Connect with us

how to

How to Easily Unlock an AT&T iPhone 5

Published

on

Those who recently bought or are going to buy an AT&T iPhone 5 off-contract will be happy to know that there is an extremely easy way to unlock the AT&T iPhone 5 to use with a carrier like T-Mobile.

Typically, the process of unlocking an AT&T iPhone is a lengthy one. Users have to fill out a form online, send AT&T a fax, and then wait around for a few days while everything processes. That is not the case with the AT&T iPhone 5 says TechCrunch.

Instead of a lengthy process, AT&T iPhone 5 owners who bought their phone off-contract only need to plug their device in and restore it through iTunes.

Read: Verizon iPhone 5 Hidden Feature Won’t Be Taken Away.

iphone-5-review- 3

Full price AT&T iPhone 5’s can be easily unlocked.

Doing this is simple.

1. First, plug in your iPhone.

2. Next, open up iTunes. You’ll need to be on the latest version which is version 10.7.

3. Then, click your AT&T iPhone 5 when it appears on the left-hand side. You’ll be taken to a screen that has the option you see below.

Screen Shot 2012-09-26 at 4.00.13 PM

4. Hit the Restore button and afterwards, you should be greeted with a message that says: “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.” If you got that message, then you know your AT&T iPhone 5 is unlocked and ready for another carrier if you so desire.

Once complete, owners are free to slim down a Micro SIM card to fit inside the iPhone 5’s Nano SIM card slot. Owners can also wait until October to pick up a Nano SIM from T-Mobile itself.

Read: T-Mobile iPhone 5 Possible with Nano SIM in October.

The iPhone 5 will run on T-Mobile’s EDGE network in areas where it doesn’t have its new HSPA+ network set up and unfortunately, at this point, virtually everywhere is without it. However, the carrier is going to be making big strides in the future which should make an unlocked iPhone 5 more attractive.

Verizon’s iPhone 5 is a little different from AT&T’s in that it comes unlocked right off the bat, ready for T-Mobile or AT&T.

51 Comments

51 Comments

  1. Dandy Goose

    09/26/2012 at 5:46 pm

    Nice try, but fact checking failed. T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM hardware, while Verizon and Sprint use different hardware(CDMA I think). An unlocked Verizon phone will never work on AT&T for this reason. I’m not sure what unlocking a Verizon phone would even do. I don’t think Sprint would let you use it on their network.

    • Dandy Goose

      09/26/2012 at 5:55 pm

      Doh, I guess the Verizon iPhone actually has GSM hardware, too. Now I’m curious how this would work if you had CDMA service and inserted an active GSM SIM. Probably just shuts off the CDMA.

      • pawel

        03/28/2013 at 9:24 am

        Well, many people are not customer of ATT but have a ATT phone some how, for these people, just go search ATT iphone unlocking in google, you will have tons of “pros” doing it, I think I picked the first one and payed 30 dollars, after about 3 hours, my 5 is unlocked.

        • florian

          04/24/2013 at 8:08 am

          Well, I have used applenberry for unlocking my 4s, but it took them more than 5 weeks to do it, such a waste of time.

        • mieachel

          05/01/2013 at 7:37 am

          and there are 5 dollar sites out there which are just scams, which will not reply anymore once you paid

        • Eric

          05/17/2013 at 6:06 am

          Found a good site, attiphoneunlocking, already unlock 2 of my phones

          • Isaac Ruiz

            07/08/2013 at 2:42 am

            How much did i cost you?

    • Matt

      09/26/2012 at 6:18 pm

      Actually your wrong. The iphone 5 is a GSM/CDMA world phone. It has both types of radios in it. So all you do to a verizon one is put an att sim in it and it will switch to GSM. The only thing that it won’t do is att LTE

    • Noah

      11/02/2012 at 1:42 pm

      Lol. Dandy is stupid.

    • almegalli

      11/13/2012 at 6:49 pm

      I have an iPhone 5 ( Verizon ), It is actually unlocked, And you can use it for GSM or CDMA . I am using mine with a T-Mobile Sim card.

      • haswell1150

        11/15/2012 at 6:00 pm

        Did you buy your Verizon iPhone 5 at a Verizon store or at an Apple retail store?

  2. Justin Pye

    09/27/2012 at 2:41 am

    only works for iphone bought from apple store not the one bought from att store or att online store, i bought full price from att online store and it does not work for me

    • Allan

      10/09/2012 at 2:21 pm

      Hey Justin, were you able to unlock the iPhone you bought from ATT online store?

  3. Sam

    09/28/2012 at 12:12 am

    I bought a iPhone 5 at the subsidized price so it was locked. I want to use it abroad without paying crazy fees so I needed it unlocked. I got it factory unlocked through Apple’s servers in about 3 hours at https://www.iphonefort-mobile.com. I dealt with Tom.

  4. watchbiggboss

    09/28/2012 at 7:59 pm

    can you believe you can unlock iphone 5 in just $20 within hours? yes i got it unlocked at https://www.unlockiphones.info so many sites offering same service but they’re ripping everyone with high price .
    who will now buy full price iphone?

    • Joseph

      10/01/2012 at 8:23 am

      My iphone is still not unlocked, i’ve been waiting for weeks!! Give me back my money, please.

    • adel

      10/03/2012 at 5:02 pm

      SCAM ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • apple unlock

      01/11/2013 at 5:18 pm

      i can unlock any iPhone…within seconds. call my bluff

      [email protected]

  5. Babak

    10/04/2012 at 4:06 am

    Even if your iPhone 5 is under contract and you don’t meet AT&T’s requirements, it can still be done with UnlockStreak activations for iTunes, which basically turns iTunes into iPhone unlock software. That type of unlock is permanent like the one from AT&T.

    • Vahid

      10/09/2012 at 12:03 pm

      how babak? would u explain it to me?

  6. Steve

    10/06/2012 at 12:53 pm

    Didn’t even have to restore it, I plugged it in for the first time and got the “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.”

    • Marx

      10/07/2012 at 6:22 am

      Really sir?i hope it can be done too in my itunes…here in qatar.

  7. Roe'e

    10/08/2012 at 11:07 pm

    Do you need to have an activated at&t sim in the phone while doing that? I have bought the phone without sim from Best-buy…

  8. Chris T.

    10/13/2012 at 3:43 am

    Just recently found out a new way to unlock your AT&T iPhones (4,4S and 5) even though it’s still in contract. I needed to use it internationally but I didn’t want to pay AT&T’s obnoxious roaming fees so I went ahead to unlock it with one of my friend’s services. Holy crap, was it cheap. For only $40, which is one of the cheapest out there, you get the assurance that your iPhone will never get relocked. Check it out here: https://theiphoneunlocker.us/
    Hope it helped someone :)

  9. jason

    10/15/2012 at 1:20 am

    Don’t believe these software unlock method, it is just a wast of money. I used the R-SIM to unlock my iphone 4S, glad to hear they are releasing the R-SIM 6 for unlocking iphone 5, https://www.eachsupplier.com/buy-wholesale-r-sim-6-samsim-for-unlocking-iphone-5-ios-6.html https://www.yoyobase.com/buy-wholesale-r-sim-6-samsim-for-unlocking-iphone-5-ios-6.html

  10. Albert

    10/15/2012 at 3:26 am

    Hi, ive used a service from http://www.attiphoneunocking.com and im totally satisfied, they have unlocked my iphone in less than and hour. It’s a permanent unlock, not like a software once where you have to unlock every time you update the firmware so its much better.

  11. bob smith

    10/18/2012 at 2:22 pm

    i found an i phone 5 a few weeks ago. anyone know how i can unlock it and use it ? it was laying in the bushes when i tied up my dog. i saw it. battery was is dead. in perfect shape tho. thanks

  12. CJ47

    10/21/2012 at 1:58 pm

    It worked it worked… thanks soooooooooo much

  13. Hadi

    10/22/2012 at 1:42 pm

    Guys wich way is easier to unlock iphone 5. Do you suggest me to buy it from Apple store or from onther place like At&t?

    Note: I need to use it in Middle East after a period of time.

    Thanks,

    • Matt

      10/22/2012 at 2:07 pm

      I got mine from verizon it’s fully unlocked after about a month if your a good customer verizon will let u use it on a foreign network this is for any iphone but to answer you question verizon I think is the best to do that.

  14. Buggy Mac

    10/23/2012 at 3:23 am

    If you want to unlock Sprint iPhone 5, simply search “Sprint iPhone 5 unlock SenseiPhone” on Google!

  15. CooLover

    10/24/2012 at 1:16 am

    ATT-Unlock.com really did a factory unlocked on my iPhone 5 with just the IMEI number in less than 8 hrs. Now I am using it with T-Mobile.

    check it out http://www.ATT-Unlock.com

  16. vu do

    10/24/2012 at 3:34 pm

    hi every one do not go to this web https://www.easyunlockingsolutions.com/ I paided 20 dollars to unlock my iphone4 .then after i order i sign in to unlock for my phone but not things work for my phone
    they are just cheating only here my order #U4750468001 and my paid
    Dear Customer,

    Thank you for your purchase of:

    Easy Unlocking Solutions – Unlock / Jailbreak instructions , Software for iPhone + FREE ELITE PACKAGE APPLICATION OFFER WITH 1000s iPhone APPS included.

    Processing will take 1 to 8 business hours for Your LOGIN to be activated.
    Once activated – You will receive an aMember account confirmation e-mail .

    Should you have any questions please contact us at:
    [email protected]

    Sincerely,

    Unlocking Team
    E NOTE: If you have paid by credit card, the charge will appear on your statement as DRI*SWREG, Inc..
    Tax Total: USD 0.00
    Manual Processing Surcharge: USD 0.00
    Total of Order: USD 19.99

    Reply

    • nhan

      10/26/2013 at 4:08 pm

      now i got unlock yet?

  17. asdasdffasd

    10/28/2012 at 8:13 am

    **NOTE: This does not work for iphone 5s purchased through AT&T directly. I had to go through the standard process of filling out the form on AT&Ts website, faxing in my receipt, and THEN restoring in itunes once instructed to do so by AT&T (they got back to me within 24 hours though).

  18. unlockfactoryIMEI

    10/31/2012 at 3:44 am

    Unlock easy and safe all cell phones: iphone 2G 3G 3GS 4 4S 5; Samsung, motorola, LG, Nokia and more!!
    https://unlockfactoryimei.ciki.me/
    Best regards.

  19. UnlockBoot DevHelp

    11/05/2012 at 3:49 pm

    The best way to unlock iPhone 5

  20. Peter

    11/07/2012 at 1:57 pm

    To clear this up: Verizon and Sprint are CDMA networks. Every iPhone is equipped with both. Only CDMA iPhones have the GSM part blocked by the carrier ( Verizon or sprint block the GSM part) You CAN Unlock Verizon and Sprint iPhones, and enable the GSM part: BUT it will still not work with USA GSM carries. It only makes sense to unlock a Verizon or Sprint iPhone if you plan to use the iPhone on Foreign ( non US) GSM networks. source: http://www.unlockaniphone.org

  21. watchbiggboss

    11/14/2012 at 8:49 pm

    i have ordered 4 iphones 1 at&t, 1 Sprint, 1 Verizon, 1 softbank japan
    All 3 got unlocked today by https://www.unlockiphones.info
    its really a nice website
    cheers..
    Don’t buy in contract iphone while you can unlock for cheap.

  22. Tony

    11/15/2012 at 7:48 am

    Got my iphone unlocked by Service called techelev ATT iphone unlock,
    Nice service for 10 bucks my iphone is completely unlocked for ever,
    if you like have a look https://techelev.com/att-iphone-unlock-service-now-unlock-any-iphone-3-3g-3gs-4-4s-5/

  23. One

    02/14/2013 at 1:53 pm

    I found an iPhone 5 in a hotel room and I checked with authorities but the couldn’t find owner and there was no SIM card so I got to keep it. Now I want to unlock but I don’t know the country of origin but I checked imei and its still in contract until 2014. What do I do?

  24. Unlock 04.12.01 (@Unlock041201)

    03/01/2013 at 6:18 am

    AT&T apparently lacks the ability to make a simple tool that checks that all the preconditions are filled. to unlock your iphone good site is https://www.imeiunlockpro.com/ . I hope help you. thanks

  25. Nicky

    04/17/2013 at 12:07 pm

    You can unlock your iPhone ONLY OFFICIALY AT https://www.unlockiphone3g4g5g.com up to iOS 6.1.3, it works and its cheap

  26. Emily Payton

    05/04/2013 at 3:26 pm

    I Unlocked my AT&T iPhone 5 using this excellent website – Unlock AT&T iPhone 5 permanently by imei.

  27. Ca94

    06/29/2013 at 10:43 am

    I used Solar Mecano to unlock my iphone and I am very happy in less than 2 days my phone was unlocked.

  28. Sam Chise

    07/13/2013 at 12:03 am

    Nice article

  29. Riste Kocev

    09/05/2013 at 9:56 am

    Thanks for all info, but I like to tell that unlock mu iPhone on https://www.factoryunlockimei.com/ This service is very fast and unlock my iPhone 5 locked on at&t only for 16h.

  30. Luis

    12/27/2013 at 2:49 am

    Wow how many ad comment ) Loocks Now i unlock my iPhone 5S locked AT&T carrier here https://letsunlockiphone5.com/att-unlock-express-premium-service/ – now ATT has many problems with unlock but this service unlock my iPhone 5S

  31. That’s right but when you go to https://att.imei.org/ the prices are very cheap so AT&T unlocking is no more expensive

  32. sean cooper social anxiety review

    08/17/2014 at 10:41 am

    With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of
    plagorism or copyright violation? My site has
    a lot of completely unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it
    up all over the web without my agreement. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being stolen? I’d really appreciate
    it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.