how to unlock iphone 5 for free

Software unlocks to unlock iPhone 5/5s/5c are a commonly advertised method of unlocking an iPhone 5 series. The truth is that they never actually work and every single piece of software is a scam that has the sole aim of getting your credit card details. Don’t expect a refund from these guys either when you do figure out that it doesn’t work. I’ll be honest, I have fallen for this trick twice now and each time I lost my money with no results. Make sure and learn from my mistakes: there is no software you can download which will unlock your iPhone 5 series.

Hardware Unlock – will invalidate your warranty and take weeks to perform

A method and a solution on how to unlock iPhone 5 that does work is altering the hardware on the iPhone 5 series. This involves ordering alternative SIM card trays from China, inserting them into your iPhone and then putting in a new SIM card. While this does work there are major drawbacks. One is that it takes weeks to get the tray and if you aren’t adept at technology then it can be difficult to insert the new tray yourself. Secondly the tray can get jammed rendering the iPhone useless. Try taking it to an Apple store and see what they say because you have just voided your warranty.

Network Unlock or IMEI Unlock – Easy, permanent and really fast
Ok, so we have the ‘bad’ ways to unlock an iPhone 5 series, what about the ‘good’? A Network Unlock which is also known as an IMEI Unlock is incredibly simple and easy to do and will unlock your iPhone. You pay someone with the know-how to access Apple’s global database containing all the iPhone registration numbers (IMEI) and they then transfer your iPhone number to the ‘whitelist’ meaning that you can use that phone on ANY NETWORK you want.

When the unlocking is complete you get a nice email to confirm that you can now use your iPhone on any network and your iTunes greets you with this message when you connect your phone:


So, once you see this message your iPhone is officially unlocked, for good. Also, a big bonus of this method is that your warranty is still intact.

I never knew about this method until recently and I thought the only way to get a network unlock was to pay around $300 to my carrier for them to do it for me.

No way is that a reasonable fee I thought so I went online and searched around for IMEI unlocking companies. These are the ones I found and they are safe, have a good reputation and customer support and provide a proper unlock iPhone 5/5s/5c series.

 iUnlock Pro (10/10 – pick of the bunch)

They offer complete iPhone 5 series unlocks at a cheap price and have great customer service into the bargain as well. Also, their delivery was really fast and they are a service that does provide a way to unlock iPhone 5.

I started the process on a Tuesday night and by the next morning my iPhone 5 was unlocked. Incredible speed. I thought I would have to wait another week or so before I heard anything back but once I connected my iPhone to iTunes the next day I got the message I posted above.

Dealing with them was a pleasure. They offer great customer support and even though some of the question I had probably sounded a bit silly to them, they answered in a polite manner so I understood every step of the process.

2. IMEI Unlocking (OK service, 7/10)

I would use this service as backup to iUnlock Pro. The guys that run it seem to be good at what they do however I found that their customer service was lacking somewhat.

They weren’t rude or anything, it was just that it took 4 or 5 days before I got a reply from them – perhaps they are busy and this was before they managed to unlock iPhone 5s ? On top of this I thought their website was a bit difficult to figure out navigation wise and they don’t support all normal payment processes either which isn’t ideal. Although I was wondering how to unlock iPhone 5/5s/5c and they did help me out.

Not a terrible service but they pale in comparison to iUnlock Pro.

3. IMEI Codes (Puzzling website with average service, 6/10)

These guys are OK was well although they suffer from many of the same issues as IMEI unlocking but they do unlock iPhone 5c and other models.

Again, not terrible but certainly not the best and should only be used if the other services such as iUnlock Pro aren’t available.

    Software unlocking does not work. Period. Stay well away if you don’t want to be scammed.
    Hardware unlocking does work but it is drawn out and will void your iPhone warranty.
    IMEI unlocks are, as I have shown you, the safest and most reliable method to have your iPhone 5 series unlocked.

Hopefully this is clear. If you are wondering how to unlock iPhone 5/5s/5c/ or having a lot of trouble getting your iPhone 5 series unlocked then I would recommend getting in touch with iUnlock Pro for a safe and fast unlocking process.

As I have shown you, there are several other options to getting your iPhone 5 series unlocked and being able to connect to another network but they are either a complete scam or just aren’t safe.