IPHONE XS MAX - US Verizon Locked Policy 2387

[maxmobiles]

Good afternoon!
Tell me, on August 19, 2019, I bought a mobile phone that I used until December 14, 2024 and I wanted to give it to my son, after resetting the device and transferring data, I inserted a SIM card and the device reported that it was locked to the operator.  All these 5.5 years, I only used this iPhone, updated it, and there were no problems and now there is some kind of misunderstanding, I used the device check via the internet and this is what I saw

Model Description: IPHONE XS MAX SPACE GRAY 256GB-USA  A1921 

IMEI: *****

IMEI2: *****

MEID: *****

Serial Number: *****

Estimated Purchase Date: 2019-08-19

Locked Carrier: 2387 - US Verizon Locked Policy

Sim-Lock Status: ❌Locked

I am in Ukraine and the store where I bought it no longer exists, as does the area, it was completely destroyed by missiles during the war.
I am in Barcelona now and I contacted Apple Store with this problem, they said that they do not deal with operator issues. Please explain how my device got blocked and what should I do now?

[SynthpopAddict]

Sorry to hear your phone got locked all of a sudden.  This is a common problem with used phones purchased through 3rd party retailers.  We're not allowed to discuss the details in these forums, but I suspect something was done to the phone before you bought it.  You were lucky to get it to work for as long as you did, but eventually - it's usually a software update which does it - the phone will brick itself because the carrier software kicks in and permanently locks the phone.

[update] Sorry, I missed the detail in your post about your factory resetting the phone before giving it to someone else.  Depending on how a device is unlocked, a factory reset can cause the phone to lock again.  If a carrier phone is unlocked via a file downloaded to the phone, factory resetting erases the file which unlocked the phone.  Verizon will not unlock devices remotely, and it is very unlikely you can get the phone unlocked again because you are not the original owner and the device history cannot be vetted to prove it wasn't lost/stolen at some earlier time.

[maxmobiles]

Thanks for the answer.
No. I did not buy it used. It was new, as proof - the purchase date matches the activation, more precisely, I bought it on September 18 in the evening of 2019, and activated it the next morning, and this data matches what I see when I search on the Internet. That a file was loaded into it = excluded, I was the first to activate it, over 5.5 years I have updated the software many times, often with a cable through a computer, since I am worried about the safety of the data, and I did it with the preservation of the data. If there was some kind of hacking on the device, it simply would not have survived it as it was in the distant 2011-2014, when there was still a jailbreak.
The problem is precisely on the side of the Apple operator, who, due to some error, blocked it.

[maxmobiles]

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@maxmobiles wrote:

I bought it on September 18 in the evening of 2019, and activated it the next morning 

I was wrong - I bought it in August, as I wrote in the first message 

[SynthpopAddict]

When you restart the phone, does it have a Verizon logo showing when it starts up?  If so, then it is a Verizon carrier phone.  You mentioned you purchased the phone new in Ukraine.  With Verizon operating only in the US, if your phone is a Verizon model, this means it must have been lost/stolen at some point and disposed of overseas.  Unfortunately, this is a very common problem because I see threads like yours constantly.

[maxmobiles]

Greetings, thanks for your comment, the fact of the matter is that neither the iPhone nor the box has any indication that it belongs to Verizon, it looks like all the iPhones in my family. If there is no authorized Apple store in our country, where are the guarantees that they will not be blocked as well?

[maxmobiles]

Hello! I went to apple and they told me that only the mobile operator can unlock, what do I need to provide to unlock?
I am reaching out regarding an issue with my iPhone XS Max, which was purchased on August 19, 2019. I have been using this device for over 5 years without any issues, and after performing a factory reset in December 2024, the device is now locked to Verizon and cannot be activated.

I have never had any unpaid balances or contractual obligations with Verizon, and the device has been fully paid off. Given that the phone has been in use for over 5 years, I kindly request that you review the situation and unlock the device for use with other carriers.
Please let me know the next steps to resolve this issue, as I am currently outside the United States and need to use this device internationally.