How to SIM unlock the iPhone X

• Tyler Lee
• 4 years ago

Apple’s iPhone X was the first real major design change that Apple introduced to its iPhone lineup for a while. It came with a full screen, edge-to-edge display and also brought to the table a more robust facial recognition technology, which has since been included in all of its successors.

As with all iPhones, the iPhone X did not come cheap and if you bought it from a carrier through a plan, you’re definitely not alone. It also means that there is a chance that your SIM card is still locked to your carrier if you haven’t done anything about it yet. Now if you own the iPhone X and its SIM is still locked to your carrier, you can read on to find out how to unlock the SIM either for free, or by using services like Android SIM Unlock.

Getting the unlock code from your carrier

Did you know that you can actually unlock the SIM card on your iPhone X for free? If you call in to your carrier and request for it, there is a good chance they might actually give you the SIM unlock code for free. Do note that you will need to meet some of the carrier’s requirements first. This includes:

• The iPhone X needs to have been paid off in full. If you bought it fully unlocked then this shouldn’t be an issue, but if you bought it on an installment plan which is offered by most carriers, then you need to ensure those monthly repayments have been paid in its entirety.
• You will also need to make sure that you have owned the iPhone X for at least 60-90 days. Since the iPhone X was launched several years ago, we imagine that this shouldn’t be an issue for most users.
• Last but not least, you will need to be in “good standing” with your carrier. This basically means that you do not owe your carrier anything in terms of bill payments, so if you do have outstanding bills, you’ll need to pay them off.

Now, assuming you meet those requirements, then here are the steps to take to get your free SIM unlock code:

• On the iPhone X, launch the Phone app and dial *#06# to get your device’s IMEI number. Write this number down somewhere where you can easily refer to it later, like the Notes app.
• Give your carrier’s customer service hotline a call and request for your SIM unlock code
• You will then be asked to provide the service rep with your iPhone X’s IMEI number
• If you meet all the requirements that we mentioned above, the SIM unlock code will be sent to the email address you provided in the next 2-5 days.
• Once you’ve received your code, swap out the current SIM on your iPhone with the new SIM and you should be prompted to enter a SIM unlock code
• Enter the SIM unlock code that you received in your email and you should be good to go

Getting the unlock code from a third-party service

Now, in case for whatever reason your carrier has denied you the free SIM unlock code for your iPhone X, don’t despair. There are actually third-party SIM unlocking services, like Android SIM Unlock (yes, we get the irony), that will be able to provide you with a code to unlock your iPhone X. This is what you’ll need to do:

• On your iPhone X, launch the Phone app and dial *#06# to display your phone’s IMEI number
• Write the IMEI number down somewhere where you can refer to it easily
• Go to Android SIM Unlock’s’s website
• Select the country you are in and the carrier you bought the phone from and also the currency you wish to pay in
• Enter the device’s IMEI number
• Complete the checkout process with your payment and contact information
• Once that’s all settled and done, you should then receive the iPhone X’s unlock code in a matter of hours up to a few days (depending on the package you’ve chosen)
• The moment you’ve received your code, you can then swap out the SIM on your phone with a SIM from another carrier
• When you put in the new SIM, you should be prompted to enter the SIM unlock code that you received in your email, and once you’ve done that, you should be good to go

Once you’ve entered the SIM unlock code, your iPhone X should now be unlocked and you will not have any issues with swapping between carriers or using a local telco when you’re overseas. This will be handy, especially in other countries where purchasing a local SIM card is much cheaper than paying for roaming.

We should remind you that this does not release you from your contract with your carrier, but at the very least it does give you some degree of freedom.