Cell phone tech help?

So, I'm running in the red right now. The Story:
Coming off Tmobile to Cricket.
First line to first phone, (oneplus), no problems.
Second line, to wife's iPhone 5, problems. "Sim Not Valid". After phoning tech support for both carriers, who were as helpful as they could be, no resolution. Before I spend $29 for a one-time apple tech support, is there anything I can do?

Cricket sim works in my son's iPhone 4 and makes calls- so the number is ported.
We bought the iPhone 5 from Walmart for full price, as an unlocked phone in 2012. Worked fine until I pulled the Tmobile sim.
I've restarted the iPhone 5 4 times, now I am backing up and restoring (which my lovely wife hasn't done in two+ years because that's not what she do0z). Hoping that does the deed, but not thinking that it will. She is angry with me, and I at her for pointing out that what she told me would happen, did happen. I KNOW it happened, my love. I KNOW.

I want to give up.

Has the iPhone 5 been SIM unlocked by T-Mobile before you attempted to use it with Cricket? The Oneplus One comes unlocked out of the box, but if you bought the iPhone from T-Mobile, it may be locked to the carrier.

We bought the iPhone from Walmart at full price. Supposedly unlocked. I called TMob, and the dude said that he'd send a request for an unlock (couldn't see lock status right away, for some reason), and asked for 24 hrs and they'd send us an email. I suspect it was to get me off the phone, but maybe I'm being impatient.

Hmmm. If you didn't buy it from T-Mobile they might not be able to see the status. Was it a branded T-Mobile phone or one of those "unlocked" deals that came with a T-Mobile SIM?

At this point I'd try to talk to a Genius at an Apple Store, TBH.

It was sold as an AT&T/Tmobile compatible phone from walmart online- paid full price for the privilege. At the same time we bought the Tmobile sim, so maybe there was an unspoken lock. I ported the number to Cricket, which cancelled the Tmobile account, and they are less than enthusiastic about working with me to resolve the "lock" issue. I'm going to call Tmobile again and see if another person can check the lock status.

My first guess is that the handset is lock to TMo.

My second guess is that it is locked to Walmart...Walmarts TMo exclusive brand is Family Mobile.

Yes, you paid full price for the handset but this does not assure that the handset is unlocked.

If it came without a SIM, it should definitely be unlocked. I would go talk to Apple rather than T-Mobile, even if it costs you some money.

Sigh. This has to be complicated, doesn't it? berkeleying hell.

Is the "you should get an email within 24 hours" bullE36 M3, or should I wait for that as I plan a visit to iTech support at $29 per instance. It came without a sim, but I did purchase the Tmobile sim at the same time as I bought the phone.

The response of 24hrs is likely considered an acceptable level of service from TMo and you will continue to receive the same answer from them till that time period ends.

If you do call back into TMo, ask the operator to read you back the notes on the account.
This is a way to find out if your first operator really understood the situation and recorded it correctly.

Also, remember, you'll get more with honey than you will with vinegar.

Oh yeah, re: honey than vinegar- I didn't have a bad customer service experience with either company, despite not having fixed the problem. They did their best, and Tmo, actually, losing a customer, spent enough time to ensure that it wasn't the cricket sim, which I thought was pretty good. Truth is, if I failed to ensure it was unlocked, and this turns out to be the issue, then it's my fault from the outset.

Those customer service agents have a E36 M3ty job, and I'm not here to make things worse for them.

Sigh. So the phone is apparently locked to Tmobile. Despite that we purchased it for full price. I'd ported the number and closed the account before I knew it, so now what? I've spent hours on the phone with tmobile and they've put in four unlock requests for me that read like this:

T-Mobile Sim Unlock Request Sim Unlock Reference: 8328809 IMEI: 013435001256190

Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile. We have received your SIM Unlock Request. Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. The account must meet the following criteria:

1. Account must be Active.
2. IMEI must show usage on the requested line.
3. Must have $100.00 or more refill since first use date of device on requested line.
4. No more than 2 unlock requests in the past 12 month.

Please submit a new SIM Unlock Request once the subscriber has met the Eligibility criteria.

Thank You,

Customer Service T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Customer service agents claim they can't do anything about it, but it's not their phone! I paid full price to not have any obligation to a carrier! They have recommended three times that I spend $30 at releasemyphone.com, which has sketchy reviews.

Is there anything, ideas etc? I am beyond furious at this crap.

I think that handset should become a prepaid (not contract) customer of TMo.
Remain active until you have spent $100 which is probably 3 months. Before the 4th month, have it unlocked and switch away.

yeah. We are so angry (customer service lady just hung up on my wife- not being crazy), that we'd like to just be done with it. Can't believe that phones can cause such effing irritation.

It is such an f-ed up industry. It is intentionally deceptive and designed to be hard to navigate.
This is the industry that got to used the phrase "free phone" and gloss over the required two year contract ($50x24 months = $1,200) and/or $350 early termination fee...but hey, it's free!

I hate to bear you this bad news but:
Which is more important to you 1) your wife's current phone number or 2) continuing to use that iPhone 5?

You have ported your wife's number over to Cricket.
TMo has discontinued the number for you but Cricket has yet to begin using that number for you.
In order to keep that number alive for you, you will have to complete the transfer to Cricket. This means that your wife will need a Cricket handset, right away.

If the handset is more important than the number then switch your wife back to TMo right away to continue use of the handset but she will have to re-start TMo with a new number (she has already left her number and sent it to Cricket.)

I am not familiar with releasemyphone but for $30 I think I would give it a try. You only have $30 to loose.

Edit: I just clicked your profile to see where you are located. When I looked there I saw you are a Coast Guard pilot. Have you played the Military Card yet with TMo? There are some protections in most cell phone company's terms and conditions that do not bind members of the Military. I will admit, this would have been more useful to do while you were still a TMo customer but if I were you, I would contact TMo and fly your Military flag high.

Here is the FCC's current FAQ's on handset unlocking: https://www.fcc.gov/device-unlocking-faq
Within:
Q: Are there military exceptions to allow device(s) to be unlocked early for deployments?
Yes. If you are deployed internationally or receive orders for international deployment, providers must unlock your device upon verification of deployment under the new standards. Contact your mobile service provider, provide verification of your deployment, and request that your device(s) be unlocked.

Thanks man. I hate to fly that card- I consider myself so blessed to have such a great life- personally and professionally. I'm so naive that I get blindsided by these kinds of things- truly purchased the phone full price just to be able to switch at will, and really surprised that a company could abscond with your..... There I go again. The wife wanted a try, so we'll see how that goes and work forward from there.

Don't feel naive. This industry is like a three card monty. You think the game is fair but it is rigged.

Whew. What a goat rope. The wife took a step that I hadn't thought of- calling the carrier out on Facebook. Within one minute, a customer service rep replied, they IM'ed, the story was told, and the problem is apparently fixed. Phone works on new carrier. I guess social media does serve a purpose.

Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned!

Congrats, on both fronts

Glad to hear you got that worked out.

Big load off. Thanks for the help and advice fellas!