How to Switch Carriers With Your New iPhone 5s Or 5c

If you are using an Apple iPhone 5c or 5s you can easily switch your service among three of the four major carriers in the United States. In my article last week I explained how the new iPhones use a wider range of radio spectrum to operate on either Verizon, AT&T , or T-Mobile. You're no longer locked into one specific carrier in North America. No longer will your investment in an expensive handset deter you from switching.

In order to make your phone work on a different carrier you need to understand some basics to make the process simple and straightforward. Hopefully this will answer the many questions that I have received since posting the article.

Here is what you need to do:

A valid and active SIM card: You must have a valid and active nano-sized SIM card and assigned phone number for the carrier. Be sure that a data plan is also activated for your phone on the new carrier. Remember that the SIM card must be set for an Apple smartphone; SIMs for tablets or Android phones will not work because they carry a different class identifier.

Depending upon your service provider there is a slight difference in procedures between AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

Verizon and AT&T: The carrier requires that the electronic serial number of the phone (IMEI) and the serial number (ICCID)  of the SIM card be entered into their system to authenticate the phone. While the voice portion will work, data will not without this being accomplished.

T-Mobile: You can insert a SIM card from T-Mobile into a phone originally sold for any of the three carriers and it will work without any further registration. Just reboot the phone to register it.

You can physically replace the SIM card by inserting the tool that is supplied by Apple into the tiny hole on the right hand side of the phone. You can also use a small paper clip or even the end of a staple. When you depress and release the SIM tray, it will pop out slightly from the body of the phone. Just remove it and insert the new SIM. You will see that it is indexed to the correct position by an angled corner that mates with the SIM tray. It is inserted contact-side down, towards the back of the phone. Just slide the tray with the new card back into the slot.

Phone must be unlocked: This means there are no software restrictions that limit its use to one carrier. The status of your phone depends on where you purchased it; each of the four major cellular companies in the U.S. have slightly different locking policies when they sell you a handset.

• From an Apple store: All models are locked with the exception of the generic GSM version which is designed to operate on virtually any GSM network. This model is identical (A1533) to the AT&T phone except that it is not designed specifically for any one carrier. If you purchase this version from Apple you can use it on AT&T or T-Mobile.
• Verizon:  All 4G devices, including the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c are unlocked as a matter of corporate policy;
• AT&T: This phone is locked when you purchase it from its stores. It can be unlocked by calling technical support at 800-331-0500 or by going to its web site.
•  T-Mobile: The phones are locked, but T-Mobile will unlock them after forty days from the date of purchase.
• Sprint: Will not unlock their phones nor can they be registered on any other network.

The phone's profile may need to be updated: There is a profile for each carrier that allows the connection to be made to their data network. This profile only appears when you insert a SIM card that is not issued by the carrier for which the phone was originally designed. The updating of the phone must be accomplished before you can access the Internet or any data. Note that you should have an active WiFi connection before you change the profile because you will lose connectivity once you erase the current settings.

Here is what you need to do (depends on the carrier):

First, go to Settings, Reset, Reset network settings. It's not necessary, but it's good practice.

• T-Mobile: Insert their SIM card and the phone should work. In the event it does not, you can follow the procedure outlined for the other two carriers below. T-Mobile will automatically populate the APN settings on your phone.
• For AT&T and Verizon, go to http://unlockit.co.nz for a complete list of carrier APN settings. This site will allow you to delete and update the settings for virtually all carriers in the world. Be sure you are able to access the site on WiFi before doing the update.

• AT&T: You must first delete the current profile and then update it for the required settings for AT&T. With another carrier SIM card installed you can delete the APN profile by going to General, Profile, Remove APN carrier settings.

When you are on the unlockit website, select the country, carrier, and service. For AT&T, you must select the service (4G or LTE) that is used in the location where you are updating the phone. This means that if you are in a 4G area, the LTE profile will not work properly until you are in an area that supports LTE. In other words, the phone needs to be able to communicate with the network at its current location during the update. For AT&T, select the HSPA+ option if you are in a 4G area; otherwise select LTE.

Once you enter the country, carrier and service, the unlockit site will allow you to update the profile. It's that simple. If there is a current profile that has not been deleted, the site will first display a 'delete profile' option to clear the old data. Do this, and then update the profile as described above. Then reboot the phone and it should display the new carrier and service.

• Verizon: Follow the same procedure as for AT&T, except that the profile is Verizon LTE on the unlockit site.

Other Issues

• If you have a Verizon 5s or 5c and you update it to AT&T, you can switch back and forth without having to reload the settings after the first update;
• You cannot purchase an iPhone from the carriers unless you already have a service plan or are activating new service. If you set up service or upgrade on Verizon, you will receive an unlocked phone. You can then cancel, but you will pay full price;
• If you buy a T-Mobile or AT&T phone you must have the carrier unlock it;
• If you purchase a Verizon phone from Apple, it is locked, (as is the AT&T and T-Mobile version). However, once you log on to the Verizon network, it will unlock just as if you had purchased it directly from them. There is no difference between the phones you purchase from Apple and directly from the carriers in terms of programming or capabilities, other than being locked;
• If you purchase the generic GSM version from an Apple store, the phone will work virtually anywhere in the world on GSM networks;
• Any unlocked GSM-capable phone can be used on any network in the world with a local SIM card;
• Finally, if you have an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 you can have it unlocked and it will work with a local SIM card in most foreign countries.