AT&T unlock without restore/iOS update??

[BlazingGold]

I have been approved of the request to unlock my AT&T iPhone 5. It is running a version of iOS 7 and I DO NOT want to restore/update it to iOS 8. The AT&T email says I have to backup and restore using iTunes which will update my iOS to 8. Is there any way around this?

 

[HankAZ]

Nope. The only way to unlock it is with a backup and restore via iTunes.

 

[BlazingGold]

Nope. The only way to unlock it is with a backup and restore via iTunes.

Oh wow. Thanks for answering but it's a shame! There's really no benefit to the update for the iPhone 5, and I've heard it slows it down

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Unless you're looking to jailbreak then I don't think updating to ios 8 is that bad for an iPhone 5.

 

[Massie]

Oh wow. Thanks for answering but it's a shame! There's really no benefit to the update for the iPhone 5, and I've heard it slows it down

This is actually not true for your phone...all you need to do is insert a SIM from the new carrier and it will activate with them if you're unlocked. (Older iPhones like the iPhone 4 required a restore to complete the unlock, but that changed with newer models.)

Hope that catches you in time!

 

[Massie]

(But by the way, I'm on 8.1 with my iPhone 5 and it's just fine. iOS 8 actually added a TON of great new features; I would definitely recommend you consider updating anyway!)

 

[BlazingGold]

Thank you everyone for the replies ! Massie, it turns out I have to wait 24 hours anyway. So, I will be attempting it tomorrow afternoon. Conveniently, I have a T-Mobile SIM from their "test drive" program. I'll be able to pop that in tomorrow to see if that works without a restore. I wanted to avoid it because the phone is my mother's line on my account. She wouldn't use any or many of the new features on iOS 8, so hopefully the unlock will be successful without the restore. Is this for sure ? 100% of what I find on google says that a restore is always necessary with any iPhone, even new. Thanks all for the help

 

[Vivek Shankar]

SO did you need to restore? I just got the AT&T e-mail and im traveling and I dont have my macbook with me. oh, im on an iphone 6. Thanks

 

[TheRewardisCheese]

This is actually not true for your phone...all you need to do is insert a SIM from the new carrier and it will activate with them if you're unlocked. (Older iPhones like the iPhone 4 required a restore to complete the unlock, but that changed with newer models.)

Hope that catches you in time!

I can confirm that is works as I have done this with a few iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones. Just pop in the new sim, the phone will restart with a message on your lockscreen that says reactivation required. just swipe to unlock the phone's screen and it it will automatically unlock the phone and attempt to pick up the signal for that carrier for which the SIM card belongs to.

 

[Vivek Shankar]

Thanks, I'll have some cheese in your honor if it works tomorrow

 

[Vivek Shankar]

I can confirm that is works as I have done this with a few iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones. Just pop in the new sim, the phone will restart with a message on your lockscreen that says reactivation required. just swipe to unlock the phone's screen and it it will automatically unlock the phone and attempt to pick up the signal for that carrier for which the SIM card belongs to.

No luck on my end, I'm afraid.