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iPhone Unlocking

A Helpful Guide On How To Unlock Your iPhone For Any UK Network Often For Free

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CHEAP IPHONE-SCRREN REPLACEMENT

How to unlock your iPhone?

We often get asked to unlock iPhones, its not a service we offer as an iPhone repair as networks now do this for free, the principles are the same for which ever iPhone your have, our instructions apply for all iPhones, be it a 6,7,8,X, XR,11,12,13 or 14, but are for iPhone unlocking UK only as other countries may not be the same.

With the cost of living upon us, keeping your old iPhone is a great way to save some pennies, and its often worth changing your contract to a sim only deal, or perhaps you wanted the latest gadget, and would like to sell or gift your iPhone, so its necessary to unlock your iPhone as it will increase its value.

If your iPhone is still in contract, some networks  and some wont unlock it, as the cost of the iPhone is spread over this contract period and is technically still their property. Many networks will not tell you once your contract is complete, so its worth checking as you may still be paying the same despite the fact your contract completed, and the extra phone cost is already paid.

iPhone Screen Repair UK

Unlock your Vodafone UK iPhone

Vodafone

Vodafone now mostly unlock their devices ready to go. All you need to do it insert an active sim card from an alternative network and reboot your device, your iPhone should now be unlocked and connected to your new network.

On occasions it may still be necessary to contact Vodafone to unlock your iPhone, this will on average take them 3 to 10 days, to process your order, all you will need to do is fill out their online form, and just wait, but it shouldn’t take them to long, 10 days is the worse case.

Vodafone iPhone unlocking Page

iphone 7 repair canterbury

How to unlock your EE iPhone for free

EE

All new iPhones are now unlocked from day one with EE, ,with older iPhones they now also unlock these free of charge, even if your still in contract, but if you switch your provider, you will still need to continue paying your current contract, but handy if your going abroad and want to use a more local network.
 
The easiest way to find out for sure is to pick up a pay as you go sim card from a different provider, these can normally be picked up for free or a pound at local newsagents, we also have these for free at our iPhone repair shop in Canterbury Kent , then plonk the new sim into your iPhone, and see if it connects, if it does its unlocked, if not then simply go to the EE website and complete their form, on average it only takes 72 hours and is free off charge.
 
iphone xr repair canterbury

Unlocking your iPhone on the O2 network

O2

O2 stopped locking their iPhones on the 1st of August in 2018, so if your iPhone was brought after this date, you should not have a problem, and all you need to do is insert a new sim card and reboot your iPhone.
 
If you insert a new sim from a different network and it reports incompatible sim, then your iPhone is still locked, you will need to follow the instructions to unlock you iPhone, this can take up to 10 days but this is unlikely 
 
  • Log in to My O2 on your browser
  • Select ‘More’ in the menu bar at the top of the page
  • Select ‘Unlock your device’.
 
 
iphone 12 repair canterbury

3 iPhone unlock instructions

Three

The Three network was ahead of its game compared to other UK iPhone networks, all their devices are sold as sim free since 2014,

If your iPhone was purchased prior 2014 such as an iPhone 5, 5s or 5c,  you can still get it unlocked through 3, and as far as we are aware this is a free service. Simply click the link below and your will be taken right to their iPhone unlocking UK page.

Three iPhone unlock

IPHONE-6-SCREEN-REPAIR

If you can not unlock your iPhone via a UK network

On occasions there may be reasons why an iPhone network unlock is unavailable from the carriers, such as brought in a different country, or you have purchased your iPhone second hand and still registered to the original owner , in these cases you will need to use a 3rd party, we would always advise to be careful, as there are a number of scam companies online offering this service, and all they will do is take your money, but not unlock your iPhone, so when looking if you can pay by PayPal, so you can start a dispute if they do not produce results, and above all google their names and check their trust pilot reviews .
Image of an iPhone plugged into a computer with iTunes open on the screen. The iPhone should be connected via a charging cable to reset.

Forgotten iPhone passcode

We often have customers asking us to unlock their iPhone, because of a forgotten passcode, this is not the same process as a network unlock, and will erase your data, however the data is likely lost anyway if you can not access your device, but not all is lost, as long as your iPhone is set to backup on iCloud and you know your iCloud information, you can restore it once your iPhone has been reset, we charge £10 for iPhone resets, at our iPhone repair shop in Canterbury Kent, but you can also do this yourself, we have included some YouTube links with how to do this
 
iPhone 6s and below
 
Switch your iPhone off, now whilst pressing the home button, plug your charging cable into your laptop, with iTunes loaded, your iPhone should now be in recovery mode, now select restore in iTunes and follow the on screen instructions.
 
 
 
An image of an iPhone 6 from the front view. Showing a broken home button in need of repair.

Forgotten iPhone passcode

iPhone 7
 
Switch off your iPhone 7, press the volume down, and keep it pressed, plug your cable into your laptop, this should put your iPhone 7 into recovery mode, with iTunes loaded, now click the restore option to reset your iPhone.
 
 
iPhone 8, SE2, X, XR, XS, 11,12,13,14
 
Whilst your iPhone is powered on, press volume up quickly , and then press volume down and release, then keep pressed the side button on the right side, until you see the recovery mode appear on your iPhone screen, then plug your iPhone into a computer with iTunes and select restore to reset your iPhone
 
YouTube How To
 
 
A close-up, high-resolution image of the back camera of an iPhone 7 in need of repair

iPhone iCloud unblock

If you have seen an iPhone for sale with iCloud block, it may be stolen, and would advise against its purchase. If the iPhone is yours and you have forgotten your password you can reset this at apples page here,
 
You may find a number of sites online offering iCloud removal, a lot of these are scams, and would always advise you call apple direct if you are having problems with your iCloud password or login, visit apple’s iPhone support page

We Do Not Only Fix iPhone's

Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.

Atlantis offer a large range of Apple MacBook repairs UK wide, we can help you with battery replacements, and keyboards, and we also offer MacBook screen repairs. We offer some of the best prices, and all our repairs include a one year warranty 

And feedback from a happy client: Great service as per usual. Been in before for new iPhone battery and replaced within minutes with free screen protector. Took two iPhones in for new screen protectors which they replaced free of charge. Excellent service can not recommend enough. Thank you Atlantis.

elisa moyne
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