How to unlock my iPad 3 4G from operator?

iPads are not "operator" locked. Go to your local cell provider if they offer an iPad data plan and get a plan and sim from your local provider. Read the specifications. http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/. New iPads can be used on GSM networks world-wide if you have a local provider who supports iPad plans.

You can insist that iPads are locked all you want but I can assure you they are not. Did you read the iPad specifications I linked to? If it is not working then either your provider does not support iPad data plans, the sim they are trying is defective, your iPad is broken, they are trying an iPhone sim thinking it is the same as an iPad sim, or they just don't know what they are doing.

I got my iPad from Dubai ... I live in Sweden.

Apple sells its products in individual countries for a reason. All Apple products are not necessarily useable in other countries, especially the iOS devices that are cellular capable. Are you sure that the issue is that you have an AT&T model or do you actually have a model for Verizon. Whereas the AT&T model in the US is GSM and should work on almost any GSM network in the world, the Verizon model is not, it is CDMA

Also, what model of iPad do you have? The iPad and the iPad 2 models for Verizon only work on Verizon and Verizon's roaming partners, after you have a Verizon account. The new iPad (3rd generation) for Verizon also has a slot for a GSM SIM card and should work on most GSM systems in the world with a local SIM card.

I don't want to buy apple-products in the future if they are hopelessly locked on operators and the company doesn't care that i can't use this product.

That's a stupid threat based on your own ignorance, not something that Apple has done wrong. Perhaps in the future you should get a bit more information about specific products before you buy them, especially when you buy them in a country different from your own.

Dah•veed wrote:

I got my iPad from Dubai ... I live in Sweden.

Apple sells its products in individual countries for a reason. All Apple products are not necessarily useable in other countries, especially the iOS devices that are cellular capable. Are you sure that the issue is that you have an AT&T model or do you actually have a model for Verizon. Whereas the AT&T model in the US is GSM and should work on almost any GSM network in the world, the Verizon model is not, it is CDMA

Also, what model of iPad do you have? The iPad and the iPad 2 models for Verizon only work on Verizon and Verizon's roaming partners, after you have a Verizon account. The new iPad (3rd generation) for Verizon also has a slot for a GSM SIM card and should work on most GSM systems in the world with a local SIM card.

I don't want to buy apple-products in the future if they are hopelessly locked on operators and the company doesn't care that i can't use this product.

That's a stupid threat based on your own ignorance, not something that Apple has done wrong. Perhaps in the future you should get a bit more information about specific products before you buy them, especially when you buy them in a country different from your own.

The OP said they have an iPad 3, I assume he meant New iPad. So whether it is a Verizon or AT&T model is not relevant. The New iPads are not locked and can be used world-wide where there is a local provider that supports iPad data plans.

So he says. But he does not appear to actually know very much about the iPad in question.

Hello, i have got my ipad 3 in US and now i am in central asia, and mine is also locked. You can still say that it is impossible, but it happened. When i entered this discussion i was expecting to find out how to solve my problem. By the way mine was working for couple of weeks with a local simcard before it got locked. Dont know what to do. I have bought it in US because the specifications said that i can change the operator if i want, now it seems that it was not true.

By the way mine was working for couple of weeks with a local simcard before it got locked.

An Apple iOS device is either locked or it isn't locked. They don't become locked after not being locked. What you state makes no sense.

Fransk wrote:

I got my iPad from Dubai and it appeared to be locked on AT&T,

Your iPad is not locked.

Also, it will not have FaceTime and possibly iMessage (and you cannot enable it).

See this document (last updated 24 April) -> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937

Country	Carrier	Carrier Support	Locked to carrier	Carrier offers authorized unlocking1	Visual Voicemail	Carrier offers MMS1	Carrier offers Personal Hotspot1
United Arab Emirates4	Etisalat	Etisalat Support3	√
	DU	DU Support3	√	√
Notes: May include an additional fee or requirement. Contact carrier for more information. If iPhone has been serviced, it may have a different part number. Technical support for iPhone in this region is provided by the carrier, not Apple. FaceTime is not available in this country. FaceTime may be unavailable if your device originates from this region and becomes unlocked or is used in another country.

Of course, that would only apply to an iPad that was manufactured for the UAE. If his is gray/black market, such as it would have been if he got it prior to the UAE release, then all bets are off. And it sounds like his may be a US iPad.

And I do have this niggling memory of reading a comment that the AT&T iPad 3rd Generation is somehow tied to AT&T. For example, I remember folks with an iPad 2 stating that moving the iPad 2's SIM to their new iPad 3 didn't work, that they had to buy a new AT&T SIM.

I want to help but I am not sure I can. I am able to check directly with an AT&T store on your behalf.

Fransk wrote:

It is really useless to have an iPad without a mobile connection

Is it?

Something like 40% of iPads sold are wifi only and a large percentage of 3G/4G iPads do use a data plan at all so someone must be using them for something.

The following extracts are taken directly from Apple's support forums and may offer an explanation as to why the guy from Sweden is having difficulty accessing the 4G LTE network there.

iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular supports 4G LTE connectivity when used with the following carriers:

Country	Carrier
Canada	Bell
	Rogers
	Telus
United States	AT&T
	Verizon

iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular does not support LTE in any other countries, carriers, or networks.

iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular is compatible with all carriers that support iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, with additional support for fast 3G networks, including HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA.

See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5205# for the full article.

"may offer an explanation as to why the guy from Sweden is having difficulty accessing the 4G LTE network there."

He never said anything about LTE.

Also, it should connect via 3G or even EDGE as noted in your post.

"iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular is compatible with all carriers that support iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, with additional support for fast 3G networks, including HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA."