Unlocking iPhone5

[douglashahn]

I am trying to unlock my iPhone5.  I spoke to a rep at *611 and after processing, she said that she had unlocked it, however, I needed to follow some procedures.

Follow the steps below to unlock your iPhone

1. Ensure that you have the latest version of iTunes. You may need to download and install the latest version of iTunes if necessary.
2. Sync your device content with iTunes.
3. Back up your device via iCloud or iTunes
4. Erase your iPhone
5. Complete the setup assistant and restore your backup
6. In iTunes, select “iPhone” when it appears under “Devices”. Select the Summary tab and click the “Restore” button.
7. Click Restore iPhone on the confirmation screen. Your iPhone will restart after this step.
8. After a restore, “slide to setup” will appear on your screen. Follow the steps in the iOS Setup Assistant.
9. To restore your settings and data you will need to restore your device from your previous backup.

Do i REALLY have to erase everything from my iPhone?  This sounds like trouble headed for disaster.  If I REALLY have to do this, I can, but could you please provide more precise instructions for "Erase your iPhone" and how to access the setup assistant?

Thanks.

[nasty · Accepted solution]

If you have the sim card from your new provider, that will also show the phone unlocked, without need for a wipe.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5014

iPhone: About unlocking

You can unlock your iPhone for use with different carriers.

Start the process to unlock your iPhone:

    See if your carrier offers unlocking. Only your carrier can unlock your iPhone.
    Contact your carrier and request an unlock. You might need to meet requirements to qualify for unlocking. After your carrier submits the unlocking request, it may take up to seven days.
    After your carrier confirms that your iPhone unlock has been processed, go to the next section.

If you have a SIM card from a different carrier than your current carrier and your current carrier confirmed that your iPhone is unlocked, follow these steps:

    Remove your SIM card and insert the new SIM card.
    Complete the setup process.

___

If you don't have another SIM card you can use, follow these steps to complete the process:

    Back up your iPhone.
    Erase your iPhone.
    Complete the setup assistant and restore your backup.

If you experience issues or see the following message in iTunes or on your device, follow the steps below:

"The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported. Only compatible SIM cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came with your iPhone or visit a supported carrier store."

    Restore your iPhone.
    Contact your carrier to verify that the unlock was applied in your carrier's system.

Last Modified: Mar 10, 2014

[NFtoBC]

Backup and restore is no big deal. I've done it without difficulty on a number of occasions with a number of iPhones. Setup assistant starts automatically on the phone with an new or wiped (reset) iPhone.

EDIT: If you have updated your OS, you have erased and restored your phone.

[Dark_Knight]

@nasty nailed it.

If you don't have the new providers sim card however, the only way to unlock is by doing a backup/restore.