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Level 2

213 points

Do I need iTunes to unlock my phone from carrier

I have AT&T and want to unlock one of my devices to use a foreign Sim card. I had issues doing this through their unlocking portal, and spoke to AT&T to get the device unlocked. I was told by a service rep that the device is unlocked and to complete the unlock process I need to back up and restore the device from iTunes. Does anyone know if this is true that I have to restore and back up on iTunes to unlock it?

Posted on Jun 2, 2017 2:53 PM

Top-ranking reply

Michael Black

Level 10

80,521 points

Posted on Jun 10, 2017 8:23 AM

The AT&T portal does NOT unlock the device. It merely asks AT&T to approve and provision the unlock with Apple's device activation database. The actual process of restoring the device in iTunes is what then processes that unlock and applies it to your device.

You need to process your unlock in iTunes if you want the unlock to be applied to your device.

How to unlock your iPhone - Apple Support

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16 replies

deggie

Level 10

167,411 points

Jun 4, 2017 9:32 PM in response to LACAllen

That isn't necessary if all you want to do is switch SIMs.

Do I need iTunes to unlock my phone from carrier

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