Unlock

Earlier this year, Apple announced that the iPhone would be available on Verizon. The technology press immediately heralded it as a groundbreaking decision – one that would end the complaints of dropped calls, poor signals, and costly service. It was a revolution in choice, an option for iPhone users to pick their carrier instead of being forced into working with AT&T.

But was it really a revolution in choice? Hardly. With eight major carriers in the United States and a lengthy list of regional carriers, giving iPhone users the choice of just two carriers is barely a major increase in choice. With carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel left out in the cold, many would-be iPhone customers have held off buying the new 4GS, fearing it wouldn’t support their preferred carrier.

The good news is that despite Apple’s official partnership with AT&T and Verizon, the iPhone can be used on a range of carriers. For years, the only way to achieve total freedom with your iPhone was to purchase an unlocked model from Apple – a costly process that frequently doubled, or even tripled, the price of a carrier subsidized unit.

Today, it’s possible to purchase a subsidized iPhone direct from your preferred carrier and unlock it afterwards. Whether you’re aiming to jailbreak your iPhone 4S, which provides access to thousands of new applications, or unlock it to gain compatibility with other networks, the process is simple and fairly inexpensive.

One of the most popular reasons for unlocking a carrier-restricted iPhone is to increase its functions when out of the country. Coverage from AT&T and Verizon can be limited in many countries, not to mention the sometimes extreme cost of international roaming services. For years, iPhone customers took to purchasing their devices internationally to make sure that they received an unlocked phone.

With iPhone 4S unlocking guides, that’s no longer necessary. In fact, for almost all consumers, save those without the time to unlock their own phone, unlocking a carrier-locked iPhone 4 is much less expensive than purchasing an unlocked phone internationally.

Of course, there are downsides to unlocking a carrier-locked phone. While factory unlocked phones typically come with a full warranty, the unlocking process – which involves jailbreaking the iPhone – voids both Apple’s factory warranty and the carrier’s own warranty. For some users, this might be a deal breaker, leaving them without any support if their iPhone stops working.

Then there’s the lack of software compatibility. On a factory unlocked iPhone, software updates are available through iTunes just as they are with a carrier-locked unit. On a jailbroken phone, however, finding software updates can be a challenging process that typically involves waiting for a ‘cracked’ version of Apple’s software to appear.

There are ups and downs to each approach, and the choice to purchase an unlocked phone or unlock their own iPhone is, as it should be, up to the consumer. However, due to the high three-figure costs associated with factory unlocked phones, more and more iPhone users are jailbreaking their own phones in an effort to enjoy greater carrier flexibility, cheaper international calling, and new apps.

Every model of the iPhone has been a great device. From the original version in 2007 all the way up to the latest model, the iPhone 4S, every iteration has been on the cutting edge of technology. Aside from jailbreaking, one popular thing that a lot of iPhone users choose to do is unlocking the iPhone. Here we’ll look at why millions have unlocked their iPhones, and why an iPhone 4S unlock is something you need to consider.

While the iPhone is no doubt a great device, its Achilles heel has always been its restriction to only a few carriers. The first models were restricted to use only on AT&T. That’s not the case today, but carrier restriction is still a big issue. While the iPhone 4S is available on multiple US carriers, it’s still not available on T-Mobile or a lot of regional carriers. There are plenty of reasons to unlock the iPhone for use on other carriers. One popular reason to unlock in the early days of the device was that local carriers offered service that was considerably cheaper than that of AT&T. This is true even with the iPhone being on multiple carriers. Many small cell providers offer unlimited talk, text and data service for a fraction of what the big carriers offer.

International use is another big reason to unlock your iPhone. Suppose you travel overseas. Your iPhone is locked and your carrier doesn’t offer coverage in the place you travel to, you won’t have cell service. Unlocking allows you to pop in a SIM card from a local carrier and be on your way. While getting a cheap phone and using it with a local carrier is an option, many phones can’t do what the iPhone does. Your iPhone has all of your data and apps already. Unlocking for international use lets you avoid the hassle of switching to a new phone temporarily. This is especially useful if you use your phone for business. Even a short vacation overseas can be a nightmare if you don’t have phone access.

Even if you’re not planning to use another carrier or travel overseas, there’s yet another reason to unlock your iPhone: Resale value. You will eventually sell your iPhone, even if it’s a few years down the road. The iPhone is so popular that even an iPhone 3GS still commands a couple hundred dollars on the secondary market. By having your iPhone unlocked when you sell it, you’ll have more people who are interested in buying it. People in overseas markets where the iPhone isn’t sold and people who don’t want to use a big carrier will all be interested in your iPhone if it is unlocked. Having more people who want to buy your iPhone means that you’ll get more money for it.

The bottom line is that you probably paid over $200 for your iPhone. If you bought it off contract, there’s a good chance you paid more than $500. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t be able to use a device you paid that much for in the way you see fit. There are no real drawbacks to unlocking your device. With all of the freedoms afforded by it, you absolutely should unlock iPhone 4S, or any other model of iPhone that you own.

The latest trend in mobile phones is people modifying their iPhones.  For many people, it’s no longer enough to have a “stock” phone that is littered with restrictions by Apple and your cell phone carrier.  In this field however, one question constantly comes up; what is the difference between unlocking and jailbreaking your iPhone?

Many people believe that the two are actually the same thing.  They are not.  In fact, one of them (jailbreak) is actually required for the other in many cases.

iPhone Jailbreak

When you jailbreak your iPhone you’re essentially opening it up from Apple’s restrictions.  Apple places tight restrictions on user’s ability to modify their phone.  Every app that is submitted to the app store has to go through a rigorous verification process.  If Apple notices anything in the app that will negatively impact battery life or give the user an option to do something that they could otherwise charge for then they will deny it from release.

Jailbreaking your iPhone will allow you to circumvent the app store altogether.  It will allow you to install a new app store, called Cydia, that people can submit apps to without them being approved by Apple.  The apps on the store are limitless and many of them are far more useful than the things you will find in the Apple endorsed app store.

You’ll find apps that will allow you to do things like tether your phone to your laptop or tablet without paying a monthly fee.  There’s an app called MyWi that will trick your phone into thinking it is using WiFi even when you’re only using 3g/4g, which will allow you to download large files that the phone would normally only allow you to download via WiFi.

If you’re a less nefarious user there are still plenty of things on Cydia that will make you want to consider installing a jailbreak.  One of the big advantages to an iPhone jailbreak is the level of customization it unlocks on your phone.  Forget wallpapers, now you’ll have the ability to modify the entire theme of your phone right down to the base icons.  Want your phone to look like it came straight out of Tron?  No problem.  Want your icons to be transparent?  It can be done.  Want five icons in your permanent app bar rather than four?  Cydia will let you do that with the click of a button.

If you’re worried about the legality of Jailbreaking, allow me to put your mind at ease.  After iPhone jailbreaks really started picking up steam, Apple tried to stop it via a lawsuit.  The court ruled that it was perfectly legal, so you’re safe in doing it.

iPhone Unlock

Unlocking an iPhone is completely different than jailbreaking it.  An unlock does not open up new apps or features on your phone.  Rather, unlocking your phone removes the carrier restriction that comes with your phone and allows you to use it with any carrier.

Normally when you buy a cellphone it has to be used on the network you bought it for.  If you buy an iPhone through AT&T then you can only use that phone with AT&T service.  Unlocking will allow you to use that phone on any matching service regardless of who the carrier is.  That means that you can buy an AT&T phone and use it with your T-mobile plan, provided you’ve unlocked the phone.  This is especially useful in the case of exclusive phones like the iPhone.  Normally you couldn’t use an iPhone on T-Mobile because they don’t have a contract with Apple, but with the process of unlocking you can buy an AT&T iPhone, unlock it, and then use it on T-Mobile.

The unlocking process typically involves first jailbreaking your phone.  There are a few software packages out there that will allow you to do it without a jailbreak, but not many.  Typically the process is that you jailbreak your phone, install Cydia, and then unlock the phone using a program you downloaded via Cydia.

There are currently iPhone 4 unlock solutions available, but the ability to unlock iPhone 4s phones is still in progress and expected very soon.  iPhone 3gs unlocks are also available presently, and when the iPhone 5 releases it will likely be several months before an unlock solution is available for it.