Is iTunes unlock of [Orange] iPhone 4 limited to carrier of SIM used during unlocking, or ready to use in any network?

Question

Is iTunes unlock of [Orange] iPhone 4 limited to carrier of SIM used during unlocking, or ready to use in any network?

Hi folks

I have scoured the Apple forums and contacted Orange UK, and cannot find an answer to my question, so here goes:

Basically I recently upgraded my iPhone 4 to an iPhone 5 and would now like to sell the old phone. I will probably do this on eBay, so the purchaser could be from anywhere in the world, on any network. I contacted Orange to initiate the unlock and am awaiting my code. The Orange technician I spoke to told me that I wouldn't even need a SIM in the phone to perform the unlock, though I have since discovered this to be false information. From what I gather, the procedure involves inserting a non-Orange SIM into the iPhone before connecting with iTunes in order to unlock it.

Will the newly unlocked phone instantly lock to this new network? i.e. say I borrow a friend's Vodafone SIM to perform the unlock procedure, will the unlocked phone instantly become a Vodafone UK iPhone?

I want to be able to list the item on eBay as an unlocked iPhone 4, that anyone in the world can purchase and use on their carrier. Having paid £20 for the unlock code, it would be a shame if the phone is instantly locked to the network of the temporary SIM.

Also I've seen widespread stories of people not being able to send text messages on unlocked iPhones, due to some old carrier settings being retained during the unlock process. How can I avoid this potential problem? I just want to provide someone with a fully unlocked iPhone that will work on any network.

Many thanks.

(PS: I have already seen this page and it doesn't answer my question: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5014 )

iPhone 4, iOS 6.1.2, Black 32gb

Posted on Mar 29, 2013 1:23 AM

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Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 29, 2013 2:15 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

Read here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5014

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Answer 2

Mar 29, 2013 2:22 AM in response to wjosten

Please see my PS.

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Answer 3

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 29, 2013 2:23 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

OK, so what's your issue? Did you follow those instructions? Did you get the "Congratulations" screen?

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Answer 4

Mar 29, 2013 2:28 AM in response to wjosten

I haven't unlocked the phone yet - please see my original message for my query.

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Answer 5

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Mar 29, 2013 2:30 AM in response to wjosten

And as complementary info to what's on the "carrier offers unlock" table link, ALL of Mexico's carriers offer unlock after the contract expires. That was mandated by law in mid-2012. Doesn't mean it is simple, evident or openly announced by the greedy bloodsuckers, but it IS available.

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Answer 6

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 29, 2013 2:34 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

I'm sorry, your questions don't make any sense...why would you think an unlocked iPhone would lock to the first network's sim used to process the unlock? Kinda defeats the whole point of unlocking, doesn't it? And this "widespread" stories non-sense about messages...

Look, just follow the directions in that support article if you want to process the official unlock. Users do this all the time with zero issues.

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Answer 7

Mar 29, 2013 2:44 AM in response to wjosten

wjosten wrote:

I'm sorry, your questions don't make any sense...why would you think an unlocked iPhone would lock to the first network's sim used to process the unlock? Kinda defeats the whole point of unlocking, doesn't it?

I thought it was strange too, but the people at Orange seem to assume that I am keeping the phone and that I have the SIM for my new network. If the phone doesn't lock to this new network, then why can't I unlock the phone with my original (or no) SIM (according to Orange)?

wjosten wrote:

And this "widespread" stories non-sense about messages...

Quite a few hits here, so not total nonsense:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cant+send+messages+unlocked+iphone

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Answer 8

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 29, 2013 2:54 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

The person/persons you talked to at Orange have no idea what they're talking about...none. So, just ignore everything they told you & follow the directions in that support article.

I don't know what else to tell you about this messages non-sense. Believe what you want.

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Answer 9

Apr 3, 2013 9:09 AM in response to wjosten

I too am looking for a definitive answer to the same question as the OP.

Here is what I have tentatively gleaned so far:

It appears that if you buy an unlocked iPhone from Apple then it is definitely completely unlocked i.e. you can put whatever SIM you like in it and change to SIMs from different networks whenever you wish.

However, the situation may be different for iPhones sold locked by a carrier and then unlocked by that carrier. I have seen a number of threads where people claim that when they have unlocked an iPhone using iTunes that the phone was then automatically re-locked again to the carrier of the new SIM.

For example here:

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4-and-4S/Locked-iPhone-4S-with-wrong-sim/t d-p/1085345

This is also what I was told by Carphone Warehouse - a major phone retailer here in the UK. An iPhone sold as locked but unlocked by a carrier will be locked to the new carrier SIM when connected to iTunes.

I also cannot see why you have to have a different SIM in the iPhone to activate an unlocked phone via iTunes?

So I think it is reasonable for the OP to ask the question. I do wonder if the situation varies according to country of origin of the iPhone.

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Answer 10

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Apr 3, 2013 9:13 AM in response to GadgetFinder

GadgetFinder wrote:

An iPhone sold as locked but unlocked by a carrier will be locked to the new carrier SIM when connected to iTunes.

Hogwash...whoever you talked to has NO idea what they're talking about...none. Officially unlocked iPhones are unlocked...forever.

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Answer 11

wegras

Level 6

15,305 points

Apr 3, 2013 9:16 AM in response to GadgetFinder

Ah CarPhone warehouse

Simple they sell you an iPhone £1 less than Apple retail stores

and at that point it is not carrier locked

The first sim inserted then locks the iPhone to that carrier just as if you had purchased

from the carrier and can only be unlocked that Carrier

One more time

THE ONLY SOURCE OF IPHONES NOT Carrier locked in UK is Apple

So I think it is reasonable for the OP to ask the question. I do wonder if the situation varies according to country of origin of the iPhone.

It certainly does differ by country some countries ban locking by carriers altogether

The UK is not one of those

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Answer 12

Apr 9, 2013 3:36 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

OK, so I'm still awaiting my unlock code from Orange, so I rang them today to chase it.

I asked them about the unlocking procedure and the lady confirmed that the phone is carrier locked to the network of the sim inserted during the unlock procedure. When I explained that this was useless to me, as I will be selling the phone to a stranger who could be on any phone network in the world, she said that I could send them the unlock code and instructions and this would work for them.

I'm particularly interested in helpful, constructive, friendly responses, such as that of GadgetFinder above, preferably from someone who has successfully carried out this procedure (perhaps on EE/Orange), rather than those who pop a vein through impatient insistence that absolutely nobody in their right mind could possibly have this query.

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Answer 13

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Apr 9, 2013 3:42 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

Hal Incandenza wrote:

the lady confirmed that the phone is carrier locked to the network of the sim inserted during the unlock procedure.

Why do you keep talking to people who have no idea what they're talking about? That statement is utter non-sense. If Orange authorizes your phone's official unlocking...sends the request to Apple...Apple adds your phone's IMEI number to the official unlocked database...you then restore your phone to process the unlock...guess what? Your phone is now officially unlocked...forever...you can use any supported GSM sim you want on any supported carrier's network.

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Answer 14

Apr 9, 2013 3:57 AM in response to wjosten

Well, the people I'm talking to are the trained employees of a multinational mobile phone network, whereas you're just a random bloke on a forum, who may or may not have first-hand experience of the procedure.

Yes, I "keep talking to people who have no idea what they're talking about", I just haven't decided exactly which people they are yet.

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Answer 15

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Apr 9, 2013 4:01 AM in response to Hal Incandenza

So far, the people you've talked to at Orange have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. So, if you want to continue to deal with these "trained employees of a multinational mobile phone network", have at it.

Good luck.

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