An Essential Guide On How To Unlock An iPhone 7

The Ultimate Guide On How To Unlock iPhone's

Today’s the day you finally completed the contract on your iPhone and it's eventually all yours. Which means you’re able to use it while traveling abroad with a local SIM card and are free to switch networks as you want, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Europe or running to Verizon quite yet because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that clear-cut.

In order to stop somebody from moving to a competitor’s network before they’ve paid off their iPhone or fulfilled their contract, a great deal of carriers put a lock (also known as a carrier lock) on their smartphones. This inevitably means that you, or anyone who you sell your second hand iPhone to, are saddled with them in the future. If you’re thinking this sounds like a extremely dysfunctional partnership, we’d have a tendency to agree with you. Happily, along with a little effort as well as an account in good standing, you will be on the right path to a network-unlocked iPhone before you know it!

Before we go on, a quick note about the sort of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should stay clear of! There is software available offering a chance to unlock a handset yourself, however you need to jailbreak your mobile phone, and this is not a smart move, for lots of reasons. You can do your own research into jail-breaking, but it's fraught with danger, and to be avoided. The simplest way to unlock your iPhone is by discussing directly with your cellular provider. Your journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone depends largely on your network, with the process being either comparatively quick and painless or painfully difficult. To help you get a step closer to a life free from carrier-locked tyranny, we researched all the steps on how to obtain an iPhone unlock with this comprehensive guide. Please note that although this was written with iPhone owners in mind, a lot of the advice may be used with other smartphones.

What Is Carrier Unlocking?

As noted earlier, when you buy an iPhone or another smartphone from your cellular carrier, that cellphone will still only operate on that individual network until you either request to have your service provider unlock it or maybe your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (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, so that you can use it with a different cellular provider.

Fortunately, not all iPhones need to be unlocked. For instance, if you buy your iPhone directly from Apple and pay for it in full, it will already be unlocked and able to use on a variety of networks.

You should be aware, however, not all phones purchased outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. In particular, although sold as “unlocked”, mobile phones bought at Best Buy are actually considered universal. So, if you insert a Sim initially, the device will effectively lock itself to the service provider associated with the SIM card. Then, because certain networks like T-Mobile will only unlock your iPhone if you got it directly from them, you could end up having an eternally network-locked device. In other words, you wind up paying factory-unlocked prices to get a carrier-locked cellphone.

Why would I Unlock My iPhone?

Having a factory-unlocked iPhone comes with a number of advantages including the ability to use (practically) any network both in the US and in another country in addition to increased secondhand values.

Network-unlocking gives you the ability to use your cellphone with the service provider of your choice, almost whenever and wherever you want (with several exceptions, as you’ll see later on). Such as, if you are currently using T-Mobile but are moving to a new part of the country with bad T-Mobile coverage, you can swap to AT&T on a dime

A Factory-unlocked iPhone makes international travel a breeze. Unlocking also gives you the ability to use your phone in foreign countries. Worldwide roaming fees, expensive international plans, and mad dashes for WiFi are a thing of the past with an unlocked iPhone. Merely put in a SIM card from a local carrier and you're golden.

Officially-unlocked iPhones have higher resale values.

Even when you don’t anticipate swapping carriers or heading internationally any time soon, unlocking your iPhone remains a good idea. Should you ever intend on trading in your old iPhone if you upgrade, you’ll typically get more money for it if the iPhone is already carrier unlocked because of a greater interest in them on the resale market place.

Is it unlawful to Carrier Unlock your cell phone?

Not at all! 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 customers to unlock their phones. However, the conditions under which a network will unlock a cell phone vary widely from carrier to carrier. Typically, almost all carriers 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 assist you to unlock your iPhone.

The best way to see if your iPhone is Unlocked

Before you start the carrier-unlocking process, you’ll first want to find out if your iPhone is already unlocked (no need in enduring the hassle when you don’t actually need to). All you have to do is make sure that you’re connected with WiFi and insert a brand new SIM card from a different service provider and your cellphone will do the rest automatically. This verification check usually takes less than a minute to finish once a Sim card has been inserted.

Throughout the verification procedure, you’ll observe that your iPhone will boot onto a white screen and try to verify that it has been unlocked with your provider. If Apple confirm that your iPhone is carrier-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and service bars will appear from the new provider. However, if you see a white screen that says SIM Not Supported, your smartphone will not be unlocked.

How to Unlock iPhones from any Carrier

Having determined your cellphone is definitely locked to your current network provider, next you'll need to look at your network’s unlocking eligibility prerequisites. If your iPhone meets those unlocking guidelines, you can ask that the device can be unlocked from their network. As recommended earlier, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from network to network. They all have been outlined below for the major carriers including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Please note that, as long as you have met the unlock requirements and are completing the network-unlocking directly with your network, requesting that your iPhone be unlocked is likely to be absolutely free. If you go through a 3rd party unlocking service, you're going to be charged, but using a third 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 first.

How To Locate Your iPhone’s IMEI Number

When factory-unlocking your iPhone, you'll have to supply your service provider the device’s IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is essentially your smartphone’s VIN or social security number. To locate your IMEI, on your phone, go to Settings > General > About and search to the bottom section where you will see it listed next to IMEI.

Additionally you can look for the IMEI number on the cell phone 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 number, we strongly recommend that you store it someplace for safekeeping.

Unlock an iPhone on AT&T

Unlocking your iPhone from AT&T is about as easy as a, b, c. Just run on over to the AT&T site, answer a couple of 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 check on your AT&T unlocking status. When you acquire your verification text or email, just open it up and click on the verification link. That’s it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone in just 2 working days.

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

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 it is a work phone, you must have your employer’s permission to unlock it

If your iPhone is part of a term agreement or installment plan, it's got to also adhere to 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 precise eligibility requirements, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Sprint

Dependent on when you bought your phone and if it has got SIM-unlock capabilities, you've got a couple of different unlock choices. In the event you purchased 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 eligibility requirements. So, you actually don’t have to do anything at all besides keep your account in good standing. However, if your iPhone hasn't been activated or was purchased before February 2015, you’ll need to speak to Sprint Customer Care directly to request 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 doesn't always operate as it needs to, so it’s most certainly a very good idea to verify that your iPhone has been unlocked before trying to move to a different service or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you propose to sell it to a buyback company or on craigs list.

In order for an iPhone to get unlocked from the Sprint network, it must fulfill the following requirements:

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 your iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it's got to also meet these conditions:

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 in-depth eligibility requirements, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on T-Mobile

If your reading this and own an Android smartphone and your handset matches the eligibility prerequisites, consider yourself fortunate: You can actually unlock it directly from the phone itself. For all you iPhone owners out there, you’ll need to contact T-Mobile’s Team of Specialists directly (either dial 611 from a T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.

To have an iPhone unlocked from T-Mobile, it must meet the following requirements:

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 on a pre-paid account, it has to also satisfy these conditions:

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

For in depth eligibility prerequisites, click here.

Unlock an iPhone on Verizon

Verizon is, by far and away, the leading network to work with for unlocking an iPhone. Why? Because Verizon will automatically unlock your phone Sixty days after the purchase of the device. If you bought your iPhone at 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 ask to unlock your phone from their network. Provided that your iPhone hasn’t been reported lost or stolen, just wait two months following purchase or activation and your phone will be a-ok.

Don’t believe us? Just click here.

Once I've Unlocked my iPhone — now what?

A few years back, you’d have to hook your iPhone up to iTunes and complete a software restore to perform the unlock procedure. Fortunately, it’s much easier these days. All you have to do is follow the same steps you followed earlier to find out if your phone was already unlocked to begin with.

In the event you don’t have access to a Sim from another carrier, you may still confirm that a iPhone has been unlocked using an iTunes software restore. Simply connect your iPhone to a computer running iTunes and press the “restore” option. After the restoration process has completed, you should see a message that says “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”

Well done! You successfully officially-unlocked your iPhone! Meaning you're able to use whatever carrier you want to now, true? We hate be the bearer of bad news, but no. As a result of two different kinds of networks in use in the US, GSM and CDMA, your available network providers is dependent upon the model 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 most providers abroad are GSM (Global System for Mobiles) networks.

As you may have guessed, both of these different network types do not talk to each other (because that's too logical). Thankfully, as we move closer to world-wide 5G access and as older networks are retired, this will hopefully no longer be a major problem.

To determine which service providers you can access determined by these two factors, continue 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

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?

You got it! After your phone has been carrier-unlocked, it'll remain like that for the life span of the handset. You are able to restore your iPhone or up-date apps without worrying about your unlock vanishing afterwards.

If you have confirmed your smartphone is not Blacklisted and you wish to unlock it so you can use it on a different network, then the safest places to find carrier unlock your cell phone out there is Unlock.Zone - ensure you check them out.