Unlock

How to backup your iPhone’s unlock activation ticket with RedSn0w

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 22, 2012

Backing up your iPhone's activation ticket was a step suggested by iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd. Fortunately for us, his team has made it even easier to perform such a backup using the latest version of RedSn0w.

This step is suggested for those who take part in the recently uncovered SAM iPhone unlock method. If you followed our tutorial to unlock your phone, we suggest you follow through on preserving your activation ticket as well.

Check inside for a full video tutorial that shows how easy it is to successfully backup your iPhone's unlock activation ticket, and any other file that you want to save locally from your iPhone...

RedSn0w 0.9.10b8 released to add unlock activation ticket backup support

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

It didn't take long for the iPhone Dev Team to release an updated version of RedSn0w to support backing up the precious activation tickets resulting from the SAM unlock.

Instead of having to manually go in and backup your activation tickets, you can use a new option found in RedSn0w instead.

The full download for RedSn0w 0.9.10b8 can be found inside, along with the tool's release notes...

My iPhone 4 was finally unlocked by AT&T

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 22, 2012

So it took a while, but I can confirm that my iPhone 4 has been officially unlocked by the fine folks at AT&T. It looks like my online chat with the AT&T representative paid off after all.

All I had to do was pop in my T-Mobile SIM and load up iTunes. I was then presented with a beautiful message that stated: Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked.

Oddly enough, this unlock has nothing to do with the SAM unlock method that was revealed earlier this morning. This is a follow up to AT&T's promise to unlock out of contract iPhones...

How to backup your unlocked iPhone’s activation ticket

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 22, 2012

Earlier this morning iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd recommended that all who unlock their iPhone using the SAM method backup their activation ticket for future use.

To do so, he suggested that we backup everything contained in this folder: /var/root/Library/Lockdown/ for each SIM card that we use. If you have iFile installed on your jailbroken iPhone, then you can securely backup your activation ticket in less than 5 minutes.

Check out our video how to inside...

How to unlock your jailbroken iPhone right now using SAM – confirmed working

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 22, 2012

Chinese iPhone hacker Loktar_Sun has released a method for unlocking a jailbroken iPhone by yourself using Sam Bingner's SAM (Subscriber Artificial Module) package.

The unlock technique has been verified by iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd. He was able to unlock his iPhone 4S and get it running on T-Mobile's network.

This is very big news for iPhone owners everywhere, and means we don't have to wait for AT&T to unlock our phones if we want to use it on another GSM network.

Check inside for more details...

How to officially unlock your AT&T iPhone without losing your untethered jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ April 17, 2012

The good news came out a week ago that AT&T would finally allow its customers with an off contract iPhone to officially unlock their device for free. In essence, the steps required to get the ball rolling are pretty simple. You just need to place a call to AT&T or hop on a chat with them online.

After collecting some basic information from you, AT&T will take its sweet time (72 hours to 2 weeks) to verify you are indeed illegible for unlocking your iPhone. Upon approval, you will then receive an email with instructions to complete the unlock.

But the caveat is that, if like many people out there you care about your jailbreak, you might not be able to update without losing your untethered jailbreak. This was one of my main concerns at first. I requested the unlock authorization from AT&T for my iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1, and even though it is not my primary device, I didn't want to lose my untether jailbreak.

But unlike the email AT&T sends you upon approval of your iPhone unlock suggests, you do not have to completely restore your iPhone to complete the unlock...

AT&T reportedly unlocking iPhones for deployed servicemen as well

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 10, 2012

The nation's second-largest carrier, AT&T, is beginning to unlock in-contract iPhones for the United States military personnel deployed abroad, a new report claimed Monday. As you know, AT&T is now unlocking out-of-contract iPhones for its regular subscribers.

The unexpected policy change has been instituted following unconfirmed reports last week that some disgruntled customers who had complained about the situation to Apple CEO Tim Cook via email saw their handsets unlocked.

As a result, AT&T subscribers can now slip in a SIM card from another wireless operator and use their 3G GSM iPhones with compatible cellular networks overseas and in the United States, such as T-Mobile USA (which welcomed the change)...

T-Mobile says it welcomes unlocked AT&T iPhone users with open arms

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Last week we heard a rumor that AT&T was going to start unlocking out-of-contract iPhones over the weekend. And sure enough, on Sunday we were able to confirm that this was indeed the carrier's new policy. We even showed you how to do it.

So now that you've unlocked your handset, you're probably wondering what the benefits are. Well aside from the improved resale value and the ability to use your iPhone abroad, you can take the device with you to another, less expensive, carrier.

In fact, it sounds like T-Mobile would welcome you with open arms...

Here’s how to use AT&T’s online chat to unlock your iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 8, 2012

So yeah, I was lazy. Unlike Cody, I don't have the patience to wait on hold, or be placed in a revolving door of automated prompts. It was either head directly to the store, or give AT&T's technical support chat a try.

Thankfully, AT&T's technical support chat has a pretty good track record with me; I figured I'd give that a try before deciding to burn a gallon of gas to head to the closest AT&T store. Would they even be open on a holiday anyway?

At the end of the day, I'm glad I decided on this method. In less than 10 minutes the unlocking process for my iPhone was initiated, saving me time, gas money, and a potential headache.

Whereas it took Cody about 20 minutes to initiate his iPhone 4 unlock, it took me less than 10 minutes. Folks, it really doesn't get any simpler than this...

Confirmed: AT&T now unlocking out of contract iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ April 8, 2012

On Friday, a rumor surfaced that AT&T was going to start unlocking out of contract iPhones for its subscribers. This is a big departure from the typical trials and tribulations you have to go through to unlock the handset, so we had to test it out.

I'm an AT&T customer, with an iPhone 4 that's been out of contract for quite some time, so I decided to give the carrier a call. And sure enough — at least judging from my experience — the company appears to be unlocking old iPhones...

AT&T to start unlocking off-contract iPhones this Sunday

Cody Lee ∙ April 6, 2012

Unlocking your iPhone can be a fairly tricky task. Unless you pay in upwards of $600 for a factory-unlocked handset, you could be required to jailbreak or even purchase a third-party SIM mod to use your iPhone on multiple carriers.

But according to Engadget, that could change this Sunday for AT&T customers. The site is reporting that it has received an anonymous tip that the US carrier will start unlocking off-contract iPhones starting April 8th...

Unlock your CDMA iPhone 4S with Gevey Ultra S Interposer SIM

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

The folks over at HowToarena are reporting that a new SIM interposer for the iPhone 4S is about to hit the market. The GEVEY Ultra S promises to unlock both GSM and CDMA handsets, which is a fairly big deal.

We've already seen a couple of SIM interposers launch for Apple's latest handset this year. Last month alone we told you about two new products, the R-SIM and TP-SIM. But neither worked with Sprint handsets...