Will I lose my official unlock if I downgrade my iPhone?
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Cruiser • October 28, 2012 at 3:53pm
I have a factory unlocked iPhone 4 on iOS 6. If I downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 using redsn0w, will I lose the official unlock? I need to edit APN settings for data while traveling, and since the iOS 6 jailbreak is tethered, I want to return to 5.1.1.
Answers
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iClarified • January 12, 2026 at 3:27am
No, you will not lose an official factory unlock by downgrading or restoring your firmware. Official unlocks are permanent and tied to your device IMEI on Apple's activation servers. Whenever you restore your iPhone, it checks with Apple to verify its activation policy. Since your unlock is official, Apple's servers will recognize it and keep the device unlocked regardless of whether you are on iOS 6 or iOS 5.1.1. This is only a concern for software-based unlocks, which are version-dependent and not authorized by Apple.
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Thatcher • October 29, 2012 at 1:30pm
If your iPhone was officially unlocked by Apple or your carrier, the firmware version will not affect the unlock status. During the restore or downgrade process, iTunes verifies the device's IMEI with Apple's activation servers. If the device is on the master list of unlocked handsets, the unlock is applied remotely. Note that this only applies to official factory unlocks. If your device was unlocked using unofficial software methods, the unlock will be lost during a restore because those methods are dependent on specific baseband and firmware versions.