FYI the iPhone SE (2nd generation) which I assume is the current one does have an IP67 rating (maximum depth of 1 meter up to 30 minutes). That’s not great but it’s something. The rating diminishes each time it gets wet too. The iPhone 6s has no water resistance at all, so you’re relying entirely on the pouch for protection.
I have very profound doubts that there is anywhere that SIMs are embedded in heavy paper.
I checked out the link you posted earlier. It costs $6 for instructions. I found a YouTube video where a guy unlocks an AT&T phone. One part says that once you have the IMEI number, you can copy it and enter it into the website that you find with Google. I tried that, but all I could find was the Boost website where you have to log in – which I can’t do. I mentioned getting a Tracphone (or similar) SIM card, and the guy at the Apple store said they don’t do that and I’d have to go to a phone store. I haven’t checked out any other stores; but unless they have a magic wand, I don’t know if they can unlock it. I can go to Xfinity to see if they can do anything (it’s where I got the new phone), but I’m not hopeful.
I did pop the SIM card holder yesterday, and there actually is a SIM card in the phone. I thought it had been removed.
I trust not the various sites on the interwebs that provide the service. I mean they charge you for the IMEI lookup, which most carriers will do for you for free if you have a legit concern that the device you’re using may be reported as lost, stolen, or otherwise locked.
And a quick perusal of a few requires you to download some software to your phone or computer (or both) and a few mention having to turn off the approved app feature on android. Red flags abound.
For that matter, while there were always more options for an android device, iPhones were always more of a bitch to unlock, due to their secure/walled garden approach, and I’d bet the online options are remarkably less dependable for the OS, if they aren’t out and out scams/malware.
TBF, I 100% appreciate the efforts to reuse and repurpose older devices, rather than the stick in a drawer every 3-4 years option many people use. And the prior carrier is obviously doing the absolute minimum they can get away with, so you have my sympathy. I think rather than risking compromising your information (computer / phone / Credit Card) that double bagging the iPhone is an easier and likely cheaper fix.
It doesn’t have to be. It’s just disassociated from your old phone number and contract. You could theoretically attach a new phone number to the existing SIM at the network provider. (It’s the “phone activation” rigmarole you do when when you get a new phone account.)
The SIM may be carrier-specific. I can’t remember.
But that doesn’t address the carrier lock. You would only be able to activate the device, new SIM or old, to an account on its current carrier.
Once I went to the mall, got a new contract with a new provider, kept the same phone number but they did give me a brand new SIM and activate it. Perhaps the carriers’ accounting/billing system is not set up to recycle IMSIs—maybe they might do it if you get a new contract with your existing carrier (as it’s already in their system), but not sure. The SIM card itself holds data like the IMSI and the authentication key (not actually private since the carrier knows it too, but if the rival carrier does not have the key it then they cannot activate the previous SIM!). Note that some phones have an eSIM soldered inside so you do not actually need to swap in a physical card if the eSIM is considered sufficiently tamper-proof.
I would love to just be able to calculate the unlock code for @Johnny_L.A given the IMEI, but there are device-specific keys/IDs involved. If we stipulate that the online web sites do not have the information and/or are all scams, then you physically need to take the phone to a legit competent phone store that can extract all the necessary data from it and has the right software all set up.
Is the phone’s phone number stored on it somewhere? I don’t remember what it was, but if it’s on the phone I could try to log in with it (even though my name and address not working suggests I’m no longer in their system).
It should be visible in Settings, under Name, Phone Numbers, Email.
The SIM is what binds the phone number, but the phone should know what it is.
ETA: Then again, maybe not. That setting is your personal identity. That includes the phone number/s that Apple knows you by. Still, might be there.
And again, looking further, Apple keeps a list of all your devices, and if you haven’t explicitly killed one off, its information may still be visible, an may contain the phone number the device was bound to. So, assuming you have other Apple devices, check on one of them as well.
It had me sign into Apple, then gave me my current phone number. Did I have this number on Boost? I don’t know. I know I had another phone number before, but I don’t remember if it was with Boost. In any case, since it asked me to log in with my Apple password, I suspect it didn’t get the number from the phone.
On my iPhone, if I scroll down past the basic info, there is a list of all my registered devices - laptops, desktops, watch current and old phone. The info on the old phone is there with its number. I haven’t powered it up in years. OTOH, it had the same number, this isn’t definitive.
An apple ID may be linked to an e-mail address, phone number, etc., but that is not necessarily the same as the phone number stored on the actual SIM card. You could have a bunch of different SIM cards with different numbers.