Before I show you how to use a stolen iPhone, let’s make one thing clear: This article was made for all of you out there who bought a refurbished iPhone from an online market, a local store or personal transaction and proved to be stolen. iPhone theft is not tolerated and I would be extremely frustrated if an iPhone thief uses these iPhone Unlock Hints.
With this said let’s continue and see how to check, activate, unlock and eventually use a stolen iPhone.
Step-by-Step Guide to using a stolen iPhone
Follow these steps accordingly and you will manage to unlock a stolen iPhone as easily as possible!
Step 1: Check the stolen iPhone
Your first mistake was buying a second hand iPhone without IMEI Checking it first. An IMEI GSX Report would uncover all the issues below in a few hours or a couple of days!
SIM Lock Status- Mobile Network Identification
- iCloud Activation Lock Status
- Blacklist Status
- Contract Status
- Financial Balance Status
- Warranty Status
- Insurance Claims
- Replaced IMEI number
- Replaced Serial Number
- iPhone True Specs
=>You can learn more about all the above by reading this ”iPhone Hidden Issues” article<=
All you need is the stolen iPhone’s IMEI number (here are all the ways to find it out)
But IMEI Check remains vital even now before you unlock a stolen iPhone because:
- Many of these issues may render your iPhone not eligible for Network Unlocking or relock it after a while
- You will know how much it will cost you to fully unlock the stolen iPhone.
- You will get only the right iPhone Unlocking Services and avoid needless ones
Step 2: Activate the stolen iPhone
Now that we gather all the info we need, thanks to the iPhone IMEI Check Service, the iCloud Activation Lock must be removed before anything else!
(if the stolen iPhone you want to use is not iCloud Locked skip to step 3)
As soon as you turned on the stolen iPhone you got stucked on the iCloud Activation Lock Screen.
There are 2 ways to proceed at this point:
- You can disable iCloud Activation Lock with iCloud Account Unlock Online. This is the only iCloud Bypass Tools that works most of the times but unfortunately, NOT always!
- Usually, you can see that the original owner has left a message for you on the iCloud Activation Screen. This message contains a phone number or an email address. Go ahead and contact the original owner. In most cases, the original owner will deactivate iCloud Activation Lock because after all, you were both deceived by the same iPhone thief.
But if you can’t see such a message, you can easily find the original owner with iCloud ID Finder (For USA iPhones only).
=>You can read more about iCloud Unlocking by reading this ”iCloud Hacks 2017” article<=
Step 3: SIM Unlocking the Stolen iPhone
Since iCloud Activation Lock is OFF, we are now ready to unlock and finally use a stolen iPhone!
When you want to carrier unlock a stolen iPhone, the last issue you have to deal with is the Blacklist Status. When an iPhone is blacklisted as stolen, you won’t be able to use any SIM Card worldwide.
The answer to blacklisted iPhones is the Premium Factory Unlock Service! This service will access Apple GSX Database and switch the SIM Lock Status from locked to unlocked.
In order to use this service, you will need:
- The iPhone’s IMEI number
- The iPhone model
- Which Carrier blocked and blacklisted the iPhone
- The Blacklist Status
=>You can read more about how to unlock a blacklisted iPhone read this ”Blacklisted IMEI Fix” article<=
Now, listen to me carefully. If your iPhone was blacklisted by:
- T-Mobile, Sprint or Verizon in the USA
- Orange, PCS, EE, T-Mobile, O2, Tesco in the UK
You will have to get an Unbar/Unblacklist Service BEFORE you proceed with IMEI Premium Unlock. If you don’t do that, the Factory Premium Unlock might fail!
On top of that, when a stolen iPhone is blacklisted by one of these Wireless Networks, it will be fully unlocked to all Carriers worldwide!
Keep in mind, that with all other Mobile Networks, a stolen iPhone will remain blacklisted inside the country it was blacklisted at fist place (and maybe 1 or 2 neighboring countries if they share their blacklists). This means that you won’t be able to use a stolen iPhone inside the country it was blacklisted even if you successfully unlock it with Premium IMEI Unlock. If you are so unlucky, you can always sell this iPhone to anywhere else in the world and cover your money loss or keep this iPhone and use it when you travel abroad!
If you need our help, ask a question and we will email you ASAP. Until next time, take care iPhone Unlockers!