Trying to find out which carrier locked my iphone SE

I bought a new GSM iPhone SE generation 3 which was advertised as unlocked. Used the phone on my existing Cricket account with no problem. However, recently went overseas and discovered that the SIM was locked, so I was not able to replace the SIM with a local carrier SIM. Checked settings>general>about>carrier lock and it shows the SIM is locked but doesn't indicate which carrier locked it. Contacted Cricket customer service and they said they had not locked the phone. Went to ATT's website to unlock phone but they said it was not locked by ATT. Any ideas as to how I can determine which carrier locked the SIM, so I can contact them to unlock it?

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Oct 3, 2023 7:24 PM

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3 replies

Oct 5, 2023 2:42 PM in response to BRbrBRbrBRbrBR

Hey there BRbrBRbrBRbrBR,


From what you've described, it would seem that your iPhone is locked to a carrier. While we can only guess as to which one, it stands to reason that the carrier to which it's locked would be the first one you used. This link shows what to do next: How to unlock your iPhone for use with a different carrier Please keep in mind that several of the steps do mention that you may need to contact your carrier a second time.


If you still have issues after following all of those steps, including contacting your carrier, then the next step would be to let Apple Support know what's been tried as they may be able to help further: Get Support


Cheers!

Oct 5, 2023 8:03 PM in response to bruno75

Yes, phone is locked to a carrier, but which one? When I bought what I thought was an unlocked phone I took the sim card from my old phone (which was on the Cricket network) and put it in the new phone and it worked fine, so I didn't give the locked/unlocked question a second thought. When I was overseas and discovered the phone was locked and could not use a local sim card, I assumed the phone was locked to the Cricket or ATT network (Cricket's parent company). I contacted Cricket and they said that they had not locked the phone. I then contacted ATT was told that ATT had not locked the phone. So I am stumped as to what to do now. My phone says the sim is locked to a carrier but it doesn't say which one. Any further thoughts would be appreciated.

Trying to find out which carrier locked my iphone SE

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