Apple iPhone 4S Verizon A1387

optimisjoe, we need to request additional verification for this listing. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please email [email protected] with an unedited photo of device showing the iPhone's "About" screen displaying the IMEI number and other identifiers along with the listing code visible in the photo. You can find that screen by tapping Settings > General > About. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Listing approved. Thanks for using Swappa.

optimisjoe, all verizon phones are supposed to be unlocked for worldwide use when it has a sim slot. Is there any reason why this one is not unlocked? Can you explain? Thanks.

Actually, I don't know for sure but just to be safe, we advertised it as being locked. We usually do this because a lot of customers make the mistake of buying a CDMA phone thinking it is a GSM phone that can be unlocked. Since this is a Verizon iPhone 4S, we understand that there are CDMA + GSM capabilities (making it a world phone), we just always try to be extra careful when listing such phones (Sprint or Verizon) where the customer might make the mistake of buying a phone that isn't support in their country. Hope that makes sense. Lastly, we had no idea that Verizon iPhone 4S are unlocked already. Since we cannot confirm that, we are listing it as locked because if it is sold, we'd rather assume it being locked than not. That way the chances of getting a return on a product is minimized.

Regards,

If it helps, I have owned a Verizon iPhone 4s before, and can confirm that they are indeed CDMA, 3G-only devices locked to Verizon's network. They do not come factory unlocked; as Verizon was/is only required by the FCC to sell unlocked LTE devices when and since they acquired the 700Mhz spectrum from the government. This began for Apple products on VZW with the release of the iPhone 5.

Verizon *will* unlock the 4s *only* for international use once you've satisfied a few prerequisites. Even when unlocked, domestic SIMs other than Verizon's own won't be recognized. In the U.S., even the Verizon SIM isn't used for data, as the phone is limited to CDMA/EVDO. You can operate a Verizon iPhone 4s perfectly fine in the U.S. on their network even without a SIM in the slot.

Thanks Tony for the explanation.

Thank you. I also called Verizon. They said only 4G iphones like iphone 5 and newer are unlocked for international use, not the earlier versions.

Not sure if I'm replying in the right spot, the number in my email is the IMEI number listed in the (about) phone. Does this help?

Jordan, we're not quite sure what you mean. Please email [email protected] if you need assistance with anything. Thank you.

Jordan, are you Erin as well?