An Essential Guide On How To Unlock iPhone's
Today’s the day you finally made the last payment on your iPhone and that bad boy is eventually all yours. This means that you’re able to use it while traveling abroad with a local SIM card and are free to move networks when you want, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Paris or running to AT&T just yet because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy.
So as to stop people from moving to a rival’s network before they’ve payed off their iPhone or completed their contract, loads of carriers place a lock (commonly known as as a network lock) on their smartphones. This ultimately means that you, or anyone you sell your used iPhone to, are stuck with them for the long haul. If you’re thinking this sounds like a rather dysfunctional working relationship, we’d tend to agree with you. Luckily, with a bit of effort plus an account in good order, you can be on the right track to a network-unlocked iPhone very quickly!
Before we proceed, a a quick note on the kind of unlock's that are avialable, and the one's you should steer clear of! There is software to be found offering the ability to unlock your smartphone yourself, but they require you to jailbreak your iPhone, and this is a dumb move, for many reasons. You can do your own investigation into jailbreaking, but it's very risky, and not recommended. The best way to unlock your iPhone is actually by talking directly with your cellular provider. Your journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone hinges largely on your network, with the procedure being either reasonably quick and easy or painfully difficult. To get you a step closer to a life free of carrier-locked tyranny, we put together all the steps to be able to obtain an iPhone unlock with this comprehensive guide. Please be aware that while this was written with iPhone owners in mind, much of the recommendations may be used with other smartphones.
What Is Carrier Unlocking?
As noted before, when you purchase an iPhone or any other smartphone from a cellular provider, that phone will only function on that individual network unless you either request to have your carrier unlock it or 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, allowing you to use it with a different cellular provider.
Fortunately, not all iPhones need to be unlocked. For instance, if you purchase your iPhone from Apple and pay for it in full, it should already be unlocked and ready to use on a varitey of networks.
Please note, however, not all phones purchased outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. In particular, although sold as “unlocked”, smartphone's purchased at Best Buy are in fact considered universal. So, if you insert a SIM card initially, the phone will basically lock itself to the network associated with the Sim. Subsequently, seeing that certain service providers like T-Mobile will only unlock your iPhone if you purchased it directly from them, you can end up having an eternally carrier-locked device. Quite simply, you find yourself paying factory-unlocked prices for a network-locked cellphone.
Possessing a carrier-unlocked iPhone includes its fair share of benefits like the freedom to work with (almost) any carrier in the US and abroad as well as greatly increased resale values.
Why Should I Unlock My iPhone?
Having a network-unlocked iPhone comes with its fair share of rewards including the flexibility to use (virtually) any network within the US and in another country as well as higher second-hand values.
- Factory-unlocking offers you the ability to use your smartphone with the network provider of your choice, almost wherever and whenever you want (with a handful of exceptions, as you’ll see in a while). As an example, if you're currently using T-Mobile but are relocating to a new part of the country with poor T-Mobile coverage, you can switch to AT&T in a heartbeat
- A SIM-unlocked iPhone makes international travel a piece of cake. Unlocking also provides you with the flexibility to use your cellphone in another country. Worldwide roaming fees, costly international plans, and crazy dashes for WiFi are a thing of the past with an unlocked iPhone. Merely put in a SIM card from a local carrier and good to go.
- Factory-unlocked iPhones have considerably higher resale values.
In the event you don’t anticipate switching service providers or traveling internationally in the near future, unlocking your iPhone remains a good idea. If you intend on trading in your old iPhone if you upgrade, you’ll usually get more money for it if the iPhone is carrier unlocked because of a higher interest in them on the resale market place.
Is it illegal to Network Unlock your smartphone?
Not at all! Thanks to the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, finalized into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, all US-based cellular providers must allow people to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a provider will unlock a smartphone vary greatly from network to network. For the most part, many carriers require you to complete your contract, cover your financial obligations in full, or at best have an account in good standing before they’ll let you unlock your iPhone.
How to check if your iPhone is Unlocked
Prior to starting the carrier-unlocking process, you’ll first need to check if your iPhone is already unlocked (no sense in undergoing the hassle if you don’t really need to). All you need to do is ensure that you’re connected to WiFi and insert a brand-new SIM card from an alternative service provider and your mobile phone will do the rest automatically. This authentication check typically takes under a minute to finish as soon as a new Sim card has been inserted.
During the verification procedure, you’ll observe that your iPhone will boot onto a white screen and attempt to confirm that it has been unlocked with your carrier. If Apple determine that your iPhone is carrier-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and signal bars will appear from the new carrier. However, if you see a white screen that says SIM Not Supported, your cell phone is not unlocked.
How to Unlock iPhones from any Service provider
Having verified your phone is definitely locked to your current cellular provider, next you'll need to start looking at your carrier’s unlocking eligibility demands. If your iPhone meets those unlocking guidelines, you can ask them if the handset can be unlocked from their network. As recommended earlier, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from carrier to carrier. Each has been outlined below for the major carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Please note that, as long as you’ve met the unlock requirements and therefore are completing the network-unlocking directly with your network, asking for your iPhone be unlocked may possibly be absolutely free. If you want to use a 3rd party unlocking service, you'll be charged, but working with a 3rd party service will be your only option if you bought the phone second-hand. Before you spend any money, try using the directions outlined below beforehand.
How To Locate An iPhone’s IMEI Number
When officially-unlocking your iPhone, you will have to supply your service provider the mobiles IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is essentially your smartphone’s VIN or social security number. To find your IMEI, on your phone, select Settings > General > About and search to the bottom of the list where you will see it displayed next to IMEI.
You could also locate the IMEI number on the smartphone outer shell itself. For older iPhone models (1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5, 6, 6 Plus), the number will also be printed on the back or the SIM tray.
Once you’ve found the IMEI number, it highly advisable that you store it somewhere for safekeeping.
Unlock an iPhone on AT&T
Unlocking your iPhone from the AT&T network is about as uncomplicated as one,two,three. Just pop on across to the AT&T unlock portal, answer a couple of questions, and you'll be well on your way to SIM-unlocked freedom.
After you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to review your AT&T unlock status. When you receive your verification text or email, simply open it up then click on the confirmation link. That’s it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone within a couple of working days.
For an iPhone to get unlocked from AT&T, it's got to fulfill the following requirements:
- 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
- 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 the iPhone is included in term agreement or installment plan, it must 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 in depth eligibility conditions, click here.
Unlock an iPhone on Sprint
Based on when you purchased your phone and if it has SIM-unlock capabilities, you've got a few different unlock choices. In the event you obtained a new iPhone from Sprint after February 2015 (it should be SIM-unlock capable) and it is currently being used on their network, Sprint can unlock it automatically once it meets their eligibility requirements. So, you really don’t need to do anything more apart from keep your account in good order. Even so, if your iPhone hasn't been activated or was purchased prior to February 2015, you’ll need to get in touch with Sprint Customer Service directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or phone 888-211-4727).
We have seen reports from some Sprint users that the auto-unlock program doesn't necessarily operate as it needs to, so it’s certainly a good idea to verify that your iPhone is unlocked before attempting to move to a different service or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you propose to sell it to a buyback company or on auction web sites.
For an iPhone to be unlocked from the Sprint network, it's got to satisfy the following conditions:
- 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)
- Must be active on the Sprint network for at least 40 days
If the iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it has to also meet these requirements:
- If leased, the end-of-lease purchase option must be fully paid
- Any early-termination fees must be fully paid
- Any lease or installment payments must be fully paid
For detailed eligibility conditions, click here.
Unlock an iPhone on T-Mobile
If your reading this and own an Android smartphone and your handset meets the eligibility prerequisites, consider yourself in luck: It is possible to unlock it easily from the device itself. For those iPhone owners out there, you’ll have to speak to T-Mobile’s Team of Experts directly (either dial 611 from a T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.
To have an iPhone unlocked from T-Mobile, it has got to adhere to the following conditions:
- Must be paid for in full
- Must not have been reported as lost, stolen, or blocked
- For prepaid accounts, it must have been active on the account for at least 12 months
- Must have been purchased directly from T-Mobile
If your iPhone is part of a postpaid plan, it needs to also fulfill these prerequisites:
- Must have been active on the account for at least 40 days
- The account must be in good standing
For detailed eligibility requirements, click here.
Unlock an iPhone on Verizon
Verizon is, by far and away, the best carrier to use for unlocking an iPhone. Why? Because Verizon will automatically unlock your phone 60 days after the purchase of the handset. If you obtained your iPhone from a retail partner, it can be unlocked automatically 60 days after device activation.
There are no catches. You don’t have to pay off your phone, satisfy any specific conditions, or even get in touch with them to request to unlock your phone from their network. Provided that your iPhone hasn’t been reported lost or stolen, merely wait a couple of months following purchase or activation and your phone will be all set.
Hard to believe? Just click here.
Once I've Unlocked my iPhone — what do I do now?
A few years back, you’d have to connect your iPhone up to iTunes and perform a software restore in order to complete the unlock process. Fortunately, it’s much simpler these days. All you have to do is stick to the same steps you followed earlier to check if your phone had been unlocked to start with.
If you don’t have access to a SIM card from an alternative carrier, you can still confirm that a iPhone has been unlocked by performing iTunes software restore. Just hook up your iPhone with a computer running iTunes and press the “restore” option. After the restoration process has finished, you should see a message saying “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”
Great job! You successfully network-unlocked your iPhone! That means you're able to use what ever carrier you would like to now, right? We hate to break this to you, but sadly not. Because of the two different kinds of systems employed in the Unites States, CDMA and GSM, your available cellular providers will depend on the model of your iPhone as well as the original carrier it was locked to. Primarily, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and most providers in other countries are GSM (Global System for Mobiles) networks.
As you may have guessed, both these different network types will not talk to each other (because that would be too easy). Fortunately, as we move closer to world-wide 5G access and as older networks are phased out, this will hopefully cease to be a challenge.
To find out which service providers you can access depending on these two 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?
Yes! Once your phone has been officially-unlocked, it is going to stay that way for the life of the device. You'll be able to restore your iPhone or up-date applications without worrying about your unlock vanishing afterwards.