Unlocking Iphone Through a Paid Service

  1. Unlock an iPhone Step 4.jpg
    1
    Find a service. There are a large number of companies online that will sell you the unlock codes for your phone for payment. These companies circumvent current restrictions by operating in countries not covered by US law.
  2. Unlock an iPhone Step 5.jpg
    2
    Research your choice. Before paying any company to unlock your phone, research the company as much as possible. Find user reviews, and ask around in phone enthusiast forums. Always be wary of potential scams, especially when you are paying to skirt your carrier's policies.[1]
  3. Unlock an iPhone Step 6.jpg
    3
    Retrieve your iPhone’s IMEI code. Your iPhone will be added to Apple’s official unlocked phones list, which means it will stay unlocked even if you upgrade iOS versions. To add the iPhone to the list, the company you are paying will need your phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) code, which is unique to your iPhone. There are a couple ways to find this:[2]
    • On any iPhone, you can dial *#06# and your IMEI code will be displayed.
    • On an original iPhone or iPhone 5, the number is engraved on the back near the bottom.
    • On an iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S. the IMEI is printed on the SIM card tray.
    • In iTunes, clicking on your connected iPhone will display the IMEI code in the Summary window, beneath the iPhone’s storage capacity.
  4. Unlock an iPhone Step 7.jpg
    4
    Pay for the service. Oftentimes, you may have to wait several hours to a couple days in order to receive the unlock code. This is because these companies often have people working for the carriers that provide the codes for them.
    • Be sure to select all of the correct information about your device so that you get a code that works for your phone.
  5. Unlock an iPhone Step 8.jpg
    5
    Activate your unlock. Once you receive confirmation that your iPhone has been unlocked, you will need to activate it before the unlock takes effect.
    • Insert the SIM card from the new carrier. If you get a signal at this step then you are done. If not, continue on.
      • If you have a jailbroken iPhone, open Settings, then General and then Reset. Select Reset Network Settings, and then restart the iPhone. Proceed to the next step.
    • Activate the iPhone. If you get asked to activate your iPhone, you can do this one of two ways:
    • If you still cannot activate your iPhone, restore it to the latest version of iOS. If your phone is jailbroken, this will remove the jailbreak. After the restore process is complete, your phone should get service.