T-Mobile is one of the largest Telecoms Network globally this is why refurbished iPhones are usually locked to it. If you think about buying a second-hand iPhone (or you already did) then you will probably have to Tmobile unlock this iPhone. How?
Read this article and find out!
About T-Mobile
T-Mobile is a Wireless Network Operator with 230 million subscribers, first founded in Germany on September 18, 1990, by Deutsche Telekom AG. Tmobile is extremely popular in Europe, United States, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
More specifically, T-mobile is active in the following countries:
- Albania as Telekom Albania
- Austria as T-Mobile Austria (including tele.ring)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina as Hrvatski Telekom
- Croatia as Hrvatski Telekom
- Czech Republic as T-Mobile Czech Republic
- European Union as European Aviation Network
- Germany Telekom as Deutschland GmbH
- Greece as OTE and Cosmote
- Hungary as Magyar Telekom Nyrt.
- Republic of North Macedonia as Makedonski Telekom AD
- Montenegro as Crnogorski Telekom A.D.
- Netherlands as T-Mobile Nederland BV
- Poland as T-Mobile Polska
- Romania as Combridge S.R.L. and Telekom Romania
- Slovakia as Slovak Telekom
- United Kingdom as T-Mobile UK
- United States as T-Mobile US (including MetroPCS)
(Source: Wikipedia)
Why unlock a Tmobile iPhone?
It makes no difference if you are the original owner of a T-Mobile iPhone or you bought a locked T-Mobile second-hand iPhone and you can’t operate it with your Wireless Network’s SIM card.
Every iPhone should be SIM Lock-free and you manage that if you follow the correct procedure. You will be able to use any SIM card you want inside any country you want. Forget about roaming fees when you travel abroad. You can use a local SIM card.
On top of that, you can use a cheaper SIM card alternative if your current contract doesn’t satisfy you.
Tmobile Unlock iPhone Guide
Follow these steps and if your iPhone is eligible for SIM Unlocking then nothing can go wrong
1. IMEI Check your iDevice
You can’t tell if an iPhone is simlocked just by looking at it. Even if you insert your SIM card and made a call, the iPhone can get locked after a while for various reasons.
SIM lock is only a tiny part of the issues an iPhone might have. Before you buy a used iPhone or try to unlock it, you should always check for:
- SIM Lock Status:
Maybe the iPhone is not Network locked but has a hardware problem. Maybe your SIM card is broken. - Locking Mobile Network Identification:
You won’t be able to unlock any iPhone if you don’t know which Carrier locked it - Blacklist Status:
When an iPhone is LOST, STOLEN, REPLACED, INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES or there are unpaid bills by a previous owner becomes blacklisted and this means that you can’t use any Wireless Network inside the country it was blacklisted or in more countries. - Contract Status:
If the iPhone remains under contract with a previous owner, she can still report it as lost or stolen or stop paying the monthly tariff. - Financial Balance Status:
Are there contract bills left unpaid? - Warranty Status:
If the iPhone remains under Warranty with a previous owner, he can still report it as stolen, lost or ask for a replacement and eventually blacklist the refurbished iPhone you bought. - iCloud Activation Lock Status:
An iCloud Locked iPhone won’t get activated without original owner’s Apple ID and password. If the iPhone you bought is iCloud locked then most probably is also blacklisted as stolen or lost - Replaced IMEI/Serial Number Status:
Replaced iPhones’ IMEI number is changed also. Moreover, unauthorized hardware replacements on iPhones are tracked down by Apple and flag them as replaced.
There is no way to unlock a Tmobile iPhone (or any Network’s iPhone) without an IMEI Check Service (look here for more info) A certified IMEI Checker will show if your iPhone is eligible for SIM Unlocking and pinpoint other issues and how to deal with them.
On top of that, you won’t buy a problematic iPhone ever again if you IMEI check it before the purchase.
2. Contact T-Mobile
Tmobile locked your iPhone and your first move is to use their SIM Deactivation Services. T-Mobiles unlocking requirements are the following:
- The iPhone must be eligible to SIM unlocking
- The iPhone must be locked by T-Mobile
- Blacklisted iPhones can’t be unlocked
- There must be an outstanding financial status
- You can’t request more than 2 iPhone unlock per year
- Monthly iPhones must have been active for at least 40 days with T-Mobile and you may need proof of purchase
- Prepaid iPhones must have been active for more than a year on Tmobile.
- In case of Military personnel, you will need deployment papers
- You can read more in T-Mobile SIM Unlock Policy FAQ
If you meet all the requirements then get in touch with T-Mobile and your iPhone will be SIM unlocked in 1-2 business days.
Tmobile iPhone unlock for Blacklisted iDevices
If your iPhone is Blacklisted by T-Mobile there is no reason to panic.
First of all, if there are pending contract bills, you can negotiate with T-Mobile and pay for them. This will unbar your iPhone 100%. For any other Blacklisting reason, you should read carefully our
Unblock& Unblacklist iPhone Guide.
Tmobile iPhone Unlock for iCloud Locked iDevices
Find My iPhone Lock is difficult to handle. Don’t fall for iCloud Lock removal tools and YouTube videos you can find online because they are not only useless but some of them also target your personal data and bank account with Spyware and Malware.
This is a major scam. This guy is just changing iPhone settings for 10 minutes. 150.000 views with such a great free iCloud Unlock service and there are only 1000 (fake) likes? Please don’t try anything like this, for God’s sake.
There are legal ways to remove iCloud Lock through Apple and you can find out everything about it by reading this article.
I hope you managed to unlock your Tmobile iPhone. Leave a comment below and tell me how or ask me any iPhone Unlocking question. Until next time, take care iPhone Unlockers!