave Apple to escalate and see how they can help. Of course, T-Mobile can submit the unlock request but they won't if you are not it's customer 

you can also try to sort it out with BestBuy, but it is an uphill battle

and sorry the complaints you filed won't helped as this is not a carrier issue , it is a device issue that you need to sort out with BestBuy 

[Emma_oh]

yeah possibly, spoke with apple manger as ive escalated the issue and they said they cannot unlock the phone that's not something they can do 

[Chalupa_Batman]

Actually, they didn't give you a new phone, this is obvious. They gave you a referb phone. The Tmobile lock would not be on it if it was new. Just saying...

https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Refurbished-iPhone#:~:text=The%20first%20letter%20in%20the,tell%2....

[Emma_oh]

I do not. closest one is 3 hr drive

[Emma_oh]

it was not refurbished it was replaced by apple. the reason for factory reset is a mute point. I was giving it to my daughter

[Emma_oh]

best buy in 2019 then it was replaced in 2020 under warranty 

[Emma_oh]

The issue was escalated to apple engineers and they said they cannot remove the lock as it is T mobile lock. they can't seem to help much. ive never had a t mobile account. a quick google search shows that it has happened to others 

[Emma_oh]

bought the phone from Best Buy then it was replaced under warranty. this was done 2019 the phone showed no sim restriction 

[Chalupa_Batman]

Do you by chance have an Apple store near you? Might be easier just to walk in and say FIX me please. 

EDIT: So this is what I'm thinking. When Apple got it back, refurbed it, they didn't do a full factory refresh on it, they just cleaned it of info. Meaning T-mobile probably did unlock it and because Apple didn't do their due diligence, Apple needs to resolve this IMO.

[Emma_oh]

I bought the phone in Canada. it was replaced by apple under warranty the people at t mobile dont seem to want to help. they said the phone is unlocked in their system and cannot unlock it again.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Emma_oh  "the phone was bought outright then replaced by apple at one time" 

Was it a refurbished phone from Apple?  Also wondering why the factory reset in the first place?

[softech]

yes @Emma_oh there is no "unlock code" to enter for iPhone.  The carrier helps to submit the request and the unlock is processed by Apple.

Again, where you got the phone from originally??

[Handy1]

@Emma_oh  You going to need to get the phone unlocked from the carrier it came from .unfortunately or get a new phone 

[Emma_oh]

No I bought it here then it was replaced by apple

[Chalupa_Batman]

I was thinking the same. I think she was sold the phone, it was unlocked pre factory reset. I'm thinking the factory reset, reset the lock on it from Tmobile. This for sure IMO is a Tmobile issue. 

@Emma_oh Try them again and tell them you need the unlock code. Write it down and don't lose it. If you do a factory reset again in the future, I think it will lock again and you'll need the unlock code.

[Emma_oh]

where would I enter the unlock code? carrier lock shows sim lock and when I click that it just shows a note stating some restrictions may apply as the phone is restricted to a carrier.

[Emma_oh]

Yes the sim works fine in other phones. there does not seem to be any issue with the actual sim