Today’s the day you finally fulfilled the contract on your iPhone and it's eventually all yours. That means you’re able to use it while traveling abroad with a domestic SIM card and have the freedom to change networks as you please, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Aruba or running to Verizon quite yet since, unfortunately, it’s not quite that clear-cut.
So as to stop individuals from swapping to a competitor’s network before they’ve paid off their iPhone or completed their contract, a lot of carriers place a lock (sometimes known as a network lock) on their smartphone's. This ultimately makes sure that you, or the person who you sell your used iPhone to, are stuck with them in the future. If you’re thinking this sounds like a pretty dysfunctional partnership, we’d have a tendency to agree with you. Luckily, along with a little legwork plus an account in good order, you are well on your way to a SIM-unlocked iPhone before you know it!
Before we continue, a quick note on the kind of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should stay clear of! There is software out there that offer the ability to unlock your cellphone yourself, however you need to jailbreak your mobile phone, and this is a dumb move, for numerous reasons. You can do your own homework into jail-breaking, but it's fraught with danger, and to be avoided. The simplest way to unlock your iPhone is by talking directly with your wireless provider. The journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone will depend largely on your network, with the procedure being either relatively quick and painless or painfully tedious. To get you one step closer to a life free of carrier-locked tyranny, we put together all the steps on how to get an iPhone unlock with this comprehensive guide. Please note that while this was written with iPhone owners in mind, a lot of the advice may be carried over to other smartphones.
As noted earlier, when you buy an iPhone or some other smartphone from your cellular carrier, that smartphone will only function on that network until you either request to have your carrier unlock it or your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (read more about that later). Often 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.
Luckily for us, not all iPhones have to be unlocked. For instance, should you buy your iPhone directly from Apple and pay for it in cash, it will be unlocked and able to use on a variety of networks.
You should be aware, however, that not all phones bought outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. In particular, although sold as “unlocked”, cell phones bought at Best Buy are actually considered universal. So, if you insert a SIM card initially, the phone will effectively lock itself to the provider associated with the SIM card. Subsequently, seeing that certain service providers like T-Mobile may only unlock your iPhone if you bought it directly from them, you could end up with an eternally network-locked device. Put simply, you wind up paying factory-unlocked prices to get a carrier-locked cellphone.
Having a network-unlocked iPhone comes with a good number of perks which include the freedom to operate on (nearly) any network both in the US and in another country in addition to increased resale values.
In the event you don’t plan on switching networks or going internationally anytime soon, unlocking your iPhone remains a smart idea. Should you ever anticipate trading in your old iPhone once you upgrade, you’ll typically get more cash for it if the iPhone is network unlocked because of a higher interest in them on the resale market.
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 have to allow people to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a network will unlock a smartphone vary widely from carrier to carrier. Typically, most networks require you to finish your contract, cover your financial obligations fully, or at least have an account in good standing before they’ll will let you unlock your iPhone.
Prior to starting the carrier-unlocking process, you’ll first need to find out if your iPhone is already unlocked (no need in suffering the hassle if you don’t actually need to). All you have to do is be sure that you’re connected with WiFi and insert a brand new SIM card from an alternative network provider and your smartphone will do everything else automatically. This confirmation check normally takes no more than a minute to finish once a new Sim card has been inserted.
Through the verification process, you’ll see that your iPhone will boot to a white screen and try to confirm that it has been unlocked with your carrier. Should Apple verify that your iPhone is carrier-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and signal bars should appear from the new network. However, if you see a white screen that says SIM Not Supported, your mobile phone has not been unlocked.
Once you determine that your phone is definitely locked to your current cellular provider, next you'll need to start looking at your network’s unlocking eligibility prerequisites. Should your iPhone meet their unlocking criteria, you can then request that the handset can be unlocked from their network. As hinted at earlier, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from provider to provider. Each one has been outlined below for the major carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Please be aware that, provided you have met the unlock prerequisites and so are completing the network-unlocking directly with your service provider, asking for your iPhone be unlocked may possibly be absolutely free. If you wish to use a third party unlocking service provider, you'll be charged, but making use of a 3rd party company is going to be your only option if you are not the original owner of the phone. So, before you spend any money, try using the directions outlined below as a first step.
When network-unlocking your iPhone, you'll need to give your provider your device’s IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is fundamentally your mobile 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 you will see it listed next to IMEI.
You can also search for the IMEI number on the mobile phone shell itself. For earlier iPhone's (6, 6 Plus, 1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5), the number may also be imprinted on the back or the SIM tray.
When you’ve found the IMEI number, it highly advisable that you keep it someplace for safekeeping.
Unlocking your iPhone from AT&T is about as uncomplicated as it gets. Just run on over to the AT&T website, answer a few questions, and you’re well on your way to SIM-unlocked freedom.
When you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to review your AT&T unlocking status. When you obtain your verification text or email, simply open it up then click on the verification link. That’s it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone within 2 business days.
For an iPhone to get unlocked from the AT&T network, it has to fulfill the following requirements:
If your iPhone is included in term agreement or installment plan, it has to also meet these requirements:
For in-depth eligibility conditions, click here.
Dependent on when you acquired your phone and if it has got SIM-unlock capabilities, there are a couple of different unlock options. 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 once it meets their qualifications requirements. So, you honestly don’t need to do anything more apart from keep your account in good order. However, if your iPhone is inactive or was purchased before February 2015, you’ll have to contact Sprint Customer Care directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or call 888-211-4727).
We have seen reports from some Sprint customers that the auto-unlock program doesn't necessarily operate as it should, so it’s certainly a good idea to check that your iPhone has been unlocked before attempting to change to a different network or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you're planning to sell it to a buyback company or on craigs list.
For an iPhone to get unlocked from the Sprint network, it needs to fulfill the following requirements:
If the iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it must also adhere to these requirements:
For in-depth eligibility prerequisites, click here.
If you’re an Android cellphone owner reading this and your device matches the eligibility conditions, consider yourself fortunate: You can unlock it right from the device itself. For all you iPhone owners out there, you’ll have to speak to T-Mobile’s Team of Specialists directly (either dial 611 from a T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.
For an iPhone to be unlocked from T-Mobile, it must meet the following requirements:
If your iPhone is on a postpaid plan, it has to also satisfy these requirements:
For precise eligibility prerequisites, click here.
Verizon is, by far and away, the best 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 obtained your iPhone from 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 specific conditions, or even get in touch with them to ask to unlock your phone from their network. As long as your iPhone hasn’t been reported lost or stolen, simply wait 60 days following purchase or activation and your phone will be a-ok.
Don’t believe us? Just click here.
A few years back, you’d have to connect your iPhone up to iTunes and perform a software restore to complete the unlock process. Thankfully, it’s a lot easier now. All you have to do is stick to the same steps you followed earlier to verify whether your phone is unlocked to begin with.
In the event you don’t have access to a SIM card from a different carrier, you may still verify that a iPhone has been unlocked by performing iTunes software restore. Just hook up your iPhone with a computer running iTunes and hit the “restore” option. After the restoration process has completed, you will see a message which says “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”
Good job! You successfully officially-unlocked your iPhone! Which means you're able to use whichever service provider you would like to now, true? We hate to break this to you, but no. Due to the two different kinds of systems in use in the US, CDMA and GSM, your available mobile providers will depend on the model of your iPhone as well as the original carrier it was 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 may have guessed, both of 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 retired, this will hopefully no longer be an issue.
To find out which service providers you can access determined by these two factors, keep 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
Yes indeed! After your phone has been Sim-unlocked, it'll stay that way for the life span of the handset. It is possible to restore your iPhone or up-date software without worrying about your unlock disappearing afterwards.
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