How to Unlock Your Off-Contract AT&T iPhone

Following Friday’s unexpected news that AT&T will now unlock off-contract iPhones, information on the process is now available from Apple and AT&T.

AT&T iPhone UnlockImage via Shutterstock.

The Next Web confirmed the process with Apple on Sunday. To unlock your off-contract AT&T iPhone, simply follow the steps below.

  1. Locate your iPhone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. This can be found by going to Settings > General > About. Copy this number for later.
  2. Log into your myAT&T account.
  3. Head over to the Wireless Support Chat section of the site and click on Technical Support chat.
  4. Inform the AT&T representative that you’d like to unlock your iPhone and provide them with the IMEI number from Step 1.
  5. AT&T will verify that your phone’s contract has been completed and that your account is in good standing. It will then send this information off to Apple, which will contact you via email within 72 hours (although many users are reporting a much faster response).
  6. Once you receive the code from Apple, you’ll need to connect your iPhone to a Mac or PC running iTunes. Follow these steps to perform a backup and restore of the phone. Doing so will unlock the phone once it’s restored.

If you don’t see “Unlock Complete. Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked. To set up and sync this iPhone, click Continue,” visit this Apple Support Article for troubleshooting steps.

That’s it! Your iPhone can now be used on compatible domestic and international GSM carriers simply by obtaining an applicable SIM card.