Sprint’s iPhone 4S Will Be Unlocked, And So Will Verizon’s After 60 Days [Update: Too Good To Be True]

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iPhone 4S

If you’re buying your new CDMA iPhone 4S through Sprint, then you’ll be pleased to know that the device will come unlocked — allowing you to stick in any SIM and use the device on any network. If you’ve ordered a Verizon device, however, it will come locked to Verizon, but you can request to have it unlocked after 60 days.

The news comes from a Macworld report, which cites a Verizon spokesperson:

Sprint plans to sell the iPhone 4S with its micro-SIM slot unlocked; Verizon’s will be initially locked, but if you’ve been a customer in good standing for 60 days, you can call Verizon and ask for an “international unlock.” (A Verizon spokesperson told me that this is Verizon’s standard policy for all world phones—it’s just the first time it’s manifested itself on an iPhone.)

Of course, you’re not going to buy an iPhone 4S with a carrier commitment just to stick another SIM card in it when you get it, but for those of you who want to use your device outside of the U.S., having it unlocked is a must.

Apple’s website confirms that customers cannot buy unlocked CDMA devices without a carrier commitment. Unlocked GSM devices will be available from November in the U.S., but CDMA devices won’t be, bizarrely.

Update: This seemed way too good to be true, and so it is, with Sprint officially denying the report now.

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