Best Buy Now Sells Unlocked iPhones, But Not the Latest Models

Thursday April 6, 2023 8:25 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Best Buy today announced that it now sells unlocked iPhones in the U.S., but only older models are available, including the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, and third-generation iPhone SE. An unlocked iPhone can be used with a wide variety of carriers.

iPhone 13 Best Buy Feature
The unlocked iPhones are in brand new condition and are available at all Best Buy stores and on BestBuy.com starting today, a Best Buy spokesperson said in an email.

Best Buy already sold iPhones locked to AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile, and availability of unlocked models will give customers more flexibility. Best Buy operates over 1,000 stores across the U.S., including in many communities that lack an Apple Store.

Best Buy is not carrying unlocked iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro models at this time.

Tag: Best Buy

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Top Rated Comments

sw1tcher

46 months ago

Carrier-locked phones... such a stupid concept. No reason for this aside from carriers trying to prevent a customer from leaving for another service provider

Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️

46 months ago

People that buy the latest iPhone 14 models tend to go with one of the three wireless providers anyway. Still now you can get iPhone 12 or 13 models unlocked which makes this a acceptable option.

I stopped buying carrier-locked iPhones a very long time ago. I only purchase unlocked iPhones. Cellular Service works like magic simultaneously! 📶

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

AppleTO

46 months ago

I didn't know carriers in the US were still allowed to lock phones. It's been banned in Canada for a while.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sw1tcher

46 months ago

Still now you can get iPhone 12 or 13 models unlocked which makes this a acceptable option.

You can find unlocked iPhone 12 and 13 for less from Apple's refurb store though.

Unlocked 128GB iPhone 13 is $729.99 at Best Buy vs unlocked 128GB iPhone 13 from Apple Refurb for $619.99.

Best Buy's selling unlocked 64GB iPhone 12 for $629.99

I see no deal with Best Buy.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

iStorm

46 months ago

Yes, the big three Carriers. The catch, 2 or more years stuck with a carrier. If a deal comes along with another carrier, a hassle to move. Unlocked phone, just move. Gives one much more leverage with their current carrier, a bonus.

You aren't stuck with the carrier because your phone is locked... You're "stuck" because you'll miss out on the deal by forfeiting your remaining monthly credits if you were to leave.

I don't think many people realize how long their phones are actually locked for. T-Mobile will unlock 40 days after activation. Verizon and AT&T will unlock 60 days after activation. (Of course it needs to be paid off, but that makes sense.) It's still a bit dumb, but it's not a big deal as it once was. Pay off your phone and you can move to another carrier within a couple months. The days of being locked with a carrier for two years are long gone.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

kenny7

46 months ago

I stopped buying carrier-locked iPhones a very long time ago. I only purchase unlocked iPhones. Cellular Service works like magic simultaneously! 📶

I have Verizon and T-Mobile dual sim and the simultaneous data service is awesome. People are missing out.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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Best Buy Now Sells Unlocked iPhones, But Not the Latest Models

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