The Difference Between Unlocking and Jailbreaking An IPhone

If you’re new to the concept of jailbreaking or unlocking an iPhone, you’ll find that it’s very easy to get them mixed up. Before going any further, you should know that though, both these terms seem to be the same in actual they are not – jailbreaking an iPhone is not the same as unlocking it. Of course, the difference is slightly subtle and therefore, it’s easy to take one for the other.

The Main Difference
Apple strictly controls what software can be installed on your iPhone and only apps offered through its App Store are approved and permitted. But, there’s a plethora of apps available, otherwise as well. These apps are the ones which aren’t available at App Store because Apple rejected them for various reasons.

Both jailbreaking and unlocking basically allow you to do things with your iPhone which are not permitted, otherwise. The basic difference between them is that while jailbreaking focuses on controlling what software you can install on your iPhone or any other iOS device, unlocking allows you to select your desired mobile phone network on it..
More About Jailbreaking An iPhone

Jailbreaking is the process of modifying the firmware of your iPhone, so that it’ll be able to run unsigned code that wouldn’t have run under normal conditions. To rephrase it, an iPhone that has been jailbroken has the ability to install and run software, which isn’t approved by Apple, hence, opening up access to a variety of third party tools and applications through Cydia. Cydia is an unofficial app store full of applications that are not available through iTunes; Apple’s official app store. Using apps not approved by Apple is the primary reason why people want to jailbreak an iPhone or other iOS hardware. In order to unlock an iPhone, you’ll need to jailbreak it first. Whether you want to unlock new iPhone 5 or an older model, jailbreaking it is the first step.
More About Unlocking Your iPhone

Unlocking your iPhone effectively lifts the carrier restrictions on your phone’s cellular modem, allowing an iPhone owner to use any cellular carrier, he/she wishes. In many countries, most smartphones come with a ‘carrier lock’; the device can only be used on the network it’s locked to. For instance, if an iPhone is sold through AT&T, then it is locked and can be used with an AT&T network, only. With a successful unlock, you can use another carrier’s SIM card on your unlocked iPhone, as well. Remember that unlocking is largely dependent on your iPhone’s baseband; just another term for the device’s cellular communication transmitter. You’ll find many solutions online, depending upon the model – one that results in safe iPhone 4 unlock won’t work for iPhone 3S.



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About the author, Oussama Afellad

I'm an 18 years old web and graphic designer. I was born in a nice city in the north of Morocco, called Tangier; The gate between Africa and Europe! My journey to get here has involved a lot of personal projects, designing and optimising clients' websites etc... As for now, I work as a freelancer, I spend my time developing a number of my clients' websites and creating templates and graphics to sell them on the envato marketplaces.
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