How to Unlock iPhone 5

by Unknown Monday, January 20, 2014 1 comments

The iPhone 5, has now been launched. iPhone 5 is certainly the best iPhone yet and with the sleeker and lighter uni body, dual tone back design it looks all the more classy and premium. The iPhone 5 has a 4 inch screen with retina display, a faster and newer A6 chip and with the all new iOS 6. Despite of all the criticism it has taken the world by storm. The iPhone 5 has broken all sale records set by its predecessors or in that case any of smartphone launched till date. It is certainly a treat for all the Apple fans throughout the world.

iPhone 5 has now been launched in many countries throughout the world, and is expected to launch in about 100 countries by the en of the year. But as you may also know that the iPhone 5 will burn a big hole in your pocket if you want to buy it from countries except USA or Canada. The new generation iPhone 5 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB costs you $ 199; $ 299 and $ 399 respectively for the locked version in U.S.A. These are available with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint mobile networks. While the unlocked versions will cost you $699, $799 and $ 899 for the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions respectively. At the moment the factory unlocked version of the iPhone 5 is available in Canada at the cheapest price listed above.

But for Apple fans in rest of the world many of you who might be considering to buy iPhone 5 from U.S.A or Canada or any other alternative so that it might cost you lesser. The iPhone 5 is the cheapest in U.S.A as compared to other countries in the world but is a carrier locked iPhone 5, starting at $199.

By locked iPhone 5 I mean on contract, that is you can only use your iPhone from the carrier you have bought it from. In the case of U.S.A it is AT&T, Verizon or Sprint. In this post I will tell you how to unlock your iPhone 5 if you have bought it from U.S.A.

How to unlock iPhone 5

At present iPhone 5 jailbreak is not available and the ultrasn0w unlock will also not work. The Gevey Sim used to unlock the iPhone 4 and 4S is not yet modified for the iPhone 5, though the jailbreak community is fully on to it. The jailbreak method for unlocking is illegal also. It might take a few weeks to a few months. The Gevey Sim and Ultrasn0w are not supporting iOS 6 on any iDevice at the moment.

At the moment the only way to get your iPhone 5 from U.S.A get working is by spending some bucks to get it unlocked which is fully legal as well as safe. It is permanent carrier unlock.

It has been seen that simply restoring your iPhone from AT&T via iTunes, has also been working to unlock your iPhone 5. All you need to do is restore your iPhone 5 via iTunes and you will see a message on your screen saying “Congratulations, your iPhone is now unlocked”. This method is full legal. It is reported to be working in a few iPhone 5 only. Try not to buy your iPhone from a AT&T store, buy it from an Apple Retail Store instead.

Restoring the iPhone 5

1. Plug in your iPhone 5 into your computer and open iTunes.
2. Your iTunes should also be updated to the latest version.
3. Once your iTunes is opened, you will see iPhone displayed on the left side of your screen.
4. Click on iPhone. You will see a summary page showing the name, capacity, software version, serial number and phone number of your Device.
5. Below these you will see an option to restore your device.
6. Click on it and you will see the iTunes trying to connect to its server.
7. It is recommended you make a backup before restoring your iPhone 5.
8. It will now seek your permission and then will start the process of restoring your device.
9. And you are done with it.
10. After the restore process is completed you see a message saying “Congratulations, your iPhone has been Unlocked”.

This process has been successfully tested by many and has also been confirmed in AT&T forums. The At&T conditions clearly state that you need to be a prior customer or you should have bought your iPhone 5 without contract obligations and that is going to cost you much more hence the AT&T networks and others officially support it. So you have got nothing to worry about.

There is another method which takes around 7 to 10 days. All you got to do is fill an online form at AT&T’s website and send them a Fax of the bill of your iPhone 5 and wait for their reply for 7 to 10 days.

You can also spend a few dollars online to unlock your iPhone 5. One such site is http://www.officialiphoneunlock.co.uk, which can safely and permanently unlock your device but at a cost.

I will suggest everyone to by an factory unlocked version of the iPhone 5, if you don’t want to buy it from your country, but remember the global warranty of such Devices may not work in some countries, so you might have to send it back if it you face any problems with your iPhone. So before buying your iPhone remember to check the warranty status in your country.

Disclaimer: We should not be held responsible in any manner for any damage happens to the device which is very unlikely if you follow the instructions carefully. If you follow all the above instructions, there is unlikely that there will be any damage.