Two years ago, for the first time ever, Apple made the decision to sell officially unlocked iPhone directly to the public without the need to sign any form of contract. A factory unlocked iPhone such as this can be used on any network, anywhere in the world. But the vast majority of iPhone customers opt for the much cheaper version of Apple's flagship smart phone, a carrier locked iPhone handset. A network locked iPhone can cost as little as 20% of the MRP of a factory unlocked variant. The only restriction these handsets have when comparing to their unlocked counterparts is they can only be used a single network.

Getting an iPhone at a fraction of the manufacturers recommended retail prices sounds like a great idea in theory. Is a locked iPhone, all be it a seriously cheap one, going to be the best option for you? But imagine you moved to a new home and the network coverage for the provider you are locked to is particularly poor in that area. You can't simply swap carriers, as your handset is locked. Trying a different carrier’s simcard in your phone will soon highlight that your handset is locked. Rather than a new carriers name being displayed at the top of your phone, it will say "no service" instead and you won't be able to make or receive calls. If you want your phone to work with another carrier, you are going to have to get it unlocked.
Online iPhone Unlock
Before 2011 you had a choice of which unlocking method you wish to use on your iPhone. However come the release of iOS 5.1.1 in July of that year, the software unlock ceased to function. Before Apple stopped this method from working, it was possible to use software on an iPhone to trick it into believing the handset was unlocked. As of July 2011 this method of unlocking is no longer possible.
It used to be possible to software unlock an iPhone so that it could be used on any network. But in order to software unlock a ha