How to unlock your jailbroken AT&T phone without restoring

[Europa]

I just unlocked my jailbroken 4S without having to restore. I bought the code from UnlockFusion on eBay last night for $6.75. They sent me an email with a link to send them my IMEI. Five hours later they sent me the confirmation email that my phone was now unlocked and directions for applying the unlock - which included a restore.

I bypassed the restore process and completed the unlock in less than a minute with the SAM jailbreak utility.

1. In Cydia add repo: Binger.com
2. Install SAM
3. Settings > SAM > Utilities > De-Activate iPhone (clear push)

You'll now get a screen saying your phone is deactivated. Keep your AT&T SIM in your phone. Now open iTunes and connect your phone. Make sure you're running the latest version of iTunes. iTunes will reactivate the phone as unlocked and you'll get a message saying the phone is now unlocked.

Verified unlocked with a T-Mobile SIM card:

 

[Napoleon PhoneApart]

Confirmed. I just used the SAM method to deactivate/activate my 4S (after purchasing an eBay unlock), and it has a sim that was disabled after my iPhone 5 purchase this morning.

 

[ITS ME DAVID]

I heard if you have a 4s you can just insert your other carrier sim and it will find service no need for all that other stuff.

 

[Europa]

I heard if you have a 4s you can just insert your other carrier sim and it will find service no need for all that other stuff.

No. Mine was locked to AT&T before I unlocked it this morning.

AT&T declined my request to unlock my phone a few weeks ago since it's still under contract, which is why I went with the eBay method.

 

[iphonewarrior]

I know SAM (Subscriber Artificial Module for those unaware) was coupled with Redsn0w, it's great to know that it's been packaged up and added to Cydia.

 

[Napoleon PhoneApart]

I heard if you have a 4s you can just insert your other carrier sim and it will find service no need for all that other stuff.

AT&T offers an online unlock service for those who are out of contract.

Unless you specifically bought a factory-unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple last year, your 4S is locked to your carrier.

 

[Napoleon PhoneApart]

I know SAM (Subscriber Artificial Module for those unaware) was coupled with Redsn0w, it's great to know that it's been packaged up and added to Cydia.

Surface to Air Missile, silly.

 

[ITS ME DAVID]

No. Mine was locked to AT&T before I unlocked it this morning.

AT&T declined my request to unlock my phone a few weeks ago since it's still under contract, which is why I went with the eBay method.

I get that I'm saying once its unlocked and u have a 4s there is no need to restore or do what u did just install others carrier sim and it will detect it.

 

[ITS ME DAVID]

See video here

 

[Napoleon PhoneApart]

Once I had the unlock from eBay, it only took me a few seconds with SAM.

 

[Europa]

I get that I'm saying once its unlocked and u have a 4s there is no need to restore or do what u did just install others carrier sim and it will detect it.

Hmm. I'm not sure if that works with this eBay method. Everything I've seen says that it needs to be restored unless you use SAM. I've already used SAM, so maybe someone else can test it without using SAM or restoring to see if it works.

 

[Muckcityjustin]

ahh fellow redditor I see!

 

[Napoleon PhoneApart]

ahh fellow redditor I see!

I'm one too, derp.

 

[ITS ME DAVID]

If its out of contract and your a current att or previous att customer with the account in good standing you can call att and ask for them to unlock it. If you don't qualify for any of the above then search for username on eBay unlock_fusion and buy the unlock from them Less then $10 and done less then 24hrs.

 

[PinkBanana]

Just a shame that UK carriers can't use this service. I have to wait 30 days! Yes 30 days for Orange to provide me with an unlock and it'll cost me £20. Complete and utter rip off in my opinion considering O2 will do it for nothing.

 

[AdamDaieh]

Nice guide, thanks!

 

[bikerboy]

isn't there a way to unlock without purchasing anything ?
Thanks

 

[Europa]

isn't there a way to unlock without purchasing anything ?
Thanks

They are really cheap (about $3) and far superior to software unlocks since they are permanent and don't require that you stay on old firmware or preserve your baseband every time you update, and they don't require jailbreaking. Additionally, it's doubtful you would be eligible for a software unlock anyway. The last version of the software unlock (ultrasn0w) was released about two years ago, so if a regular iPhone update has been done anytime in the past two years or if the phone is a 4S or 5, it won't work.

 

[bikerboy]

They are really cheap (about $3) and far superior to software unlocks since they are permanent and don't require that you stay on old firmware or preserve your baseband every time you update and they don't require jailbreaking. Additionally, it's doubtful you would be eligible for a software unlock anyway. The last version of the software unlock (ultrasn0w) was released about two years ago, so if a regular iPhone update has been done anytime in the past two years or if the phone is a 4S or 5, it won't work.

i tried searching eBay , and unfortunately couldn't find where or how to buy this unlock , what should i be searching for ?

 

[bikerboy]

another issue i am having with a sister's iPhone 3gs is that it needs activation too , how do i do that ? i am no longer in the states so i can't/don't have access to att sim that is active.