I'm interested in factory unlocking my iPhone 5 so I can use it world wide when I travel. I've found a few websites like: http://www.unlockaniphone.org/
but I'm very cautious of the few blog posts that I have found and not sure if they are fake.
IOS – Factory unlocking an iPhone
iosiphoneunlock
Related Solutions
No, you do not have to enter any sort of unlock code for any iPhone unlock event.
iTunes contacts the registration database when a phone is restored to determine the lock status and set the appropriate carrier settings file if needed.
So, in your case one of two things has happened.
- The database that Apple / iTunes consult hasn't been updated for your IMEI.
- You missed the unlock message and your phone is actually ready to be unlocked.
The unlock happens when you restore your device - either as an over the air (OTA) activation or tethered to iTunes.
The carrier should be able to query the live database to see if your IMEI is unlocked or you could try getting another cheap SIM (or borrowing a friend's SIM) and just testing the phone yourself. If you restore the phone twice after it gets unlocks, you will not see this message - but you should get it when it's first unlocked.
Compatible carrier ?
In USA and "only" in USA there are 2 types called the GSM and the CDMA.
The rest of the world (~ 95% of it) is on GSM type networks.
T-Mobile is on the GSM in the USA and also on the GSM in Europe.
In Europe the GSM is set as standard by the EU policies, so any provider you pick will work.
Best Answer
You should be cautious and skeptical of most services that offer a "factory unlock" in my opinion.
The cellular carriers all maintain a database of phones that when iTunes asks - gets told to factory unlock the devices. Since that database is under their control and they have a business relationship with Apple, any entries that are placed in that database in a fraudulent manner could easily be found and reversed.
Your money spent for the "factory unlock" might work if the sellers have a legitimate business relationship with the carriers and it's more trouble for the carrier to allow some people to bypass their paywall and policies, but my guess is most of these unlocks are shady to illegal and I'm surprised that the carriers don't periodically sweep the database for all active phones that should be carrier locked and are not and send a nasty letter to the owners and re-instate the factory locks.
I'm not one to defend the carriers in general, but I can't see how they would continue to charge $500 or more for an unlocked phone only to allow people to spend $10 to accomplish the same feat. If they're going to roll over for $10 then you'd expect all unlocked phones to sell for that in a short period of time.
So - I'd say - pay the money if you are willing to risk it failing, but going into that transaction with your eyes open might be prudent.