Questions about Unlocking iPhone

[the1payday]

I have a few questions about unlocking the iPhone.

1. Is it legal?

2. I don't want to use it with a different carrier....I want to continue using it with AT&T, I just want to have it on a cheaper plan....so can this be done using unlock methods.

3. Will At&t or Apple be able to tell that I have unlocked my phone? I um..."recieved" a new phone a couple of months ago and I just put my SIM card in and it worked with my account....at&t has no records that I switched phones. Will this work the same way with iPhone?

I would really appreciate anything anyone has to say that could help me....however I would really appreciate "facts" over "opinions" to speed up the process. Thanks.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Im not sure why, if you are staying with ATT you need to unlock. Unlocking is for using it with a different carrier. Besides, how would unlocking it get you on a cheaper plan?

 

[the1payday]

Im not sure why, if you are staying with ATT you need to unlock. Unlocking is for using it with a different carrier. Besides, how would unlocking it get you on a cheaper plan?

If I unlock it and put my current sim card in it....can I not stay on my current CHEAPER at&t plan without them knowing that I've switched phones?

 

[matticus008]

1. Is it legal?

Absolutely. However, be careful to note that the tools to do so are not necessarily legal. As an end user, however, this does not concern you.

2. I don't want to use it with a different carrier....I want to continue using it with AT&T, I just want to have it on a cheaper plan....so can this be done using unlock methods.

This is the exact scenario unlocking is for (prior to the SIMFree unlocks for multiple carriers). You can do this with a number of simple tools available online.

3. Will At&t or Apple be able to tell that I have unlocked my phone?

The short answer is "no" but the long answer is "yes."
They will know that the IMEI is that of an iPhone and that the ICCID is not one for an iPhone. In theory, they could blacklist the ICCID and make your SIM inoperable. However, there is no reason for this to occur short of theft or abuse--it would be entirely too labor-intensive to track all the combinations, especially as SIMs change daily on other handsets.

at&t has no records that I switched phones.

Sure they do. They just don't have any reason to investigate, and even if they did, they have no reason to think that you're using an "unauthorized" handset, so they'd never do anything about it.

Im not sure why, if you are staying with ATT you need to unlock.

Because the SIM in the iPhone is the only SIM that will work in the iPhone. Another SIM, even an AT&T one, will not work in a locked iPhone.

Unlocking is for using it with a different carrier. Besides, how would unlocking it get you on a cheaper plan?

It's not. Until last week, unlocking was for using it with other AT&T cards, particularly to use other rate plans (since the plan and features are coded onto the SIM).

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Dont listen to me then, I obviously dont know what Im talking about

 

[unity]

You dont have to switch plans. There is a $20 iPhone data package that they can just add on. If thats a problem and you dont want google maps, e-mail, youtube, etc over Edge then you can raise a big stink and maybe get them to pull that package.

Either way, you wont loose the voice plan you are on.

 

[the1payday]

You dont have to switch plans. There is a $20 iPhone data package that they can just add on. If thats a problem and you dont want google maps, e-mail, youtube, etc over Edge then you can raise a big stink and maybe get them to pull that package.

Either way, you wont loose the voice plan you are on.

I'm on a business plan of my father's.....my phone only costs me $15 a month...if I added the data plan to that it would only be $35....but you can't add an iPhone to that type of plan, which is why I want to unlock it and just keep it on that plan.

 

[the1payday]

Can anyone else give me suggestions? I still want to stay on At&t...but on the cheap business plan I am on. Also, what is the best methods of unlocking (preferably free)

 

[matticus008]

Can anyone else give me suggestions? I still want to stay on At&t...but on the cheap business plan I am on. Also, what is the best methods of unlocking (preferably free)

Download iNdependence and follow the unlocking instructions. Make sure iTunes is closed.

I can't vouch for it perfectly, since I use the actual iPhone SIM, but others seem to have success.