• After more than 15 years covering everything Apple, it’s with a heavy heart we announce that we will no longer be publishing new content on iMore and the iMore forums will be closing as of November 1st, 2024.

iMore

Greetings,

I have an iPhone 4S that is locked to Bell Mobility in Canada that my father passed down to me. He cancelled his account with Bell and moved to a different carrier.

I have an active Telus SIM card. I have the old Bell SIM card which this phone was activated originally.

I have since jail broken the iPhone 4S on 5.1.1 modem firmware 2.0.12 using Redsn0w (if memory serves). I have installed many apps including the apps from Cydia, Installous (even though it's gone, I still have the apps), AppCake, and iTunes Store.

I may or may not want to upgrade the phone's firmware in the future.

My 1st question is: Is it possible to unlock this phone without loosing anything?

My 2nd question is: If I have to restore it, do I not loose everything including apps not purchased through the iTunes store?

My 3rd question is: If I do get a factory unlock from the original carrier, do I not have to restore the phone and loose everything that is on the phone including apps not purchased in the itunes store?

I suppose that is it for now. I have been reading and reading for days and it seems everything is a little out dated. It is very unfortunate I missed out on the SAM unlock. I am not interested in purchasing an IMEI unlock just yet (if I am going to spend money, I will invest in a factory unlock from Bell).

Any help here would be great! I look forward to any responses but please, I have my reasons for the things above and I do not want to explain myself. If you have tips or tricks that are not outdated, bring them on.

Thanks in advance!