Loading...Every day, you can see thousands of threads on tech forums filled with questions on unlocking the iPhone, and the common ones include the likes of “what is factory unlocked iPhone?” or “what is the difference between factory-unlocked iPhone and an iPhone?”. You may also hear tons of potential buyers querying which one is better? Can they update the firmware version on the factory-unlocked iPhone?
I’ve heard plenty of my friendly asking quite curiously – can I jailbreak my iPhone? If I jailbreak my iPhone, will I lose something good? What’s the cost of the iPhone? Where can I buy the iPhone? Will Apple do international shipping and which are the countries that have Apple iStores? So, I’ve decided to compile a quick guide containing all the top FAQs related to unlocking an iPhone, and all their queries.
Dealing with Local Laws
In few countries there are certain restrictions and laws, which don’t allow companies to sell iPhones and they are locked to the local providers. All these laws came from Apple and they are known as Officially Factory Unlocked iPhone, which is not hundred percent true, since the phone is never locked. However, the handset is manufactured by Apple without any restriction on using any SIM card, and you can use the iPhone with GSM SIM card all around the world.
Other Facts
A great thing about the iPhone is that no matter how many time you start upgrading, or updating, or downgrading the firmware, the phones till works with any SIM card across the world. You can still jailbreak the iPhone and need not worry about unlocking and affecting the status of the device.
But, you need to be careful at the time when the phone is not locked to specific provider, and if want to use it globally without unlocking it acts like a locked iPhone.
How is Factory-Unlocked iPhone Better?
Factory-Unlocked iPhone is much better when compared to locked iPhone because of 2 reasons. First off, it is already unlocked and you don’t need to worry regarding the unlocking status. You can upgrade the firmware version every time Apple offers new version of iPhone, when the iPhone is in unlocked status.
For instance, if you go to the Apple store in United States, they will tell you the pricing details of factory-unlocked iPhone, which is significantly higher than a locked one. You need to know couple of things here that Apple doesn’t ship phones internationally. So, if you are willing to purchase a factory unlocked iPhone, then you need to find someone in US to ship it. Another thing that you need to know about Apple is that they will limit 2 phones per customer; so, there is no question of running a business out of it.
There are several ways of unlocking the iPhone; it is recommended not to follow the suggestions that you see on random videos that you see on the Internet. It is better to seek a professional to get your iPhone unlocked. In order to stay away from trouble, you should consider purchasing a new factory-unlocked iPhone.
Buying No-Contract Handsets
No-Contract phones are also priced same as the unlocked iPhones, which don’t come unlocked as such. No-contract phones mean that you can use the phone with only one carrier. You need to enter into a contract with a carrier for 2 years. However, AT&T can unlock a “no-contract” iPhone if you complete their unlock process.
If the handset is legitimately unlocked, it means that you have got it out of the box factory-unlocked from the carrier or from Apple; there will be no possibility of your handset getting re-locked again.