No doubt about it, iPhones are really cool. They've taken telephones to an entirely new level of functionality and competition is sure to follow. But, in the meantime, there's just the iPhone. And it comes with some limitations.

One limitation that seems to generate the most attention is the fact that Apple has an exclusive contract with AT&T to be the telephone service provider for these interesting little gadgets. Some people think AT&T is fine but others would prefer to take their telephone business elsewhere, even if it's their iPhone telephone business. To date, however, there are no other legitimate options.

Nevertheless, where there's a will there's a way and a growing number of computer wizards have mastered the secret to how to unlock iPhone technology so it's compatible with T-Mobile and European telephone carriers. The trick is in the SIM card and making sure the preferred carrier uses a GSM radio band.

Some people leave how to unlock iPhone telephone coverage to a third-party service provider. Others feel confident enough with their own computing expertise to try their own hand at the job. If you want to try it yourself, you'll want to have ready your iPhone, a WiFi connection, and a data cable. Once the appropriate tools are gathered, here are the steps required:

1. Go to the Applications folder, then the Utilities folder, and open the phone's OS X Activity Monitor. 2. Select iTunes Helper and choose to Quit Process. 3. On the internet, go to NullRiver's AppTapp software program and install it. 4. Once you receive the message that installation was successful, download Community Sources, BSD Subsystem, and Open SSH, in exactly that order. 5. Install from a download Unlock.app, lockdownd, and Cyberduck. 6. Navigate to iPhone's General settings and choose Never at the Auto-Lock option. 7. To find your phone's IP address, go to Settings, WiFI, and click the blue arrow next to your network. Make a note of this address. You'll need it later. 8. Open Cyberduck, choose Open Connection, and enter your IP address. Before doing so, make sure you've also selected SFTP and Port 22. 9. Type "root" as your username. 10. Add the password "dottie". 11. Go from "/private/var/root" to the main directory by typing "/". 12. Now type "/usr/libexec". 13. Drag lockdownd into the file and overwrite the existing file. 14. Back in Cyberduck, drag the file marked Unlock from the desktop to /Applications. 15. Now turn off the iPhone and remove the SIM card. 16. Turn the iPhone back on and open the Unlock application. 17. Look now for a white screen containing a message that reads, "All files found. Ready to go. Press Start.” 18. Press start and expect the install process to take about 20 minutes. 19. Once install is complete, insert any SIM card you desire, as long as it is GSM compatible.

There you have it. How to unlock iPhone telephone coverage in less than 20 steps. And probably in less than an hour, too. And without spending a penny.