How to Unlock a Cricket Wireless iPhone (Requirements & Steps 2026)

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid brand, and that shapes everything about how its iPhones are locked. Cricket sells iPhones at a discount and recovers that discount over months of paid service, so its unlock rules are built around one idea: the phone has to have been used on Cricket long enough before the lock comes off.

That makes Cricket iPhones a frequent trap for second-hand buyers. A phone that was bought, activated for a few weeks and then sold on can look perfect, yet refuse every non-Cricket SIM. This guide explains how the Cricket lock works, what the carrier generally requires, how to request an unlock, and what to do when you aren’t the original owner.

Why a Cricket iPhone is not the same as an AT&T iPhone

Cricket is owned by AT&T and runs on AT&T’s network, so many people assume a Cricket iPhone and an AT&T iPhone are interchangeable. In Apple’s activation records they are not. Each iPhone carries a carrier policy attached to its IMEI, and a Cricket iPhone carries a Cricket-specific policy. That policy decides which SIM cards and eSIM profiles the phone accepts when it activates.

Two practical consequences follow:

• AT&T’s unlock portal won’t handle it. Cricket processes its own unlocks. Sending a Cricket IMEI to AT&T is one of the most common reasons buyers get a confusing rejection. If you do have an AT&T device, see our AT&T iPhone unlock guide instead.
• Sharing a network doesn’t mean sharing SIMs. Don’t assume a Cricket-locked iPhone will accept an AT&T SIM, or the other way around. Test, or check the policy by IMEI.

Because the lock lives on Apple’s servers rather than in the phone’s software, a genuine unlock is permanent. It survives iOS updates, restores and erasing the device. The background on how this works is in our explainer on the iPhone next tether policy.

Cricket unlock requirements (the general rules)

Cricket publishes its device unlock policy on its official site, and the wording has changed several times. Historically, the rules have followed this pattern:

• Active service period. The iPhone must have been active on a paid Cricket plan for a minimum period. Six months has long been the usual benchmark for Cricket.
• Paid in full. If the phone was bought on a payment arrangement, the balance must be cleared.
• Not reported lost or stolen, and not linked to fraud or a blocked account.
• A Cricket device. It must actually be locked to Cricket, not to AT&T, Verizon or another carrier.

In some periods Cricket has also unlocked eligible devices automatically once the service period was reached, while older devices needed a manual request. Whether that applies to your phone depends on when and how it was sold.

How to request an unlock from Cricket

1. Read the IMEI from the phone itself

Dial *#06# or open Settings › General › About and scroll to IMEI. On dual-SIM iPhones you’ll see two numbers; use the primary IMEI. Paste it below to confirm it passes the Luhn check digit test before you submit it anywhere — a mistyped digit makes any request fail.

2. Confirm it really is a Cricket lock

Settings › General › About › Carrier Lock tells you “SIM locked” or “No SIM restrictions”, but it doesn’t name the carrier. A carrier + SIM-lock check shows which carrier policy is attached to the IMEI, so you know you are talking to the right company.

3. Submit the request through Cricket

Cricket customers can usually request an unlock through their account, the myCricket app, or Cricket support. Have the IMEI, the account phone number and account PIN ready. Non-customers who bought a used Cricket phone generally need to contact Cricket directly and may be asked for proof of purchase.

4. Activate the unlock

When Cricket confirms the unlock, insert or add a SIM from a different carrier and restart the iPhone. If it still shows “SIM Not Supported”, back the phone up and restore it with a Mac or PC (Finder or Apple Devices / iTunes), or erase it. During re-activation the iPhone downloads its new policy, and Carrier Lock should change to No SIM restrictions. Our guide on how to check if an iPhone is unlocked covers the other ways to confirm.

Buying a used Cricket iPhone: the eligibility problem

Most failed Cricket unlocks have nothing to do with the buyer. They trace back to the first owner’s account:

Before paying, pair the carrier check with a GSMA blacklist check, which shows whether the IMEI has been reported and shared with other networks. It also helps to learn the difference between carrier-locked and unlocked phones so you price the device fairly.

iSerial unlock services for clean, eligible Cricket iPhones

The official route is the right first step. But some owners can’t use it in practice — the phone was bought abroad, the original account is closed, or the seller has disappeared even though the device is clean and has the required service history. For those cases iSerial processes Cricket iPhone unlocks for clean, eligible devices only:

• Cricket iPhone unlock, all models (clean, 6+ months active) — the standard service for phones that meet the active-service rule.
• Cricket premium unlock — iPhone 11 series
• Cricket premium unlock — iPhone 12
• Cricket premium unlock — iPhone 13 series
• Cricket premium unlock — iPhone 14 series
• Cricket premium unlock — iPhone 15 series

Premium services have their own turnaround (shown on each service page) and are matched to the model, so order the one that fits your exact iPhone. If you’re unsure about the model, the IMEI check confirms it. You’ll find every supported carrier on the iPhone unlock page. We never process phones reported lost or stolen.

Troubleshooting a Cricket unlock

• “Not eligible” from Cricket: almost always the active-service period, a remaining balance or a block on the account. Ask which rule failed — the fix differs for each.
• Unlock confirmed but still “SIM Not Supported”: the phone hasn’t re-activated. Restart with the new SIM, then restore if needed. Remove any old Cricket eSIM in Settings › Cellular first.
• Works on Wi-Fi only after unlocking: a carrier or band issue, not a lock. Install any carrier settings update (Settings › General › About shows a prompt) and check the new network supports the model.
• eSIM-only iPhone: US iPhone 14 and later have no SIM tray. Ask the new carrier to issue an eSIM, then add it under Settings › Cellular › Add eSIM.
• Seller says “it’s unlocked, it works on AT&T”: that proves nothing about other networks. Test with a SIM from a carrier that doesn’t use AT&T’s network, or check the policy by IMEI.

Verdict: check first, then pick the route

A Cricket iPhone with a clean record and a proper service history is straightforward to unlock — through Cricket, or through an eligible-device service when the official path isn’t practical. A phone with a short history, an open balance or a blacklist flag needs a closer look before you spend anything. Enter the IMEI below to see the carrier, lock status and blacklist status in one go: