Unlocking an iphone?

[alph]

Has anyone gotten an iphone 3g and tried to unlock it so that they could use a different SIM card?  My wife bought an iphone and my kids are going crazy wanting it to work on tmobile.  I called tmobile and they said that their sim cards are compatible with the iphone, and that I will need to “unlock” it.  any idea’s??

[Jess Tolbirt]

google, unlocking I-phone

[x]

DO NOT pay for any 'commercial' unlocking software.  All unlock software has always been free, and at best, someone is trying to sell you what is available for free, and at worst, it won't work and you'll never get your money back.
 
You will need to know three things about your iPhone to unlock:  The exact model:  3G, 3GS, etc.  The exact OS:  3.0, 3.12, 4.1, etc.  The baseband version number, found under the Settings and About buttons.
 
Good information about how to unlock for each version of phone, baseband, and OS can be found at the links below.  You will first need to 'jailbreak' in order to load up the unlock software.

http://www.redmondpie.com/unlock-iphone-3.1.3-3g-3gs-with-ultrasn0w/ (also search related articles if this isn't exactly your model).
 
http://modmyi.com/guides/how-unlock-iphone-3gs-3g-4-0-firmware/

And a website from the guys actually doing the breaking software.

http://blog.iphone-dev.org/

I have only jailbroken my phone as it is illegal in Singapore to lock a phone to a carrier.  Read plenty about it.  Joint the forums at modmyi and ask questions.  You should be able to do it yourself and a bit of study, and it is possible to set up your own restore package to put the phone back the way it was in case something goes wrong.
 
PS:  In the US, T-Mobile only offers Edge data (2G).  Their 3G system does not work with iPhone.

[alph]

HEY SE!!  all that info you gave me is exactly where i've been going for help!!  what i've found out  since i started this post is that i NEED wi-fi for the iphone to connect too!!  i can't do it through the lap top here at work.....  i'll have to work on it at home....

thanks for your help!!!

[x]

HEY SE!!  all that info you gave me is exactly where i've been going for help!!  what i've found out  since i started this post is that i NEED wi-fi for the iphone to connect too!!  i can't do it through the lap top here at work.....  i'll have to work on it at home....

thanks for your help!!!

Correct.  Wifi is manadatory, as is a USB connection to a computer that has blackra1n, limera1n, ultrasn0w, or some such other to do the actual jalilbreak and unlock.  Once done, Cydia store will be one of the apps you load onto your iPhone, and from there, a ton of other stuff as well.
 
If you have specific questions, I'll try to answer here or in email... although I will be traveling a lot next week.

[Colin]

Limera1n works well and is the easiest of the lot to use imho. All work though, just some of the others you need to be a little more techie. Depending on who your carrier is and how long your contract is you may be able to get them to unlock it for you from their end (my son had his done this way in the UK by his carrier) that way you can use any sim and do any updates without ever having to unlock it again.

[alph]

i was using that blackra1n program, it asks you to hold the sleep button for 2 seconds, then the home button for 10 seconds, then release the sleep and continue to hold home for 15 seconds, i wasn't able to get that to work, am i doing something wrong???  do you know what i'm talking about??

here's what i found, i think that this is what i need, can't believe it's this easy, i don't know for sure 'cause i don't have WiFi here at work so i can't try it..... i'll have to try when i get home, hope this all works, my kids love their ipod touches and they work great with the Bose system.  thanks again.

http://modmyi.com/guides/how-unlock-iphone-3gs-3g-4-0-firmware/