nelsonnery

Q: Permanently unlock iphone

Can I permanently unlock my iphone?. It seems that once one comply with the carrier requirements to get an iphone unlocked, one only gets the one chance to change into a different carrier and then the iphone is locked again (info provided by my carrier which I cannot find on Apple's website)

 

Thanks

iPhone 6, iOS 9.2

Posted on Dec 28, 2015 6:06 AM

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Q: Permanently unlock iphone

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  • by FelipeV,

    FelipeV FelipeV Dec 28, 2015 6:37 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 5 (6,774 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 28, 2015 6:37 AM in response to nelsonnery

    Yes. If your phone is legitimately unlocked by the carrier (and only the carrier can do this) the phone will be permanently unlocked and not relock again.

  • by nelsonnery,

    nelsonnery nelsonnery Dec 28, 2015 7:08 AM in response to FelipeV
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 7:08 AM in response to FelipeV

    Hi Felipe,

     

    Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately that is not what my carrier is telling me (I have the details and instructions to perform this "one-ff" unlock in an e-mail from them).
    I wanted to have some confirmation of what you say from Apple to then go back to my carrier and insist that I should end up with a permanently unlocked iphone.

     

    Thanks again,

     

     

    Nelson

  • by FelipeV,

    FelipeV FelipeV Dec 28, 2015 7:27 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 5 (6,774 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 28, 2015 7:27 AM in response to nelsonnery

    Apple will not confirm this, as each carrier is free to decide on the unlock policy an Apple has no say in this. It is not up to Apple. Some carriers do not offer unlocking at all. I have never heard of the unlock policy such as the one you describe, but then again it might be true. What carrier are you using and in what country?

     

    in the end you will have to deal with it the carrier. Ask for your issue to be escalated And it could be that whomever gave you the info is wrong.

  • by nelsonnery,

    nelsonnery nelsonnery Dec 28, 2015 7:33 AM in response to FelipeV
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 7:33 AM in response to FelipeV

    Hi,

     

    I am with Meteor in Ireland.

    The thing is that they say that this is an Apple policy and that they cannot change. I am not sure how recent it is but it seems to be the way that Apple is "unlocking" phones which were initially locked  to a carrier. I have escalated this and I am waiting for a reply from my carrier.

    If what they say is correct, then my question to Apple is how can I permanently unlock my phone.

     

    I copy/paste below the information I got from my carrier:

     

    "We have received your iPhone unlocking request and your phone will be remotely unlocked within the next 10 working days. In order to fully unlock the phone you will need to follow the below steps after 10 working days:

    1. Place the SIM card of the new operator you wish to move to into the iPhone.
    2. The iPhone will then 'Brick' (a security feature) and will require a connection to iTunes to perform a 'Customer Restore'.
    3. iTunes will detect the IMEI of the device and search for updates (this normal and is performed every time the iPhone is connected to iTunes).
    4. iTunes will detected the new SIM and that the 'Unlock Key' is available. It will then deploy the Unlock Key to the device.
    5. From here, the iPhone (still connected to iTunes) will perform the standard un-brick process which includes:

    i. Check for latest Software update
    ii. Perform a customer restore (SYNC)


    During this process, your iPhone will detect the SIM of a new network operator and iTunes will deploy the necessary 'Carrier Bundle' to the phone. This contains the correct settings for the new network operator, which also includes the operators' 'Network Lock'.

    This means that your iPhone will then become locked to the new network.

    Once the syncing is complete your phone is now ready for use with another network operator.

    If you need to unlock your iPhone again you will need to contact the network operator the phone is now locked to. You can find this information by going to settings > General > About and beside 'Carrier' the network operator will be displayed."

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Dec 28, 2015 7:43 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 7 (24,600 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 7:43 AM in response to nelsonnery

    Carriers lock and unlock phones, not Apple. Apple's network hardware processes the unlock but that actual unlock authorization must be sent by the carrier to Apple as Apple merely processes the carriers instructions. Apple does not make the decision to lock nor to unlock.

     

    From what you just posted, it seems that meteor has indeed processed your unlock request and has sent you the instructions to now proceed and apply the unlock to your phone.  So, simply follow their instructions and you should get a confirmation in iTunes at the end no that your device is unlocked.

     

    A Carrier processed unlock IS a permanent unlock.  If you follow the instructions you've been given, you will have a Permanently unlocked device. That is the formal process for unlocking - request from carrier, then process in iTunes.

  • by FelipeV,

    FelipeV FelipeV Dec 28, 2015 7:48 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 5 (6,774 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 28, 2015 7:48 AM in response to nelsonnery

    Once the carrier process the unlock, you will need to restore as new via ITunes  and then the phone will be unlocked. As I stated previously, Apple has no say how a carrier unlocks the device and what the policy is. The email is plain wrong. Apple couldn care as the carriers subsidizes the price of the phone, thus each carrier is free to determine the unlock policy.

     

    it could be that the email is an attempt by the carrier to discourage unlocking. In any case you will have to take it up with them.

  • by nelsonnery,

    nelsonnery nelsonnery Dec 28, 2015 7:57 AM in response to Michael Black
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 7:57 AM in response to Michael Black

    Thanks for your reply.

     

    From what I understand of your reply, Apple does not have this type of unlock in place. Is this a correct assumption?

     

    I was on the phone with my carrier and they assure me that I can unlock it as described, but once I activate the iphone with a different carrier sim card, I will then have the phone locked to that network and I will be subject to their rules (the new carrier, if it is a pay-as-you-go sim) to unlock it (which does not make much sense).

     

    I will write them more formally to ask for a clarification of what is going on.

     

     

    Thanks again.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Dec 28, 2015 8:59 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 7 (24,600 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 8:59 AM in response to nelsonnery

    nelsonnery wrote:

     

    Thanks for your reply.

     

    From what I understand of your reply, Apple does not have this type of unlock in place. Is this a correct assumption?

     

    I was on the phone with my carrier and they assure me that I can unlock it as described, but once I activate the iphone with a different carrier sim card, I will then have the phone locked to that network and I will be subject to their rules (the new carrier, if it is a pay-as-you-go sim) to unlock it (which does not make much sense).

     

    I will write them more formally to ask for a clarification of what is going on.

     

     

    Thanks again.

    Your carrier is flat out incorrect. As I already said, if you simply follow the instructions you have been given, you will have a PERMANENTLY unlocked device.

     

    the official mechanism for PERMANENTLY unlocking an iphone are:

    1. Contact the carrier it is locked to and request the unlock

    2.  meet the carrier's requirements to qualify for an unlock

    3.  Carrier sends the unlock authorization to Apple electronically

    4. Owner processes the unlock in iTunes once it has been provisioned in Apple's iOS device activation system

    5.  iTunes restores the device, applying the unlock and the device will NEVER lock to any carrier again, ever.

     

    see How to unlock your iPhone for use with another carrier - Apple Support

  • by FelipeV,

    FelipeV FelipeV Dec 28, 2015 9:19 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 5 (6,774 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 28, 2015 9:19 AM in response to nelsonnery

    nelsonnery wrote:

     

     

    I will write them more formally to ask for a clarification of what is going on.

     

     

    Thanks again.

    There is really nothing more to clarify here. We have stated what Apple's policy is in regards to unlocking devices. As Michael has stated, the information provided by the carrier is incorrect, and it wouldn't surprise me as carrier customer support  often leaves a lot to be desired.

     

    And the carrier's statement that it is Apple's policy to unlock and then relock the phones is absolute bullcrap.

  • by Rudegar,

    Rudegar Rudegar Dec 28, 2015 10:11 AM in response to nelsonnery
    Level 7 (28,684 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 28, 2015 10:11 AM in response to nelsonnery

    it's called FUD (fear uncertainty and doubt) the whole purpose of sim lock is you pay pants for your phone and the carrier it's locked to pay the difference

    so when sim unlocked from that carrier it would serve no purpose in the universe for the phone to lock with anybody else, it would not benefit apple, it would not benefit the first carrier which paid the main cost of your iPhone, and while it would benefit the new carrier then they did nothing to benefit apple to lock the phone to only work with their sims.