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The requirements are that the person calling have to have an active contract with AT&T and can do 5 unlocks per year.
I have successfully unlocked 2 of my old iPhones with AT&T.
And after they enable the IMEI you have to connect to iTunes and sync/update the iPhone, I think I did make a restore or upgrade, but that was sometime ago, I do not remember the exact situation.
 
The requirements are that the person calling have to have an active contract with AT&T and can do 5 unlocks per year.
I have successfully unlocked 2 of my old iPhones with AT&T.
And after they enable the IMEI you have to connect to iTunes and sync/update the iPhone, I think I did make a restore or upgrade, but that was sometime ago, I do not remember the exact situation.

After the unlock, do you HAVE to restore? Or is that just to see the confirmation message? I was under the impression that once your phone is labeled as "unlocked" the restore isn't necessary.
 
No. The unlock is IMEI based which is unique per phone.
I believe that it is Apple's policy to look up the carrier lock status for the IMEI of the defective phone and apply the same to the replacement one. So if the defective phone is unlocked, the replacement one should be unlocked as well.

My recommendation in that case should the phone ever need replacement is not to use mail-in service since you do not directly interact with whoever will be handling that. If they screw it up, it will be next to impossible to prove that your original one was unlocked. Instead, make an appointment with Genius Bar at the Apple store nearest to you and tell the Genius who will be working with you that your phone is unlocked and ask them to make sure that the replacement phone is unlocked as well.
 
I believe that it is Apple's policy to look up the carrier lock status for the IMEI of the defective phone and apply the same to the replacement one. So if the defective phone is unlocked, the replacement one should be unlocked as well.

My recommendation in that case should the phone ever need replacement is not to use mail-in service since you do not directly interact with whoever will be handling that. If they screw it up, it will be next to impossible to prove that your original one was unlocked. Instead, make an appointment with Genius Bar at the Apple store nearest to you and tell the Genius who will be working with you that your phone is unlocked and ask them to make sure that the replacement phone is unlocked as well.


Thanks...if this is the case, I plan to unlock it now with unlock_fusion...
 
I used this listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/160892346364

I'm waiting on it to get unlocked, but I bought it and sent in the IMEI yesterday, and the guy only works on weekdays, so I don't expect it to be done before Wednesday. I'll report back and let you know if it works. I figured I could save a couple bucks over unlock_fusion because I don't need it done ASAP. Hell, I don't even know the next time I'll be leaving the country.

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I believe that it is Apple's policy to look up the carrier lock status for the IMEI of the defective phone and apply the same to the replacement one. So if the defective phone is unlocked, the replacement one should be unlocked as well.

My recommendation in that case should the phone ever need replacement is not to use mail-in service since you do not directly interact with whoever will be handling that. If they screw it up, it will be next to impossible to prove that your original one was unlocked. Instead, make an appointment with Genius Bar at the Apple store nearest to you and tell the Genius who will be working with you that your phone is unlocked and ask them to make sure that the replacement phone is unlocked as well.

When I got my unlocked (by AT&T directly) 3GS replaced at the genius bar, they replaced it with an unlocked 3GS (proved only by putting in a foreign SIM, there was no "congratulations, you iPhone is unlocked" message in iTunes when I restored it). Then, when that one had a defective vibrate motor, they replaced it again with another unlocked 3GS (2 days after I got the first one replaced).
 
What if its not? You would only have to pay again to have it unlocked less than $10 .... With what we pay for Apple products I doubt this will break you

Thanks for the caution...I plan to call Apple tomorrow and ask them directly...will report back.
 
I can't remember who, but someone posted that they didn't do the restore and it worked fine using a T-Mob SIMM.

Was this with an iphone 5? If so, how did he get a t-mobile sim that worked with the 5?
 
Was this with an iphone 5? If so, how did he get a t-mobile sim that worked with the 5?

images
 
Could I use tethering, without paying AT&T extra? (I have the unlimited data plan) or any other advantages.
what you need isn't an unlock, but instead a jailbreak :)

especially for:
-PDAnet for tethering
-3G unrestrictor to use Facetime (or any app) over cellular data
 
Quick question...

unlock_fusion from eBay seems like a legit unlock service which will help me use my new iPhone 5 abroad but before I jump, one quick question.

Once I unlock my current iPhone 5, what happens if I have to replace my phone later? I have Applecare Plus and wondering if the unlock will be available to the new replacement phone.

Thanks in advance...

I can confirm 200% sure that once your iphone is IMEI unlocked anytime apple gives you a replacement it too will be unlocked cause it knows the phone you gave them was unlocked and they replace like for like.

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Does anyone know if you have to restore the iPhone That's the part I don't want to do

I can also confirm that on the iphone 4s and 5 you DO NOT need to restore in itunes to make the unlock effective, this is simply the sellers way to show YOU the buyer that it is unlocked, you can go into settings, reset network settings and it will do the same thing without restoring in iTunes
 
How can I confirm/verify that the phone has been unlocked after I use one of these services?

Also, when I travel which SIM/service/format that I need to tell the people over there to purchase?

Thank you!
 
How can I confirm/verify that the phone has been unlocked after I use one of these services?

Go to T-Mobile.
Purchase a PAYG SIMM. (Depending upon which iPhone you have, you may need to trim down the SIMM.)
Turn off the phone.
Open the SIMM tray.
Remove the existing SIMM.
Insert the new, T-Mob SIMM.
Turn on the phone.
If it says T-Mobile in the upper left hand corner of the screen, your phone is unlocked.
If not, go Directly to Jail...do not collect $200...Oh, wait- wrong forum.
 
Was this with an iphone 5? If so, how did he get a t-mobile sim that worked with the 5?

i got my iphone 5 unlocked by unlock fusion this morning. restored it and got the confirmation mesage on itunes then i went to tmobile and got one of their 50 dollar unlimited plans and the phone works fine. the only thing was that i had to wait an hour or so because the manager had to cut down 3 sims just so it could fit and for now im stuck on 2g (edge) but other than that my iphone 5 is working perfectly on Tmobile.:cool:
 
I can also confirm that on the iphone 4s and 5 you DO NOT need to restore in itunes to make the unlock effective, this is simply the sellers way to show YOU the buyer that it is unlocked, you can go into settings, reset network settings and it will do the same thing without restoring in iTunes

This still doesn't give you any kind of message that your phone is unlocked though, correct? I had my iphone 5 unlocked by unlock_fusion and after 6 or 7 restores on two different computers, I never got the unlocked message in itunes.

Am I going to have to go buy a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile to confirm that it's unlocked or is there some other way?

My first iphone 5 that I had unlocked did display the unlocked message in itunes.
 
This still doesn't give you any kind of message that your phone is unlocked though, correct? I had my iphone 5 unlocked by unlock_fusion and after 6 or 7 restores on two different computers, I never got the unlocked message in itunes.

Am I going to have to go buy a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile to confirm that it's unlocked or is there some other way?

My first iphone 5 that I had unlocked did display the unlocked message in itunes.

Where about in iTunes your forst iP5 displayed the unlocked the message?
 
I still don't understand the advantage of unlocking my at&t iphone 5. Can someone confirm?

1. allows you to use your device with another carrier in the US (like which ones????)
2. removes restrictions for certain features (like which ones????)
 
I still don't understand the advantage of unlocking my at&t iphone 5. Can someone confirm?

1. allows you to use your device with another carrier in the US (like which ones????)
2. removes restrictions for certain features (like which ones????)

It doesn't remove restrictions, to use FaceTime or Personal Hotspot you will still need a compatible plan. For me, if I travel abroad it will be cheaper than paying for AT&T's international plans. And it increases resale value.
 
It doesn't remove restrictions, to use FaceTime or Personal Hotspot you will still need a compatible plan. For me, if I travel abroad it will be cheaper than paying for AT&T's international plans

This^^^

And the only other nationwide US Carrier that you can use the AT&T iPhone 5 with is T-Mob.
But unlocking is mainly an advantage if you travel outside of the US.
 
Where about in iTunes your forst iP5 displayed the unlocked the message?

Right in the main window where it normally lists your iphone's info (capacity, serial #, etc. I got it on the 2nd restore with my first iphone but nothing after multiple restores with the new one.

I have to send the original back to Apple but I don't want to do that until I confirm that my replacement is indeed unlocked. I don't want to have to spend a lot of money on getting a sim from T-Mobile though.
 
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