Your landlord needs to reset the phone back to factory specs before you can use it. If they got a new phone, he probably knows how to do that, and if he tells you the password, then you can probably reset it yourself. Otherwise, it still has all of his information on the phone, and you can’t set up the account for yourself. If he gives you the passcode, then you would go to settings (little gear wheel), then to “general”, and then down at the bottom where it says “reset”, and choose to reset it back to factory settings. Once that is done, then you will have a whole diffferent screen that will come through to walk you through setting up your own account. You will need to set up an Apple ID (email, xxxx@icloud.com), and it will prompt you to connect with your wifi, so you will need to know your password to sign in to that for the first time. It would be a good plan to have your daughter help you with this since she is used to it, and can easily make the changes to sign out your friend and sign in with your own account.
Here's where I am with the IPhone. I added a line to our Cellular service (the no contract kind) and they are sending me a free sim card. It should arrive in 3-5 days. I also ordered the Mophie Juice pack for my model. Once my sim card gets here I will go over to my daughter's with that, the phone, my hot spot, etc. and let her help me do everything I need to do to get it set up and working. I'll give it a trial period and if I find it isn't for me....then I will disconnect from my service and sell it.
You might wish to download the free iPhone app that monitors battery capacity. Example: The battery capacity might read 80%, yet the charger states it has charged the battery to 100%. the battery might have a capacity when new of 2900 mAh at 100% charge, yet will now only 100% charge to 2300 mAh . The battery capacity is what Apple has software monitoring and when it falls below 80%, they start slowing the functionality. Apple even recommends replacing the battery at this point, although they recommended this after all the flap. I mention this as your decision may be based on it's functionality.
https://www.cnet.com/news/why-you-cant-take-your-unlocked-iphone-4s-to-another-u-s-carrier/ After two days of phone calls back and forth, of the neighbor who gave me the 4s Iphone going to the Sprint store, of his daughter setting up a 3 way conference call between Sprint, me, and her....and their giving me an MSL # to give to Consumer Cellular so we could set up the phone with them...there has been nothing but lies from Sprint. Instead of them just telling me the truth that the 4s Iphone I was given will not work with any other carrier but them because they have deliberately "fixed" it that way...they have done nothing but give me the run around and finally that MSL # which they knew would not work either. The article above explains it all. Verizon and Sprint have permanently locked any Iphone you buy from them so that you can not switch it over to any other Cellular Company....no matter how high they raise their prices! I am furious that instead of just telling me the truth....they have been "pulling my chain" for over two days straight! And when I calm down I'm going to be writing a letter to the head of this Company and letting them know exactly what I think of their so called "business practices."
I think it's because it's a 4s...phones above that are unlocked and you can switch if the phone is paid off or the contract.
Not from what I'm been reading Chrissy. If you are with Verizon or Sprint and have bought one of their Iphones...it seems there will be no unlocking if you want to switch to another Carrier.
I really don't care if I have an Iphone or not. The point here is that Sprint knew they would not be unlocking that phone and instead of just saying that our phones cannot be used with any other carriers...they have been giving me, my neighbor who gave us the phone, and his daughter the run around for two days. It was a simple thing just to tell the truth here and I'm really disappointed that they didn't do that and save us all this mess we just went through. They never would admit the truth...I had to research and find it. I'm really surprised that no one on here knew that and let me know too.
Even if you can’t switch the cell carrier, you can still use the phone when you have wifi, @Babs Hunt . That way, you can still use the FaceTime feature and the camera, and all of the other great things about an iPhone, and just use the phone you already have as a regular phone.
I read it here but maybe I'm wrong... https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/iPhone-Everything-you-need-to-switch-carriers
Call me confused. The article is from 2012. In 2014 there was an agreement regarding unlocking of phones. Verizon requested Apple to unlock all iPhone 4S 4G phones, excluding the 3G phones. The 3G using a different spectrum.
So that I can better understand a couple of questions. Is your iPhone 4s a 3g or 4g? When did your landlord stop using this phone? If he used the phone in mid to late 2015 or later and it is a 4G LTE, then it is already unlocked and just needs a sim card from any carrier, imo. If he stopped using the phone prior to that period and began using a new phone, then there was no capability for Verizon to unlock, so therefore... good luck!
I don't know Harry. All I know is that Sprint (not Verizon) gave me an MSL # during the 3 way conference call and said that should take care of the problem. It didn't and no one everyone all 3 of us talked to at the Sprint store, online, and through phone calls basically handed us over to "someone else" who would give us the info and take care of unlocking the phone....but no one did. And the MSL # isn't worth anything either. It's A1387 if that helps tell whether it's a 3G or 4G.
Yes, the further I looked into this, it appears all iPhone 4 and 4s were 3G. Which then boils down to it's capabilities. Pictures and texting, with image transfer likely being slow, etc. Facetime... I doubt it.
Thank you so much @Yvonne Smith and @Harry Havens. It is a 3G and and tech guy with Consumer Cellular just told me that is why it cannot be activated with a CC sim card. But he did tell me I can use it like a small tablet and Facetime with others who have an Iphone, etc. I just can't make phone calls with it. Our friend and former Landlord was so mad at the way Sprint treated us all for two days straight and didn't tell us the truth about this phone that he said when he comes back in September he is getting me a phone I can activate! I don't really want him to do that but he probably will anyway.