Re: I unlocked my iPhone 5. If for some reason an exchange is needed, will Apple ...
If you unlock your iPhone through any method besides a true carrier unlock...you will have to pay for the unlock again with the new iPhone. My friend used the method via eBay that many of us used (covered in another thread) and dropped his a few weeks back, shattering it and causing it to have strange issues when trying to use it. He had Apple Care +, and went in for a replacement...he explained to them that the iPhone he had was unlocked, but when it was replaced, he was given a carrier locked phone...with the explanation that his carrier account did not call for an unlocked iPhone (or something to that effect) and that the iPhone being replaced was not purchased as a factory unlocked unit.
He just went on eBay and bought an unlock again for a few bucks.