UNLOCK 'In-Contract/Out of Contract' iPhones (3G, 3GS, 4, 4S) without Restoring!!!

[raksrules]

Not sure if my question is relevant here but expecting some help.

I used unlock fusion to unlock my iPhone 3GS (AT&T) and i received the email from seller that it is unlocked. I used the link in OP to check the status and it is showing unlocked. So far so good.
Now without inserting any SIM i restored the iPhone and at the end of the process it told me that there is no SIM so now my iPhone is stuck without activation and i cannot get past the activation screen. I have ordered a tmobile SIM activation kit for 0.99$ which i plan to use to activate my iPhone 3GS. Btw i never got the congratulations messages supposedly because there was no SIM in the phone.
Am i doing it right (getting new Tmobile SIM to activate the iPhone) ?

--Separate question---

Also assuming i have a phone which is not jailbroken, can i use the redsn0w deactivate method (on laptop) to deactivate the phone and connect to iTunes to get the unlock message ? Asking this because i have an iPhone 4S yet to arrive and i fear that by the time it arrives, the restore window for 5.1.1 will close and i wont be able to restore to 5.1.1. So i dont want to restore the phone after i unlock it (iPhone 4S).

[monkeydodo3]

OK I got the unlock confirmation screen from iTunes. The phone still says AT&T 12.0 instead of Carrier 12.0, but that's probably because I didn't restore. The IMEI websites still say that I'm not unlocked, so I'll post another update when my micro SIM comes in the mail to confirm whether or not unlock fusion really unlocked it for me.

[raksrules]

Not sure if my question is relevant here but expecting some help.

I used unlock fusion to unlock my iPhone 3GS (AT&T) and i received the email from seller that it is unlocked. I used the link in OP to check the status and it is showing unlocked. So far so good.
Now without inserting any SIM i restored the iPhone and at the end of the process it told me that there is no SIM so now my iPhone is stuck without activation and i cannot get past the activation screen. I have ordered a tmobile SIM activation kit for 0.99$ which i plan to use to activate my iPhone 3GS. Btw i never got the congratulations messages supposedly because there was no SIM in the phone.
Am i doing it right (getting new Tmobile SIM to activate the iPhone) ?

This part looks resolved. Used a non active foreign sim that i found in my home and used that to activate the phone. Getting no service because the sim is inactive. It does not work on my android device too so i will wait for the tmobile sim to arrive to check this probably.

[mindblown]

This part looks resolved. Used a non active foreign sim that i found in my home and used that to activate the phone. Getting no service because the sim is inactive. It does not work on my android device too so i will wait for the tmobile sim to arrive to check this probably.

yup your phone is unlock no doubt about it
since it activated with a different sim other than an at&t sim, your phone is unlock.
and im sure it WILL work with the t-mobile sim you ordered.
don't worry man its going to work lol

[NewdestinyX]

OK I got the unlock confirmation screen from iTunes. The phone still says AT&T 12.0 instead of Carrier 12.0, but that's probably because I didn't restore. The IMEI websites still say that I'm not unlocked, so I'll post another update when my micro SIM comes in the mail to confirm whether or not unlock fusion really unlocked it for me.
Attachment 612287

Hmm. That's not a good sign. The IMEI reporting sites should show unlocked status immediately since they get their data from Apple's servers. I think iTunes' message of "Congratulations" may be more forgiving and generous than Apple's servers. Hopefully all is well. All IMEI checking websites I visited even minutes after I got the Congrats message from iTunes showed UNLOCKED as my status. And still unlocked now 4 days later.

[mindblown]

Hmm. That's not a good sign. The IMEI reporting sites should show unlocked status immediately since they get their data from Apple's servers. I think iTunes' message of "Congratulations" may be more forgiving and generous than Apple's servers. Hopefully all is well. All IMEI checking websites I visited even minutes after I got the Congrats message from iTunes showed UNLOCKED as my status. And still unlocked now 4 days later.

here we go again huh, we might have another victim.....

[blkcadi]

Hmm. That's not a good sign. The IMEI reporting sites should show unlocked status immediately since they get their data from Apple's servers. I think iTunes' message of "Congratulations" may be more forgiving and generous than Apple's servers. Hopefully all is well. All IMEI checking websites I visited even minutes after I got the Congrats message from iTunes showed UNLOCKED as my status. And still unlocked now 4 days later.

Won't he need to place a sim in it to complete the unlock? Even though iTunes says Congrats, you still have to go through the process with your phone to complete it.

here we go again huh, we might have another victim.....

Have we had a victim? Thought it was resolved.

[mindblown]

Won't he need to pace a sim in it to complete the unlock? Even though iTunes says Congrats, you still have to go through the process with your phone to complete it.



Have we had a victim? Thought it was resolved.

idk, that user said 1 phone got unlocked but not the other and could'nt test the unlocked phone because he did not have a tmobile sim.
and thats about it, we have not gotten a recent update since then

[monkeydodo3]

Won't he need to place a sim in it to complete the unlock? Even though iTunes says Congrats, you still have to go through the process with your phone to complete it.



Have we had a victim? Thought it was resolved.

I deactivated with SAM with my dead AT&T micro SIM in it, and then I plugged it in and got the Congratz message from iTunes. Hopefully I'm really unlocked. The worst thing at the moment is that I don't have any T-mobile micro SIM to confirm if I really am or not.

[raksrules]

I deactivated with SAM with my dead AT&T micro SIM in it, and then I plugged it in and got the Congratz message from iTunes. Hopefully I'm really unlocked. The worst thing at the moment is that I don't have any T-mobile micro SIM to confirm if I really am or not.

You may order the 0.99$ tmobile sim activation kit if you are in USA.

[joeblack112]

I too ordered the unlock service from the UNLOCK FUSION seller.. first iPhone 4, no issues at all.. Now last week I ordered two unlocks for a 4S and a 4, received the unlock notification about 24 hrs later, restored both phones (I was so stoked that I din't realize you could save your jailbreak so I never really investigated about it) and just as I feared, no luck.. I tried a lot of different methods, even using different computers, etc, all to no avail.. I went ahead and searched around for several IMEI CHECKERS and yup, they're still marked as LOCKED.. I've tried emailing the guy several times since Friday, but haven't gotten a response yet.. Any info on the last person that opened a case??? I'm guessing (and hoping) there is some kind of issue with the servers and will soon be fixed, it seems that the other "victim" also ordered the service somewhere around the same time frame as I did, so maybe that's it ...

[mindblown]

I too ordered the unlock service from the UNLOCK FUSION seller.. first iPhone 4, no issues at all.. Now last week I ordered two unlocks for a 4S and a 4, received the unlock notification about 24 hrs later, restored both phones (I was so stoked that I din't realize you could save your jailbreak so I never really investigated about it) and just as I feared, no luck.. I tried a lot of different methods, even using different computers, etc, all to no avail.. I went ahead and searched around for several IMEI CHECKERS and yup, they're still marked as LOCKED.. I've tried emailing the guy several times since Friday, but haven't gotten a response yet.. Any info on the last person that opened a case??? I'm guessing (and hoping) there is some kind of issue with the servers and will soon be fixed, it seems that the other "victim" also ordered the service somewhere around the same time frame as I did, so maybe that's it ...

so for both phones when you tried to activate with a another sim other than at&t sim, you get the sim invalid message?
maybe at&t is catching on too these shady unlocks, idk, that is just my opinion...

[joeblack112]

so for both phones when you tried to activate with a another sim other than at&t sim, you get the sim invalid message?
maybe at&t is catching on too these shady unlocks, idk, that is just my opinion...

yup, I tried both phones with the same result.. good thing I only spent $13 on each, but yeah, I found it a little "to good to be true" to think that all iPhones could now be unlocked by this method regardless of their status with at&t.. but who knows, I'll keep you guys posted..

[rivryan]

I too ordered the unlock service from the UNLOCK FUSION seller.. first iPhone 4, no issues at all.. Now last week I ordered two unlocks for a 4S and a 4, received the unlock notification about 24 hrs later, restored both phones (I was so stoked that I din't realize you could save your jailbreak so I never really investigated about it) and just as I feared, no luck.. I tried a lot of different methods, even using different computers, etc, all to no avail.. I went ahead and searched around for several IMEI CHECKERS and yup, they're still marked as LOCKED.. I've tried emailing the guy several times since Friday, but haven't gotten a response yet.. Any info on the last person that opened a case??? I'm guessing (and hoping) there is some kind of issue with the servers and will soon be fixed, it seems that the other "victim" also ordered the service somewhere around the same time frame as I did, so maybe that's it ...

I ordered my unlocks saturday night and got them yesterday/unlocked my phone/sold my phone. Pretty awesome and they were very quick to reply to my emails. Have you tried emailing them at [email protected]?

[raksrules]

@NewdestinyX

Can you suggest me some other more reputable services (here or PM) ? Also how can we guarantee that a reputable service is not using similar method ?

[luv2hnt1]

Is there any security issues with giving an unlocker your IMEI number?

[NewdestinyX]

@NewdestinyX

Can you suggest me some other more reputable services (here or PM) ? Also how can we guarantee that a reputable service is not using similar method ?

Simon answered both your questions there a few pages back in this thread. I forget the company he suggested. He also suggested that the more legit method simply 'costs more' $50+.. And that's one way you can weed out the bottom feeders. I'm new at this too - but that's what I've learned.

Is there any security issues with giving an unlocker your IMEI number?

Great question. Doubt it - but....

[khyber]

I bought an "unlock service" from mobilehotshots on ebay for an iPhone 3GS for $11.81. Within a day of providing my IMEI, I received a congratulations email from the seller.

I don't recall iTunes saying that my iPhone was unlocked. After restoring through iTunes, I was able to use a simple mobile sim card to activate and make calls.

[NewdestinyX]

I bought an "unlock service" from mobilehotshots on ebay for an iPhone 3GS for $11.81. Within a day of providing my IMEI, I received a congratulations email from the seller.

I don't recall iTunes saying that my iPhone was unlocked. After restoring through iTunes, I was able to use a simple mobile sim card to activate and make calls.

Great! I have several phones I yet want to unlock - but I'll pay more than $11 for it to help assure I'm getting a legit permanent unlock service; a service that has a relationship directly with AT&T to unlock a certain block of phones as Simon described earlier. Those services are legit and permanent and, of course, more costly. We live in an age of people wanting something for nothing. But nothing usually means no guarantee.

[raksrules]

@NewdestinyX

I went back and read the entire thread and yes Simon has mentioned about OfficialUnlocks.com
Now my main concern is that if we know unlock fusion might be using not so straight forward ways then who is ? We never know right ?
I see several listings on craiglist in my local area asking 50$ for unlock, i for some reason am skeptical about them as even they might be in turn using unlock fusion etc and pocketing the remaining 40$. Possible right ?

So can we have a list of the reliable sellers who can get the phone genuinely unlocked and remove the fear that it won't relock ?