something like this..

Now here’s a switch - instead of bricking the phone, iTunes will actually unlock it - if the customer who owns it has paid the premium for an unlocked phone.

According to several reports, confirmed by Apple Phone Show, the process goes something like this…

iPhone’s IMEI number is sent to Apple by the reseller.

Approximately one day later, syncing the iPhone with iTunes automatically unlocks it.

thanks http://applephoneshow.com/

gus comments..
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the IMEI number is unique to each iphone.. . but i am thinking this could easily be hacked by running something locally and a quick edit in the hosts file.. and then feeding the package.. this is sloppier protection than I expected.. but then again the process might be a little more complex than that..

if you work for apple please unlock my IMEI. kthxbai.

If you need your phone unlocked I can write you a guide (complete and that works). After a lot of trial and error with all the info online I was able to get my moms iPhone jail broken and unlocked running 1.1.2. She is currently using it with sunrise CH.

-Stefan