Using a SIM card in a Verizon iPhone?

[The Napster]

I used to know a little bit about phone companies' rules and how cell SIM cards worked, but that was years ago. I have an iPhone 4S which was through verizon around a year and a half ago. I have recently moved to the UK and now have a Samsung Galaxy with Vodafone. My question is would the SIM card from my vodafone contract work if I put it in my 4S I still have from the states? The contract with verizon has since run out and the line terminated. I don't quite understand "unlocking" or what it means, and I'm pretty sure its not something discussed on this forum anyways. What made sense to me is that a phone is "locked" to a company while the contract is still good, but once the contract is terminated the phone should not be locked to a single company anymore. I am probably way off in assuming this, but I was just wondering if this was a possibility or if there was some way to make it one (Legally of course).

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

if the phone is locked to a network provider, then you can have the phone unlocked.
This is not illegal in the UK and can be done at a large number of high street retail outlets
Such as mobile phone shops, and even trade in shops such as cex will provide an unlocking service.
Once the phone is unlocked you can then insert your Vodafone sim and it should work.
You could taker it to the Vodafone shop and they may provide the unlocking service and set up the device for you

 

[carnageX]

Doubtful it would work.

Don't believe the VZW iPhone 4S has anything but CDMA radios. In order to use it in the UK, it would need GSM / World Radios. One of the only newer world phones was my Rezound. Unless you have CDMA towers over there, and Vodafone operates over CDMA, that is. Then it would work.

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

as far as I was aware the 4s could be used with both GSM and CDMA networks
I have to be honest though I don't know if verizon had a special version made restricting use to CDMA networks only.

 

[carnageX]

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3438489?start=0&tstart=0

It must have both GSM and CDMA radios in it. Need to call VZW to unlock the phone (as doing it yourself is now illegal as of January or February), and then you should be able to insert a foreign SIM card in it.

 

[The Napster]

Thanks for all the replies, I will talk to vodafone this upcoming week and possibly give verizon a call. I'm pretty sure that my phone is able to use GSM. I know that verizon came out with a different 4S, but this was after mine. It doesn't even have a SIM card slot on it. Thanks again!

 

[MaxWin]

Verizon is not GSM. If it takes a SIM card, it won't work on Verizon's network.

 

[carnageX]

Verizon is not GSM. If it takes a SIM card, it won't work on Verizon's network.

Not true at all..

Verizon's LTE network operates using SIM cards.

My Rezound takes a SIM card, as does my my Galaxy nexus. Both are 4G LTE phones that require a SIM card to work on VZW's network.

 

[KSoD]

Verizon is not GSM. If it takes a SIM card, it won't work on Verizon's network.

Carnage is completely correct. Verizon uses MicroSim and MiniSim cards for their 4G LTE network. I can confirm that the iPhone on Verizon does take a Sim card, but you must use a special tool to open the iPhone in order to get it out.

iPhone Sim Card Tool | eBay

You could try shaving down a paper clip to do it, but in all honesty it owuld be worth the money to just buy the proper tool for the job. You can get them cheap. Just use that to pop the Sim Card out and from there replace it. That is of course after you go through the process of unlocking it since it is still locked to the Verizon network.

In fact almost all of the phones Verizon is offering now are taking Sim cards. Every time I do a contract or an upgrade for a phone, 100% of the time for smart phones but only about 5% of the time for non smart phones, it requires a Sim card to be issued to the customer and placed in the phone. The only problem with that is, if you are coming from a phone that doesnt have a Sim card, your contacts and other data doesnt transfer over. Requiring you to go to Verizon and have them transfer that data over with their machine.