Is It a Good Idea to Unlock an iPhone 5?

Unlocking your iPhone can be extremely beneficial depending on the situation, but you may have heard otherwise and that is causing you to be skeptical about the process. iPhones that are unlocked are able to connect to any wireless provider network – meaning if you have an O2 iPhone but you’ve cancelled your O2 service and are now using T-Mobile, you will need to unlock that iPhone to use it on T-Mobile’s network.

Why You Shouldn’t Unlock Your iPhone 5

So you know why people unlock their iPhones, but why is it controversial? The main problem is that unlocking a device often voids the manufacturer warranty. If you just bought a brand new iPhone, it may not be in your best interest to unlock it since it has a full warranty life it hasn’t lived. Of course if you are forced to switch phone companies for whatever reason, you may have no other option but to unlock the device.

Other than simply voiding your warranty, unlocking your device can be risky if you try doing it yourself without knowing exactly what to do. It’s not that hard to brick your device and cause it to become unusable because you didn’t perform the unlocking process correctly. In this case you have now broken your phone and voided the warranty.


Staying Within Warranty On Unlocked Devices


For those that really do not want to void their warranty, there’s the option of sending the device to your carrier to have it unlocked. This usually costs a decent amount of money (around £99 usually), but the important thing is it doesn’t void your warranty. Honestly this option really is not something you’d want to consider unless your provider has a very low price.

When You Should Unlock Your iPhone 5

Obviously if you’ve switched carriers and weren’t provided with a new phone, you’ll be forced to unlock your phone or give it away. If you happen to be lucky enough to receive a phone from someone who didn’t want to just unlock it, you could unlock it yourself and use it on any carrier or join the carrier of the phone. If your warranty has expired, you should go ahead and unlock your device if you’re confident you won’t damage it and you want to switch carriers.

If you have some form of third party gadget insurance, that will likely cover your device even if you unlocked it. Each policy will be different, but in most cases you can rest assured your unlocked device is safe. One of the leaders in iPhone insurance is Protect Your Bubble, this third party insurance company offers extensive iPhone 5 Insurance at a very affordable rate.

Since paying your carrier to unlock your device can be costly, you should compare the time left on your warranty with the cost of insurance. If your warranty is going to expire in 6 months, you’d be better off just insuring your phone for those 6 months and beyond rather than paying to unlock your phone. Whichever route you decide to go, the process can be a bit tricky; always make sure you know what your coverage is and how to utilise it.

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