Unlock Any iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, or iPhone 3GS Right Now with SAM

Apr 23, 2012 - 108 Comments

Unlock any iPhone using SAM

A new unlock method has been discovered that works on every iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 3GS running iOS 5, iOS 5.0.1, and even iOS 5.1, the only requirement is the iPhone must be jailbroken already. If you’re already jailbroke go ahead, otherwise here are guides to jailbreak iOS 5.1 and another guide for the iPhone 4S with iOS 5.0.1.

  • Assuming your iPhone is jailbroken and ready to go…
  • Open Cydia and add the repo “repo.bingner.com” and then search for “SAM” by sbingner and install it
  • Tap on the orange SAMPrefs icon that looks like a SIM card to launch the app
  • Tap “Utilities” and select “De-Activate iPhone”, tap “OK” when the deactivation notification pops up
  • Now tap “Method” and tap on “By Country and Carrier”
  • Tap “Country” and select the country the iPhone is locked to
  • Tap “Carrier” and choose the origin carrier the iPhone is locked to
  • Tap “More Information” and tap the IMSI number found under “SAM Details”
  • Tap on “Spoof Real SIM to SAM”
  • Tap back to the primary SAM setting screen, and paste the IMSI number into IMSI
  • Connect the iPhone to the computer and launch iTunes, letting iTunes reactive the iPhone
  • Disconnect the iPhone from the computer and quit iTunes, then tap on “SAMPrefs” again and flip the “Enabled” switch so that SAM is disabled
  • Relaunch iTunes and connect the iPhone to the computer yet again, ignore the “failed to activate” message and quit and relaunch iTunes again
  • Wait a minute or two and the iPhone should get a signal from the new carrier, it’s now unlocked and activated

iPhone unlocked using T-Mobile as carrier

The downside to the SAM unlock method is that it requires a jailbreak, that means if you lose your the jailbreak you lose the unlock. If you don’t want to jailbreak or you can’t for some reason, you can officially unlock an iPhone from AT&T by phone or through AT&T via web chat instead. It can take several weeks for the unlock request to process with AT&T and the iPhone must be out of contract, but it doesn’t require any funky software mods and is much easier than the aforementioned SAM method.

Great find by Singularity and @musclenerd.

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Posted by: Matt Chan in iPhone, Tips & Tricks

108 Comments

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  1. tushar says:

    Please help me I could not download the cydia please give me link to download it

  2. chirag chaudgari says:

    I have I phone 4 from UK and T mobile network how can I unlock it at minimum priceprice??

  3. Bruno says:

    Doesn’t show any info on “more information” no IMEI no IMSI no ICCID… nothing.
    And if i attempt activation says “Activation reports error: ActivationInfo rejected. You must select the original carrier SIMID of your phone.
    i have an iPhone 4S 16gb locked on bell canada

    what am i doing wrong? or is there any problem with SAM?

  4. Nibir says:

    cant do it!! :'(

    it says ‘ ActivationIfo rejected. You must select the original carrier SIMID of your phone’

  5. ana bartley says:

    hello,

    is it possible to country unlock an iphone 4s? it is unlocked to use with other chilean companies, but cannot use it in the US or apparently any other place in the world?

  6. nixie says:

    i am trying to unlock my sprint iphone and sprint is not listed under the carriers. what should i do?

  7. avinash says:

    is this a factory unlock? can i use any gsm sim card anywhere in the world after this unlocking process…?

    reply fast man.
    thank you in advance

  8. hammaz says:

    i have purchased a second hand used iphone 4. i m going to upgrade it frm 4.2.1 to 5.1.1 but its locked on ‘connect itune’ during upgrading..pls help me anybody. service man said it is 3 UK mobile and it will never be work.

    need urgent help

    hammaz

  9. bikas says:

    sir i have an iphone 4s which is locked by at&t bt yesterday i had deactiave iphone with sam to cydia and i had restorerd my iphone with itunes and want to jailbreak with redsnow 0.9.12b1 bt didnt jailbreak. i want to activate iphone so help me sir………

  10. Jad says:

    hello, i live in lebanon where there is no offical agents for the apple company, all cells need to be jailbroken before used, the problem is that i downloaded SAMprefs for push notification certificate but i couldnt find the original Carrier, it seems that the iphone is originally from HongKong in China but im having problems with the carrier. and not iTunes says: there is a problem with your iPhone, try contacting Apple support.. while i cant access my phone neither sync with my itunes. im using an iPhone 4, iOS 5.1.1, MC603ZP/A, if anyone could help, ill be more than thankful , :)

  11. hai says:

    ohh, do you know how to unlock them for international

  12. hai says:

    i need to unlock iphone4and 4s

  13. Mimi says:

    Hey. I live in Norway and I want to use a Norwegian carrier called TalkMore, but TalkMore does not show up on the international carrier list or on the Norwegian bundle list. What to do now?

  14. Jaysun says:

    Would this work on a telus phone..

  15. Manny says:

    I have a locked ATT Iphone4 running on the latest OS. I already jailbroke it and installed SAM, yes, I’ve read all the post’s saying that it doesnt work anymore. But maybe for fsome reason someone found a way around it and MAYBE just MAYBE I can receive some sorta help as to getting this iPhone on the Tmobile network. Please let me know asap. Thanks for any assistance.

  16. Rob says:

    Will this work with a verizon iphone4 and get it to work in Canada??

  17. arkzaoldyeck says:

    i have a problem. my simcard was terminated for some reason and so the number is not usable anymore. that’s my original simcard and carrier. and then my iphone was stolen and when i finally found it, (because the thief probably didn’t know how to open it because of this carrier problem) i tried opening using my new simcard which is a new carrier. it failed to open so i tried using my original simcard which is not usable anymore and the same problem occur. so i can’t open the iphone at all to even install cydia and all that. the ” The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to supported”. thingy occur for both my new simcard and my orginal simcard. can anyone help me? please. ; (

  18. Radwan says:

    To which basebands does this work???

  19. junior says:

    Tomei conhecimento de uma ação judicial em Goiânia em que um juiz determinou o desbloqueio. A informação está no popular do dia 01/06/2012 e foi passada pela advogada Girlene Marcolino. Na OAB/GO o tel dela é (62)8141-2000. Ela falou que está a disposição. Achei super interessante.

  20. Sarah says:

    I have an iphone 4 5.1 3.0.04 Verizon cdma… i get through the whole process of unlocking, but the error message is before the activated…. or i’ll get activated but no error message….help please!

  21. Radwan says:

    It worked… I got the signal bar but the carrier name isnt apperaing next to it !! But still i cant make any phone calls…
    Help!!!

  22. Radwan says:

    Sorry it is locked to verizon

  23. Radwan says:

    I have an iphone 4s bb 2.0.12 locked to sprint…
    I dnt have a sprint sim card!! Can i do it without it??
    Thank u

  24. Kiran says:

    Dear,

    Actually mine is 4s(5.1.1)(9B206), From UK—O2 provider.Now I’m in India and I want to use my Iphone and it’s locked now.
    And I have given it for unlock in India and they said that now it’s unlocked, So may i know how to reset my phone by using local network.

    Please help me on this….

    Regards,
    Kiran

  25. deigo says:

    i cant even find SAM on cydia!! help!

  26. IphonePro says:

    Today i called at&t CS. I talked to then in english cause the spanish operator asked for receipts. But the american operator was very kind. And i just said this to her: Hi I purchased an iphone4 from a pawnshop a couple of month ago. And i want to see if you could help me unlocking it. She said yes sir I can. All she asked after that was the IMEI she checked to make sure the phone had been on a two year contract. And 4 mins and 37 seconds later she said the most amazing thing i have ever heard about iphones: I have just unlocked you iphone. Give me your e-mail to send you the instructions and you will be set sir. Went to itunes plugged in the phone and violaa. Phone was unlocked.

    • Manny says:

      Hey I need instructions on how to Unlock my Iphone I have locked to ATT and wanted to switch it over to TMobile. Please me know if I can get some sort of assistance with this dilemma!! Thanks so much for any kinda help.

  27. puneet says:

    my iphone 4s(5.0.1) wifi is not working it is greyed showing no wifi and therefore im unable to unlock my phone using cydia(sam) :(( pls help!!

  28. PARVEEN says:

    IF yu un-jailbreak it…and have used sam, will it stay unlocked?

  29. JimMadMonk says:

    PLEASE! read the posts. People keep asking the same questions ad nauseum! SAM does not work! Gevey, which admitted to using the SAM method does not work any longer either, as a result.
    Read people, it’s fundamental!

  30. i have a iphone 4s imported from thailand. currently i am in india. the problem is i can not take call and can not send msgs. do i need to do some settings or update any software????????? someone plz help me?????? my phone is already unlocked

  31. Patrick says:

    Hi.

    I have a newbie doubt. This IMSI number has to be the original one or the current one?

    Thank you.

  32. MadamStrayB says:

    okk so after reading all yalls posts..im ah bit confused.. does the SAM unlock method still work as of today?? (06062012) i have bin trying to unlock my fone for tha pass 15dayz..nd i have not found anythng that’ll help:(
    -what ta do???

  33. pash says:

    will this work for carriers in mexico? telcel specifically

  34. mikael says:

    have iphone 4s running iOS 5.1.1 on bb 2.0.10 jailbroken but i can’t get it activated on any sim. it keeps saying “simcard does not appear to be supported”
    any help plz???!

  35. Praboda says:

    Does SAM work still? Please comment me before i start my whole processes.. Thank you, Today 02 May 2012…

  36. mikhaella says:

    is the SAM unlock still works?

  37. French user says:

    Awesome!

  38. benjamin joel says:

    can i unlock a iphone 3G using this SAM method

  39. shan says:

    Hi,
    I unlocked my iphone 4 (4.11.08) with sam unlock and using docomo sim in india.Can i change my sim and use it or will it work only with docomo sim.plz help

    • navi says:

      same case here, i’m using airtel sim. the phone wont read any other sim its activated with. i’m also checking for a way to change with any other airtel sim but waiting for some hack to do that.

      i’ll let you know if i’ll see some info, and you also let me know in case you get something around it..

  40. liridon says:

    I spent all step better but when i disable Sam and connected with itunes i dont get ,,error saying that your phone cannot be activated,, but i get ,,the sim card inserted in this iphone does not appear to be supported,,
    plsss help

    • valon says:

      Same here, i tried everything but still getting ,,the sim card inserted in this iphone does not appear to be supported,, error.
      HELP!

  41. Khanzada says:

    Hey guys i unlocked iphone 4 using sam agter i commected to itune the message appears ” congratulations your device is unlocked” what does it mean. ????

  42. ATt sucks says:

    exactly! Don’t know what they are doing to do….

  43. Devy says:

    According to Musclenerd, Apple has already fixed the holes on their activation servers – so SAM unlock WILL NOT WORK ANY MORE as of April 27.

    https://twitter.com/#!/MuscleNerd/status/195652799835549696

  44. Josh says:

    I keep getting error that the SIM card is from an unsupported carrier when i am at the last few steps. what do i do?

    • Josh says:

      and mine is an hactivated iphone, it has never been activated before, i have an AT&T sim but i havent activated it and i dont want to. i want to use it with my t mobile sim.

  45. Doodie says:

    Is the build date of the 3gs irrelevant now? This works with all basebands?

  46. Mukul says:

    i am trying again n again, repeating d same method SAM to unlock my iph 4, 4.11.08
    but every time after completing the process
    itunes displays
    SIM CARD INSERTED IN THIS IPHONE DOES NOT APPEARED TO BE SUPPORTED

    • smallfry341 says:

      I had the same problem and managed to fix it thanks to a post I found earlier. You must ‘wildcardactivate’ your phone is SAM first. This can be done by selecting the ‘Bundle’ method instead of ‘by country and carrier’ and following the same steps. When you see that it is ‘wildcardactivated’ under more information, then go back to step one of the unlock process and follow it through. Worked for me running the same BB.

      Sorry if the instructions I posted weren’t the clearest, I am trying to post them from memory only.

  47. Smallfry says:

    I successfully unlocked my iPhone 4 running 5.1 but when I took my sim card out and put it back in, the unlock was lost. Does this process need to be repeated for each sim card? I am trying to sell it as an unlocked phone and obviously this is a bit of a hangup.

    Thank you in advance for any help or advice given on how to solve this problem.

  48. Rapza says:

    I fllowed the steps correctly but I keep on getting an error. “you must select the original carrier simid of your phone” what should i do?

    I have an iphone4 mc605j 5.0.1, 3.10.01bb

    • Perada says:

      You should select the original carriers SIM, what cell company aka “carrier” was the iPhone originally on? That is what you choose.

  49. idrees says:

    can anyone tell me how to activate iphone 4 bb 04.12.01
    for simple mobile ????
    thanks
    1

  50. Daniel says:

    Is the original SIMcard inserted during the whole process,
    or the new card that you wish to have it unlocked to?
    (Every time I google this, the method is different)

    Also, my network (Fido) isn’t listed when using “By Country”
    although it is listed under “By Carrier Name”
    Any help MUCH appreciated!

  51. Haitham says:

    Actually, after 6 months I unlock my phoooooooone I lovvvveee youuuuu

  52. Madhawa Jaaweera says:

    wooooooow thanx a lottt thankyou all of you again…… i unlocked my iphone now. this is a biggest help full site. try this…

  53. Madhawa Jaaweera says:

    sam cant’t active again its displayed ” Activation report Error;
    you must select the original carrier SIMID of your phone”

    • bjoernKgermany says:

      for all of you:
      i had the same problem again and again, with the supplier
      of my iphone “vodafone germany”!. It doesn’t work.

      But than I tried UK and Vodafone Ltd, and thanks god, it
      works. Im unlocked now.

      For all of you:
      It seems, that vodafone distributes in germany many iphones
      with carriers from different carriers but locked for vodafone.
      therefore try also some other countries and it shall work.
      good luck.

      SAM itselfs works great.

      • Mimi says:

        Hey. I’m from Norway and my iphone is locked to Netcom, but I want to use TalkMore. Now, I’m getting this error message that I must select the original carrier. TalkMore isn’t on the list on SAM. How can I possibly choose an other country when TalkMore doesn’t excist anywhere else but here in Norway?

  54. boomtnt says:

    Here is what I do to unlock my iPhone easily

    1/ Deactivate my iPhone in Sampref
    2/ Method use Auto Detect
    3/ Connect to itune, let it activate your iphone
    4/ Close itune, disable sampref
    5/ Open itune again, error cannot activate will appear
    6/ Close itune, then open it again
    7/ Voila!! No need to mess around with any Sim ID

  55. Lou says:

    My iPhone 4 was Gevey unlocked and can’t be updated without locking again. With this method, could I update to 5.1 and unlock it again? I’m on 4.3.5 now.

  56. idrees says:

    which carreir should i selcet for simple mobile

  57. Andy says:

    it says version 0.1.15-3 for SAMprefs

  58. Andy says:

    I cnat find Method section in SamPrefs
    Anyone help ???

  59. dream1123 says:

    does the phone need to have service before you can do it or does it give you service at the end the phone is not active with att no more

  60. Dream says:

    I just unlocked iphone 4 04.11.08 from At&t works great but having trouble finding the right carrier for an iphone 4s which came from the states verzison all SimID not working.

  61. Happy finally says:

    Fantastic worked like a charm.

  62. kosi2 says:

    i keep get this (error you must select the original carrier sim id on your phone)

  63. kosi2 says:

    is this still working

  64. Angel says:

    really works on my husband’s iphone 4, rogers (canada)locked! Thank you BIGTIME!

    • sandesh george says:

      Hi – I have a brand new iPhone 4 bought from Canada ( Rogers ). Its a factory locked one. Can somebody help me to unlock this. While switching on it saying ” Incert a valid SIM card. This phonw was not activated in Canada.

      Pls help…………Now I`m in India.

  65. Demon says:

    It works with all basebands?

  66. NeOz says:

    It will loses its network list when I travel to somewhere, please help.

  67. Hector12 says:

    very good worked 100% after COPYING the original IMSI in those two places …

    • Mike says:

      How did you locate your original IMSI?

    • stephen305 says:

      what 2 places? i’m still having problem. and am i suppose to take the simcard out while doing the steps or leave it in bcause when i connect to iphone it says the sim card inserted
      in this iphone does not appear to be supported but its a t mobile sim card

  68. DJ says:

    Still having trouble here…I get service very briefly, long enough to get a single text, and then it goes away. Under carriers in settings on phone it says unable to load network list. Any help would be appreciated.

  69. DJ says:

    I am also on Simple but the carrier settings should be for who phone is locked to. I am trying these steps and I have seen Simple pop up briefly and I was even notified of voicemail…now no signal. Still struggling here but I will post again if successful, please do the same. Im using iphone 4 with bb4.11.08

  70. brandon says:

    HI what are the carrier details for simple mobile? Im trying to unlock using 5.1 and 4.12.1 but it does not seam to work

  71. Crunch says:

    AT&T just unlocked my iPhone 4 via webchat. That took less than 5 minutes. Sweet.

  72. Pavlito says:

    Hi everyone

    I just unlocked iphone 4 (04.11.08)
    And iphone 3gs (05.16.05)
    Using sam awesome works great .

    • Felipe says:

      How?? I’m trying to unlock for use on TMobile but nothing??

      • zoolhouse says:

        I was able to unlock using both SAM and Gevey but there is a problem as you are unable to edit the network settings and therefore unable to send or receive text. Currently working on a solution but it seems Apple is going out of it’s way to block any unlocking option.

  73. Frank says:

    The point is if like me you bought a new phone and your old phone is still on contract with ATT for a year. It’s silly they still “own” your phone even after you bought a new one with a new contract with them…

  74. Travis says:

    Kind of surprised people still bother with this stuff. Verizon iPhone is unlocked from the get go and AT&T is unlocking phones the moment they are out of contract, what’s the point??

  75. […] alongside the new SAM iPhone unlock method is an updated version of Redsn0w which helps users preserve their unlock. Dubbed Redsn0w 0.9.10b8, […]

    • G Michael Rabuck says:

      I have a German 3GS out of contract, but not unlocked. I got my iPhone 4 stolen, so I am trying to use my 3GS with my current ATT contract. I loaded Redsnow and currently have the 5.1.1 and everything works, but I have SAM and it will not work, it still says “no service.” What am I doing wrong? Anyone know?

      Michael

      • G Michael Rabuck says:

        For more clarification, the 3GS was a German T Mobile contract. I now have an ATT contract in the states.

        Michael

        • Umi says:

          downgrade to ios 4.1 and then flash with ipad BB 6.15.00 then unlock it. after that u can search how to upgrade to iOS 5.1.1 for iphone with ipad BB.

    • zoolhouse says:

      Everyone, it seems Apple locked down on the SAM option but funny thing is you can still unlock it using Gevvey. The problem is you have to use both in order for this to work. Setup as stated above and then once rebooting remove the Tmobile sim card, added back with Gevvey and it works.

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