The Ultimate Tutorial On How To Unlock An iPhone 6

Today’s the day you at long last completed the contract on your iPhone and that baby is eventually all yours. That means you’re able to use it while traveling in another country with a domestic SIM card and are free to swap networks when you want, right? Don’t start booking your flight to Asia or running to Verizon quite yet because, unfortunately, it’s not quite that straight forward.

In order to stop individuals from changing to a rival’s network before they’ve paid off their iPhone or fulfilled their contract, lots of carriers place a sim lock (also known as a carrier lock) on their smartphones. This ultimately means that you, or whomever you sell your used iPhone to, are tied to them for the long haul. If you’re thinking this sounds like a rather dysfunctional relationship, we’d tend to agree with you. Fortunately, along with a little legwork plus an account in good standing, you will be well on your way to a SIM-unlocked iPhone before you know it!

Before we proceed, just a quick note about the sort of unlocks that are available, and the one's you should stay away from! There are apps in existence offering the ability to unlock your handset yourself, however you need to jailbreak your smartphone, and this is not a smart move, for numerous reasons. You can do your own investigating into jail-breaking, but it's not a sensible choice, and to be avoided. The easiest way to unlock your iPhone is actually talking directly with your network provider. The journey to a carrier-unlocked iPhone hinges largely on your network, with the procedure being either reasonably quick and painless or painfully challenging. To get you a step closer to a life free of carrier-locked tyranny, we researched all the steps in order to get an iPhone unlock with this comprehensive guide. Please note that although this was written with iPhone owners in mind, much of the advice could be carried over to other smartphones.

As noted earlier, when you buy an iPhone or other smartphone from your network carrier, that cell phone will still only operate on that network unless you either request to have your network unlock it or maybe your carrier automatically unlocks it for you (more on that later). Commonly known as a SIM unlock, factory unlock, or network unlock, carrier unlocking means removing a network’s restrictions on a device, so that you can use it with a different cellular provider.

The good news is, not every iPhone require unlocking. For example, if you buy your iPhone from Apple and pay it off in full, it should be unlocked and ready to use with a variety of carriers.

Take note, however, that not all phones bought outright from third-party retailers are automatically unlocked. For instance, although sold as “unlocked”, smartphone's purchased at Best Buy are in fact considered universal. So, whenever you insert a SIM card for the first time, the device will essentially lock itself to the carrier linked to the Sim. Then, since certain carriers like T-Mobile will only unlock your iPhone if you got it directly from them, you could potentially end up having an eternally network-locked device. In other words, you find yourself paying factory-unlocked prices for a network-locked smartphone.

Possessing a carrier-unlocked iPhone comes with a good number of rewards including the ability to utilize (practically) any network both in the US and overseas as well as increased resale values.

1. IMEI-unlocking offers you the flexibility to use your cellphone with the network provider of your choice, almost wherever and whenever you like (with some exceptions, as you’ll see later on). For example, if you are currently using T-Mobile but are moving to a new area of the country with poor T-Mobile coverage, you can shift to AT&T on a dime
2. A Factory-unlocked iPhone makes international travel a breeze. Unlocking also provides the ability to use your cell phone abroad. International roaming fees, pricey international plans, and crazy dashes for WiFi become a distant memory with an unlocked iPhone. Just pop in a SIM card from a local service provider and you’re in business.
3. Network-unlocked iPhones have higher resale values.

Even if you don’t anticipate swapping networks or traveling overseas anytime soon, unlocking your iPhone is still a smart idea. Should you ever anticipate trading in your old iPhone once you upgrade, you’ll typically get more cash for it if the iPhone is already carrier unlocked because of a greater demand for them on the resale marketplace.

No way! Due to the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, finalized into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, all US-based cellular providers must allow customers to unlock their phones. However, the circumstances under which a service provider will unlock a smart phone vary widely from service provider to service provider. In general, the majority of carriers require you to complete your contract, pay for your financial obligations fully, or at a minimum have an account in good standing before they’ll allow you to unlock your iPhone.

Before beginning the smartphone-unlocking process, you’ll first need to see if your iPhone has already been unlocked (no need in undergoing the hassle when you don’t absolutely need to). All you need to do is be sure that you’re connected with WiFi and insert a brand-new SIM card from an alternative cellular provider and your handset will do the rest automatically. This verification check generally takes less than a minute to complete once a new SIM has been inserted.

Throughout the verification process, you’ll note that your iPhone will boot to a white screen and try to confirm that it has been unlocked with your provider. If Apple confirm that your iPhone is network-unlocked, it will return to the home screen and signal bars ought to appear from the new network. However, if a white screen appears that says SIM Not Supported, your phone is not unlocked.

Once you verify that your cellphone is definitely locked to your current network provider, next you'll need to take a look at your network’s unlocking eligibility requirements. Should your iPhone meet those unlocking guidelines, you can ask that the handset can be unlocked from their network. As suggested before, both the eligibility requirements and the unlocking process vary from service provider to service provider. They all have been outlined below for the major carriers including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Please note that, provided you’ve met the unlock requirements and therefore are completing the network-unlocking directly with your service provider, requesting that your iPhone be unlocked is often absolutely free. Should you decide to use a third party unlocking company, you'll be charged, but utilizing a third party company will be your only option if you bought the phone second-hand. Before you spend any money, try using the directions below first.

When network-unlocking your iPhone, you'll need to give your service provider the cell phones IMEI number. This unique, 15-digit identifier is effectively your smartphone’s VIN or social security number. To find your IMEI, on your phone, go to Settings > General > About and search to the bottom section where it will be listed listed next to IMEI.

You can also search for the number on the mobile phone housing itself. For older iPhone models (6, 6 Plus, 1st-generation SE, 5s, 5c, 5), the IMEI number may also be branded on the back or the SIM tray.

Once you’ve located the IMEI number, it highly advisable that you keep it somewhere for safekeeping.

Unlocking an iPhone from the AT&T network is about as uncomplicated as it gets. Just pop on across to the AT&T unlock portal, answer a few simple questions, and you’re well on your way to network-unlocked freedom.

When you submit your request, use your IMEI and request reference numbers to check on your AT&T unlocking status. After you receive your validation text or email, just open it up then click on the confirmation link. That’s it! AT&T will unlock your iPhone in just two working days.

For an iPhone to get unlocked from AT&T, it's got to fulfill the following requirements:

• If it is an AT&T PREPAID phone, it must be active for at least six months
• Must not be reported as lost, stolen, or blocked
• Must not have a past-due balance
• Must not be active on a different AT&T account
• If it is a work phone, you must have your employer’s permission to unlock it

If your iPhone is part of a term agreement or installment plan, it's got to also meet these requirements:

• The installment plan must be paid off
• The term agreement must be complete
• The device must be active on the AT&T network for at least 60 days

For precise eligibility conditions, click here.

Based on when you acquired your phone and if it has SIM-unlock capabilities, you've got a couple of different unlock choices. If you obtained a new iPhone from Sprint after February 2015 (it should be SIM-unlock capable) and it's actively being used on their network, Sprint will unlock it automatically once it meets their eligibility requirements. So, you really don’t have to do anything apart from keep your account in good standing. Even so, if your iPhone is inactive or was purchased before February 2015, you’ll need to speak to Sprint Customer Care directly to ask for an unlock (either dial *2 on your Sprint phone or phone 888-211-4727).

There have been reports from some Sprint customers that the auto-unlock program doesn't always function as it should, so it’s most certainly a good idea to verify that your iPhone has been unlocked before attempting to switch to a different network or advertising your iPhone as unlocked, if you want to sell it to a buyback business or on craigslist or ebay.

For an iPhone to get unlocked from the Sprint network, it's got to meet the following conditions:

• Must be active on the Sprint network for at least 40 days
• Must be on an account in good standing
• Must not be reported as lost, stolen, or associated with fraud
• Must have SIM-unlock capabilities (if it doesn’t, it is MSL (Master Subsidy Lock) locked and you will need to call Sprint for the MSL code)

If the iPhone is part of a service agreement, lease agreement, or installment plan, it has to also meet these conditions:

• Any lease or installment payments must be fully paid
• If leased, the end-of-lease purchase option must be fully paid
• Any early-termination fees must be fully paid

For detailed eligibility prerequisites, click here.

If your reading this and own an Android smartphone and your handset meets the eligibility conditions, consider yourself in luck: It is possible to unlock it easily from the device itself. For all you iPhone owners out there, you’ll have to contact T-Mobile’s Team of Specialists directly (either dial 611 from your T-Mobile iPhone, call 877-746-0909.

For an iPhone to be unlocked from the T-Mobile network, it must meet the following conditions:

• Must not have been reported as lost, stolen, or blocked
• For prepaid accounts, it must have been active on the account for at least 12 months
• Must have been purchased directly from T-Mobile
• Must be paid for in full

If the iPhone is on a pre-paid account, it has got to also meet the following requirements:

• The account must be in good standing
• Must have been active on the account for at least 40 days

For precise eligibility conditions, click here.

Verizon is, without a doubt, the top network to work with for unlocking an iPhone. Why? Because Verizon will automatically unlock your phone Sixty days after the purchase of the handset. If you purchased your iPhone from a retail partner, it will be unlocked automatically 60 days after device activation.

There are no catches. You don’t have to pay off your phone, fulfill any unique demands, or even contact them to request to unlock your phone from their network. Provided your iPhone hasn’t been reported stolen or lost, just wait sixty days following purchase or activation and your phone will be a-ok.

Hard to believe? Just click here.

Back many years ago, you’d need to connect your iPhone up to iTunes and perform a software restore to finish the unlock process. Luckily, it’s much simpler now. All you need to do is go through same steps you took earlier to check if your phone is unlocked to start with.

When you don’t have access to a SIM card from a different carrier, you may still confirm that a iPhone has been unlocked using an iTunes software restore. Simply hook up your iPhone with a computer running iTunes and click the “restore” option. Once the restoration process has completed, you should see a message which says “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”

Great job! You successfully network-unlocked your iPhone! That means you're able to use what ever carrier you would like to now, right? We hate to break this to you, but sadly not. Because of the two different kinds of technologies used in the Unites States, GSM and CDMA, your choice of cell phone providers will depend on the model of your iPhone and the original carrier it's locked to. Specifically, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks, while AT&T, T-Mobile, and the majority of providers abroad are GSM (Global System for Mobiles) networks.

As you may have guessed, these two different network types don't talk to each other (because that's too logical). Fortunately, as we approach world-wide 5G access and as older networks are retired, it will hopefully cease to be a major problem.

To find out which networks you can access based on both of these factors, continue reading.

AT&T

GSM networks only (AT&T, T-Mobile, international GSM carriers): Original iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Sprint

International networks only: iPhone 4s and iPhone 5

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

T-Mobile

GSM networks only (AT&T, T-Mobile, international GSM carriers): Original iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Verizon

Compatible with any carrier in the world, but with limitations when using GSM networks: iPhone 4s, iPhone 5

Any carrier worldwide: iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

Yup! After your phone has been officially-unlocked, it is going to remain like that for the lifetime of the device. You are able to restore your iPhone or update software without having to worry about your unlock vanishing afterwards.