How to unlock your Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4S

How to unlock your Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4S
(For International Travel)

For information on how to unlock your iPhone for USA/Domestic use Click HERE.

If you are still in good standing with your current service provider ie: AT&T, Verizon or Sprint and you are about to upgrade to the newest iPhone, unlocking your old iPhone before you upgrade is by far the smartest thing you can do!

Unlocking your old iPhone, be it a 3G S, an AT&T iPhone 4 or a iPhone 4S (any carrier) increases the resale value of your phone! "Jailbreaking" your phone out of necessity is often inconvenient, but it may surprise you to know that it is often unnecessary! In Europe and Asia the practice of "locking" a phone to a specific carrier is usually "illegal" and hence, buying a fancy smart phone outside the USA is often quite pricey. So why do carriers lock phones? To get you hooked on that contract obviously!

The secret to getting your phone unlocked LEGALLY and permanently is to be in good standing with your service provider. Once your iPhone is unlocked it will be forever unlocked, even if you update the software or fall out of favor with your service provider.

Before we begin with the unlocking instructions, I would first like to point out that not all cellphone providers will treat you equally good, and many tech support reps are just plain ignorant! If you get a stupid rep who tells you they "can't unlock your phone"  or that you should "jail break it" hang up and call back till you get a more cooperative rep. They ARE obligated to unlock your phone for "legitimate reasons". Know that this is your right as a paying customer in good standing and don't be intimidated.

(Verizon/Sprint)

Step: 1

The first step is to call your service provider and inform them that you will be "traveling internationally" and that you need to UNLOCK YOUR PHONE so that you can use a SIM CARD over GSM while traveling. Please note that if you have a Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4, YOU CANNOT DO THIS! Only the Sprint/Verizon iPhone 4S has this capability. The rep will punch a few keys and your iPhone will be unlocked, however, don't go celebrating yet. Ask the rep for details or more instructions to be safe, your iPhone will not be truly unlocked UNTIL you sync it with iTunes. Once that is complete and you have assurance from your rep that your iPhone is indeed unlocked, Sync your iPhone immediately with iTunes and BACK IT UP! To be safe back up all your data on your computer AND on the iCloud! 

Step 2:

When you are confident that your data has been saved, TURN OFF YOUR PHONE, then get a paper clip and stick it in the pin hole that houses the SIM card (right side of iPhone 4S). If nothing happens stick it in harder. Eventually the tray will be release and you will see your SIM Card inside. Remove the SIM Card and replace it with another SIM Card.... BE PREPARED FOR THIS STEP PLEASE... you will need an international SIM Card (not Verizon or Sprint). Purchase the SIM card before you pull the tray!

Step 3:

Insert the SIM Card inside the tray and close the tray. Plug your iPhone into computer and Sync it with iTunes. Congrats your phone is unlocked!

PLEASE NOTE: Sprint and Verizon usually provide unlock codes for the iPhone as requested by a customer if the customer is in good standing with their accounts for a minimum 90-day period.


(AT&T)

Unlocking your AT&T iPhone is also possible. For many AT&T customers this use to be a frustrating process, but earlier this year, and in a bold move, Apple compelled AT&T to unlock an older iPhone model to be used when traveling internationally. As reported, the customer had asked AT&T to unlock his iPhone 3GS and was told they couldn't and believe it or not, the AT&T rep even suggested that the customer "jailbreak" the phone. Frustrated, the customer reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook. According to the customer, Cook himself did not respond to him personally, but Cook’s office worked with AT&T to see to it that his iPhone was unlocked and then followed up after the unlocking was completed to ensure the process went smoothly.

It is believed that the main reason Apple intervened in this particular incident is because the carrier had initially informed the customer to jailbreak his phone to SIM unlock the device, rather than issue a method for legally unlocking the device without jailbreak.  Apple has been fighting a battle against jailbreaking, and the company did not want its partners to encourage or reward such behavior.

AT&T has since instituted an similar unlocking policy to aid customers who are traveling internationally and need to unlock their devices. Contact AT&T for more information.