Unlock iPhone 3GS: Full guide to an iPhone 3GS unlock

• 1

  Enter your details

  Select the carrier your iPhone's locked to. Then enter your IMEI.

  Finding your IMEI number or Don’t know your carrier?

  
  
• 2

  Make payment

  Immediately after payment, we connect to your manufacturer database to process the unlock. Your warranty isn’t affected. And most iPhone carriers are unlocked within 24 hours.

  
  
• 3

  Free your phone

  Your iPhone's unlocked easily over the air! You’ll receive confirmation of this via email.

  
  

Why you should unlock your iPhone 3

When you unlock a cell phone, you can switch provider or access new services when you want to. You’re no longer tied to the network you first bought the phone through. But there are other benefits too.

What's an IMEI, and where can I find it?

An IMEI is a 15-digit number that connects your iPhone with the SIM card inside it. It’s unique to your device and it can’t be moved over to another mobile phone.

Your IMEI’s stored in a database called the Equipment Identity Register (EIR). This is used by mobile providers and manufacturers to store and track information about your phone. Your locking status is one of those pieces of information.

Finding your IMEI is easy. Just type *#06# into your iPhone screen using your cell phone keypad. Or find it in the ‘Settings’ menu. You’ll also see it on your SIM card or under the battery.

Unlocking iPhone 3 and other iPhone models

The network lock on your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS is a software code that exists behind-the-scenes. It's there to stop your phone connecting to alternative mobile carriers.

It's also known as a SIM lock, carrier lock or (master) subsidy lock. And, crucially, it isn’t a lock you can see or remove manually by typing something into your phone or changing a setting. Learn more about how to unlock iPhone carrier for any Apple device.

If your phone is locked try to insert a SIM card from another provider, you won't get a signal. And will get an error message, such as: 'Non accepted sim card', 'Incorrect simcard inserted', and 'Network blocked.'

Putting a network lock on a phone means carriers are able to control customers by making it harder for them to move to a different carrier. Unless, of course, they buy a new phone.

The most effective and unobtrusive way on how to unlock your iPhone 3GS is to use technology designed to do just that.

Unlock iPhone 3GS

Mobile Unlocked’s specialist software makes the unlocking process seamless from start to finish.

It's simple to use because all it requires from you is the IMEI number of your phone. It's convenient because everything's done online and you can keep using your phone throughout. It's safe because your phone stays with you the whole time. And it's quick because there's no complicated admin or security questions to contend with.

You won’t need a pin code, unlock code or unlocking sequence because the unlock takes place automatically “over-the-air” through the Apple servers. Our software has authorized whitelisted access to the manufacturer database, which it uses to perform the unlock.

And there's no factory unlock or loss of data at all.

All you need to do, once your phone is remotely unlocked and permanently unlocked (and network free!) is swap your old SIM card for your new provider’s SIM card.

And the good news is, it doesn’t matter what network you’re on. Our network unlock tool is compatible with phones registered on both GSM and CDMA supported networks, so it will work whether you need to insert a Bell carrier sim card or a Koodo or Fido.

See our full guide if you’re looking to unlock a Koodo phone.

If you don’t know the network you’re on, it’s easy to find out. Just use our iPhone 3GS carrier check.

Note: It won't work on a device that has blacklist status, so if you're unsure, run a blacklist check first.

Can you also unlock other versions of the iPhone 3 and other iPhone models?

The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are both compatible with our unlocking software. The following Apple devices and iPhone models are supported too:

iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus , iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone Xr, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPads.

Check out our comprehensive guide on how to unlock iPhone without passcode or iTunes