jsnydcsa

So, I've been perusing this thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...restoring.html

And, I think I've got it.

I have an AT&T iPhone 5 updated with the most recent iOS. The phone has been exclusively sync'ed to one computer via a wired (USB) iTunes sync. FWIW OSX v. 10.9.5 with iTunes v. 12.3.1.23

I just finished my contract with AT&T and requested (by providing IMEI, phone number and some other details) and received confirmation of unlock from AT&T.

In a couple of weeks, I'm traveling internationally and will be using this old iPhone with another country's SIM.

I don't have the SIM (I will not until I arrive) and am hence a little worried that the process will not work and I'll be either SoL or literally phoning back to AT&T for help.

According to AT&T Tech support this is the process to unlock:
1) Backup Phone w/ AT&T SIM in Phone by Wired Connection to iTunes.

2) Turn Off Find My iPhone

3) Erase iPhone / Master Reset with AT&T SIM STILL IN PHONE
Settings - General - Reset - Reset All Settings
(Side Note - not sure whether should do this while phone still connected to iTunes or not)

4) Restore iPhone from iTunes Backup with AT&T SIM STILL IN PHONE

5) Phone is now Unlocked

According to AT&T - During backup, erase, restore process through iTunes you should get a
message with iPhone unlocked.

6) Remove AT&T SIM

7) Upon arrival in new country, insert new SIM.

That sort of sounds consistent with what I read above. But, it might not be. And, I'm not 100% sure the phone is technically, really unlocked until the new SIM is in the phone and the phone/SIM have a chance to connect back to "Apple" somewhere to confirm the unlock is legit.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

gfunkdave

Rather than go through the hassle of erasing and restoring the phone, why not just go to a T-Mobile store or other vendor and get a prepaid SIM for your phone? I think the SIM costs a few bucks. Don't load any credit into it; just put the SIM in your phone and see if it unlocks.

I think the iPhone 5 uses the same nano-SIM that current models use.

T-mobile often has sales where prepaid SIM kits are free.

jsnydcsa

Huh. Interesting. I may just do that.

It sounds like you're saying that somewhere in the ether, the phone is now known as unlocked or no longer tied to AT&T. So, when I put in the T-Mobile SIM, the phone will reach out to "the ether" and see if that's the case. If so, I'll know that the phone is now unlocked and capable of accepting a non-AT&T SIM.

Almost sounds too simple to work.

gfunkdave

Yeah, when you put the new SIM in the first time you'll see the "Welcome to iPhone" screen as if you had just bought a new phone. You swipe to the right, pick your wifi network, and then the phone will ask Apple if it's unlocked. Once Apple confirms it, the phone will reboot and will be unlocked. Subsequent times you put a non-AT&T SIM in, the phone will accept it right away.

I'm not 100% sure if AT&T unlocks your phone for overseas carriers only. Verizon, for example, used to keep its phones locked to Verizon in the US but unlocked them for use outside the US.

emrdoc

OP...the process you described above will work. Don't sweat it.

CatJo

If you can't get a hold of a T-Mobile SIM at a cheap price, just get a non-AT&T one from eBay for $1, like this one for a T-Mobile MNVO.

jsnydcsa

Even if you don't erase the phone first? Huh. Instresting. OK. Let me get a SIM then and give this a shot. It'll be a US SIM, so hold thumbs that the "unlock for foreign carrier only" issue doesn't come up.

I'll report back. Likely early next week.

gfunkdave

Yeah, no need to erase the phone. You just need access to wifi or be able to plug the phone into a computer running iTunes that has internet access.

FLYMSY

I've had ATT unlock 3 iPhones and have never had any issues. Never had to erase one or do anything else. I just popped in the foreign Sim and was ready to go.

jsnydcsa

OMG [Just had to type that!].

It worked!

DID NOT ERASE PHONE
DID NOT CONNECT PHONE TO iTUNES.

With power off, popped out the old AT&T SIM.
With power off, popped in a new-ish T-Mo SIM
Powered up.
iPhone went straight to screen that asked me to log into a WiFi network. I chose one that the phone had previously logged into. No WiFi Password required. Phone had home WiFi login/password details already saved in it from previous use. So, phone connected to WiFi on its own.

Phone then gave a message that stated in s/s 'This may take a few minutes" for "activation".

Then up came a screen that required me enter in iCloud login details. Did that and entered details.

Then iPhone continued on through a very brief process and started up.

Phone downloaded a lot of OLD and new email into old/previous accounts that were in the Mail/Calendar settings of phone. So that, when abroad, phone will not suck up data downloading old emails.

Phone is brightly displaying T-Mo connection to network as well as WiFi connection.

Thanks to all. Amazing. Holding thumbs that while in phone shop abroad after buying and popping in new SIM, it works as easily.

I killed off the multiple email accounts I had on the phone so that, on start up abroad, I don't suddenly eat up a lot of data downloading a lot of emails (I don't use iCloud for email, so I'm keeping that account on the phone).

Also, once I get the foreign SIM, I may wait until I'm back at my folks' house with WiFi to be able to sign into their WiFi access point during the setup/initial startup process so as to further save data.

Again, thanks. If I can, I'll report on how it went abroad.

FLYMSY

There should be ZERO issues. I have sim cards from several countries and have had absolutely no problems. The caveat being that I don't buy from off brand shops.

gfunkdave

Great, glad it all worked.

For future reference, you don't need to turn the phone off. When you remove the SIM it will just say that there's no SIM.

You don't need wifi for subsequent new SIM cards. You just needed it this one time so the phone could check its lock status with Apple. Now, the phone is unlocked.

Not sure what you mean about the phone spontaneously re-adding old email accounts?

jsnydcsa

Thanks to all who confidently helped. I'm a pessimist when it comes to these things.

I really didn't mean downloading accounts - i.e. account information (settings). What I really meant was actual emails themselves.

The backstory to this comment was that, when I had turned off the phones about 2 weeks ago, they still had several email accounts' settings/information stored in the Mail/Calendars settings. So, when the phones started up again and connected to the interwebs, they started downloading mail from these accounts. Perhaps not two weeks worth of emails, but still quite a bit. I have since deleted most of those accounts.

Why? You ask. You now have an unlocked iPhone that you can use with a local carrier's SIM for cheaper data access to your email (than roaming with your US phone). Why would you axe the account information/settings when you're presumably going to need/use the unlocked iPhone to access emails using the cheaper/local data SIM?

Well simply stated, I don't NEED all that email to be pulled via my local data plan. I'll basically only pull email for a main account (which was kept on the iPhone) that I need/use day-to-day even while traveling abroad. The other accounts - that i removed - are lower priority and I don't need to check them via my iPhone. I can check them less-instantly via my laptop.

Indeed, at least on this immediately coming up trip, I hope to be a little less connected. So, I don't need 1/2 a dozen different email accounts assaulting me with emails every gosh darn minute while I'm abroad. The main one is needed (in the sense that instant email connectivity is needed for a schmoe like me) but the others can slide during my travel.

Finally, there was a bit of a secondary motive for all of this. As I've mentioned, I'm only getting the foreign SIMs upon arrival in-country. I kinda lied about that. I really meant only getting the foreign IPHONE SIMs upon arrival in-country. I actually have the two phone lines/SIMs from all the way back in early 2001 and have been keeping them going as pay-go lines since then. The (obviously) non-iPhone sized SIMs currently reside in two old Nokia phones which have done workmanlike duty for approximately 10 years. Meanwhile, over the same period of time, in the US, I've gone through contract phones (Nokias, a Siemens, then Blackberries, now iPhones) through the same time period. During a recent trip with my iPhone on international roaming and my trusty old Nokia, it was a pain to switch from iMessaging on the iPhone to phone keypad texting/SMSing with locals on my Nokia. First world problem. I know. So, with the change to new iPhones, I thought I could "upgrade" my Nokias to the old now-SIM unlocked iPhones keeping the experience similar.

Thus endeth the story. And, I'll report back once I've set up the phones with the foreign SIMs.

Onward.

And, again, thanks!

gfunkdave

Ah, gotcha. YOu can also just set those accounts to Manual and Fetch, rather than Push, and they won't be as data-hungry.

nmenaker

this has been my experience as well. once AT&T or a third party has processed the official unlock, connecting to itunes via a computer has resulted in the pop up saying "your phone is now unlocked" no reset, backup nor restore needed.