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cocacolakid

macrumors 65816
Dec 18, 2010
1,108
20
Chicago
Very helpful ATT people, the first person told me they don't unlock iphones. :)

They ended up telling me that without proof of purchase from ATT, i.e. faxing in a receipt, they would not be able to unlock my 3gs.
 
Last edited:

dlee27

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2008
17
0
Could only get 3GS unlocked, iPhone 4 (when I got it) not 2 years old yet.

Did AT&T representative give you unlock code while you were on the phone? Mine took my email and said that the code and instruction will be emailed within 48 hours. Strange....
 

cocacolakid

macrumors 65816
Dec 18, 2010
1,108
20
Chicago
Did AT&T representative give you unlock code while you were on the phone? Mine took my email and said that the code and instruction will be emailed within 48 hours. Strange....

From what I understand, they don't give the user a code. They enter the IMEI number into the Apple database and Apple flags the phone for unlocking. You connect the phone to iTunes and do a restore and it's unlocked (once it appears in Apple's database of unlocked phones). It can take 1 hour to supposedly a week for ATT and Apple to get the phone on the unlocked list.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,024
7,867
I have 6 iphone 4s all NOT on contract and i called in today and 4 different people gave me crap and were like oh we need you to fax in a receipt to show you paid full price n I'm like who keeps a receipt? I'm pretty sure all one has to do is send the imei numbers to apple n ill be good n nobody would get in trouble this is so annoying cause non of my lines are on contract i just want to unlock cause i travel outside the country a lot n it would be WAY cheaper to put in a local sim in that country than use att..

Did you buy it off-contract from Apple? If so, it should already be unlocked, though you can also access the receipts online for 18 months.

If not, then perhaps the store you bought it from can look it up if AT&T CS is still giving you the runaround.
 

jekyoo

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
343
1
Chicago
Just talked to a representative about unlocking my iPhone 4 and she said that it shouldn't be a problem and I should get an email in 24-48 hours about it being unlocked.

Me: What kind of information is reviewed for it to be eligible?
Nicole Wilcox: We review for lost/stolen, active on another account. Past due balances and no Flags for off network usage.
Me: So it's possible to unlock all iPhones, including the 4S, as long as they meet the requirements?
Nicole Wilcox: In theory, yes.
Nicole Wilcox: Contract periods must be complete as well.
Me: So wouldn't that make the 4S ineligible since the 4S has only been released for 6 months?
Nicole Wilcox: If customers purchased at full retail, then they can be unlocked. If they were upgraded onto the line, then they wouldn't be able to be unlocked until their contract period is complete or terminated.
Me: Okay. Since I upgraded to the 4S, it's a chance that my 4 won't be eligible then?
Me: I believe I've only had the 4 for 1 1/2 years since I upgraded to the 4S.
Nicole Wilcox: No, because you accepted a new contract with your iPhone4S. your old contract is considered terminated.

According to the rep I talked to, people who did an early upgrade to the iPhone 4S, your iPhone 4 will be eligible to be unlocked. So you don't need to wait 2 years to unlock a phone.
 

Truckondo

macrumors 6502
Jun 4, 2009
257
301
Just did the online chat to unlock my iPhone 4. I gave the rep my IMEI and after a brief wait, she asked me what phone am I currently using. I told her the iPhone 4s. She then asked for my email. I guess she just put in the request to Apple and told me that I should receive an email with 48-72 hours regarding the unlock. I will try later tonight to do the restore to see if it works otherwise I will wait for the email.
 

Lumpy05

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2010
167
83
Bloomington, IN
Called last night and got my wife's old 3GS unlocked. Received email from att about 15 minutes later with instructions to restore to complete unlock. After restore received iTunes message that phone is unlocked. The phone also upgraded to ios 5.1 during restore I put an existing prepaid tmobile sim in, I have been using all day. Edge is SLOW for data but the phone works great, much better than my crappy android. :D
 

pittpanthersfan

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2009
362
51
Called to unlock my old iPhone 3G, Lots of being on hold, but I was eventually able to give its IMEI and the request was submitted. The rep offered to send me an email with instructions for next steps.

I restored the iPhone 3G in iTunes not 15 minutes later and was met with the "Congratulations" screen. Eighteen months until I can say the same for my 4S I suppose.
 

terraphantm

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2009
3,814
663
Pennsylvania
I got it done on my 64GB 4S a few hours ago. I originally submitted an unlock yesterday but it didn't seem to go through. I resubmitted today, and it came instantly.
 

scottphillips88

macrumors member
Jul 19, 2010
34
0
Ok I can confirm a few things here:

1) I have an old 3Gs that was bought online NOT on my account.
2) When I called ATT a couple times they refused to unlock it because it was not purchased on my account.
3) When I took the phone into a "Core" ATT store and had them call 611 they had no problem with unlocking it for me!
4) I wanted to keep 5.0.1 un-tethered jailbreak so after I left the ATT store I went straight home and noticed I had an e-mail from ATT saying this:

To complete the unlock, simply:
. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have internet connectivity.
. Connect your iPhone using the dock connector to USB cable that came with your iPhone.
. Backup and restore your iPhone using iTunes .
For information on backup and restore, please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414.
. After restoring, your iPhone will be unlocked.

5) I then found it possible to create a custome IPSW with Redsn0w (5.0.1) and then Shift+Restore to that firmware without needing Tiny Umbrella.
6) You need to put the phone into PWND DFU mode and then simply run the custom restore.
7) BOOM "Your iPhone has been unlocked" message appeared in the final stage of the custom restore and I then proceeded to jailbreaking 5.0.1 un-tetherd.

This is something ATT should have been doing all along. Now my family on T-Mo can have my old iphones without worrying about jailbreaking to unlock!
 

terraphantm

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2009
3,814
663
Pennsylvania
You don't need to restore. You just need to deactivate the phone. SAM works great for that. Then activate it through iTunes with a foreign SIM or use SAM to spoof a foreign SIM
 

terraphantm

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2009
3,814
663
Pennsylvania
How do you go about doing that? That would save me loads of time...

  1. If you're jailbroken: Add "repo.bingner.com" as a cydia source.
  2. Look for "SAM" and install it.
  3. Open the SAMprefs app.
  4. Click utilities, and then click deactivate.
  5. Now go back to the main menu of that app; under Subscriber Artificial Module, set it to enabled.
  6. Under method, choose "By Country and Carrier"; Pick a random country, pick a random carrier, and then pick a random SIM ID.
  7. Now open up iTunes.
  8. Plug in your iPhone
  9. If your unlock was successful, you should get the congrats message.

Note: If iTunes was already open and your iPhone was connected by Wifi, you'll have to eject it before plugging in your iPhone.
 

PaulDoFish

macrumors regular
Jun 23, 2010
107
2
Alright so here's my story. I called twice; once to unlock my iPhone 3GS, and another to unlock my sister's iPhone 3GS. Both calls successful in creating a case.

I NEVER had an account with AT&T. My sister and I both got iPhones off craigslist, etc, solely for use with T-Mobile.

I used Skype to call 1-800-3310500, then pressed 1, then pressed 0 to get to an AT&T service representative.

The first thing they ask is for your AT&T Wireless number.
Since I don't have an AT&T number, I replied "Sorry I don't currently have an AT&T account; I'm calling just to ask a question."

Then they ask for a phone number in case the call gets disconnected. I give them my T-Mobile cell number in both cases, but I guess any phone number should be fine.

They then asked what I would like to inquire about.
I reply (something along the lines of), "I have an old iPhone lying around [that a friend gave me, or whatever excuse], and I heard that AT&T is able to unlock iPhones now. I would like to know if I could get mine unlocked even though I don't currently have an account with AT&T."

They reply that it should be fine. Asked for my name, email, and IMEI. They don't do the unlock right away though; they say they submit a case to their "unlocking team", and they say it should be resolved by April 17.

The same thing happened for both phone calls in a row. No rejections (unlike other people. I must be lucky :) ).

If others are in the same situation as me (iPhone from craigslist, no AT&T account, etc), you should try to give them a call!!! It could work ;)
 

fullmanfullninj

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2009
232
0
Alright so here's my story. I called twice; once to unlock my iPhone 3GS, and another to unlock my sister's iPhone 3GS. Both calls successful in creating a case.

I NEVER had an account with AT&T. My sister and I both got iPhones off craigslist, etc, solely for use with T-Mobile.

I used Skype to call 1-800-3310500, then pressed 1, then pressed 0 to get to an AT&T service representative.

The first thing they ask is for your AT&T Wireless number.
Since I don't have an AT&T number, I replied "Sorry I don't currently have an AT&T account; I'm calling just to ask a question."

Then they ask for a phone number in case the call gets disconnected. I give them my T-Mobile cell number in both cases, but I guess any phone number should be fine.

They then asked what I would like to inquire about.
I reply (something along the lines of), "I have an old iPhone lying around [that a friend gave me, or whatever excuse], and I heard that AT&T is able to unlock iPhones now. I would like to know if I could get mine unlocked even though I don't currently have an account with AT&T."

They reply that it should be fine. Asked for my name, email, and IMEI. They don't do the unlock right away though; they say they submit a case to their "unlocking team", and they say it should be resolved by April 17.

The same thing happened for both phone calls in a row. No rejections (unlike other people. I must be lucky :) ).

If others are in the same situation as me (iPhone from craigslist, no AT&T account, etc), you should try to give them a call!!! It could work ;)

If this is legit, I may just find myself making several (hundred?) calls to AT&T to get them to unlock my iPhone 4 LOL
 

cyberguyiphone

macrumors member
Nov 18, 2008
38
5
Los Angeles
I just got my iPhone 3GS unlocked this morning. I went on the live online chat and the service rep just asked for my IMEI. Trying to be a wise guy, I gave my iPhone 4 IMEI just to see if I could sneak my way through. After verifying the number she saw it was still under contract. (Not sure how some posters got around this.)

Anyways, I just gave her my 3GS IMEI and within two hours it was unlocked upon restore. For it to work I actually had to put my sim into the 3GS before it could activate as unlocked. So far so good.
 

fanboy05

macrumors regular
Feb 28, 2011
182
26
they unlocked my 3g, without hassle, but refused to unlock my 4 until june even though I have upgraded to the 4s and it is not on a contract ... it sits in a box unused.
I find it irritating that they are unlocking some peoples old 4 but others they refuse till june.
I don't need it, and am not selling it, so waiting till june isn't an issue, but their crappy hit and miss applications of their own policies is annoying...
BUT hey it IS att and half the time they seem to work on pissing people off so I guess it is nothing new:rolleyes:
 

rogeliojeda

macrumors regular
Jun 4, 2011
124
0
unable

I just called from Mexico, I bought an iPhone 4 from ebay a few months ago, and was told that the iPhone was unable to be unlocked because the account that used to have it as pending account balance. Anybody has had this issue?
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
they unlocked my 3g, without hassle, but refused to unlock my 4 until june even though I have upgraded to the 4s and it is not on a contract ... it sits in a box unused.
I find it irritating that they are unlocking some peoples old 4 but others they refuse till june.
I don't need it, and am not selling it, so waiting till june isn't an issue, but their crappy hit and miss applications of their own policies is annoying...
BUT hey it IS att and half the time they seem to work on pissing people off so I guess it is nothing new:rolleyes:

You should call then again.
They said that if you're on a new contract with a different device then your i4 is eligible for the unlock. Hope you get someone helpful next time.
 

jekyoo

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
343
1
Chicago
I just did it over chat too.
It took 5-6 minutes.
Im currently locked on contract with AT&T for my 4S and got my old iphone 4 unlocked.
Pretty easy.

How long did it take for AT&T to submit your unlock before you were able to restore and have it successfully unlocked?
 
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