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AT&T to unlock off-contract iPhones starting this Sunday!

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I have a feeling iPhone's will have the same policy now as other phones on AT&T. Their "official" policy is that they won't unlock phones until they're off contract but reps often unlock them for you anyway if your account is in good standing and you've been a customer for some time.

EDIT: Here's the official statement from AT&T:
Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer’s account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.
Click to expand...
 
From what I read they will ONLY unlock your phone if it is OUT OF CONTRACT and your account is in good standing. The OOC would eliminate many!
 
This still sucks for many of us who upgraded to the iPhone 4S and still have a year and a half on our contracts. Would be nice if they made exceptions for when you need to go out of country and need your phone unlocked.
 
::does a little dance:: :)

Jordan921 said:
This still sucks for many of us who upgraded to the iPhone 4S and still have a year and a half on our contracts. Would be nice if they made exceptions for when you need to go out of country and need your phone unlocked.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that you could unlock the iPhone you had before you upgraded to your 4s, per the parts of the official statement I've bolded:

"Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee."

So, when the iPhone 5/6/whatchamacallit comes out, I will not sell my iPhone 4 ahead of time like I usually do. I'll upgrade, have them unlock my iPhone 4, and sell it for much more than if I had sold it prior to getting my new iPhone.

woohoo!

----------
Stealthipad said:
From what I read they will ONLY unlock your phone if it is OUT OF CONTRACT and your account is in good standing. The OOC would eliminate many!
Click to expand...

Read the official statement, seems that you can just upgrade, and you'll be able to unlock your previous iPhone, since a new one is now on contract!

Also, check out this beautiful little nugget of info from BGR:

"Here is another fun fact: If you have paid the no-commitment price, AT&T will unlock your phone too."
 
iFiend said:
::does a little dance:: :)



Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that you could unlock the iPhone you had before you upgraded to your 4s, per the parts of the official statement I've bolded:

"Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee."

So, when the iPhone 5/6/whatchamacallit comes out, I will not sell my iPhone 4 ahead of time like I usually do. I'll upgrade, have them unlock my iPhone 4, and sell it for much more than if I had sold it prior to getting my new iPhone.

woohoo!
Click to expand...

That would be optimal, however many savvy persons such as yourself doing the same could result in a flooded market.
 
iFiend said:
::does a little dance:: :)



Read the official statement, seems that you can just upgrade, and you'll be able to unlock your previous iPhone, since a new one is now on contract!

Also, check out this beautiful little nugget of info from BGR:

"Here is another fun fact: If you have paid the no-commitment price, AT&T will unlock your phone too."
Click to expand...

Then what I said was correct! No commitment = Out of Contract:p
 
unlocked GSM iPhones....

Personally I have been looking forward to this shift in policy by AT&T. The one thing I have found missing that I would like to see is a U.S. GSM network operator that offers visual voicemail. That way I could use a network other than AT&T and still have that feature without jail-breaking.
 
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iFiend said:
::does a little dance:: :)



Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that you could unlock the iPhone you had before you upgraded to your 4s, per the parts of the official statement I've bolded:

"Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee."

So, when the iPhone 5/6/whatchamacallit comes out, I will not sell my iPhone 4 ahead of time like I usually do. I'll upgrade, have them unlock my iPhone 4, and sell it for much more than if I had sold it prior to getting my new iPhone.
Click to expand...

Still doesn't help people who have 4S. Most if not all the people who upgraded to the 4S sold their 4 to get the 4S. You are correct that yes you could get the 4 unlocked if you still had it but does nothing for people who upgraded to the 4S.
 
if i buy an used iphone 4 now , can i unlock it with my account. I bought an iphone 4 and sold it and got an iphone 4s on a different line (family plan)
 
gooberq said:
if i buy an used iphone 4 now , can i unlock it with my account. I bought an iphone 4 and sold it and got an iphone 4s on a different line (family plan)
Click to expand...

Aslong as the 4 is not associated with any lines on your account. Atleast that's how I understand it.
 
This is kind of confusing. I have an 4S that was done with another line's upgrade. So when my line is out of contract this summer could I unlock my phone, even though it was subsidized like six months ago? Hopefully reps will start unlocking for people, and people can get them unlocked in any case. It's not like I'm going anywhere other than to another country, the account has been active and paid on time since the late '90s.
 
BiggAW said:
This is kind of confusing. I have an 4S that was done with another line's upgrade. So when my line is out of contract this summer could I unlock my phone, even though it was subsidized like six months ago? Hopefully reps will start unlocking for people, and people can get them unlocked in any case. It's not like I'm going anywhere other than to another country, the account has been active and paid on time since the late '90s.
Click to expand...

You will have to wait till the contract is up on that line associated with purchasing the 4S.
But we will know more soon if reps will be allowed to bend the rules or stay on strict company policy.
 
ATT's words:

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

This will really decrease the value of an unlocked iPhone:apple:
 
I wonder if they're going to offer a site for everyone to go and fill out their info like IMEI number, phone number for the unlock.
I bet they will get thousands of calls April 8 and tons of people calling them on the regular for unlock requests.
 
google said:
What about those of us who bought it from CL? It is outright owned.
Click to expand...

If your AT&T account is in good standing and your iPhone, no matter where it came from, is out of contract, they should unlock it for you.:)
 
Stealthipad said:
If your AT&T account is in good standing and your iPhone, no matter where it came from, is out of contract, they should unlock it for you.:)
Click to expand...

What if the original owner is still under contract for that iphone that he sold on ebay or CL? Thus making the particular device associated with an active term commitment.
Weird how they will handle all these issues, we just gotta wait and see I guess.
 
Applejuiced said:
What if the original owner is still under contract for that iphone that he sold on ebay or CL? Thus making the particular device associated with an active term commitment.
Weird how they will handle all these issues, we just gotta wait and see I guess.
Click to expand...

This is a very interesting point. I would imagine this will happen A LOT, since iPhones have awesome resale value. Perhaps these sorts of issues will alow anyone to unlock whenever?

One can dream, right? :)
 
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