If you arrive in the USA and your phone is locked (and you therefore can't use your USA sim card) we cannot refund you under any circumstances.  It is solely your responsibility to ensure that your phone is unlocked.  If you arrive in the USA and your phone is locked, the sim card won't work and you won't get a refund


Please note that we are unable to tell you if your phone is locked or unlocked.  Please read all of the information below as it explains in details about how to unlock your phone, and how to check that it is unlocked.


What does "locked" mean?


A "locked" phone will only work on your current network, and no other network.  


So, for example, if your phone is locked to the Telstra network, you can't use an Optus or Vodafone sim card in it (nor can you use a sim card from any other carrier in the entire world).  


If your phone is locked, you need to get it unlocked to use the USA Sim Card.


Not from Australia? No worries! You can still use our sim card if your phone is network unlocked (contact your network provider to check if your phone is unlocked).


Is my phone locked or unlocked?


You'll need to work out whether your phone is locked or unlocked, and if it's locked, you'll need to get it unlocked.


Did Telstra/Optus/Vodafone tell you that your phone is unlocked?  DO NOT BELIEVE them.


Did your friend/wife/husband/sister/brother/corner shop owner tell you that your phone is unlocked!  DO NOT BELIEVE them.





We repeat:  the only way to be certain that your phone is unlocked is if 1 or 2 above applies to you.



How can I check if my phone is unlocked?


Not sure if your phone is unlocked?  The only way to be certain is to put into your phone a sim card from a different network - if your phone connects to this different network then it's unlocked!  If you get an error message such as invalid sim or SOS only, then your phone is locked and you need to get it unlocked.  This is the ONLY way to be 100% certain that your phone is unlocked.  There is NO OTHER WAY to check if your phone is unlocked.


When using a sim card from a different network, please be sure to use a different network sim card, not just a different company sim card.  For example, the mobile network "Amaysim" uses the Optus network, so using an Amaysim sim card is no use if you want to check if your phone is unlocked from the Optus network.  Borrow a friend's sim card or buy a $2 starter sim card from Woolworths, Safeway or Coles (there's no need to activate that sim card or add credit to it - literally take it out of the packaging and put it into your phone).


Again, we repeat:  the only way to test if your phone is unlocked is to put into it a sim card from a different network and confirm that it connects to that different network.  Please do not call or email us to ask if your phone is unlocked.  We do not know.


How do I unlock my phone?


Unlocking an iPhone


Click here to read the official instructions from Apple about how to unlock your iPhone.


In summary, to unlock an iPhone requires you to contact your carrier to request an unlock and then perform a full backup and restore of your iPhone in iTunes.  Please do not call us asking about how to unlock your iPhone or to ask us if it is unlocked - if you don't know, then we don't know either!


If you arrive in the USA and your iPhone is locked (and you therefore can't use your USA sim card) we cannot refund you under any circumstances.


Unlocking a non-iPhone phone


Contact your phone carrier (eg Telstra, Optus, Vodafone) and request they unlock your phone and follow their instructions. 


If you arrive in the USA and your phone is locked (and you therefore can't use your USA sim card) we cannot refund you under any circumstances.