AT&T can't unlock phone

[LGorilla]

I bought my phone used. After I had it for a while I sent in for repairs because of problems to the apple store and they swapped me out a new one.. That is the only history I have with the phone. Why can AT&T unlock it? I tried their unlock request and after I entered the imei it said it was ineligible for a lock. How so?

 

[maflynn]

Call them as why its not eligible.

 

[LGorilla]

Guess they would know more than anyone but I was wondering if other had the same experience. I called and they shall let me know within a week. Thanks.

 

[scaredpoet]

It's not that they can't unlock it, but rather that they won't unlock it.

Is your account currently under a contract? If so, they might be trying to argue that the phone is locked to your account contract, even though you bought it used.

 

[dnayak]

Guess they would know more than anyone but I was wondering if other had the same experience. I called and they shall let me know within a week. Thanks.

Please let us know what is the update

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The unlock request is supposed to be only for devices bought from AT&T (or through Apple store to use on AT&T). If you bought it used, it won't be recognized as such, but you can speak to a rep to try to get them to unlock it from their end.

 

[Xenomorph]

Why can't AT&T unlock it?

There may be multiple reasons.

Crap reason #1:
If you bought it used, you are not the original owner, and they only deal with the original owner.

Crap reason #2:
The IMEI has been active for less than 24 months.

To expand:

I purchased an iPhone 3GS at release (June 2009).
That meant it would be eligible for an unlock in June 2011, correct? Wrong!

I took it into an Apple Store in May 2010 for a repair, and it was swapped out with a different iPhone 3GS.

I tried to get it unlocked, but AT&T refused. I called and complained to multiple people at AT&T. They don't care. Their policy is that the IMEI registered *must* be 24 months old, regardless of contract.

That meant I had to wait until May 2012 to get it unlocked, 11 months after my contract was up.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Why can't AT&T unlock it?

There may be multiple reasons.

Crap reason #1:
If you bought it used, you are not the original owner, and they only deal with the original owner.

Crap reason #2:
The IMEI has been active for less than 24 months.

To expand:

I purchased an iPhone 3GS at release (June 2009).
That meant it would be eligible for an unlock in June 2011, correct? Wrong!

I took it into an Apple Store in May 2010 for a repair, and it was swapped out with a different iPhone 3GS.

I tried to get it unlocked, but AT&T refused. I called and complained to multiple people at AT&T. They don't care. Their policy is that the IMEI registered *must* be 24 months old, regardless of contract.

That meant I had to wait until May 2012 to get it unlocked, 11 months after my contract was up.

This is most likely a personal anecdote that's no longer true in practice. I too had trouble unlocking the iPhone 4S last year using at&t's online unlock request and had to reach a rep to have them unlock it from their end. However, they've since fixed the problems and I had no trouble unlocking the iPhone 5 (even after I swapped it out for a replacement unit) upon upgrading to the 5S.

Most likely the problem is the OP's unit was bought used and hence not a device bought from at&t. All the OP has to do is have a rep unlock it from their end rather than use the online request.