I bought an iPhone 18 Pro Max through BenefitsMe, an employer program that lets me pay for the phone through payroll deductions. The device was advertised as universal and unlocked. I use Visible and tried to transfer my eSIM and phone number from my old iPhone, but the transfer failed. When I checked the new phone's settings, it showed that the SIM was locked. What could be causing this, and should I contact BenefitsMe or the phone's fulfillment provider to have it fixed?
2 Answers
It may be a device with a flexible SIM policy. Those phones can appear to be unlocked when sold, but they lock to the first carrier activated on them. If the phone is already locked to a different carrier, the seller may have shipped the wrong device or SKU. Since it was advertised as unlocked, contact BenefitsMe customer service and ask them to verify the phone’s IMEI and activation policy.
Before trying anything else, confirm the exact wording in Settings under the carrier-lock section and check whether the IMEI is eligible for Visible. If it is locked, only the original seller or carrier can normally remove that restriction, so BenefitsMe is the right place to start. Keep your order information and screenshots ready when you contact them.
The Visible app gave me an error while I was entering the new IMEI to transfer my number. That’s when I checked the settings and noticed the SIM-locked message. I’ll contact BenefitsMe in the morning.