So, you've at long last made the last payment on your iPhone and that baby is eventually all yours. Which means you’re able to use it while traveling abroad with a domestic SIM card and are free to swap networks as you please, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Asia or running to T-Mobile just yet as, unfortunately, it’s not quite that clear-cut.
In order to prevent users from switching over to a competitor’s network before they’ve payed off their iPhone or satisfied their contract, quite a few carriers put a lock (sometimes known as a network lock) on their mobile phones. This ultimately means that you, or the person who you sell your pre-owned iPhone to, are saddled with them in the future. If you’re thinking this sounds like a extremely dysfunctional relationship, we're inclined to agree with you. Fortunately, with a bit of legwork plus an account in good standing, you will be on the right path to a SIM-unlocked iPhone very quickly!
Before we carry on, just a quick note on the type of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should avoid! There are apps in existence that offer the ability to unlock a device yourself, but they require you to jailbreak your cell phone, and this is a stupid idea, for lots of reasons. You can do your own research into jail-breaking, but it's very risky, and not recommended. The best way to unlock your iPhone is actually speaking directly with your cellular provider. The journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone relies largely on your network, with the process being either fairly quick and easy or painfully challenging. To help you get one step closer to a life free from carrier-locked tyranny, we accumulated all the steps in order to obtain an iPhone unlock with this comprehensive guide. Please note that although this was written with iPhone owners in mind, plenty of the recommendations can easily be used for other smartphones.
As mentioned previously, when you purchase an iPhone or other smartphone from a cellular provider, that smartphone is only going to operate on that specific network until you either request to have your carrier unlock it or maybe your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (read more about that later). Also referred to as 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.
Luckily, not every iPhone require unlocking. For example, should you buy your iPhone from Apple and purchase it outright, it should be unlocked and able to use with a variety of carriers.
You should be aware, however, that not all phones purchased outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. For example, although sold as “unlocked”, mobile phones bought at Best Buy are in fact considered universal. So, whenever you insert a Sim initially, the device will basically lock itself to the network linked to the SIM card. Then, because certain service providers like T-Mobile may only unlock your iPhone if you bought it directly from them, you could potentially end up getting an permanently network-locked device. Basically, you find yourself paying factory-unlocked prices for a network-locked smartphone.
Having a SIM-unlocked iPhone comes with a good number of benefits including the ability to utilize (just about) any network within the Unites States and overseas in addition to increased secondhand values.
In the event you don’t anticipate switching carriers or going abroad any time soon, unlocking your iPhone is still a smart idea. Should you ever plan on trading in your old iPhone when you upgrade, you’ll more often than not get more money for it if the iPhone is already network unlocked due to higher demand for them in the resale market.
No way! Due to Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, finalized into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, all US-based cellular providers have to allow people to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a network will unlock a cell phone vary widely from provider to provider. On the whole, most networks require you to complete your contract, pay for your financial obligations in full, or at best have an account in good standing before they’ll allow you to unlock your iPhone.
Before beginning the phone-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 actually need to). All you need to do is be sure that you’re connected with WiFi and insert a new SIM card from another cellular provider and your cellphone will do everything else automatically. This verification check generally takes no more than a minute to complete as soon as a Sim card has been inserted.
Through the verification procedure, you’ll notice that your iPhone will boot to a white screen and attempt to verify that it has been unlocked with your network. Should Apple confirm that your iPhone is IMEI-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and service bars ought to appear from the new service provider. However, if a white screen appears that says SIM Not Supported, your mobile phone will not be unlocked.
Once you determine that your phone is definitely locked to your current network provider, next you will need to start looking at your service provider’s unlocking eligibility prerequisites. Should your iPhone meet those unlocking guidelines, you can ask them if the device can be unlocked from their network. As recommended previously, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from company to company. Each one has 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 conditions and therefore are completing the network-unlocking directly with your provider, requesting that your iPhone be unlocked may possibly be completely free. If you choose to go through a third party unlocking service provider, you're going to be charged, but using a third party service is going to be your only option if you bought the phone used. Before you spend any money, try using the directions below as a first step.
When SIM-unlocking your iPhone, you'll have to give your provider your cellphones IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is essentially your cellphone’s VIN or social security number. To find your IMEI, on your phone, select Settings > General > About and scroll down to the bottom section where you'll see it displayed next to IMEI.
Additionally you can look for the IMEI number on the smartphone housing itself. For older iPhone's (6, 6 Plus, 1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5), the number will also be printed on the back or the SIM tray.
After you’ve established the IMEI number, we strongly recommend that you store it somewhere for safekeeping.
Unlocking your iPhone from AT&T is about as easy as one, two, three. Just pop on across to the AT&T website, answer a few quick questions, and you’re well on your way to network-unlocked freedom.
Once you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to check on your AT&T unlock status. When you acquire your validation text or email, simply open it up and click on the confirmation link. That's all there is to it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone in just a couple of business days.
For any iPhone to get unlocked from AT&T, it has to adhere to the following requirements:
If the iPhone is included in term agreement or installment plan, it has to also adhere to these requirements:
For precise eligibility conditions, click here.
Based on when you acquired your phone and if it has got SIM-unlock capabilities, you've got a several different unlock choices. If you obtained a new iPhone from Sprint after February 2015 (it will be SIM-unlock capable) and it's currently being used on their network, Sprint will unlock it automatically after it meets their qualifications requirements. So, you honestly don’t have to do anything at all 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 need to contact Sprint Customer Care directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or call 888-211-4727).
There has been reports from some Sprint customers that the auto-unlock program doesn't necessarily work as it should, so it’s definitely a good idea to check that your iPhone is unlocked before attempting to swap to a different carrier or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you intend to sell it to a buyback business or on craigs list.
In order for an iPhone to get unlocked from the Sprint network, it must satisfy the following conditions:
If your iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it has to also satisfy these requirements:
For detailed eligibility conditions, click here.
If you’re an Android cellphone owner reading this and your device satisfies the eligibility requirements, consider yourself in luck: You are able to unlock it directly from the phone itself. For those iPhone owners out there, you’ll have to contact T-Mobile’s Group of Experts directly (either dial 611 from your T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.
To have an iPhone unlocked from T-Mobile, it has got to adhere to the following conditions:
If the iPhone is part of a postpaid account, it's got to also fulfill these conditions:
For detailed eligibility conditions, click here.
Verizon is, by far and away, the leading network to work with 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 at a retail partner, it will be unlocked automatically Sixty days after device activation.
There are no catches. You don’t have to pay off your phone, meet any specific requirements, or even contact them to ask to unlock your phone from their network. Provided your iPhone hasn’t been reported stolen or lost, simply wait sixty days after purchase or activation and your phone will be ready to go.
Don’t believe us? Just click here.
In the old days, you’d have to connect your iPhone up to iTunes and do a software restore to carry out the unlock procedure. Thankfully, it’s much easier today. All you need to do is stick to the same steps you used earlier to find out if your phone had been unlocked in the first place.
In the event you don’t have access to a SIM card from an alternative carrier, you may still verify that a iPhone has been unlocked by performing iTunes software restore. Simply hook up your iPhone to a computer running iTunes and press the “restore” option. After the restoration process has completed, you will see a message stating “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”
Congratulations! You successfully factory-unlocked your iPhone! Meaning your able to use whichever service provider you want to now, right? We hate to tell you this, but sadly not. Because of the two different types of technologies deployed in the Unites States, CDMA and GSM, your choice of cellular providers is dependent upon the model of your iPhone as well as the original network it's locked to. Specifically, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and most service providers abroad are GSM (Global System for Mobiles) networks.
As you’ve probably guessed, both of these different network types do not talk to each other (because that's too logical). Thankfully, as we approach world-wide 5G access and as older networks are retired, this will hopefully cease to be a problem.
To see which service providers you can access based on both of these factors, carry on reading.
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
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
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
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
You got it! After your phone has been factory-unlocked, it is going to stay that way for the life of the handset. You are able to restore your iPhone or up-date software without worrying about your unlock vanishing afterwards.
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