How to

Unlock iPhone with US Reseller Flex Policy (Policy ID 4000)

(Last Updated On: August 6, 2022)

If you have an iPhone with Next Tether Policy ID 4000 US Reseller Flex Policy and unsure what network does the iPhone locked to, you can find out here.

Brief Introduction

Apple implements “next tether policy” for every iPhone that’s produced. That basically means the network that the phone is locked to. There are two policies which are tied to an iPhone:

  • Initial Activation Policy
  • Next Tether Activation Policy

What is Initial Activation Policy?

Once an iPhone has left the factory, it will be sent to resellers or carriers from around the world. An iPhone will be assigned or tied to certain carriers.

The first assignment is called the initial activation policy. For example, if it’s set as AT&T as the activation policy, the iPhone can only be activated with an AT&T SIM card.

What is Next Tether Activation Policy?

Since the iPhone can change carrier or its locked/unlocked status during its lifetime. The activation policy can change as well.

An easy example would be an iPhone that’s bought from AT&T may change to T-Mobile for whatever reason. In this case the Next Tether Policy indicates the next carrier it is locked to.

The next time it’s being restored on iTunes, you can only use a T-Mobile SIM card to activate it.

More explanation of Next Tether Activation Policy ID here.

What is Next Tether Policy: 4000 – US Reseller Flex Policy?

This is a special case whereby an iPhone is not tied to any carrier. That means it can only be activated with any US carrier SIM card such as from T-Mobile or Sprint.

If you have an iPhone with this policy, you may need to contact Apple to check for its history as it may be a replacement phone or has been fixed before.

IMEI Number: 35917207757xxxx
Part Description: iPhone 7 Plus
Product Version: 6.X
Initial Activation Policy ID:
Initial Activation Policy Details: US Reseller Flex Policy
Applied Activation Policy ID: 4000
Applied Activation Details:
Next Tether Policy ID: 4000
Next Tether Policy Details: US Reseller Flex Policy
First Unbrick Date:
Unlock Date:
Unbricked: false
Unlocked: false

Normally, this is caused by iPhone that’s replaced at Apple store and no carrier was assigned to it. If you do an IMEI check on Apple database or using its ICCID, it will return with status: ‘IMEI has a replacement information’ or similar.

How to Unlock iPhone with 4000 – US Reseller Flex Policy?

In the example above, if your iPhone was activated with a T-Mobile SIM card, you can’t use a T-Mobile unlocking service to unlock it.

If Apple is unable to change the activation policy for you, the only way is to unlock your iPhone using this service – 4000 US Reseller Flex Policy Unlock.

Do note only clean IMEI/ESN is supported with this service.

The next time when you encounter similar situation, then it’s best to check the activation policy to find out whether it can be unlocked not.

Joe Wang

Joe Wang studied electronics engineering and is a specialist in Apple and Android products. He has been fixing iPod and iPhone since 2008.

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