The Essential Guide On How To Unlock iPhone's

So, you have at long last completed the contract on your iPhone and it's officially all yours. This means that you’re able to use it while traveling in another country with a domestic SIM card and have the freedom to swap networks when you want, right? Don’t start booking your flight to New Zealand or running to T-Mobile just yet because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that straight forward.

So as to stop users from switching to a competitor’s network before they’ve payed off their iPhone or fulfilled their contract, a great deal of carriers put a lock (also known as a network lock) on their cell phones. This consequently ensures that you, or the person you sell your pre-owned iPhone to, are tied to them in the future. If you’re thinking this sounds like a extremely dysfunctional working relationship, we’d tend to agree with you. Happily, along with a little legwork and an account in good standing, you can be on the way to a SIM-unlocked iPhone before you know it!

Before we continue, a quick note about the type of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should avoid! There is software around that offer the ability to unlock your phone yourself, but they require you to jailbreak your mobile phone, and this is a dumb move, for many reasons. You can do your own investigation into jail-breaking, but it's not a sensible choice, and not recommended. The best way to unlock your iPhone is by discussing directly with your cellular provider. The journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone hinges largely on your network, with the procedure being either fairly quick and simple or painfully challenging. To help you get one step closer to a life free from carrier-locked tyranny, we rounded up all the steps to be able to get an iPhone unlock in this comprehensive guide. Please be aware that although this was written with iPhone owners in mind, a great deal of the advice could be used with other smartphones.

What Is Carrier Unlocking?

As mentioned previously, when you purchase an iPhone or some other smartphone from your network provider, that phone is only going to work on that specific network until you either request to have your network unlock it or maybe your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (more about that later). Commonly known as a SIM unlock, factory unlock, or network unlock, carrier unlocking means removing a network’s restrictions on a device, permitting you to use it with a different cellular provider.

Luckily for us, not every iPhone have to be unlocked. As an example, should you buy your iPhone straight from Apple and pay it off in full, it will be unlocked and able to use on a variety of networks.

You should be aware, however, that not all phones purchased outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. For instance, although sold as “unlocked”, cell phones bought at Best Buy are in fact considered universal. So, if you insert a SIM card for the first time, the cell phone will effectively lock itself to the provider associated with the SIM card. Then, seeing that certain networks like T-Mobile may only unlock your iPhone if you bought it directly from them, you may end up getting an permanently network-locked device. Basically, you find yourself paying factory-unlocked prices to get a network-locked cellphone.

Why Should I Unlock My iPhone?

Possessing a IMEI-unlocked iPhone comes with a good number of perks such as the ability to operate on (practically) any network in the US and abroad together with higher resale values.

1. Network-unlocking allows you the choice to use your phone with the cellular provider of your choice, almost whenever and wherever you want (with some exceptions, as you’ll find out later on). For instance, if you're currently using T-Mobile but are relocating to a new part of the country with bad T-Mobile coverage, you can switch to AT&T on a dime




2. A IMEI-unlocked iPhone makes international travel a breeze. Unlocking also gives you the flexibility to use your smartphone in foreign countries. Global roaming fees, pricey international plans, and mad dashes for WiFi become a distant memory with an unlocked iPhone. Just pop in a SIM card from a local service provider and you're golden.




3. Carrier-unlocked iPhones have higher resale values.

Even when you don’t anticipate swapping carriers or traveling internationally anytime soon, unlocking your iPhone is still a smart idea. Should you ever plan on trading in your old iPhone whenever you upgrade, you’ll almost always get more cash for it if the iPhone is network unlocked because of a greater demand for them in the resale market place.

Is it unlawful to Carrier Unlock your cell phone?

No way! Thanks to the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, finalized into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, all US-based cellular providers have to allow customers to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a service provider will unlock a mobile phone differ widely from provider to provider. On the whole, almost all providers require you to complete your contract, cover your financial obligations fully, or at a minimum have an account in good standing before they’ll assist you to unlock your iPhone.

The best way to find out if your iPhone is Unlocked

Before beginning the network-unlocking process, you’ll first want to find out if your iPhone has already been unlocked (no sense in suffering the hassle if you don’t really need to). All you need to do is make sure that you’re connected to WiFi and insert a new SIM card from an alternative service provider and your smart phone will do the rest automatically. This authentication check normally takes less than a minute to complete after a Sim card has been inserted.

Throughout the verification process, you’ll note that your iPhone will boot to a white screen and try to validate that it has been unlocked with your service provider. If Apple confirm that your iPhone is SIM-unlocked, it will go back to the home screen and signal bars should appear from the new carrier. However, if a white screen appears that says SIM Not Supported, your mobile phone has not been unlocked.

How to Unlock iPhones from a Network

Once you determine that your smartphone is definitely locked to your current network provider, next you will need to take a look at your service provider’s unlocking eligibility conditions. Should your iPhone meet their unlocking criteria, you can request that the device can be unlocked from their network. As suggested previously, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from carrier to carrier. Each has been outlined below for the major carriers including T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.

Please be aware that, provided you’ve met the unlock prerequisites and so are completing the network-unlocking directly with your provider, asking for your iPhone be unlocked may possibly be absolutely free. If you opt to use a 3rd party unlocking service provider, you'll be charged, but working with a 3rd party company will be your only option if you bought the phone pre-owned. Before you spend money unnecessarily, try using the directions outlined below as a first step.

Find An iPhone’s IMEI Number

When SIM-unlocking your iPhone, you will need to supply your provider the handsets IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is effectively your cell phone’s VIN or social security number. To find your IMEI, on your phone, go to Settings > General > About and search to the bottom of the list where it will be listed displayed next to IMEI.

Additionally you can look for the number on the mobile phone outer shell itself. For earlier iPhone models (1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5, 6, 6 Plus), the IMEI number will also be printed on the back or the SIM tray.

After you’ve located the IMEI, it highly advisable that you keep it somewhere for safekeeping.

Unlock an iPhone on AT&T

Unlocking your iPhone from the AT&T network is about as easy as 1-2-3. Just pop on over to the AT&T unlock portal, answer a few basic questions, and you'll be well on your way to network-unlocked freedom.

When you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to check on your AT&T unlocking status. When you get your verification text or email, just open it up then click on the confirmation link. That's all there is to it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone within 2 working days.

For any iPhone to be unlocked from the AT&T network, it must adhere to the following requirements:

• Must not be reported as lost, stolen, or blocked
• Must not have a past-due balance
• Must not be active on a different AT&T account
• If it is a work phone, you must have your employer’s permission to unlock it
• If it is an AT&T PREPAID phone, it must be active for at least six months

If your iPhone is part of a term agreement or installment plan, it's got to also meet these requirements:

• The device must be active on the AT&T network for at least 60 days
• The installment plan must be paid off
• The term agreement must be complete

For precise eligibility requirements, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Sprint

Based on when you acquired your phone and if it has got SIM-unlock capabilities, there are a couple of different unlock choices. If you bought a new iPhone from Sprint after February 2015 (it should be SIM-unlock capable) and it's actively being used on their network, Sprint can unlock it automatically after it meets their eligibility requirements. So, you honestly don’t have to do anything more apart from keep your account in good standing. Even so, if your iPhone hasn't been activated or was purchased prior to February 2015, you’ll have to contact Sprint Customer Service directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or dial 888-211-4727).

We have seen reports from some Sprint customers that the auto-unlock program doesn't necessarily work as it should, so it’s undoubtedly a very good idea to verify that your iPhone has been unlocked before attempting to switch to another network or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you wish to sell it to a buyback company or on craigslist or ebay.

For an iPhone to be unlocked from the Sprint network, it must meet the following conditions:

• Must be active on the Sprint network for at least 40 days
• Must be on an account in good standing
• Must not be reported as lost, stolen, or associated with fraud
• Must have SIM-unlock capabilities (if it doesn’t, it is MSL (Master Subsidy Lock) locked and you will need to call Sprint for the MSL code)

If the iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it has to also meet these requirements:

• Any early-termination fees must be fully paid
• Any lease or installment payments must be fully paid
• If leased, the end-of-lease purchase option must be fully paid

For precise eligibility conditions, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on T-Mobile

If you’re an Android smartphone owner reading this and your handset matches the eligibility prerequisites, consider yourself in luck: You can unlock it right from the phone itself. For those iPhone owners out there, you’ll have to get in touch with T-Mobile’s Group of Specialists directly (either dial 611 from a T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.

For an iPhone to be unlocked from the T-Mobile network, it has got to fulfill the following requirements:

• For prepaid accounts, it must have been active on the account for at least 12 months
• Must have been purchased directly from T-Mobile
• Must be paid for in full
• Must not have been reported as lost, stolen, or blocked

If your iPhone is on a postpaid account, it has to also fulfill the following conditions:

• The account must be in good standing
• Must have been active on the account for at least 40 days

For detailed eligibility prerequisites, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Verizon

Verizon is, hands down, the best service provider to use for unlocking an iPhone. Why? Because Verizon will automatically unlock your phone 60 days after the purchase of the device. If you bought your iPhone from a retail partner, it'll be unlocked automatically 60 days after device activation.

There are no catches. You don’t have to pay off your phone, fulfill any special prerequisites, or even contact them to request to unlock your phone from their network. Providing your iPhone hasn’t been reported lost or stolen, merely wait sixty days after purchase or activation and your phone will be ready to go.

Don’t believe us? Just click here.

Once I've Unlocked my iPhone — what do I do now?

Back many years ago, you’d need to hook your iPhone to iTunes and perform a software restore to perform the unlock procedure. Thankfully, it’s a lot easier nowadays. All you need to do is stick to the same steps you followed earlier to find out if your phone is unlocked in the first place.

When you don’t have access to a SIM card from a different carrier, you can still confirm that a iPhone has been unlocked by performing iTunes software restore. Simply connect your iPhone to a computer running iTunes and press the “restore” option. Once the restoration process has finished, you will see a message which says “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”

Congratulations! You successfully factory-unlocked your iPhone! That means your able to use what ever network you would like to now, right? We hate to tell you this, but sadly not. Because of the two different types of technologies employed in the US, GSM and CDMA, your choice of cellular providers is determined by the model of your iPhone as well as the original network it's locked to. Primarily, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and most service providers in other countries are GSM (Global System for Mobiles) networks.

As you’ve probably guessed, both of these different network types don't talk to each other (because that's too logical). Fortunately, as we approach world-wide 5G access and as older networks are retired, this will hopefully cease to be a challenge.

To see which service providers you have access to determined by both of these factors, carry on reading.

AT&T

GSM networks only (AT&T, T-Mobile, international GSM carriers): Original iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Sprint

International networks only: iPhone 4s and iPhone 5

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

T-Mobile

GSM networks only (AT&T, T-Mobile, international GSM carriers): Original iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Verizon

Compatible with any carrier in the world, but with limitations when using GSM networks: iPhone 4s, iPhone 5

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Is the Unlock permanent?

Yup! After your phone has been officially-unlocked, it is going to remain that way for the life span of the handset. You'll be able to restore your iPhone or update applications without worrying about your unlock disappearing afterwards.