How to unlock iPhone when bought direct from Apple?

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Level 1

1 points

How to unlock iPhone when bought direct from Apple?

Hi,

A year ago I bought a iPhone 4 from Apple direct as I had a Sony Orange monthly contrct phone that broke and Orange would not replace the phone for me. So I made my normal SIM into a micro SIM and have used my Orange SIM in my iPhone for a year. My contract with orange is now at the end of its term and I have bought a Iphone SIM only Tesco 12 month contract deal.

The SIM arrived but when I put it in it states that there is "No Service" - now this has confused me as I thought if I bought the phone direct from Apple it would be unlocked - I can not call Orange and get an unlock code as the phone they have registered for me to use is a Sony phone?

I have tried doing a factory restore with my phone and logging onto itunes but Tesco (o2) is not listed as a provider?

How do I unlock it?

Suggestions have been made that I need to get it unlocked at a shop but don't they just hack into it or I need to Jailbreak it but again I thought if I do this I will have problems with updates etc with the phone?

Posted on Apr 27, 2012 5:07 AM

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Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 27, 2012 5:12 AM in response to j1mmer

j1mmer wrote:

The SIM arrived but when I put it in it states that there is "No Service" -

That usually means the sim is not activated. Have you called your carrier to verify such?

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Answer 2

j1mmer Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 27, 2012 5:29 AM in response to wjosten

Thanks, have spoken to the carrier to activate the sim and they say it is already active.

Have looked online and No Service can also mean that the phone is locked, works fine with the orange sim but not the 02/tesco sim.

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Answer 3

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 27, 2012 5:35 AM in response to j1mmer

A locked iPhone will display "The Sim Card inserted does not appear to be a supported Sim card" if a sim card from a different carrier is inserted. No service usualy means the sim card is not activated or the phone cannot read it. Did you cut this sim down or is it a micro sim? You can try removing the sim & reinserting it. Also try another sim.

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Answer 4

j1mmer Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 27, 2012 6:41 AM in response to wjosten

Hi,

Thanks, this sim was a micro sim and unfortunately the only other sim I have available to stick in it is the orange sim which works fine.

Have spoken to Tesco mobile again who advise me the sim is activated and ready to use.

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Answer 5

j1mmer Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 27, 2012 6:49 AM in response to wjosten

when trying to connect it to iTunes it states :-

"The Sim card inserted into this iPhone does not appear to be supported"

Only compatable sim cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone.

Please insert the Sim card that came with your iphone or visit a supprted carrier's store to receive a replacement sim"

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Answer 6

j1mmer Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 27, 2012 6:55 AM in response to j1mmer

Have tried the sim in my ipad and it works perfectly. So how do I get Apple to unlock the phone which I thought was unlocked anyway?

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Answer 7

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 27, 2012 7:06 AM in response to j1mmer

It appears your phone is carrier locked. Apple does not unlock iPhones. The only way to get your phone officially unlocked is to contact the carrier your phone is locked to and see if they offer unlocking and what the cost/procedure is. In your case, that would be Orange.

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Answer 8

j1mmer Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 27, 2012 7:28 AM in response to wjosten

Finally managed to get through to Orange, as my phone was not registered with them they were not keen to unlock it but luckily I spoke to them over a year ago about using an iPhone SIM and they had that on file. Have now requested a phone unlock from Orange which I think will mean I can use it on any network at a cost of £20.42 and will take up to 30 days. The reason it takes this long as they say they need to contact the manufacturer to get one - whatever I am just glad it is sorted.

Cheers all

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Answer 9

wegras

Level 6

15,311 points

Apr 27, 2012 7:59 AM in response to j1mmer

O2 unlock in 3 days .......................without all the drama

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