Does An Officially IMEI Unlocked Iphone 4 Need Re-activating After Itunes Restore?

[Panyaa]

I wonder if somebody could please advise me. I have decided to give my Iphone 4 to my stepdaughter who lives abroad (As I now have an Iphone 5) . The Iphone 4 was officially IMEI unlocked through Three(UK) and I have used it abroad with other SIM cards without issue.

I intend to give her the Iphone in a couple of weeks time and in preparation for this I have performed a full Itunes restore to factory spec. I haven't fully booted up the Iphone yet, just far enough to change the default language to my stepdaughters.

What I'd like to know is that when I meet her at the airport and give her the Iphone will she just be able to insert a new micro-sim and use the Iphone? Or will she have to activate it? (presumeably by connecting it to Itunes). Thank you.

 

[willerz2]

An IMEI unlock is a factory unlock. It doesn't matter how you abuse the iPhone with software changes, it'll still be there, no matter how many times you upgrade the iOS or restore it. The IMEI unlock is linked to your phone's IMEI, so unless you've changed your physical hardware, it won't go away.

 

[Panyaa]

thanks willerz2. I did understand that but for some reason I thought that it might need to be connected to Itunes first. I know that on several occasions during firmware upgrades I have seen the "Congratulations, your Iphone is now unlocked" notice appear on Itunes which made me think that it needs to be re-connected to Itunes so that it can retrieve the unlock authorization from Apple. Sorry if I'm barking up the wrong tree but I would like for her to just insert a micro-sim and use it straight away.

 

[willerz2]

Nope. It's just a system message telling you that your phone is unlocked. Reason being is that sometimes people buy Apple unlocked stock iPhones, so just as verification, it'll tell them that their device is unlocked since it's like running the iPhone the first time after each restore. Your stepdaughter should be able to literally plug in the micro SIM and use it immediately if her SIM has service.