Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Another successful ATT unlock request

D

DEG1

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2013
68
0
N. Chicago Burbs
Upgraded from 4S to 5 two weeks ago at ATT corporate store (renewed 2 yr contract of course). Been continuous ATT customer for long time (way back in the Cingular days).

Sent unlock email request form yesterday and received approval and unlock instructions today, less than 24 hours after the request.
 
g0odfr1end102

g0odfr1end102

macrumors 6502
Dec 5, 2010
434
13
Montreal, Canada
Sorry, but I think you're lying, went to At&t yesterday to unlock iPhone 5. The guy said I was under contract, and that it was therefore IMPOSSIBLE for At&t to do it. He sent me to a third-party store downtown Manhattan to get it done (Jack's Place). The result is impressive: iPhone is unlocked, no scruffs or damage for only $35.
 
Mlrollin91

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,120
10,106
I upgraded to the iPhone 5 almost a month ago, have sent two requests for unlock and both have been denied. I called them and asked if they could unlock my phone and they said at this time I can't because I just upgraded. They said in about 11 months. (I'm the primary and apparently you can unlock your phone after 12 months into the contract) I have no proof of this policy but I will see in a year from now.
 
D

DEG1

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2013
68
0
N. Chicago Burbs
g0odfr1end102 said:
Sorry, but I think you're lying, went to At&t yesterday to unlock iPhone 5. The guy said I was under contract, and that it was therefore IMPOSSIBLE for At&t to do it. He sent me to a third-party store downtown Manhattan to get it done (Jack's Place). The result is impressive: iPhone is unlocked, no scruffs or damage for only $35.
Click to expand...

That's pretty rude! Fact is, you were not approved!

Nonetheless, details as I previously stated and below is the notice I received.

Request number: XXXXXXX
Thank you for contacting AT&T Customer Care about unlocking your iPhone.

We have reviewed your request and confirmed that you are eligible to have the requested iPhone unlocked.

Please allow 24 hours upon receipt of this notification to complete the unlock.

To complete the unlock, simply:

Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
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.
Additional information on unlocking can be found at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3198

You may also check the status of your unlock request by clicking the link for AT&T's Device Unlock Status Portal.

For questions regarding AT&T's wireless service and iPhone, please visit the Phone/Device Learning Center.

We thank you for your continued business.


Sincerely,
AT&T Customer Care Team

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE
All replies are automatically deleted.
 
bohbot16

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
DEG1 said:
Definitely not true. I am under contract (just renewed) and did not pay full price (only paid subsidy price).
Click to expand...

In that case you managed to slip through the cracks in their policy. You normally need to wait until your contract has ended.
 
D

DEG1

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2013
68
0
N. Chicago Burbs
bohbot16 said:
In that case you managed to slip through the cracks in their policy. You normally need to wait until your contract has ended.
Click to expand...

I have no idea why they approved my request. Maybe my time with ATT, or my regular int'l roaming and phone call charges when in China.

Just wanted to put it out there that some (for whatever reason) are getting approved while under contract and with subsidy phone pricing.
 
pnoyblazed

pnoyblazed

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2008
986
403
g0odfr1end102 said:
Sorry, but I think you're lying, went to At&t yesterday to unlock iPhone 5. The guy said I was under contract, and that it was therefore IMPOSSIBLE for At&t to do it. He sent me to a third-party store downtown Manhattan to get it done (Jack's Place). The result is impressive: iPhone is unlocked, no scruffs or damage for only $35.
Click to expand...

Jack's is a good place, good service too
 
C

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,450
1,230
Charlotte, NC
I don't know why you guys are wasting your time waiting for AT&T to approve or deny your unlock requests.

Swiftunlocks.com. $2. Done within 24 hours whether you're in contract or not.
 
g0odfr1end102

g0odfr1end102

macrumors 6502
Dec 5, 2010
434
13
Montreal, Canada
DEG1 said:
That's pretty rude! Fact is, you were not approved!

Nonetheless, details as I previously stated and below is the notice I received.

Request number: XXXXXXX
Thank you for contacting AT&T Customer Care about unlocking your iPhone.

We have reviewed your request and confirmed that you are eligible to have the requested iPhone unlocked.

Please allow 24 hours upon receipt of this notification to complete the unlock.

To complete the unlock, simply:

Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
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.
Additional information on unlocking can be found at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3198

You may also check the status of your unlock request by clicking the link for AT&T's Device Unlock Status Portal.

For questions regarding AT&T's wireless service and iPhone, please visit the Phone/Device Learning Center.

We thank you for your continued business.


Sincerely,
AT&T Customer Care Team

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE
All replies are automatically deleted.
Click to expand...

I'm going to reply anyway haha! ;) I apologize if I seemed rude–that truly wasn't my intent. I just pointed out that I was in the same position as you were and that At&t was 100% sure I did NOT have access to this service. Honestly, you were VERY VERY VERY lucky! :)

----------
pnoyblazed said:
Jack's is a good place, good service too
Click to expand...

Yup', great quality although I was kind of "meeeh" at first considering it was third-party. But anyways, glad I got that done, now I can go back to France and enjoy French 4G :D
 
D

DEG1

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2013
68
0
N. Chicago Burbs
CEmajr said:
I don't know why you guys are wasting your time waiting for AT&T to approve or deny your unlock requests.

Swiftunlocks.com. $2. Done within 24 hours whether you're in contract or not.
Click to expand...

You are right. In fact, I bought one yesterday for the expedited price of $3.98. But, after reading about all of the possible risks (legal and punitive from ATT) of unlocking it myself, I chickened out and didn't use it. I then thought "what the heck" try it the official way with a request to ATT, and to my surprise, received approval in less than 24 hours.
 
ericrwalker

ericrwalker

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2008
2,812
4
Albany, NY
DEG1 said:
You are right. In fact, I bought one yesterday for the expedited price of $3.98. But, after reading about all of the possible risks (legal and punitive from ATT) of unlocking it myself, I chickened out and didn't use it. I then thought "what the heck" try it the official way with a request to ATT, and to my surprise, received approval in less than 24 hours.
Click to expand...

Congrats. I don't know if policy is changing or you got lucky. I don't see the point of locking the phone to the carrier anyway, if the person terminates their contract, just charge them the ETF, or if their credit isn't great require a deposit large enough to cover the charges.
 
bohbot16

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
ericrwalker said:
Congrats. I don't know if policy is changing or you got lucky. I don't see the point of locking the phone to the carrier anyway, if the person terminates their contract, just charge them the ETF, or if their credit isn't great require a deposit large enough to cover the charges.
Click to expand...

I agree. Phone locking makes no sense. Just make the ETF reflect the subsidy.
 
ericrwalker

ericrwalker

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2008
2,812
4
Albany, NY
barkomatic said:
$35 for an unlock you can get for $3.00 online? Overpriced these days. There is nothing this place does that is different than the online unlockers. The same method is used, your IMEI gets marked unlocked.
Click to expand...

It's NYC, it's probably $5 for the service and $30 in taxes.
 
blairh

blairh

macrumors 603
Dec 11, 2007
5,830
4,100
DEG1 said:
Upgraded from 4S to 5 two weeks ago at ATT corporate store (renewed 2 yr contract of course). Been continuous ATT customer for long time (way back in the Cingular days).

Sent unlock email request form yesterday and received approval and unlock instructions today, less than 24 hours after the request.
Click to expand...

If this is true, there really is no reason to post this news here. All you are going to do is cause a ton of people to submit iPhone 5 requests for their subsidized device. If I were you I would have kept this to myself and considered myself lucky. Obviously this is not supposed to happen.

I have read of situations where AT&T has unlocked still-on-contract iPhone's if you are a long time customer, don't ever miss your payments, and explain to them that you are going to be using the device for a short period of time abroad. Usually this only works if you call their CS department and if you get lucky.
 
Y

Yujenisis

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2002
310
115
If the OP has a Premier Account, as it sounds like he does, those accounts play by different rules.

Premier Accounts have all these weird rules and exceptions, and it is the 'different set of rules' that Premier accounts have that prevent anyone outside of AT&T from making account changes.

But an account in good standing, does get additional un-disclosed benefits. I can certainly see getting a new iPhone unlocked is not outside of the realm of possibility. Especially considering if the OP ends his plan he will still be hit by an EFT that gets AT&T their subsidy back.
 
Last edited:
D

DEG1

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2013
68
0
N. Chicago Burbs
blairh said:
I have read of situations where AT&T has unlocked still-on-contract iPhone's if you are a long time customer, don't ever miss your payments, and explain to them that you are going to be using the device for a short period of time abroad. Usually this only works if you call their CS department and if you get lucky.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and this is why I posted. Approvals obviously can and do happen. You don't think anyone here might have benefitted from confirmation of it? If I had only went by everything I read here about it being impossible to unlock under contract, I'd still have a locked phone and still be paying through the nose on my next trip to China or still not be able to use my iPhone there. What's the downside here to ATT getting a flurry of unlock requests? They evaluate each request per their criteria and some get approved and some don't.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom