What does "Unlocked iPhone" mean?

The meaning of "unlocked iPhone" isn't so easy to answer

What does it mean when an iPhone is unlocked? Well, nobody really knows the answer to this mysterious question as it is shrouded in secrecy. That’s it, that’s the end of the article, see you tomorrow. JK! It isn’t the end of the article, not even close, it’s just the beginning :)

To talk about what it means for an iPhone to be “unlocked,” we first need to talk about what it means for an iPhone to be “locked” first.

What does "locked iPhone" mean?

A locked iPhone is an iPhone that has been locked to work on only one network carrier. What's an easy way to tell the difference between the two? If your iPhone was purchased from a network as part of a contract, it's probably locked. But if you bought your iPhone from the Apple store, then it's probably unlocked.

There are a few ways to know for sure if your iPhone is unlocked or not, which is why we've created a helpful guide here to help you check.

The real meaning of "unlocked iPhone"

Now that we have a better understanding of what "locked iPhone" means, we can go deeper into the meaning of "unlocked iPhone." Ideally, an unlocked iPhone means that the iPhone can be used with more than one network carrier, but this doesn't technically mean that it will work with every network provider.

What does an unlocked iPhone need to work on every network?

As we just said, just because an iPhone is unlocked, does not mean that it will work on every network carrier. For an unlocked iPhone to work on every service carrier (sim free), it must be equipped with all the antennas necessary to be used on different network frequencies. How do you know which antennas your iPhone comes equipped with? If you already own the iPhone, you can look for a model number and Google whether your model comes equipped with all the antennas you need to use on different networks. 

If you're now wondering how to unlock your iPhone, then read our useful guide on how to make your iPhone sim free through your current network carrier. If your iPhone is already unlocked and you're looking to activate a new SIM card, then you should read our guide on how to activate your new SIM card here. 

We hope we were able to help you better understand what exactly "unlocked iPhone" means. We know it can be somewhat a complicated topic, but we're trying our best to answer this question for you :) Let us know what you think about this article below.

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