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leftynaut

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 10, 2009
66
85
so about a year ago i was overseas dealing with months and months of gevey ******** to unlock my iphone 4. then at&t announced they were unlocking iphones after contract. and now... now i see unlocking services on ebay and all over the web for $20-$40. how did this happen all of a sudden?

edit: i've always been on at&t
 
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benguild

macrumors 6502a
Jul 29, 2003
827
39
I don't know. But they seem to work.

People are figuring out how to do it and becoming resellers like crazy. I think the actual cost is like $4-$5.
 

tys

macrumors 6502
Jan 3, 2008
373
62
I guess the carriers have realized it doesn't really matter, they still get their money. We still have to sign 2 year contracts and are subject to early termination fees regardless of the phone's lock status.
I got my 4S unlocked last week and my 5 done today (hopefully, I have to get home and restore in iTunes first). I used Unlock Fusion via eBay.
 

leftynaut

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 10, 2009
66
85
right but i'm just wondering how this is working. from a technical standpoint. like... how are people doing it now when they couldn't before... and why must i pay them? why can't i unlock my own phone?
 

AbSoluTc

Suspended
Sep 21, 2008
5,104
4,000
After hearing about unlock fusion - I decided to give it a whirl on my iPhone 5. Figured what the hell. 10 bux.

Just ordered it. We shall see.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
Had my 4S unlocked for $7 last week.
I had my i5 unlocked yesterday for $18.
Well worth it IMO.
I love those ebay sellers:)

right but i'm just wondering how this is working. from a technical standpoint. like... how are people doing it now when they couldn't before... and why must i pay them? why can't i unlock my own phone?

Because you dont have access to enter an IMEI to Apple unlocked database.
Get a job working at a carrier that has the iphone and you can make some extra cash on the side:D
 

Geckotek

macrumors G3
Jul 22, 2008
8,767
308
NYC
so about a year ago i was overseas dealing with months and months of gevey ******** to unlock my iphone 4. then at&t announced they were unlocking iphones after contract. and now... now i see unlocking services on ebay and all over the web for $20-$40. how did this happen all of a sudden?

edit: i've always been on at&t

I was thinking this exact thing earlier today. Where were all these unlocks a year ago when I needed them?!?!

I'm wondering if one of two things might happen:

1) The carriers start locking their systems down and the cheap unlocks go away
2) Locking in general becomes a thing of the past

----------

Had my 4S unlocked for $7 last week.
I had my i5 unlocked yesterday for $18.
Well worth it IMO.
I love those ebay sellers:)

AT&T unlocked the 4S earlier today for free. Debating unlocking the 5 now just in case this all dries up.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
AT&T unlocked the 4S earlier today for free. Debating unlocking the 5 now just in case this all dries up.

I doubt it will dry up.
It will probably get cheaper a little down the road. But you never know, the prices are still very cheap so mind as well.
Its nice to have a factory unlocked iphone 5 for $199 under contract:)

After hearing about unlock fusion - I decided to give it a whirl on my iPhone 5. Figured what the hell. 10 bux.

Just ordered it. We shall see.

He's legit bro.;)
 
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benguild

macrumors 6502a
Jul 29, 2003
827
39
Yeah I feel the same way. The onslaught and amount of people making serious bank doing this is going to prompt some negative attention for sure.

Who knows. I know some people making $2000/day or more on this.
 

tys

macrumors 6502
Jan 3, 2008
373
62
From the Cydia blog:
"All these guys have actual access to the Apple database (or) have a solid contact within AT&T who does have access to it. To permanently remove carrier restrictions, they simple add your iPhone IMEI number in a white-list database of unlocked iPhones."

I just wish I could pay someone $10 for a permanent jailbreak!
 

VPrime

macrumors 68000
Dec 19, 2008
1,722
86
London Ontario
From the Cydia blog:
"All these guys have actual access to the Apple database (or) have a solid contact within AT&T who does have access to it. To permanently remove carrier restrictions, they simple add your iPhone IMEI number in a white-list database of unlocked iPhones."

I just wish I could pay someone $10 for a permanent jailbreak!

Unlock is not jail breaking

unlock means they can use any carrier.
Jailbreak means the user has gained root access and can install non signed code onto the device... In other words, apps that go around apples App Store n
 

leftynaut

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 10, 2009
66
85
From the Cydia blog:
"All these guys have actual access to the Apple database (or) have a solid contact within AT&T who does have access to it. To permanently remove carrier restrictions, they simple add your iPhone IMEI number in a white-list database of unlocked iPhones."

I just wish I could pay someone $10 for a permanent jailbreak!

this is what i was thinking. contacts at at&t who just add an imei number to the db and act like it was a regular customer request. i don't really need an unlock at the moment... but who knows... at&t could start to crack down on these employees making an extra profit off of them and put an end to this.

but knowing how much at&t likes money... maybe they're just doing it themselves :p
 

Geckotek

macrumors G3
Jul 22, 2008
8,767
308
NYC
Unlock is not jail breaking

unlock means they can use any carrier.
Jailbreak means the user has gained root access and can install non signed code onto the device... In other words, apps that go around apples App Store n

They obviously know that, hence the wish.
 

The New iPad

macrumors regular
Jun 5, 2012
123
1
Unlock is not jail breaking

unlock means they can use any carrier.
Jailbreak means the user has gained root access and can install non signed code onto the device... In other words, apps that go around apples App Store n

wooosh
 

FuNGi

macrumors 65816
Feb 26, 2010
1,122
33
California
Had my 4S unlocked for $7 last week.
I had my i5 unlocked yesterday for $18.
Well worth it IMO.
I love those ebay sellers:)
-snip-

Awesomesauce. I was wondering if this would work on the 5. I've used it on my 4 (duh) and a 4S. If only I could get a 5 without a contract maybe I would have considered it.

I was thinking this exact thing earlier today. Where were all these unlocks a year ago when I needed them?!?!

I'm wondering if one of two things might happen:

1) The carriers start locking their systems down and the cheap unlocks go away
2) Locking in general becomes a thing of the past

----------



AT&T unlocked the 4S earlier today for free. Debating unlocking the 5 now just in case this all dries up.

I sincerely hope not. I hope AT&T gets their head out of the sand and offers this themselves. Hell, they could charge $36 (like the upgrade fee) for it and people would pay.
 

laz305

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2007
117
0
Miami
I put in a request to unlock mine cuz I was not under contract and got denied cuz of a technicality. I got a replacement iPhone 4 mid contract so they said you need to have the same iPhone for 2yrs. Dam B.S
 

lordhamster

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2008
1,644
1,643
The whole idea of locking subsidized phones baffles me. If they are worried about not recouping their investment, they need to structure the contract and ETF differently. Problem solved.
 

bigjnyc

macrumors 604
Apr 10, 2008
7,820
6,662
After hearing about unlock fusion - I decided to give it a whirl on my iPhone 5. Figured what the hell. 10 bux.

Just ordered it. We shall see.

it says $29.99 on their site. How did you get it for $10?
 

LoloBond

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2011
436
1
Had my 4S unlocked for $7 last week.
I had my i5 unlocked yesterday for $18.
Well worth it IMO.
I love those ebay sellers:)



Because you dont have access to enter an IMEI to Apple unlocked database.
Get a job working at a carrier that has the iphone and you can make some extra cash on the side:D

Do you run the risk of your phone been re-lock again? I'm very interested in doing this. TIA!
 
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