iPhone Unlocking

Despite an AT&T official policy to the contrary, some iPhone owners have been able to unlock their iPhones while still in a service contract with the mobile carrier. Several users described by ArsTechnica initiated the unlock process via standard procedure on the web, and were approved even though their two-year service commitment had not been fulfilled.

AT&T started unlocking iPhones for customer accounts in good standing earlier this year. The instructions to unlock your AT&T iPhone are simple, requiring anywhere from a day to a week to take effect. After the process is complete, the unlocked iPhone can be used with SIM cards from other compatible carrier networks.

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.

While iOS 5.1.1 may have thrown jailbreakers a curveball, unlockers using the GEVEY Ultra S GSM with their GSM iPhone 4S will be happy to know it's safe to upgrade. According to online retailer ApplenBerry's Twitter feed, the GEVEY Ultra S GSM is compatible with iOS 5.1.1.

CDMA iPhone 4S or 4 models need to be jailbroken to use the Ultra 5.1 SIM interposer. There is no jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 currently, but the GEVEY Ultra S does support iOS 4.1 and later (through 5.1). iPhone owners should not update to iOS 5.1.1 if they would like to keep their devices jailbroken.

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.