The Best Features Of An iPhone 5 Unlock

by admin on September 24, 2012

If you’ve been following blogs, forums, and geeky news websites that chronicle Apple products, it’s likely that you’ve seen it written that the first thing you should do when you get your new device is to perform an iPhone 5 unlock. But what does that mean, and why would you want to unlock iPhone 5 devices?

“Unlocking” a phone simply refers to cutting any connection between your SIM card and your network provider. There are a few reasons that customers would want to do this to any smart phone, and the process is relatively easy no matter how you go about it. Keep reading to find out how to unlock iPhone 5s and why you would want to do so.

Why Unlock iPhone 5s?

When Apple announced in April 2012 that it would allow customers to unlock iPhones legitimately, many blogs relayed the information through a “David and Goliath” analogy, marking that the little guy came through a winner yet again. This is because for as long as there have been Apple products, which always are manufactured in a way to keep everything (products, accessories, hardware – i.e., profits) in-house, there have been hackers and those little “Davids” who have wanted to find out just how the products work and how to get around all the strings attached. One form of this took flight as jailbreaking, which is a way that users are able to install and use applications, extensions, etc., on iDevices that Apple has not authorized or has potentially banned. So many Apple users look to doing an iPhone 5 unlock just to stick it to the giant.

  • For users who need a more concrete reason to unlock iPhone 5s, legitimately or otherwise, the ability to interchange an SIM card is a huge benefit. By being able to switch out a phone’s SIM, users can join another network. Some may wish to do so sparingly, such as when they are traveling in an area that their service provider doesn’t cover or in order to take advantage of a better payment plan.
  • International travel can not only cost a bundle in traveling fare and souvenirs, but also in airtime and roaming charges. To combat those extra costs while traveling for pleasure or business, many people will switch out their SIM cards for a prepaid card available in the country they are visiting or even go as far to join up with a local provider that doesn’t require a contract.
  • If you move, whether across town or across the country, the quality of service you receive could change depending on the availability of towers and whether you rely on WiFi, 3G, 4G, etc. That’s why many people learn how to unlock iPhone 5s and other iPhone devices so that they can gain access to better coverage, cheaper plant rates, and even better regional service.

How To Unlock iPhone 5s

There are a few ways to get an iPhone 5 unlock legitimately, and even some not-so-legit ways. To learn how to unlock iPhone 5s, keep reading, contact your network carrier, or search online for trusted programs.

  • If you have completed your current carrier’s contract, or do not have a contract with a carrier, you can request your provider to unlock your phone in order to switch to another network. An example of this would be if you had purchased your phone through Verizon, fulfilled the contract agreement, and now want to switch to Spring. Verizon’s customer service can tell you how to unlock iPhone 5 devices to make that switch, but you’ll probably have to pay to have it done.
  • Apple offers an iPhone Full Factory Unlock through its iTunes Official Permanent Remote Unlocking Service for a fee, which can range between $50 and $200.
  • Buying an iPhone 5 unlock is not unheard of, but they aren’t cheap. These are the phones that are not tied to a plan in the United States, and you can end up spending several hundred dollars for the newest iPhone generation. In other countries, unlocked iPhones are commonly sold in order to be compatible with foreign service providers. However, it is inevitable that some of these phones find their way onto online selling sites such as Craigslist.org or eBay.com. Be careful when buying phones such as these as it’s possible Apple is keeping a watchful eye out for them.
  • There are several software programs available to unlock iPhone 5s, but these require that the phone also be jailbroken.
    • Ultrasn0w Unlock
    • Turbo SIM Unlock
    • IMEI Unlock

 

{ 0 comments }

Why You Should Want To Unlock Your iPhone 5

by admin on September 24, 2012

Apple has a global presence, and with the anticipated release of the iPhone 5, consumers worldwide will be racing to snag their own device off of store shelves. But, like many phones throughout the world, the majority of these devices will be linked to a specific network carrier through a contract or agreement. In order to be able to use the device on different networks, users will need to know how to unlock iPhone 5 devices.

What Is The iPhone 5 Unlock Process?

The majority of phones are locked to their carriers through the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. These cards identify the individual device to the carriers, and cards can be interchanged. At one time, Apple’s iPhones (in the United States) were only available with the network operator AT&T, which meant that the SIM cards in those phones were locked to AT&T, and if the user dropped the carrier, the phone was no longer fully functioning. A lot of technological advancements have been made since the first generation of iPhones, and it’s easy to assume that many people will perform iPhone 5 unlocks on the newest generation when it is released because it’s possible now to unlock your phone without losing the functionality.

Worldwide carriers that will legally unlock iPhone 5 devices include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Rogers Mobile, Fido, Bell, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, O2, Orange, China Mobile, and China Unicorn.

Starting back in April 2012, AT&T jumped on the unlocking bandwagon and began allowing customers to legally have their iPhones unlocked if they qualified. Customers have to:

  • have an account in good standing with AT&T;
  • have a device that is not associated with a contract or term commitment with AT&T;
  • fulfill their original contract agreements;
  • have an upgraded account or pay an early termination fee (ETF).

Some have criticized the lackadaisical move to approve unlocking, and a quick search of iPhone forums will show that customer support hasn’t been all that helpful to a variety of customers wanting to legitimately unlock their iPhones. But after a few phone calls, a couple hours with tech support, and even one conversation with the Office of the President (of Apple), consumers are getting their devices unlocked for a variety of reasons.

Why You Would Want To Unlock iPhone 5 Devices

Going through with an iPhone 5 unlock doesn’t necessarily make you a dishonest person. Unlocks are actually quite common nowadays. Here are some reasons you may want to know how to unlock iPhone 5 devices.

  • If you are going to be traveling globally for an extended period of time, it may be wise to change your network carrier, drop your contract, or switch to a new plan. Depending on your carrier, however, any of these options may require you to unlock your iPhone 5 so that you can continue to use it. An iPhone 5 unlock of this nature is legal through your service provider, or you can purchase a Factory Unlock iPhone 5 depending on where you live and where you are traveling.
  • Some hackers take pride in being able to circumvent Apple’s close-ended systems. From the first Apple computer, there have been ways to get around the barriers the company has put in place. So, it’s only natural that when the iPhone came out people wanted to open up the usability of the product. For some, it’s more about the action of an iPhone 5 unlock than the functionality of the phone.
  • That brings up the next concern for current iPhone users. When the iPhone 5 is released, an updated operating system will come with it most likely. So, users will want to update their iOS without getting roped back into AT&T or another carrier with whom they’ve severed ties. Finding an easy and quick iPhone 5 unlock is essential for some to be able to continue using their devices at the optimal level of functionality. The alternatives are going back into a contract or onto a certain carrier’s network, or using an outdated operating system.

Freedom is a word that’s thrown around without much thought sometimes, but an iPhone 5 unlock really just means you have more freedom to use your phone the way that you want in different situations. A phone unlock doesn’t really give you more features that a phone jailbreak would, it just opens up your options when it comes to choosing your network provider and phone plan.

{ 0 comments }

What’s the difference between Jailbreaking and Unlocking?

by admin on September 24, 2012

Jailbreaking an iDevice and finding out how to unlock iPhone 5s, or any previous iPhone generation, was at one time kept very quiet. For a while, jailbreaking was possibly illegal (hovering in that gray area of ethics), and authorized unlocking has only been available through Apple for a few months. Unauthorized iPhone unlocks have been common, but they are a little harder to come by in a safe way than jailbreaks. For many users, iPhone 5 unlocks and jailbreaks will be nothing new, but if you aren’t familiar with the practices, then you may have a lot of unanswered questions.

What’s the difference between Jailbreaking and Unlocking?

In very basic terms, knowing how to jailbreak an iPhone 5 and knowing how to unlock iPhone 5 are similar, however, they ultimately mean different things.

Jailbreaking

Jailbreaking became popular with the very first iPhone as a way to counter Apple’s censorship of apps and extensions available in the App Store. The term jailbreaking is used because developers found a way to “break” the device out of its “jail”, notably the operating system jail that Apple imposed, making it impossible to use the phone on any network other than AT&T or install any apps that weren’t through the App Store and iTunes. The jailbreaking method is used to download, install, and run apps, themes, extensions, and more that otherwise would be not be available on an iOS.

In order to jailbreak a phone, a tool or software program is needed. This program interrupts Apple’s patched kernel when the phone boots up, which can be done tethered (hooked up to a computer), untethered, or semi-tethered (hooked up to a computer for certain features to function properly). Jailbreaking an iPhone 5 voids its warranty.

Unlocking

Users would look to an iPhone 5 unlock if they wanted to keep their iPhone but transfer to a different network carrier or service provider. Unlocking a phone refers to breaking the connection between the device’s functionality and the carrier through which is was purchased. For example, when Apple first released iPhones, they were only available through AT&T in the United States. Consumers could unlock their phones if they wanted to switch to Verizon or T-Mobile and take their iPhone with them. Especially in the United States, where phone companies offer huge discounts when consumers purchase a phone and a contract together, unlocking phones has become a common practice. It’s worth noting that doing an iPhone 5 unlock does not void the warranty. Apple also released Factory Unlock iPhone 5s and earlier generations so that international consumers could use the devices.

Skip ahead a few years and you’ll find that now Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint offer the iOS devices in the United States. These phones have an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number embedded to identify specific phones. You can view your IMEI by entering *#06#. In order to unlock iPhone 5 devices, users must have their IMEIs submitted to Apple, which in turn puts those numbers on a whitelist. This could happen if a user switches from Sprint to Verizon in the United States, but in other countries, phones are often sold unlocked.

How To Unlock iPhone 5

As mentioned, in the United States, carriers can unlock a phone for their consumers. But there are many scams that continuously pop up where an international contact can sell whitelisted IMEIs. These individuals would submit the IMEIs to Apple as legitimate iPhone 5 unlock purchases, and Apple would add the numbers to the company’s whitelist. Not only is this a shady practice, but it could get users in a lot of trouble. It would be difficult for Apple to cease the program because in those foreign countries, the majority of phones need to be unlocked so that they can function with the network carriers available in those regions.

Network carriers charge for the unlocking service in the United States, and the fees are dependent on the carrier. consumers would pay their current carrier to unlock the phone, making it able to be used on a different network. Apple also offers iPhone Full Factory Unlock through the iTunes Official Permanent Remote Unlocking Service, which can cost users anywhere from $50 to $200.

{ 0 comments }