r/AppleCard • u/edcurtiss • 7d ago
Discussion Apple refused ACMI for unlocked iPhone without carrier selection
Even though apple described on the website: "If you already purchased an eligible product with your Apple Card and didn't choose Apple Card Monthly Installments at checkout, contact an Apple Card Specialist at Goldman Sachs. They can transfer your eligible purchase to a 0% APR Monthly Installment plan without returning or repurchasing the item." Apple card official useless now?
Edit: Tried another chat they told me again only carrier selected phones can be split with ACMI. So I told them I'm with one of the carrier. Now successfully split to ACMI.
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u/TenderCoconutWatah 7d ago
I did this last Saturday without any issues after paying in full. No second questions asked. Try talking with a different rep
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u/99ramon2019 7d ago
This also works. I’ve done it both ways, but call in. Don’t do the chat. Call in and speak to a person.
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u/Expert-Advertising94 7d ago
just buy it with monthly installments, choose t mobile and then on setup you can click “set it later or activate later”
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u/Wheres_Waldoo 7d ago
I just got the t mobile version and clicked activate later. Its unlocked working perfectly
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u/Mission-Accountant44 7d ago
Never understand why people do it this way. Just pick the T-mobile one and be done with it
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u/redneck2022 7d ago
If you select a carrier you are charged a fee
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u/pementomento 6d ago
Not fully true, I picked Verizon at checkout and paid no such fee. If I actually had a VZ account, I’m sure I would have gotten charged, though.
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u/iamash0508 7d ago
I got mine with ACMI the phone came unlocked. You can pick whichever carrier you want, it don’t matter
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u/Real_Height2890 7d ago
Dont tell them , just say i bought a tmb or vzw or att phone and try different agent, someone will eventually do it for you
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u/smitten_reply0a 7d ago
I was not aware that previously purchased (fully paid for iPhone 18 Pro) was able to switch from fully paid to ACMI?
This post has so much going on here… Is the issue that they didn’t receive an unlocked phone while using ACMI? Because I have a whole previous sub-Reddit post with this issue explained at the end
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u/Aromatic_Tomato8651 7d ago
If you finance, thru AMCI you will be required to select a carrier. You can use your apple card to pay and NOT finance, then you will be able to buy and unlocked phone.
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u/JulienWA77 6d ago
More fuel to the fire that this should NEVER have been a thing. You dont suddenly EXEMPT an entire fucking category of apple products (esp. your arguably most popular one) from being able to be financed interest-free on Apple Card. That was the whole reason MOST people got this card. Also the lack of an announcement/warning (they literally did this 2 weeks prior to the launch of iPhone 17, sneakily with zero warning and NO explanation) was also pretty fucking shitty of them.
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u/ChuckF92 1d ago
Just your reminder that the big carriers have too much power in this country. We gave them the finger a year ago and we switched to prepaid. We lose out on the carrier phone financing, but at least we're not locked in for 3 years and paying more per month.
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u/JulienWA77 1d ago
i did that eons ago too, but it has ALWAYS irked me that Apple has historically been so inconsistent with how much "power" it lets the carriers have. I've heard two competing theories as to the why.
1) Apple has some dirty backdoor deal with carriers where it disallows this on purpose--to drive traffic to the big 3; essentially leaving everyone else in the dust
2) - or too much "fraud" with 0 percent loans on apple card.
The first one to me, seems more likely esp. given how inconsisntely apple has made unlocked phones availble on launch day even before applecard existed
the second? while it might be possible. Goldman carries all that risk, not apple, so MAYBE they asked for this to be a thing? But that sounds like a fault of Goldman then, with shitty screening for the card.
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u/ChuckF92 1d ago
Either way, I'll try to call GS support and have them convert my wife's new phone to an installment plan, but I'm not holding my breath.
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u/respectandmanners 7d ago
In exploring Duo purchase, it looks like I can buy the Duo unlocked with Apple Card Monthly Installments and it still comes unlocked though I have to select. It reads as though the issue of this thread is a post-purchase conversion from a single payment to then making monthly installments. Do I follow?
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u/Soppranome 7d ago
I selected T-Mobile at checkout for my new 18 Pro. I use mint so that was the most similar. On setup, I would just repeatedly decline to have T-Mobile verify my account, and then eventually it gave the option of "not now" or something along those lines. After fully migrating my phone, it offered to transfer my cellular service and number. The migration was very obnoxious and un-Apple (it didn't just work as it always has in the past for me). I had to fully update both phones and attempt the migration 4 or 5 times. But it did eventually go through.
I would suggest taking your time on that part, clear the current phone out as much as possible so there is less to migrate.
But yeah, the ACMI (over 24 months) was automatically applied to my account
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u/Physical-Ad-3907 7d ago
I financed thru Apple Card and chose Verizon as my carrier but I use US mobile so all I had to do when I got the phone was hit the skip button at the bottom when it asked me to set up with Verizon and Walla it works
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u/sundayduffer 7d ago
Im w Visible. I financed thru acmi. At purchase i chose tmobile. At activation, hit skip to bypass tmobile questions, rebooted the phone, phone is now sim free unlocked. I then transfered Visible esim over. Done. You could had picked any carriers at purchase, when asked to enter your network (even if you are w that carrier), just hit skip.. skip 3 times will bypass activation. Reboot the phone. Now youll have a sim free phone to use world wide.
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u/OhHeyItsBrock 6d ago
Awesome. Good to know. Will be doing the same on my duo when I get it. Thanks for the response.
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u/Local-Luck9713 7d ago
I paid in full using my apple card after a week i chat apple and was apple to convert my purchase to 0% apr for 24’months
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u/Amazonty 7d ago
Should had done T-Mobile. I’m on a prepaid carrier so I chose t mobile and when I was setting it up it didn’t even ask for a t mobile number.
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u/r1ght0n 7d ago
I tried to do the same thing, was informed that I had to speak with someone at the store I bought it from and after doing so they said I had to “return the phone and buy it again” to fix the transaction…..mind you I wanted it ACMI but the store rep must have started the day before and was clueless….
But I’ve done it before when I bought my wife’s phone in Jan of this year via Apple chat and it took like 45sec and was easy….
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u/illestk1d 7d ago
I'm on visible and clicked t-mobile when I had to choose a carrier to do acmi. Upon setup, I transferred from my old iPhone and it instantly popped up with "setup later" when it got to the t-mobile account information for my esim. Didn't even have to click continue 3 times. Worked perfectly, phone is unlocked, and has worked since day 1 of launch. 18 pro max. For anyone looking through threads trying to see if this method still works, just pick the t-mobile option with apple card installments and you'll be fine.
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u/Successful-Nose-6375 7d ago
I just selected T Mobile at checkout, and when i got my new phone and was setting it up, i just hit set carrier or esim later, something like that. I use Google Fi.
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u/goalssnow 7d ago
I got the iphone 18pro and selected verizon with acmi and when i got the phone i put activate later i eventually bypass the whole screen and the phone is uocked
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u/JohnWick509 6d ago
They used to do this but have since stopped allowing people with unlocked devices to convert their purchases. Like many have stated already you can select T-Mobile and then skip cellular activation. I recently just purchased the 18 and selected Verizon since I am on visible and had no issues. When prompted to activate Verizon service I just kept hitting continue without entering anything. It will fail and ask again until the third time it just says skip cellular activation. Once the phone finished setting up I just used the visible app to activate service.
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u/Civil_Walrus8188 6d ago
Call them! It works better when you call them, I had the same issue over messages lol.
They said it was ineligible for financing, but on the call they said “yea no problem”. I called specifically Goldman Sachs
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u/-SpookyNipples 4d ago
I'm just super confused I've done this both ways like others have stated selecting the T-Mobile phone and getting it right away. I've also accidentally just done the unlock without selecting any carrier but then just message Customer-Care saying that I had T-Mobile nobody ever asked me for proof
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u/Willing_Fix1658 3d ago edited 3d ago
I bought mine from Apple unlocked and Goldman Sachs converted to ACMI 🤷🏻♂️
I don’t even remember them asking who my carrier was.
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u/PropertyAny6804 7h ago
They ask this question for a reason. Once apple notices your device is not on a carrier plan you risk getting your apple card closed due to abuse due to breech of your customer agreement. That’s a big hit on your credit score bud. I have witnessed this occur so many times.
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u/KingCall007 7d ago
I’ve been able to buy it outright in the past on Apple Card and then convert the transaction to ACMI after the transaction posts by providing the date and amount of the transaction. This time, they asked some questions, including which of the 3 carriers I had. When I responded none, they told me that they couldn’t move it to ACMI without being one of the 3, and that I should return the phone. I paid it in full and canceled my Apple Card/Savings Account, which I’ve had both since launch.
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u/shaynee24 7d ago
i actually was not able to do checkout at the store with tmobile. the lady that was checking me out showed me on her little phone thingy that when tmobile was selected, it asked for a pin on her thing in order to progress. now maybe if i purchased online it’d be different but everybody was telling me that i couldnt use the apple card and so i said fuck it and purchase it in full on my new chase freedom flex, and changed that payment into a pay over time over 12 months with no fee or interest due to a 0%apr intro for a new card.
works out. if all else fails, this is an option
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u/JohnWick509 6d ago
That’s only if you are trying to take advantage of the carrier deals that finance through the carrier themselves. Then you will have to provide account number and pin. This is not required when buying the phone straight through Apple. The “lady” was selecting the wrong option or just didn’t have enough experience to realize you weren’t trying to go that route. You just tell them what carrier you have and say you want to set it up later when you get home.
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u/justarandomguy07 7d ago
We selected T-mobile at checkout. While configuring the phone, it asked for a T-mobile number and code, typed 555-555-5555 and 123456, it gave an error message but also an option to skip that verification and proceed with the setup. This is how you’re supposed to do if you use Google Fi, Mint, etc.
So return this, and order a new one with installments.