How to check if your iPhone is unlocked so you can change your wireless carrier
Hollis Johnson
- You can check to see if your iPhone is unlocked in Settings or by checking the IMEI and serial number online.
- You can also test your phone by swapping SIM cards with another phone that has a plan with a different carrier.
- If your iPhone is unlocked, you can switch wireless carriers and use a different carrier's SIM card in it.
In the early days of smartphones, pretty much the only way to get one was by purchasing it through a wireless carrier or in conjunction with a wireless plan from a specific carrier. Generally, your iPhone would be "locked" to that carrier for your initial wireless contract — and often for the life of the phone, with no way to change wireless service providers.
In recent years, it has become simple and routine to purchase an iPhone unlocked — or to unlock it after purchase, which lets you use the phone with almost any wireless provider. Here's how to check to see if your iPhone is, in fact, unlocked.
How to check if your iPhone is unlocked in Settings
1. Start the Settings app and tap General.
2. Tap About.
3. Look for Carrier Lock. If it says No SIM restrictions, it's unlocked.
Dave Johnson
How to check if your iPhone is unlocked with an IMEI lookup
You can also plug your iPhone's IMEI number into an online checker to see if your phone is unlocked. First, you'll need to find the IMEI number, and then you can use it online.
1. Start the Settings app and tap General.
2. Tap About.
3. Write down the Serial Number, IMEI, and IMEI2 (if there is one — you will only see this if you have an iPhone 11 or later).
4. In a web browser, go to IMEIcheck.com.
5. Enter the information you recorded from the iPhone's About screen and click Check.
6. In the pop-up window, you should see your phone's details, including the lock status.
Dave Johnson
How to check if your iPhone is unlocked using your SIM card
If for some reason the first two methods didn't definitively tell you if your phone is unlocked, you can use what you might consider a brute force method: You can simply insert a SIM card registered with another wireless carrier and see if it works.
To do this, turn off your iPhone — in the Settings app, tap General and then tap Shut Down. Then remove the SIM card from your phone. Insert a working SIM card from another phone, turn on your iPhone, and attempt to place a call. If it works, your phone is unlocked. Then shut it down again and swap SIM cards back to their original devices.
Steven John