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LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
1)Calling AT&T is the first place to go to request an IMEI unlock. If the account is paid in full, you can usually call them up enough times to get an IMEI unlock done, even if you aren't an AT&T subscriber: 1-800-331-0500.

2)The next place to look is for an IMEI unlock service. I have no idea if they do remote unlocking, but most of them probably use method 1) by calling a million times because the wages in other countries are so ridiculously low($1 a day sometimes) that those sites can pay their team of workers to make hundreds of calls to AT&T for the IMEI unlock or by brute forcing the IMEI unlock server till the proper key is generated.

Many places are scams, so be weary, but many websites are now legit. If you can deal with losing your money, go ahead. The service will cost about $20 on average. Some services that I have some information about(the items outside of eBay haven't been updated since I made this list. Don't pay over $10 for an unlock from a source you don't know):

Ebay is the cheapest($4 average), fastest(within a few hours), has a money-back guarantee, and has tons of feedback reviews:

My eBay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251203069836&ssPageName=ADME:L:EOISSA:US:1123

If you need to order three or more unlocks, I'll do them for $2 each. My unlock processor usually does them in 12-24 hours, but I lag for like 8 hours in sending the unlock confirmations after they're done. I also offer an under 12-hour guaranteed or your money back service plus a free unlock(I just hope you don't order it while I'm sleeping).

The biggest unlock name out there: fast, reliable, automated. He also has an IMEI checker in his listing to let you know if your iPhone is AT&T and can be unlocked.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Factory-Unl...792?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec4b516c0

My competition: Pretty fast(12-24 hours).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Factory-Unl...455?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abcbe332f

The following info is out of date; you should use it as a starting point only, but the prices and reviews are outdated.

cutyoursim.com 4/5 stars: On the expensive end($145), but I've heard few scam stories.

gsmfather.in 3/5 stars: Terrible customer service, success is random, and refunds take months to process at times. Also, AT&T has relocked IMEIs in some cases for bad accounts, and they will not refund you.

attiphonesunlocked@gmail.com1 count in support of the unlock, done in 48 hours for $50.

officialiphoneunlock.co.uk/$108, 1-2 days stated time, many positive reviews from Google, some negative reviews, owner posts here.

Skype: star_umair_2005unlocked my iPhone 4 in 32 hours for $55.


Most of these sites only take PayPal. Do not add money to PayPal first. If you have money in PayPal, transfer it all to your bank. Then checkout with PayPal in which case you'll be instructed to pay with your backup funding source, which should be your credit card and not your bank account. Bank account disputes are possible, but it's much easier to go through your credit card company. They usually process the refund within a couple days. I won't advise this, but you can usually dispute a couple charges over time with your credit company for purchase you've made online, even if the product was physically delivered to your address and you signed for it. I sold an unlocked iPhone 4 last year, the buyer updated it, and then disputed the charge through PayPal 3 months later. If she had opened a dispute with PayPal, she would have had to return it, but because she used her credit card company, she got her money back within a week, screwing me out of $500.

If you have had any success with IMEI(factory) unlock sites, please post the site name, the time it took for the unlock order to be processed, and the cost. If you have been scammed as well, please post those sites too. I know for a while there was a large list of scam sites, but I can't find that topic anymore, and people were safe to assume that the majority of sites were scams.
 
Last edited:

noiceT

macrumors 6502a
Jul 7, 2008
549
70
Catalina Wine Mixer
If the account is paid in full, you can usually call them up enough times to get an IMEI unlock done, even if you aren't an AT&T subscriber: 1-800-331-0500.

I'm confused. Are you saying even if your phone is still under contract, if you keep calling AT&T enough times, they will finally break and give you an unlock?
 

swoosh0217

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2007
579
0
NW
Go to your local Craigslist ad under cell phones. You will see allot of unlockers advertising for less than $100 to factory unlock your phone. All they need is your IMEI %.
 

LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
Yes, but are they just calling up AT&T or actually doing a remote unlock service? $100 is a lot to shell out for a free call to AT&T. I agree that the shop should have a physical location. This is the only guy advertising on craigslist Los Angeles. I looked up his number:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ele/3097349881.html
323-XXX-XXXX reported on Apr 08 at 10:57 PM
COMMON CRIMINAL. STREET TRASH. CELL PHONE "DEALER" HES A THIEF AND STEALS THINGS AND WILL CHEAT HIS WAY THROUGH LIFE UNTIL HE DIES.

I'll make an edit that there are many rival dealers on craigslist, so this can easily be one of those guys. There was one guy making death threats on people posting ads to buy iPhones on craigslist, but he was locked away last year.

The service costs $140 with an $80 deposit at the shop first. It sounds like a remote service vs a call to AT&T. After the unlock is processed, they call you back, and you bring your iPhone in for them to restore in iTunes and make sure it works. At that point you pay the $60 balance.
 
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buntym

macrumors member
Oct 14, 2011
41
0
There are no legitimate IMEI unlocking services at this time.

Whether legitimate or not, gsmliberty.net unlocked my AT&T locked iPhone 4S. Price was a bit steep, but compared to the other unlock services I checked out it wasn't that bad. Now of course I'd have to actually leave the country to check if it really is unlocked (I don't have any non-AT&T sim cards lying around), but I did get the "Congratulations, your iPhone is unlocked" message on iTunes after I restored.

I'm leaving for Ghana in two weeks. Fingers crossed! Because if it isn't, I'm screwed.

P.S. @LandonDonovan, I tried the AT&T method. I called a LOT. I always got the "sorry, your phone is still under contract" line. After umpteen number of tries I gave up and resorted to google.
 

LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
I'm confused. Are you saying even if your phone is still under contract, if you keep calling AT&T enough times, they will finally break and give you an unlock?

I was talking about the ones that weren't under contract; however, we've just past the 2-year contract time for the initial batch of iPhone 4's, so most will still be under contract. People have had success calling as long as the original owner's account isn't delinquent. I don't have the raw statistics, but I know people who were successful. Of course, for valid account holders, they will unlock up to 5 iPhones including iPhone 4S models. You can always threaten to switch carriers, which they love because they're out the rest of the contract, which is used to subsidize their cost of paying for your iPhone.

I've heard that the IMEI unlock sites can actually get reversed by AT&T, but I don't have actual accounts, but gsmfather.in has a new policy saying no refunds for relocked iPhones.

----------

Whether legitimate or not, gsmliberty.net unlocked my AT&T locked iPhone 4S. Price was a bit steep, but compared to the other unlock services I checked out it wasn't that bad. Now of course I'd have to actually leave the country to check if it really is unlocked (I don't have any non-AT&T sim cards lying around), but I did get the "Congratulations, your iPhone is unlocked" message on iTunes after I restored.

I'm leaving for Ghana in two weeks. Fingers crossed! Because if it isn't, I'm screwed.

P.S. @LandonDonovan, I tried the AT&T method. I called a LOT. I always got the "sorry, your phone is still under contract" line. After umpteen number of tries I gave up and resorted to google.

$100 isn't bad for an unlock. Most sites are charging up to $150. I would stay away from any sites charging $50 unless you can corroborate their success stories. Pop in a Simple Mobile SIM to test the unlock.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Simple-Mobi...130603274013?pt=SIM_Cards&hash=item1e688fcf1d
 

noiceT

macrumors 6502a
Jul 7, 2008
549
70
Catalina Wine Mixer
I was talking about the ones that weren't under contract; however, we've just past the 2-year contract time for the initial batch of iPhone 4's, so most will still be under contract. People have had success calling as long as the original owner's account isn't delinquent. I don't have the raw statistics, but I know people who were successful. Of course, for valid account holders, they will unlock up to 5 iPhones including iPhone 4S models. You can always threaten to switch carriers, which they love because they're out the rest of the contract, which is used to subsidize their cost of paying for your iPhone.

Thanks for the reply, however I'm still kinda lost on the explanation. For example, I got my ip4 unlocked from At&t by contacting them just once. It was so simple and done via chat. I met all the prerequisites, so there was no problem. My ip4 was bought on release day so the contract time was over.

The part I don't understand is why you said IMEI unlock services just call at&t like a hundred times until they get an unlock. Is it because the people contracting these unlock services don't know that they can just call up at&t themselves?

And if so, how do they get around needing the account holder's full name and also they're security pin? I needed to provide this info when I requested my unlock from at&t.
 

LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
I was mistaken; there are two types of unlock services(those that call and those that brute force the IMEI database until the unlock code comes up). The ones doing the calls are probably a bit cheaper than the ones that have to whitelist your IMEI. Anyway, people have had their iPhone 4's unlocked without providing that info over the phone by friendly agents from AT&T. It depends on who you talk to. I wish I had some raw data, but I only know what I've read here.
 

LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
I've updated the list with 5 services now:

cutyoursim.com 4/5 stars: On the expensive end($145), but I've heard few scam stories.

gsmfather.in 3/5 stars: Terrible customer service, success is random, and refunds take months to process at times. Also, AT&T has relocked IMEIs in some cases for bad accounts, and they will not refund you.

attiphonesunlocked@gmail.com 1 count in support of the unlock, done in 48 hours for $50.

officialiphoneunlock.co.uk/ $108, 1-2 days stated time, many positive reviews from Google, some negative reviews, owner posts here.

Skype: star_umair_2005 unlocked my iPhone 4 in 32 hours for $55.
 

andyjd

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2012
6
0
Used iFactoryUnlock to find out what carrier my iPhone 4 was locked too.

48hrs turnaround over a weekend, now just waiting on AT&T
 
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Electron-E

macrumors newbie
Aug 8, 2012
1
0
iPhone 4S can be UNLOCKED within 24 hrs

I want to recommend
Skype: star_umair_2005
He unlocked my iPhone 4S in <24 hours for $50.
Excellent service, good communication. HE IS LEGIT.
 

DigitalDawn

macrumors regular
Sep 3, 2011
113
2
I have a question regarding all of the IMEI unlocks.

Is the unlock registered to the phone or the account?

For example, let's say I use an IMEI unlock (either AT&T or 3rd party) to unlock my iPhone 4S; I then have an issue with the phone and Apple replaces the phone under warranty. Will the new phone have the unlock as well, or do I have to pay to get it unlocked again??
 

dhlizard

macrumors G4
Mar 16, 2009
10,214
119
The Jailbreak Community
I have a question regarding all of the IMEI unlocks.

Is the unlock registered to the phone or the account?

For example, let's say I use an IMEI unlock (either AT&T or 3rd party) to unlock my iPhone 4S; I then have an issue with the phone and Apple replaces the phone under warranty. Will the new phone have the unlock as well, or do I have to pay to get it unlocked again??

It is called an IMEI unlock as it uses the IMEI of a specific device.
 

Adrian4408

macrumors newbie
Aug 14, 2012
8
0
Ok so after having my iPhone 4 stolen whilst living in Spain, I purchased another but is locked to Vodaphone Spain, which is fine while I'm in Spain but now I've returned to the UK for a while I can't use it. Vodafone won't help so I started researching these IMEI sites but the only genuine looking ones are really expensive (only need to use it on a different network for a few weeks)

I found a site called ultrasnow.eu nothing to do with the ultrasn0w software but the site claims to sell software for $10 that allows you to jailbreak & unlock your iPhone 4 on BB 04.12.01.

Does anyone know if this is real? Can't find any reviews that aren't on their site.
 

dhlizard

macrumors G4
Mar 16, 2009
10,214
119
The Jailbreak Community
Ok so after having my iPhone 4 stolen whilst living in Spain, I purchased another but is locked to Vodaphone Spain, which is fine while I'm in Spain but now I've returned to the UK for a while I can't use it. Vodafone won't help so I started researching these IMEI sites but the only genuine looking ones are really expensive (only need to use it on a different network for a few weeks)

I found a site called ultrasnow.eu nothing to do with the ultrasn0w software but the site claims to sell software for $10 that allows you to jailbreak & unlock your iPhone 4 on BB 04.12.01.

Does anyone know if this is real? Can't find any reviews that aren't on their site.

SCAM

Any site selling software is a scam.
All jailbreak/unlock tools are free from the hackers
 

LandonDonovan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
223
0
I've added this service from eBay, which is arguably the most painless.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Permanent-F...787?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2320fb3a83
5/5, done in 24 hours, used twice so far.

You can either install SAM from repo.bingner.com in Cydia and then click Deactivate iPhone, or just do a full restore in iTunes before you place your new SIM card inside. You usually have to restart the iPhone again if you use SAM and get No Service.
 

Pirate515

macrumors regular
Oct 18, 2011
120
89
I have a question regarding all of the IMEI unlocks.

Is the unlock registered to the phone or the account?

For example, let's say I use an IMEI unlock (either AT&T or 3rd party) to unlock my iPhone 4S; I then have an issue with the phone and Apple replaces the phone under warranty. Will the new phone have the unlock as well, or do I have to pay to get it unlocked again??
AFAIK, Apple's policy is to apply the same carrier lock to a replacement phone as the original phone used to have. So if you have an unlocked phone that needs to be replaced, they should replace it with an unlocked one as well.

Now, it doesn't hurt to remind whoever your are dealing with at Apple of the unlocked status of your phone to make sure that the replacement is unlocked before you leave the counter, especially if it was unlocked some time after purchase.

Although Apple does do repairs/replacements by mail, I strongly recommend going to the closest Apple store and doing it at the Genius Bar. If whoever handles your mail-in request is careless or makes a mistake and sends you locked one instead, it will be difficult to prove otherwise, especially if you no longer have the original phone.

Technically, when a Genius pulls the info for the original phone via SN or IMEI, they get carrier settings on their screen, so they should simply apply the same settings to the IMEI of the replacement phone. However, IMO it is better to verify on the spot.
 
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