HOW TO: Use your iPhone overseas
Getting set for that long awaited trip overseas you’ve been looking forward to since you booked your plane ticket 8 months ago?! Well, I recently got back from my honeymoon overseas and wish I had of read this blog (not that it was possible) before I took off as it would have saved me hassle, time and quite a few phone calls back home!
As a Telstra customer (naturally) I knew I had access to a range of global roaming services but what I didn’t realise was that all iPhones purchased from Telstra are locked to the Telstra mobile phone network and as a default will only work with a Telstra SIM card.
What I needed as I landed in a foreign country was the freedom to use another SIM card while travelling – a SIM from said foreign country.
What I realised far too late was this:
Unlocking your phone service for all postpaid customers is free of charge but it can take up to 72 hours so make sure you give yourself enough time before travelling overseas to unlock your iPhone.
And here are the steps to start the process:
Find out more about your iPhone, you’ll need these details when you call us:
- Your mobile number
- Your iPhone serial number
- Your iPhone IMEI number
To locate this information, find the ‘Settings’ app which usually should be on your first page of apps (it may also be in a folder called – ‘Utilities’). Once in Settings, scroll down to find the ‘General’ option, and press the ‘About’ field.
From here you should be able to find the necessary details.
Step 1: Submit your iPhone unlock request to Telstra
- Pre-Paid iPhone: Check and pay your Pre-Paid iPhone unlocking fee by calling 125 8880 or visiting a Telstra store, then wait 72 hours and follow the Apple unlock instructions (step 2).
- Post-Paid iPhone: Call the iPhone Unlocking Centre on 13 2200 who will submit the unlock request for you, then wait 72 hours and follow Apple’s instructions (step 2). There is no fee to unlock your Post-Paid Apple iPhone from Telstra.
Step 2: Complete the iPhone unlock via iTunes
After 72 hours, follow the Apple unlock instructions to complete the unlock process and update your carrier settings.
So before you jet off, follow these simple steps and you’ll be ready to use your phone as soon as you land.
Happy travels!
Editor’s note: We updated these instructions on 24 April 2013 with the latest information on unlocking your iPhone.
Pre-Paid iPhone customers:
You will need to pay an iPhone unlocking fee by either calling our Pre-Paid Unlocking Centre or visiting a Telstra store. Instructions are found online.
You will then be transferred to the iPhone Unlocking Centre who will submit the unlock request for your iPhone after verifying the unlocking fee has been paid. Once the request has been processed you will need to follow the above instructions for iTunes unlocking.
Wow I wish you’d written this before I went away too… on the bright side, I survived my month without a phone!
I brought a prepaid iPhone 4 from JB Hi Fi which was locked to the Telstra network and got it unlocked for free. Depending on the value of the phone some companies will unlock them for free.
how much was the iphone?
What if I’m already overseas? The carrier update hasn’t popped up when I connect to ITunes. What mode/settings do I need to have phone in.
Poor service from Telstra. Bought my original iPhone from Apple store (unlocked) but had trouble with it and Telstra changed the phone over(without giving me any paperwork). Now I’m overseas, out of sync with Aust business hours to start unlocking process, have a crackling line when I call their call centre, with a locked phone and it takes 72 hours to unlock?? Can’t even be sure that if I do a buy a local SIM that it will fire up the phone. Will be leaving Telstra when I return.
Hi Fiona. Use this form to send me your account, mobile and IMEI number and I’ll see what I can do. Brendan
this is a step in the right direction, however, its a shame Telstra wont put your contract on hold for the time your overseas. Not only do you have to pay your monthly bill, you cant use any of that huge amount of data/call time as your overseas.
move with the times telstra. You can do better than that.
-W
Agreed! I’m in the UK and can’t believe the choice from their Telcos for people calling international numbers etc. Telstra are very behind the times!!!
Called 13 2000 a few days ago to get my iPhone 4 unlocked. Gave the rep my mobile number and IMEI number, he didn’t ask for the serial number. He told me everything was good to go, wait 72 hours and then sync with iTunes. I waited for the 72 hours, synced my phone but haven’t received the “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked” message. Have tried a restore and sync as some people have suggested including Dylan from @Telstra, still no message. I have done some further reading and some people are saying they didn’t receive a message but their phone was successfully unlocked. Is there any way I can confirm my phone has or hasn’t been unlocked without purchasing a pre-paid micro sim from another carrier. That just seams stupid?
Hi Mischa. Thanks for contacting us via our blog. The best way to contact Telstra for a service/product query is to click onto the ‘Ask the Crowd’ or go to our 24/7 Facebook page on the top right hand side of our blog where you’ll be directly linked to one of our online customer support consultants. This is the most efficient way to get someone to look at your unlock issue.
Still haven’t received anything from Telstra despite lodging the firm sent me nearly two ago! Frustrating travelling on my own without phone and not very safe!
Hi Cate. Is you phone working now?
Hi,
should i get the carrier notification after i’ve syncing with latest version of iTunes or just upon connecting the iPhone to iTunes?
-H
Haven’t got the message to say it has been unlocked. How do I know or check that it has been successful?
So, heading over to NZ in one month. I have started the unlock process but was a little dismayed to hear that once I arrive I need to put the local sim card in the phone and sync it to iTunes. Only I am travelling with no laptop and cannot guarantee that I can access a computer with itunes on it. Is it actually necessary to sync the phone? Seems bizarre.
You can check it is all working with a $2 Optus sim before you leave Oz.
You can put a local non Telstra SIM into the phone to kick it off as well.
I called Telstra, gave them my details and they said that syncing with iTunes between 5 and 72 later would unlock my phone. Unfortunately this didn’t work,as every time I connect the iPhone to iTunes I get a message that says “iTunes was unable to load provider data from Sync Services. Reconnect or try again later.” No that I think about it, I have been getting this message for months. Any ideas how to fix this? (PS I tried a local SIM card in Thailand and the iPhone seemed happy enough, but could not get any service.
Hi Daniel,
You should see a message asking you to install a carrier update, once you have installed the carrier update you will have a pop up screen reading – “Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked”. Have you seen the carrier update message?
Thanks,
Sunil
Thanks Sunil, but no. As I said, I think the problem is with iTunes rather than Telstra: iTunes is evidently not connecting with the provider data from Sync Services. I think this means that the Telstra data is not getting thru to my iPhone. Does anyone know how to repair this?
Thanks Danielle – very useful to know
Thanks for sharing, Danielle. I just helped a housemate unlock their iPhone 4.
I’ve just returned from a volunteer project overseas, and was very impressed that my Telstra prepaid service roamed in every country I visited travelling to and from the project – even a couple of developing countries (in Asia). What a great service from Telstra! Good having the peace of mind that your mobile will work if you need to make an urgent call or send a txt.
Lastly – congratulations on your recent wedding!
You roamed with an Oz Telstra prePaid Sim ? Obviously you disabled 3G data and didnt use Google maps or anything. If not you can consume your credit in a blink.
Even worse is a post paid customer roaming as there are no limits. People have ended up with bills of $70,000 !!!
Its a crime that Telcos are able to charge such outrageous figures for data roaming. Without a roaming pack 1GB of data would cost you $15,000. Yes 1500 times the local data rate of an extra 1GB ($10) . I’ve even seen some plans charge up to $64,000 per GB (Optus in India !).
And they think they are being nice to offer you ‘packs’ of data for 1/5 of the outrageous price .. (i.e. 300 times.. or a cheap $3000 for 1GB of data).
I am going to France for 2 months and need Laptop data connection AND iphone for smallish data (a few maps etc).
I’m an IT /Telco engineer with 27yrs experience and the
process/options terrifiy me !
I’m trying to unlock my iphone (a task in itself !) , get a French SIM (which one !), which carrier, do they restrict tethering, VOIP, Email ? Run crappy proxy’s ?
Do I have any confidence this will be smooth ? or not too expensive ? No WAY !
Ignorance can be a lot more blissful.
Going to Turkey, Eastern Med & Greek Isles. I have an Iphone. I think I know the process to get it unlocked but when in use OS then what & what is the cost? I have heard it can be very, very expensive as people unknowingly connect to internet & before they know it their phone costs more than their airfare & I don’t want to be caught in that situation
I contacted Telstra to get my phone unlocked. I gave them the correct information and was told to connect my iphone to itunes in the next 72 hours and a message would pop up saying my phone is now unlocked. I didn this and got no “congratulations” message. I rang Telstra back and was then told that I had to insert a non-Telstra sim card into my phone and then connect it to itunes. I also did this and still nothing. I have not been able to update the carrier settings and when a non-Telstra sim card is in my phone it just says “SOS Only”. Please help, I’m going overseas in 3 weeks!
Hi Jess,
Sorry to hear that this happened, I have sent you an email. Please check it and reply so we can try and get this fixed for you ASAP.
Thanks,
Sunil
Thanks, but I eventually figured nutted it out and now my Iphone is unlocked
Good to hear Jess.
Thanks,
Sunil
Hi,
Make i ask how did you managed to unlocked it eventually using a non-Telstra SIM?
Since i’m not getting the “Congratulations” message either and i don’t want to upgrade my iOS and than stuck again with an unlocked phone.
Hagai
I am currently overseas and found my post-paid iPhone was locked.
I have contacted Telstra. They advised to wait 72 hours and then connect to a computer with iTunes and run an update which should be waiting. I have the following questions:
1) As I am running IOS 5.1, can the update be done wirelessly without connecting to a computer/iTunes?
2) When updating should a SIM card be in the iPhone?
3) If a SIM card should be inserted should it be my current Telstra or the USA SIM card I am considering to purchase?
Hi David
When I connected my iPhone to iTunes it wouldn’t let me update, instead it was saying that I had the lastest software on my phone. I backed my phone up and then clicked “Restore”. When I hit “Restore” I did not have my SIM card inserted. I followed the prompts and was then asked to insert my SIM card, I put it my Telstra SIM card. I then let the phone Sync with iTunes and then disconnected. Straight away I reconnected to iTunes and got the message “Congratulations, you phone has been unlocked”. There is step by step instructions on a Whirlpool forum. I hope this helps!
Jess
Please help urgently Telstra!!!! We are currently overseas and are unable to use both of our iPhones. We rang several weeks ago to see what we had to do and phone representative said that everything would be hooked up and ready to use a day before we left. They did not ask for the information above. We urgently need to use our phones and are very angry about this inconvenience. Please contact us ASAP to have this sorted as we have very worried parents!
Chris Simonsen
Hi Chris,
I’ve sent you an email to you, if you need an answer urgently I would highly recommend you go through to our ’24/7 Facebook page’. See the top right hand side of the page, there are two options to contact us here but the Facebook link gets you straight through to people who can help – you’ve come through to our corporate blog site here and I’d highly recommend using one of these new avenues to get directly in touch with Telstra about your specific issue. Unfortunately I can’t look into it from where I am sitting. These avenues are a good way to get someone to look into your account and the issues you’ve been having.
- Sunil
I am about to purchase a second hand telstra locked iphone. Can I get it unlocked even without a telstra account?
Hi Hars,
Generally you can not as we need the details from the original account holder, our recommendation is to buy it unlocked which is a free process for the seller.
Cheers,
Sunil
I need assistance to use my Telstra pre paid mobile while in NZ for a short time. I have an unlocked 3GS iPhone and it has not connected to any carrier since I got here. I need to be able to text and receive texts on my usual Aus. Number. What to do please?
First off, Telstra needs to be applauded for unlocking their phones for free these days. Many people travel overseas and would prefer to use local sims whilst still returning to their Telstra plans when they get back. Unfortunately the whole unlocking process wasn’t anywhere as simple as it is made out to be above… In the end, I followed Jessica’s advice (see above, thanks
) and the phone unlocked although I didn’t get any congratulatory message. I just tried the new sim after following Jessica’s advice and it worked. I find it frustrating that this process should be so complicated. If not for the internet… Regards, Peter.
If people bother to look at the Apple site will normally find the answer regarding you device.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5014
After checking this link I did find out that I did not have to erase contents of iPhone as stated on Apple’s help page, and only checked for update on iTunes page.
What a joke, 15 mins of getting transferred around and them being unable to ID me even after giving them all the info they wanted. What part of “overseas” and need assistance don’t their staff understand.
I went through the process described above but had no sign at all that my phone had been unlocked. Today I inserted a sim borrowed from a friend on another network and my phone showed SOS only. I leave for overseas in 2 days – advice please.
If I were to ever buy another phone I will get it Un-locked at point of sale, This procedure is laughable, I feel so sorry for those that have found that their phones don’t work while OS.
I began this stupid un-lock process over 5 days ago with Telstra, in this day and age I’m left bewildered that a simple process can’t be initiated by a key stroke.
Plus Speaking to a non Australian on a lousy overseas line also makes the process even more difficult.
Hey Telstra, It’s 2012, not 1960, get your act together.
even my local Telstra shop was of no use, they just gave me a phone number to call, they must know of this stupidity and don’t want to get involved.
Help!! My iphone was originally brought in Australia and from Telstra, phone from what I understand must have been unlocked as I live in NZ and am able to use it there in NZ vodafone network no problems, however coming back to
Australia still using NZ sim card my iphone has no service/ sos only, I have been in touch with my NZ provider they have confirmed global roaming is on, all my settings are fine but the problem lies in the phone being activated on Telstra network & for whatever reason wont latch onto a carrier in Australia while on roaming. Is there anyway I can remedy this WITHOUT having to use an Australian sim card, needing to use NZ sim for work purposes. Thank you, stressed out
Hi Mel. Thanks for contacting us via our blog. The best way to contact Telstra for a service/product query is to click onto the ‘Ask the Crowd’ or go to our 24/7 Facebook page on the top right hand side of our blog where you’ll be directly linked to one of our online customer support consultants. You can also get support via Twitter @telstra. Brendan
Hi, is there any way to tell if your phone has been unlocked? I have done all the same things as most people on this forum. I followed Jessica’s advice as well.
I did not get a message to say the phone was unlocked. I haven’t yet tried a different SIM in it as I haven’t purchased one for OS yet. Is there somewhere in settings that tells you if it is or isn’t unlocked.
Hi Leoni,
buy a mini $2 sim from anywhere, pop it in and if the service providers signal comes up, your good to go, If SOS only comes up your still locked to telstra.
Hello Telstra, you told me to Sync but not to also restore factory settings. Therefore when I got the the UK the unlocking didn’t appear to work. Then rang and spoke to v helpful guy who told me the ‘proper’ process. Also did the online 24/7 chat but she just told me to re-sync which was never going to work if she didn’t also tell me to restore factory settings. Telstra I think you need to update the training on this area and make sure customer service reps ALL know the WHOLE procedure. The helpful guy I spoke to only appeared to know because he’d had to do the same himself. So people, I sent the below to Telstra who confirmed this is what I actually need to do once the phone is unlocked by the network – hope it helps some of you out!
1. Plug in the device to a computer loaded with the LATEST iTunes software.
2. Ensure they are connected to the internet
3. Within iTunes under iPhone > Summary tab click on ‘Check for updates’
4. Back up the device and check that all your applications & iTunes are listed in the relevant sections of iTunes.
5. Click on ‘Restore to factory settings’. This may take a couple minutes.
5. Do initial sync with iTunes then Power Cycle (Turn Off / Turn On) Unit.
6. Plug back in and Sync.
7. Power down, change SIM and power up.
8. Process complete, iPhone unlocked.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1030764
Hi Ellie. Thanks for sharing your feedback and the info on the process. I will pass it on.
PS the first guy a while back told me he could not check, once unlocking was done, if the phone was unlocked and that i’d have to wait and see when I put the new sim in. My bf got told the same by his rep. Clearly not the case as both people I spoke to today confirmed the phone was unlocked at their end. Maybe just a case of not very good customer service reps v’s very good reps. Same old…
I live in NZ and i was lucky enough to receive a brand new iphone 4 for my birthday from my aunty, but to my disappointment its ‘locked’ to Telstra Aus… grrrr! how much is this to unlock and how long and will it definitely work on any network in the world? cant really afford traveling to Aus just to get a hone unlocked, yknw?!
I was told as per the page here I need to wait 72hrs to connect the phone, now the agent is saying wait 5hrs and connect before 72hrs
Can someone get the facts right.
Just to add, why do they lock the phones if you are able to unlock them, I dont see the point, is this Apple or Telstra???
I folowed all the steps after 72 hrs, did the restore etc but no message popped up. Checked with Apple and the phone is definitely unlocked. Telstra need to update that the Congratulations message is obviously no longer needed as it just creates confusion when trying to unlock via iTunes.
After 4 months I’ve given up trying! Returning in 5 weeks. Might have a chat to the TIO about this. Also I want all my voicemail & SmS sent while i was away cleared from phone as I don’t want to be slammed with a huge bill when I turn off plane mode. Can this be done????
I wonder how many posters here read this entire post, IF they did they would find answers to their issues.
Cate, try reading all the above posts….
be proactive…NOT reactive..
Agreed
I’ve read every post since I subscribed. The lack of service from the beginning is deplorable. I am yet to receive a response from Telstra for the form I submitted, at their request, back in May. My background is in consumer advocacy do please don’t patronise me. Do you work for Telstra Tom?
Hi Cate, Can you send me the details of your request to exchange.telstra@team.telstra.com and include your account details so I can have someone investigate. Brendan
Cate, I don’t work for Telstra, I just use their services, 2xmobiles, both 4S ihones, both now un-locked, (as we did a recent OS trip, we used Voda pre paid to avoid roaming charges, most time used “Viber” app). plus we have a 4G wireless internet service.
If your still overseas use a pre paid sim in your iphone, if your iphone is still locked, do a” firmware update” via itunes log-in, don’t wait for a confirm note.
all simple stuff. If Telstra have mucked you about, don’t waste time getting upset, they don’t care as all the other telcos don’t care.
I called 5 days ago and nothing is still coming up when i check for undates. i knew this would happen, things never work the first time! can somebody please try and unlock it on your end again!
Does anyone know how much is it to get an iphone 4 unlocked that was on a telstra contract but has now finished? Need a definate answer
Hello Brianna. All iPhone devices purchased via Telstra or authorised dealers are locked to the Telstra network. There is no unlocking fee (except the 3GS on Pre-Paid). If a customer wants to unlock an iPhone device they must contact Telstra. I hope this helps. Brendan.
Hi Brianna,
do yourself a favor and read the posts above, you’ll find an answer there.
I wonder how people can only “post” and not “read”.
Talk about “pull the trigger” before taking aim.
Maybe Telstra should delete this thread.
Ellie has given an aswer to your problem…….
Ellie says:
14 Jul 2012 at 2:19 pm
Hello Telstra, you told me to Sync but not to also restore factory settings. Therefore when I got the the UK the unlocking didn’t appear to work. Then rang and spoke to v helpful guy who told me the ‘proper’ process. Also did the online 24/7 chat but she just told me to re-sync which was never going to work if she didn’t also tell me to restore factory settings. Telstra I think you need to update the training on this area and make sure customer service reps ALL know the WHOLE procedure. The helpful guy I spoke to only appeared to know because he’d had to do the same himself. So people, I sent the below to Telstra who confirmed this is what I actually need to do once the phone is unlocked by the network – hope it helps some of you out!
1. Plug in the device to a computer loaded with the LATEST iTunes software.
2. Ensure they are connected to the internet
3. Within iTunes under iPhone > Summary tab click on ‘Check for updates’
4. Back up the device and check that all your applications & iTunes are listed in the relevant sections of iTunes.
5. Click on ‘Restore to factory settings’. This may take a couple minutes.
5. Do initial sync with iTunes then Power Cycle (Turn Off / Turn On) Unit.
6. Plug back in and Sync.
7. Power down, change SIM and power up.
8. Process complete, iPhone unlocked.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1030764
Just so you know, you only need the imei number and phone number.
i did this over a week ago and my carrier settings are still yet to be updated. i rang again and they said it was apple’s fault (good old pass the buck mentality).
They then tried to unlock it again, still no go.
turns out it may have already been unlocked however they con you into thinking if you buy an outright phone from apple, it is locked to either telstra/optus/vodafone etc.
so thankyou telstra, i get to be stuck on hold and have to fiddle with my phone for 5+ hours only to find it was already done.
i do suppoe this is better then my friend who was told telstra had unlocked his phone, it was good to go, only to find when he arrived in europe it was fine, it had not been done.
I am getting sick of companies giving false information, or doing the bare minimum when it comes to support. they get to hang up and move on yet the inconvenience they cause is extreme, and unfair.
A little effort from telstra could have avoided a stressful and unfortunate event in another country where most people are already nervous.
Please start giving a damn telstra. If you hire overseas support staff. train them to care, not just to essentially get rid of you.
Well Telstra never failed to disappoint me. I did every thing right, I followed the steps given here and gave them plenty of time to have my iPhone unlocked, I called again and again almost begging and couldn’t stress more how important it is that I have my phone unlocked before I fly to New york for a conference, but all I got is absolutely nothing apart from frustration with their so called “assistant” trying every trick in the book to make it my fault that it still locked. All I can say is shame on you Telstra, and what a terrible service you provide for your customers.
Just to share a few tips about using your iPhone overseas:
1. Make sure data roaming is OFF. By default, data roaming is OFF on an iPhone and iPad. Just make sure it is still OFF. If it is OFF then that’s all you need to do – eg you DON’T need to remove your sim card.
2. Buy a local pre paid sim card! Number 1 easiest way to avoid expensive roaming costs.
In the UK I have used o2, Three and Orange. I found Orange to be the best. You can buy a UK sim card at Heathrow Airport.
In the USA then AT&T is the only network to consider – for an iPhone and iPad then you’ll only get prepaid 3G/4G on AT&T. You can get an AT&T sim card here in Australia from http://www.usaprepaidsimcard.com.au – you can also try eBay but I found most sellers sell a mini sim that is cut down to micro sim size which can damage the sim card.
3. Consider getting a plan with http://www.boingo.com – this gives you unlimited wi-fi at paid wi-fi hotspots in the USA (I found most airports and higher range hotels now charge for wi-fi). Boingo roams on many paid wi-fi networks in the USA. Cost is around $13 per month.
Thank you to all those who posted comments that were more helpful than the TWO Telstra people I spoke with… particular thanks to those who mentioned using a cheap non-Telstra sim as it was the best $2 I ever spent! Didn’t need to restore the phone, just did the original sync to latest iTunes after 72 hours and plugged in the phone to iTunes with the prepaid sim – got the unlocked screen!
Michelle,
Finally a person who read and did the sync, well done to you.
yes use a cheap pre-paid sim in country of destination, and Load up the “Viber” app, then your calls will be FREE…
Tom
Tom,
Getting a pre-paid SIM in country isnt a guarantee of “free Viber” etc. France in particular (Orange especially .. the Telstra of France .. formerly France Telecom) . First you have to wait 2 days after getting a MobiCarte prepaid SIM. THEN (magically, no msgs) you can transfer some of your credit (9 Euro) to activate Internet data (up to 500Mb per month , no option to increase that). VOIP and tethering is explicitly not allowed. Skype appeared blocked in fact. however Viber I’ve had work. iPhone tethering is disabled in the iPhone via the SIM some how.
You also have to navigate their #123# menus in french to get the “Internet Max” option.
If you dont and enable your data before having this, your credit will be consumed in a blink !
Hi Peter,
I bought in Germany a Voda PP sim and it worked for me there in Germany, Chec Rep, Hungary,Austria.
Re seller did the PP sign up for me in just a couple of mins as it was in german.
France maybe different, But what i’d do is talk to a reseller over there, they will give you advice on what carrier’s best to use Viber in a iphone etc.
Anything is better than coming back to a Telstra roaming account of five figures.
Tom
Is this 72 hours in total, or 72 business hours? It has been roughly just over 72 hours since i called telstra and they unlocked it, and i have now sync’d with Itunes and i don’t get the carrier updae message.
Rang telstra, iphone was deactivated less than 5 minutes later when i went to sync on iTunes. Excellent service
Will this work when the telstra sim is not active? I have an old iPhone 3GS with a deactivated sim card as the phone number was transferred to a micro sim for my iPhone 4.
Can’t get my phone un-locked for overseas.
Spent already 3 hours on live chat with Testra and another 20 minutes on the Apple hotline and this is the 3rd time I am trying to do this.
Telstra confirms that the sytem says my system is unlocked. But although I followed the procedure step by step again under the consultnst guidance I still do not get the message “carrier update available” or the “Congratulations your phone has been unlocked”.
Now telstra says its an Apple problem but Apple says its a Telstra problem.
Any suggestions?
Susanne, have you “synced” the phone to the itunes store, if so spend $2 on any opposition carrier sim card, put it in your phone and if it shows signal bars from that carrier, IT”S UN LOCKED…..
then throw away the sim and be happy. no sync no un-lock, don’t wait for a message, your wasting your own time.
Have you tried putting another SIM card in it that doesn’t belong to Telstra that will sometimes prove that it has been dowe already.
I think Telstras service is very sad I’m from south west Qld I pay $129 a month and I can only use my phone on weekends when I’m in town as during the week I work on a station where we have no service but Im still paying for it!! Thousands of people in rural areas are in the same boat. Iv tried to cancell my account but it’s to expensive. I’m now in the uk and have no use at all with my phone because it is locked. If I get it unlocked will I lose all my contacts and apps?
Hi Callum,
“If I get it unlocked will I lose all my contacts and apps?”
Call telstra tell them you want it un-locked, wait 72hrs, then sync it via the itunes store and follow the instructions, do a Back-up, and your’e good to go.
If your worried talk to an apple dealer, he’ll explain it , take about 10-15mins, too easy.
OK I am in the process of unlocking mine for a trip overseas next week. Once you have put another sim card into the phone and hook it up to itunes do you have to do the same with the sim card you buy overseas ie put it into your iphone and hook it up to your itunes? I don’t want to take my laptop with me overseas.
Once iTunes says your phone is unlocked, it’s unlocked. You’ll be able to use any other SIM, including international SIMs, without needing iTunes.