New iPhone - unlocking question for an upcoming trip

[Anonymous]

I'd like to get a new iPhone as I have a big international trip coming up in April. I always buy my phones from the Apple store and I pay in full. However, I know that some of these carriers lock the phone for 40-60 days when you get a new phone, even if you pay it in full. We are with Cox and they lock it for the first 60 days. And that won't work for my trip, as we are leaving in 50 days and I need to use the esim.

My question is:
1.) I buy the phone from the Apple store, pay it in full. This is an unlocked phone.
2.) I activate it on the network (cox). Do they then LOCK the phone for 60 days? This is where I'm getting hung up!


Or should I just ditch this thought and stick with my current iPhone?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of a company locking a phone you didn’t get from them.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning to use a different provider for your trip? If so, you could just use your old cell phone for the trip, even if the new one is locked to your current provider.

That said, as noted above, carrier locks only apply to devices purchased from carriers. If you buy one through other means, it will be unlocked from the time of purchase.

The whole purpose of carrier-locks is to discourage buyers from financing a device with one provider, cancelling the account, and then using the device with a different provider before the balance is paid. It also discourages credit card chargebacks and later reuse even when the device is paid in full.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate it! I'll get the phone at the apple store

[Anonymous]

I never heard of this either. My son got a new iPhone for Christmas at the Apple Store. We are on AT&T and remain so. He stayed at the store through the set-up and transfer of his data and apps from old phone to new one. One hitch. The double authenticator from his college did not auto transfer, and still sent the code to his old phone, which fortunately he kept. He had to reach out to their IT dept. had to do something...but otherwise was fine. I don't know if this could be an issue if you have 2A on your phone for work or other.

[Anonymous]

If you paid full price for your phone, it should be unlocked.