The Essential Guide On How To Unlock iPhone's

Today’s the day you finally fulfilled the contract on your iPhone and it's officially all yours. That means you’re able to use it while traveling abroad with a domestic SIM card and are free to move networks when you want, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Fiji or running to Verizon just yet because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that clear-cut.

In order to stop users from moving to a competitor’s network before they’ve payed off their iPhone or fulfilled their contract, lots of carriers place a SIM lock (also known as a network lock) on their smart phones. This consequently means that you, or the person you sell your second-hand iPhone to, are saddled with them for the long term. If you’re thinking this sounds like a fairly dysfunctional partnership, we're inclined to agree with you. Fortunately, with a bit of legwork plus an account in good order, you will be on your way to a SIM-unlocked iPhone in no time!

Before we carry on, a quick note about the type of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should stay clear of! There is software available that offer the capability to unlock your handset yourself, but you need to jailbreak your iPhone, and this is a stupid idea, for numerous reasons. You can do your own investigation into jail-breaking, but it's very risky, and not recommended. The easiest way to unlock your iPhone is as simple as discussing directly with your wireless provider. The journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone hinges largely on your network, with the procedure being either relatively quick and easy or painfully challenging. To help you get a step closer to a life free of carrier-locked tyranny, we researched all the steps to be able to obtain an iPhone unlock in this comprehensive guide. Please note that even though this was written with iPhone owners in mind, much of the advice can easily be used for other smartphones.

What Is SIM Unlocking?

As mentioned previously, when you buy an iPhone or some other smartphone from a cellular carrier, that device will only operate on that network unless you either request to have your carrier unlock it or maybe your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (more on that later). Also called a SIM unlock, factory unlock, or network unlock, carrier unlocking means removing a network’s restrictions on a device, letting you use it with a different cellular provider.

Thankfully, not every iPhone require unlocking. For instance, if you buy your iPhone directly from Apple and pay it off in full, it will already be unlocked and able to use with a variety of carriers.

Take note, however, that not all phones bought outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. For example, although sold as “unlocked”, smartphone's bought at Best Buy are actually considered universal. So, if you insert a Sim initially, the iPhone will essentially lock itself to the carrier associated with the Sim. Subsequently, seeing that certain service providers like T-Mobile may only unlock your iPhone if you got it directly from them, you may end up with an permanently network-locked device. Basically, you wind up paying factory-unlocked prices to get a network-locked cellphone.

Why Should I Unlock My iPhone?

Possessing a network-unlocked iPhone comes with a number of advantages which include the ability to utilize (pretty much) any network in the US and in another country together with increased resale values.

1. Officially-unlocking gives you the ability to use your cell phone with the network provider of your choice, almost wherever and whenever you wish (with a few exceptions, as you’ll find out later on). Such as, if you're currently using T-Mobile but are moving to a new part of the country with weak T-Mobile coverage, you can shift to AT&T on a dime




2. A SIM-unlocked iPhone makes international travel a piece of cake. Unlocking also offers you the flexibility to use your cellphone overseas. Global roaming fees, expensive international plans, and crazy dashes for WiFi are a thing of the past with an unlocked iPhone. Simply pop in a SIM card from a local carrier and you’re in business.




3. Factory-unlocked iPhones have much higher resale values.

Even if you don’t plan on changing networks or going overseas soon, unlocking your iPhone is still a good idea. Should you ever anticipate trading in your old iPhone when you upgrade, you’ll almost always get more cash for it if the iPhone is already network unlocked due to greater interest in them on the resale market.

Is it against the law to SIM Unlock your cellphone?

Absolutely not! Thanks to the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, all US-based cellular providers must allow customers to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a service provider will unlock a cell phone vary greatly from provider to provider. For the most part, the vast majority of service providers require you to finish your contract, pay for your financial obligations fully, or at a minimum have an account in good standing before they’ll permit you to unlock your iPhone.

The way to find out if your iPhone is Unlocked

Before you start the carrier-unlocking process, you’ll first need to check if your iPhone has already been unlocked (no sense in undergoing the hassle when you don’t actually need to). All you have to do is make sure that you’re connected to WiFi and insert a new SIM card from another cellular provider and your smart phone will do the rest automatically. This authentication check generally takes under a minute to finish after a new Sim card has been inserted.

During the verification procedure, you’ll observe that your iPhone will boot to a white screen and try to authenticate that it has been unlocked with your network. Should Apple confirm that your iPhone is SIM-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and signal bars should appear from the new provider. However, if a white screen appears that says SIM Not Supported, your phone has not been unlocked.

How to Unlock iPhones from a Provider

Having confirmed your cellphone is definitely locked to your current network provider, next you'll need to take a look at your service provider’s unlocking eligibility demands. Should your iPhone meet those unlocking guidelines, you can ask that the handset can be unlocked from their network. As recommended before, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from company to company. They all have been outlined below for the major carriers including Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T.

Please note that, as long as you’ve met the unlock prerequisites and are completing the network-unlocking directly with your provider, asking for your iPhone be unlocked is often completely free. If you go through a third party unlocking company, you will be charged, but making use of a third party service will be your only option if you bought the phone used. So, before you spend money unnecessarily, try using the directions below beforehand.

Find An iPhone’s IMEI Number

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

You could also look for the IMEI number on the mobile phone outer shell itself. For older iPhone's (6, 6 Plus, 1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5), the IMEI number will also be imprinted on the back or the SIM tray.

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

Unlock an iPhone on AT&T

Unlocking your iPhone from AT&T is about as uncomplicated as A, B, C. Just run on across to the AT&T unlock portal, answer a few basic questions, and you’re well on your way to IMEI-unlocked freedom.

Once you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to review your AT&T unlocking status. After you get your validation text or email, just open it up then click on the confirmation link. That’s it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone in just a couple of working days.

For an iPhone to get unlocked from AT&T, it needs to fulfill the following requirements:

• 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
• Must not be reported as lost, stolen, or blocked
• Must not have a past-due balance

If your iPhone is included in term agreement or installment plan, it must also meet these requirements:

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

For detailed eligibility prerequisites, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Sprint

Depending on when you purchased your phone and if it has SIM-unlock capabilities, you've got a couple of different unlock options. If you bought a new iPhone from Sprint after February 2015 (it will be SIM-unlock capable) and it is currently being used on their network, Sprint should unlock it automatically once it meets their eligibility requirements. So, you actually don’t need to do anything apart from keep your account in good standing. Even so, if your iPhone is inactive or was purchased before February 2015, you’ll need to contact Sprint Customer Service directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or ring 888-211-4727).

There are reports from some Sprint clients that the auto-unlock program does not always perform as it should, so it’s certainly a very good idea to verify that your iPhone has been unlocked before trying to swap to a different service or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you plan to sell it to a buyback company or on craigslist or ebay.

For an iPhone to be unlocked from the Sprint network, it needs to satisfy the following conditions:

• 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
• Must be on an account in good standing

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 precise eligibility prerequisites, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on T-Mobile

If you’re an Android cellphone owner reading this and your device matches the eligibility prerequisites, consider yourself in luck: You are able to unlock it directly from the phone itself. For the iPhone owners out there, you’ll need to speak to T-Mobile’s Group of Experts directly (either dial 611 from your T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.

For an iPhone to be unlocked from T-Mobile, it needs to meet the following conditions:

• Must have been purchased directly from T-Mobile
• 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

If your iPhone is part of a postpaid plan, it has to also meet these requirements:

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

For in depth eligibility conditions, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Verizon

Verizon is, by far and away, the top carrier to use for unlocking an iPhone. Why? Because Verizon will automatically unlock your phone 60 days following the purchase of the device. If you purchased your iPhone at a retail partner, it'll be unlocked automatically Sixty days after device activation.

There are no catches. You don’t have to pay off your phone, fulfill any unique demands, or even contact them to ask to unlock your phone from their network. Providing your iPhone hasn’t been reported stolen or lost, simply wait a couple of months following purchase or activation and your phone will be all set.

Don’t believe us? Just click here.

Once I've Unlocked my iPhone — now what?

In the past, you’d need to connect your iPhone to iTunes and do a software restore to carry out the unlock procedure. Luckily, it’s much easier now. All you need to do is stick to the same steps you took earlier to verify if your phone is unlocked in the first place.

In the event you don’t have access to a SIM card from an alternative carrier, you may still confirm that your iPhone has been unlocked using an iTunes software restore. Just connect your iPhone to a computer running iTunes and press the “restore” option. Once the restoration process has finished, you should see a message saying “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”

Great job! You successfully IMEI-unlocked your iPhone! Meaning you're able to use whatever service provider you want to now, right? We hate to break this to you, but no. Because of the two different types of networks deployed in the US, CDMA and GSM, your choice of mobile phone providers is determined by the type of your iPhone as well as the original carrier it's locked to. Specifically, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and the majority of service providers abroad 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 would be too easy). Thankfully, as we approach world-wide 5G access and as older networks are retired, it will hopefully no longer be a problem.

To discover which networks you can access based on both these factors, keep 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 indeed! Once your phone has been officially-unlocked, it'll stay like that for the life of the handset. You can restore your iPhone or update software without worrying about your unlock vanishing afterwards.