An iPhone 5s that is locked to a particular SIM provider can be a total pain especially for frequent travellers wherein they need to change SIM cards time and again. Sometimes, you don't even know that your iPhone is locked until you are set to travel to some place and you need to change a SIM card only to find out that you are blocked from using another SIM. Here is a guide on how to check if your iPhone 5s is locked or not.

The easiest way to find out whether your iPhone 5s is locked or not is to purchase a spare SIM card from a different network provider and insert it in your iPhone. If your iPhone 5s is unlocked you will be able to see a new network provider located in the status bar, a few minutes after you changed your SIM card. On the other hand, if your iPhone 5s is locked, you will see a pop-up error that says that you need to insert a valid SIM card.

If you are a frequent traveller, this first step must be performed immediately upon purchase so as to ascertain whether or not your iPhone 5s is locked. For sure, the last thing you want to happen is to be stuck in another country without a smartphone.

If for one reason or another you cannot avail another SIM card to perform the trick aforementioned, but you still need to know if your iPhone 5s is locked or not, there is a Web site that can help you.

IMEI.info is a Web site that can actually access public database of IMEI codes. These codes identify which phones are carriers locked or not. To be able to use the Web site, you need to obtain your iPhone's IMEI code, which is a code that is unique for your device alone.

To find the code, you can check the back of your smartphone's packaging box or you can also dial *#06# on your iPhone 5s. Afterwards you will see the IMEI code displayed on your smartphone's screen.

Once you already obtained the IMEI code of your iPhone 5s, you need to go to the Web site and enter the code. Afterwards, you will be able to see a table that has basic information of your iPhone model. Although some information will be incorrect, it will indicate whether or not your iPhone is locked.