I have an iPhone 6 that is unlocked to any sim, but has an activation lock of T-Mobile, and I recently restored it. Now I can't get past the activation screen because it say's my Optus SIM is invalid, despite being unlocked and have used it for 6 months. If I order a T-Mobile SIM card to Australia (where I am), will it still activate my iPhone? Or because there wouldn't be any towers here, it won't work.
Thanks
iPhone 6, iOS 10, null
If the device was acting as unlocked prior to the restore, and now is carrier locked then it was never truly unlocked to begin with. It was hacked to bypass the carrier lock and the restore operation has now reverted it back to being again carrier locked.
You will need to contact the carrier it is locked to and process an unlock through them if you wish to permanently unlock any iOS device that is carrier locked.
As it is, you will need a SIM card from whichever carrier it is locked to in order to activate it.
p.s. There is no such thing as a SIM unlocked, but carrier activation locked device. A device is, or is not, carrier locked, period, meaning that cellular service with that device is restricted to a single providers network. An iPhone that is carrier locked requires a SIM from that carrier to complete activation with Apple's servers. A carrier unlocked iPhone can use a SIM (active or not) from any carrier to complete Apple device activation. iOS activation has to do with Apple, not your carrier, as it is Apple that enforces activation lock, linked to the device hardware ID, the owner's iCloud ID and their password.
Sorry inform you sounds like the IMEI blocked and this only happens if the phone been reported lost or stolen. This only time carrier would block your device.
If it's sim block then different matter since saying phone blocked sounds to me the carrier place temporarily block on the handset.
Using SIM card from another country to activate iPhone
