International iPhone and how to test if it's unlocked

[LadyRue]

Hey! So I see a lot of posts about testing if iPhones are unlocked or not - but all of them are for domestic phones. If this is a repost, sorry, and if the question is stupid - well, I'm somewhat smartphone illiterate. But I figured someone could help me.

I lived abroad in the Middle East for two years and bought my first smartphone over there (iPhone 5). When I got back to the States, I got a different phone but want to sell my iPhone 5. The problem is, I have no idea if it's locked or not (which makes a considerable difference in going price). When I turn the phone on, it says AT&T in the corner, which I realize means that it will work on AT&T's network; however, does that mean it's locked? Or, since it's an international phone not directly connected to any American cellular company, is it unlocked?

And I would test it by switching the SIM cards as I've read, but my other phone's from Verizon, so I have no SIM card to switch it out with.

Thank you!

 

[oomgomfg]

You have a few options:

To visit a local T-Mobile store and ask them to give you a prepaid sim card, tell them you want to active it yourself after looking over more details
To visit a repair shop and ask for T-Mobile/SimpleMobile sim lying around (I'm sure they have a ton)
Pay $0.99 for one of the services online to find out if your phone is carrier locked or not, this will require you to know your IMEI number which is located in Settings -> General -> About. Most common site is probably iphoneimei.info, sometimes if you wait a few days or keep checking it the information just comes up, don't count on it though.

Verizon sim cards will not work on your phone unless you have a MEID number, I'm not too sure how that works out with International phones so can't comment on that.

 

[AVR2]

Where in the ME did you buy it? If it was in Dubai, then it's unlocked.