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Has anyone been able to unlock iPhone 5 from AT&T?

Mliii said:
First, you aren't going to find CDMA overseas- well, at least in MOST places. But because of how Apple has manufactured the iPhone 5, you can put a local carrier's SIM into your US purchased iPhone 5 and use it overseas. However, unless the phone you have operates on the same frequency as the local (overseas) LTE band, your phone will only do data at the non-LTE speed. So you will be able to spend a lot less than the AT&T (for example) overseas rates by using a local carrier- but you are likely going to be operating your phone at a somewhat slower data transfer speed than LTE- again, unless you happen to be in a market where the local LTE frequency is the same as the ones contained in your phone.

And yes, the local carriers overseas will typically have a mix of voice and data plans available on a pay as you go basis. As i said, that will usually cost you substantially less than what you would pay to use your US carrier with some sort of international package.

No, the iPhone 5 is NOT a "World" phone like the 4s was, for example. What I mean by that is that it will not operate at its peak LTE speed in ALL overseas markets because there are MANY LTE frequencies used overseas. That's why there are (at least) 3 versions of the iPhone 5 made so far- and they operate on different LTE frequencies. But it WILL work at the slower, non-LTE speeds with a local carrier SIM. But remember- there is no Universal "overseas" for purposes of LTE

Think of buying a pay as you go type package like purchasing a gift card. Once you've run through your pre-paid allotment of voice/data on whichever carrier you've purchased it from, it will stop working. But you can always add more cash to your card.
I hope that helps a bit.
Click to expand...

Yes that helps a lot!

So, basically the world uses GSM not CDMA.

I guess my main concern is if I don't buy data or if my data runs out, would we pages just not load?

I know with att they will charge me mega overages.
 
jrlepage said:
Make sure you are clicking "Restore" and NOT right-clicking and doing "Restore from Backup." You have to do the clean Restore first to get the unlock message. THEN you can restore from backup.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely clicking Restore - I've done it countless times now and still no congratulatios screen. I know the difference between a restore and a restore from backup. It's just not working for some reason. I have a couple of t-mobile sims cards on their way to me so I'm going to try one out and see if my phone is actually unlocked.
 
AlphaDogg said:
I'd just like to say that the only bottleneck in iPhone unlocks is Apple.
Click to expand...

Again, this is not accurate. The carriers make a TON of money off of you from the fact that your iPhone is locked to them. And they want it to stay that way.
Remember, the carriers pay Apple up front for the phone. The minute you buy it, Apple gets paid. They don't send Apple its cut of your monthly billing. Apple has NO incentive to keep the phone locked. If they did, believe me, they wouldn't be selling you an unlocked iPhone.
Here is just one of MANY articles that deals with why carriers want to keep their iPhones locked:

"...the figures reveal that, after carriers have paid off the cost of iPhones, they’re still making anywhere from $1,000 to $3,600+ per iPhone customer over the span of a 24-month contract. And that’s before taking into account charges for additional services (like hotspot capability), extra voice minutes, extra text messages (or, on budget plans, any text messages at all), and any charges for exceeding a data limit. As we all know, those extra charges pretty much translate directly to carrier profit."

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/are-iphone-subsidies-destroying-carriers/#ixzz28Gn2G3CD"
 
Does carrier unlock always require doing a restore?

I had my iPhone 5 unlocked via eBay and I just popped in my T-Mobile NanoSIM (Cut MicroSIM). The Phone said "No Service" for a little while then Rebooted and picked up the T-Mobile network. No Congratulations message in iTunes.

Had my iPhone 5 replaced for OTB dings and phone model is ND642LL, wondering if this is a "Factory Unlocked" model. When I had my 4S replaced earlier this year I got the "Factory Unlocked" model (MD257LL) although it was still carrier locked to AT&T.

----------
psywzrd said:
Thanks for the response but I did follow the directions they supplied. As I said before, I had my original iphone 5 unlocked by them and got the congratulations message in itunes so I know what I'm doing. I've restored many times with the replacement phone, I've followed the directions and I'm still not getting the congratulations message in itunes.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking that the replacements are "Factory Unlocked" models but they still carry over your carrier lock if it's in place. That's why we get a different model number on the replacement phone. I've read that Factory Unlocked models do not show the congratulations message. Also factory unlocked models might not require a restore simply insert the new SIM and it should activate

Can someone confirm this?
 
here's an interest situation, I got my iPhone 4s unlocked before I sold it through eBay, and it was successful. When I bought the iPhone 5, brought it up, set it up through iTunes to restore from backup, I swore it said the "Congrats, your unlocked" message. I figured weird, huh? I wasnt complaining.

Then, just to make sure, I went to the auctions again on eBay where it askes for the IMEI number to verifiy its with AT&T, and it said my phone was already unlocked.

Again, I'm not complaining in the least bit, but did I just get lucky. I guess paying full retail price for the phone got me an unlocked version, and nor did it extend my contract (I verified that through AT&T as well).
 
AlphaDogg said:
So I didn't feel like restoring my iPhone 5. I didn't get the email that my iPhone has been unlocked yet, but I reset network settings on my phone, popped in my Orange IL SIM card, and it registered on the network! Granted, the SIM isn't provisioned for roaming, but instead of showing this like it did last time:

Image

It showed this:

Image

Note that the model number changed from MD637LL/A to ND296LL/A
Click to expand...



Hi.

I am curious. Did your model number change when you unlocked it? Or did you get a replacement phone and on that phone the model number changed??
Thanks!!
 
lotus8 said:
here's an interest situation, I got my iPhone 4s unlocked before I sold it through eBay, and it was successful. When I bought the iPhone 5, brought it up, set it up through iTunes to restore from backup, I swore it said the "Congrats, your unlocked" message. I figured weird, huh? I wasnt complaining.

Then, just to make sure, I went to the auctions again on eBay where it askes for the IMEI number to verifiy its with AT&T, and it said my phone was already unlocked.

Again, I'm not complaining in the least bit, but did I just get lucky. I guess paying full retail price for the phone got me an unlocked version, and nor did it extend my contract (I verified that through AT&T as well).
Click to expand...

Yeah paying full price, it is unlocked by default.
 
So I got the T-Mobile sim cards that I ordered online (99 cents vs. the $20+ they wanted in stores:)) and I've confirmed that my phone is definitely unlocked (had to trim the sim down to a nano sim using a template I found online). Anyway, are there any tethering options open to me now that my iphone is unlocked? Is there a prepay option with T-Mobile or any other US carrier that allows for tethering? I would only need it when traveling and I'd like to try to avoid using AT&T in those situations so that I don't risk losing my unlimited data plan.

I know it's going to be inconvenient to have to pop out the AT&T sim just to tether but I'd like to know if it's even an option. Thx.
 

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The Truth

Mliii is 100% correct. Carriers buy the phones, even radio shack buys phones from Carriers...sprint/att/ect. Apple sells to them a little above whole sale...so apple doesn't give a &&&&^&^&* about unlock or not...it's the CARRIERS! When competition is around prices go down...hence Iphone used to only be AT&T...Sprint and Verizon begged for a piece and Apple realized they could sell a whole lot more.... but because Apple is a monopoly..they cant sell cheaper..unless Apple says so..or if they loose some of their profits... so Verizon realized that this time by selling thier phones UNLOCKED they would get a bigger percentage of the market share...had nothing to do with Apple...Sprint will not unlock ONLY if you stay for more than 3 months..and only to go overseas..and upon return they will relock!!! Trying to trap customers to stay because they lost money on previous iphones that were able to be unlocked (4and I believe 4s) over time. It's all a game.....you are going to be a player or get played...whether you are on accounts payable or accounts receiveable. The reason why you think it's too good to be true is again...competition means prices have to go down.... back in the day you had to pay an arm and a leg...there are some websites that charge $40 and $50 to do it.....they cant go on ebay..because ebay sellers started at $20 odd...people got him...got more links..went down to $18...$13...$10....$8...now even some at $5..... lol..... everyone trying to eat! I love it!!!!

Bottom line At&t don't like it...but they will put up with it...because they want to get as much $$$$ from you as they can...so they will put up websites...trying to scare most of you all..but bottom line is they want your $$$ they make $$$ off you paying your bill every month! Residual income!
 
AlphaDogg said:
My phone got replaced. I don't think they gave me a different model number, but I may be mistaken.
Click to expand...

So I didn't feel like restoring my iPhone 5. I didn't get the email that my iPhone has been unlocked yet, but I reset network settings on my phone, popped in my Orange IL SIM card, and it registered on the network! Granted, the SIM isn't provisioned for roaming, but instead of showing this like it did last time:

Image

It showed this:

Image

Note that the model number changed from MD637LL/A to ND296LL/A


Ok. My model number changed too. To the same one u posted above.
 
Only reason why I wouldn't use the unlock service is giving my IMEI to a stranger. I know IMEI spoofing is a federal felony but it can be done with the right hardware... don't want to have FBI at my door charging me for a crime someone else committed.
 
I got mine unlock by AT&T because I bought it with no commitment price. All I have to do was fill up the unlock form online on their website
 
Just got my iPhone5 unlocked through the official AT&T process (received email confirmation within seconds of the request), even though I still have another year of my 2 year contract remaining.
 
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