Carrier Unlocking iPhone 6 Plus (AT&T)

[NRubino]

So, with the purchase of my new iPhone, I am looking to sell my iPhone 6 Plus. Through some, not-so-in-depth research, obviously unlocked phones usually carry a higher resale value. So, I wiped out my old iPhone once I listed it for sale, and shortly learned about AT&T's customer unlock service. So, I got the approval for the unlock, but the steps from AT&T say to restore the phone, is that necessary for the unlock to occur, or is it already unlocked, and whoever restores the phone next (buyer) will have an unlocked iPhone?

Thanks.

 

[lakaiordie]

It should be. But you should restore anyway so you're 100% sure. What if the person wants to test it with their sim and it doesn't work because you didn't restore it? That won't look good on your end. And if I was buying it I wouldn't trust you to say 'just restore it and it will be unlocked'.

 

[C DM]

So, with the purchase of my new iPhone, I am looking to sell my iPhone 6 Plus. Through some, not-so-in-depth research, obviously unlocked phones usually carry a higher resale value. So, I wiped out my old iPhone once I listed it for sale, and shortly learned about AT&T's customer unlock service. So, I got the approval for the unlock, but the steps from AT&T say to restore the phone, is that necessary for the unlock to occur, or is it already unlocked, and whoever restores the phone next (buyer) will have an unlocked iPhone?

Thanks.

It's unlocked as soon as they unlock it. You don't need to restore or anything like that to make it happen (that was something part of fairly old instructions at this point).

 

[NRubino]

It should be. But you should restore anyway so you're 100% sure. What if the person wants to test it with their sim and it doesn't work because you didn't restore it? That won't look good on your end. And if I was buying it I wouldn't trust you to say 'just restore it and it will be unlocked'.

Okay, but if I restore it from a recent backup with service switch between my new phone and the old one? Or will it just say no service?

It's unlocked as soon as they unlock it. You don't need to restore or anything like that to make it happen (that was something part of fairly old instructions at this point).

Thanks for your help !

 

[Applejuiced]

The restore is not needed any more.
That step has been eliminated many years ago but for some reason carriers still include it in their unlock info.
All you have to do is stick another carriers sim inside and it will work.
As far as wiping it you can just plug it to itunes and hit restore.
Then when it asks you to setup as new phone or restore from backup select setup as new so nothing is on it when you sell it.

 

[NRubino]

The restore is not needed any more.
That step has been eliminated many years ago but for some reason carriers still include it in their unlock info.
All you have to do is stick another carriers sim inside and it will work.
As far as wiping it you can just plug it to itunes and hit restore.
Then when it asks you to setup as new phone or restore from backup select setup as new so nothing is on it when you sell it.

Thanks for your help !

 

[NRubino]

The restore is not needed any more.
That step has been eliminated many years ago but for some reason carriers still include it in their unlock info.
All you have to do is stick another carriers sim inside and it will work.
As far as wiping it you can just plug it to itunes and hit restore.
Then when it asks you to setup as new phone or restore from backup select setup as new so nothing is on it when you sell it.

So, I check on the AT&T website and it says approved but I never received a follow-up email stating the phone has been unlocked. I have a buyer ready to pick-up today, is there any way I can prove to him that the phone is indeed, unlocked, and will work with his carrier, prior to meeting up with him and having him put his SIM card in ?

 

[Applejuiced]

So, I check on the AT&T website and it says approved but I never received a follow-up email stating the phone has been unlocked. I have a buyer ready to pick-up today, is there any way I can prove to him that the phone is indeed, unlocked, and will work with his carrier, prior to meeting up with him and having him put his SIM card in ?

The only way to really tell if its unlocked is stick another carriers sim card inside.
See if you can borrow someones T mobile sim for a minute to test it out.

 

[NRubino]

I get this message when I put my IMEI in on iphoneIMEI.info ... Not sure what it means.

 

[Applejuiced]

Many of those IMEI check website are not really reliable and not a certain way to tell for sure though.

 

[eagleglen]

So, I check on the AT&T website and it says approved but I never received a follow-up email stating the phone has been unlocked. I have a buyer ready to pick-up today, is there any way I can prove to him that the phone is indeed, unlocked, and will work with his carrier, prior to meeting up with him and having him put his SIM card in ?

I think unless you have a SIM card from another carrier, the only other way to prove/test if it is unlock is to restore the device using iTunes. Once that is completed you will get a notice saying it is unlocked. I took the following screen shot to show the person who bought my previous iPhone.

 

[NRubino]

I think unless you have a SIM card from another carrier, the only other way to prove/test if it is unlock is to restore the device using iTunes. Once that is completed you will get a notice saying it is unlocked. I took the following screen shot to show the person who bought my previous iPhone.

View attachment 673011

I was going to do that but I don't want to restore from a backup... if I restore it as new, will it still give me that message ?

 

[Applejuiced]

I was going to do that but I don't want to restore from a backup... if I restore it as new, will it still give me that message ?

Yes.
You don't need to restore from backup.
That message should pop up on iTunes as soon as the phone restarts after the restore is completed.