Christine M.

I purchased an iPhone XS from this company last week. As you can see from the product description screenshot attached, it was sold as "fully unlocked". It is supposed to work with any unlocked GSM phone. However, when I received it and put my Mint Mobile SIM card into it, it showed that the phone was locked. Screenshots are attached.

Woot said they could not ship out a replacement because the phone came from a third party seller, something that was not disclosed to me at the time of purchase. Woot claims that their phones are tested and guaranteed to work before being sold. I doubt this was tested at all, because it turned out that it is locked to a carrier in the UK (another screenshot). Woot did offer me a refund if I returned it, but I would have to do it at my own expense, plus take it to a UPS store or else pay more to have them pick it up at my house. I do not drive and currently do not have a reliable phone to use Uber or Lyft on. Also, even if I did send it back, it takes forever to see a refund. So I decided to keep it and have it unlocked myself, after running the IMEI through Mint Mobile to make sure my SIM would work on it. They said that it will work once I can get the phone unlocked.

I had to pay just to find out who it is locked to. Since it's locked to a carrier overseas, nobody local can unlock it, but this online company that is somewhere not in the U.S. says they can. All in all, I paid them $76. It was either that or return the phone to these crooks and be out both the money and the phone.

Woot offered me a partial refund of $50 to keep the phone. I want them to pay for the unlocking fee, and $50 won't quite cover it. I accepted the $50 and said I'd be reporting them to the BBB (which I already did). Not expecting to see the $50 any time soon, but at least this way I will have a working phone soon and won't be out the money and the phone.

So let this be a warning. Next time I will plan ahead and buy my next phone after this one direct from Apple. Not worth this hassle to have some bucks.