iPhone Unlock

Need to find out if an iPhone is officially unlocked for use on multiple cellular carriers? Now you can find the answer to this question and more using a simple website. All you need is the unique IMEI number assigned to your device.

To get your IMEI number navigate to Settings -> General -> About and scroll down to IMEI. The IMEI is a unique 15-digit number. Now go to the website IMEI.info, enter this number and click the CHECK button.

Online parts vendor Apple N Berry is offering a permanent unlock solution for AT&T iPhones. According to the product page, the AT&T iPhone IMEI Unlock allows your iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S to stay permanently unlocked even after an iOS upgrade or SIM card swap.

Unlike SIM interposers, the AT&T iPhone IMEI Unlock requires no extra software, jailbreak or hardware to unlock your iPhone. All Apple N Berry requires is that it's an AT&T handset for it to work. The AT&T iPhone IMEI Unlock is $150 and requires 1 to 2 business days to be activated. The unlock comes with a money back guarantee, however, there has been no confirmation outside of Apple N Berry that this solution works.

There's another unlocking option for GSM iPhone 4 owners looking to use their device on multiple carriers. The latest GEVEY Ultra 5.1 SIM interposer makes this possible without jailbreaking or violating your Apple warranty. Compatible with iOS 4.1 and later (through 5.1), the product supports modem firmware versions 1.59, 2.10, 3.10.1, 4.10.1, 4.11.08, and 4.12.01.

Of course, those with a jailbroken iPhone 4 can also use the GEVEY Ultra 5.1 to unlock their devices. More options are becoming available for unlocking including the SAM package method and even official unlocking of out-of-contract iPhones on the AT&T network.

AT&T has started to unlock iPhones for customers who have completed their contract obligations. The process is as simple as contacting AT&T customer support and requesting the unlock on your device. Of course, your account must be in good standing (ie. paid up to date) for AT&T to provide the service.

Once your iPhone is unlocked, you are free to install any replacement micro-SIM card from another compatible GSM carrier. This means you can use your iPhone overseas or with another US carrier such as T-Mobile without resorting to any workarounds or jailbreak unlocking methods.

Beginning Sunday, April 8, qualifying customers will be able to request a carrier unlock from AT&T. iPhone users who wish to unlock their iPhones must have their AT&T accounts in order, and not be associated with a current and active term commitment with the carrier.

Unlocked iPhones allow users to replace AT&T's micro-SIM with other compatible network cards. This is a great option for people who frequently travel, and would like to use international or other local carriers. An AT&T spokeswoman confirmed the news with Engadget. Read on for their official statement.

A few hardware unlock solutions for the iPhone 4S have appeared this month, but Gevey has released a Verizon and Sprint unlocking solution. The Gevey Ultra S claims to unlock both GSM and CDMA, unlike the R-SIM and TP-SIM which do not work with Sprint models.

The new SIM interposer requires that your iPhone be jailbroken, not be running iOS 5.1 or higher and is on one of the following basebands: 1.0.11, 1.0.13, 1.0.14. This is also the only known solution for Sprint handsets. The Gevey Ultra S is $60 and will be available at the end of this month.

Another hardware unlock solution has appeared, the R-SIM from Each Supplier. This SIM interposer works with the iPhone 4S running iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1 making it possible to use the device on any compatible GSM carrier network.

iPhone Dev-Team has not made recent announcements regarding updates to ultrasn0w, the software unlock solution for jailbreakers. One advantage of the R-SIM is that the product does not require a jailbroken iPhone to unlock the device.

A newly discovered Apple patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office outlines a new method for iPhone users to determine carrier rankings.

The filing, submitted in April of last year, and discovered by Apple Insider this week, would allow iPhone owners to search for competing carriers and service plans directly on their phones. In 2010, Apple was rumored to be working on an embedded SIM iPhone service that would allow users to shop for a plan on their device, instead of dealing directly with the carriers. This angered European carriers who threatened to cut subsidies if Apple went ahead with their plan.

UPDATE (2/14/2011): A jailbreak (not unlock) for Verizon iPhones running iOS 4.2.6 is now available. Click the following link to learn about how to jailbreak the Verizon iPhone.

Since Verizon's iPhone 4 launch announcement yesterday, the web has been rife with speculation on how soon we'll see the Verizon iPhone 4 jailbroken and unlocked. Will the iPhone Dev Team focus on the CDMA iPhone unlock, or just the jailbreak of iOS 4.2.5? If an unlock does become available for the Verizon iPhone, will Sprint embrace the CDMA iPhone? Some say it will happen, some say it won't. Except there's only one problem ... the CDMA / Verizon iPhone 4 isn't locked in the first place. Why? Because CDMA phones aren't locked.

George Hotz (Geohot) has released the newest update of his jailbreaking tool blackra1n, version RC3. In addition, he has made public a true carrier unlock for the latest firmware iPhone OS 3.1.2 and baseband 05.11.07.

Geohot's blackra1n RC3 software jailbreaks any iPhone running 3.1 or later in seconds on both Mac and Windows platforms. A reboot is all that's needed.