HELP! Trapped in SIM card set-up Purgatory

Bazouges

Estimable
Apr 25, 2015
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Hello All,

Yesterday I bought an iPhone 4s from some woman online.

So, this morning I took it in to the local mobile store to get a SIM card/account. No luck. She failed to mention it was blocked by another carrier.

So I am trying to unlock it, but seem to be stuck in a set-up mode loop. It goes like this:

HELLO > Choose Language > Choose Country > Set up Network (home network entered)
> "SIM Card Not Valid" > option: "Try Again" (back to Language set up) or back arrow.

I can't even unlock it because I never get the home menu to display.

(The original owner is not responding to my emails, and I don't expect to hear back from her.)

Please help me get back to the original menu! Thanks!
 
Solution
Do you mean that it's locked to a particular carrier (SIM-locked) or that it's been blocked as lost/stolen?

We have a guide for the former, but for the latter you'll need to talk to the police.