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AT&T iPhone Unlocking Process Detailed, Successful for Some

Just was told on online chat I should just wait more cause they are swamped with unlock requests.

Frankly, I don't care about the wait. I care that they don't even meet their service commitment of getting me a code by April 16. If I didn't pay them on time they certainly wouldn't accept me saying "Just wait more, I will get around to paying you when I finish other things"
 
Tried chat, got a case created (again)

I just tried chat and got a new case created. Have to fax in proof of purchase. This is with a resolution date of April 25th.

It didn't seem to me like the agent I chatted with had the ability to do anything but check the IMEI and create a case.
 
looks like i'm being told that the system takes 5-7 business days - and my completion date is extended again.. this is not fun.

waiting to see what happens...

This Customer rep, has said the same thing for this entire chat. literally: "I understand, I do apologize"



Robin Howell: I understand. I do apologize to you for this.
me: Thank you for understanding.
me: when can i Cancel all my lines with you guys?
me: I would like the contract agreement end dates for all 4 of my lines
me: so I can mark my calendar. and close my accounts.
Robin Howell: I will be glad to provide this information to you.
me: Me too
 
acb36854 said:
just to let everyone know I called last monday the 9th they said 5-7 days it is now 7 days later and nothing so I got on the chat posted above waited thirty mins talked to the guy and instantly my iphone is unlocked don't wait get on the chat asap and it will be instantly unlocked!
Click to expand...


I feel like you're just saying this to get everyone's hopes up.
 
vthree said:
acb36854 said:
just to let everyone know I called last monday the 9th they said 5-7 days it is now 7 days later and nothing so I got on the chat posted above waited thirty mins talked to the guy and instantly my iphone is unlocked don't wait get on the chat asap and it will be instantly unlocked!
Click to expand...
I feel like you're just saying this to get everyone's hopes up.
Click to expand...

Heheh. That's what it seemed like to me after I went to chat about a couple of hours ago and got one more case created with a deadline another 8 days from today. And I was asked to fax the purchase receipt as well. I tried deactivating and activating again through iTunes, but it's still locked.

So it's just a stroke of luck that some people get it unlocked very quickly over the phone and some people get it unlocked very quickly over chat.

I went into chat again to check the status of the cases I had opened over the phone more than a week ago. They were due today when they were created and are still marked as due today (so it looks like no more extensions).

I do have to mention that all the people I have talked to or chatted with in AT&T customer support over the last week or so have been very polite and helpful (to the extent they have the authority to be).
 
Last edited:
acb36854 said:
nope not at all I was exactly like you guys pissed off and then bam I just spoke with the right guy and he hooked me up
Click to expand...

what'd you say? do you have a copy of the chat transcript.
i'm just curious because your account name looks like it's just randomly generated and then your join date is so new! >.<
 
The chat link says, "No Device Unlocks will be supported through chat." Has anyone had any luck in the last hour or so?
 
If you have waited a week and still do not have an unlocked iPhone follow these steps: call tech support and ask for a status update. They will tell u they are still working on it or what ever bs they come up with. Tell them this is unacceptable and ask to speak with the person in charge of your case(or a manager). I got two iPhone unlocked imediately while on the phone.
 
Cndnmax said:
If you have waited a week and still do not have an unlocked iPhone follow these steps: call tech support and ask for a status update. They will tell u they are still working on it or what ever bs they come up with. Tell them this is unacceptable and ask to speak with the person in charge of your case(or a manager). I got two iPhone unlocked imediately while on the phone.
Click to expand...

how long were you on the phone?
i'm pretty sick of having to contact them.
 
vthree said:
what'd you say? do you have a copy of the chat transcript.
i'm just curious because your account name looks like it's just randomly generated and then your join date is so new! >.<
Click to expand...

yeah well considering my zip code is 36854 and initials are acb its def randomly generated and I don't have to prove anything to you im just trying to help don't be a douche because you can't get it right! If someone will take the time to explain how to post a picture I will be more than glad to post my email from them last night but I did not save my conversation didn't think I needed to!

----------

Flag this message
Requested Information from AT&TMonday, April 16, 2012 10:34 PM
From: "A Message from AT&T" <G10210@att.com>Add sender to Contacts
To: undisclosed-recipients
Attached is the form necessary to complete your request. Please fill it out and return it to the address listed on the form. If you have any questions, please refer to our online support site at http://att.com/wireless.



Please do not respond to this e-mail. This mailbox is not monitored and does not accept mail.




Attachments:
Completing Authorized iPhone Unlock
This message, including any offer and attachments, is intended for the named recipient and may contain confidential information. No other person should rely on any offer or information in this message. If you are not the named recipient, please immediately delete this message.

----------

Completing Your Authorized iPhone Unlock


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.

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

Additional information on unlocking can be found at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3198.

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

We thank you for your continued business and look forward to providing you with the best
customer service.

Sincerely,

AT&T Customer Care Team
 
vthree said:
how long were you on the phone?
i'm pretty sick of having to contact them.
Click to expand...
Total time was probable 20 min or so. But most of that time was tracking down one of my iPhone in their system- bought it through an upgrade and they never registered the contract for that iPhone.
 
still waiting

One of mine, done on the 4/8 date is still waiting, not PENDING I'm just still waiting. Others went through in a few days to unlock.
 
Cndnmax said:
If you have waited a week and still do not have an unlocked iPhone follow these steps: call tech support and ask for a status update. They will tell u they are still working on it or what ever bs they come up with. Tell them this is unacceptable and ask to speak with the person in charge of your case(or a manager). I got two iPhone unlocked imediately while on the phone.
Click to expand...
I guess you have the real talent to get them unlocked...i tried doing that last time and the supervisor had no clue on the ETA. I filled my case on 9th and would be glad to share my case no if you are kind enough to get the third one processed as well. Any sort of help at this stage is highly appreciated.
 
gillboyzz said:
I guess you have the real talent to get them unlocked...i tried doing that last time and the supervisor had no clue on the ETA. I filled my case on 9th and would be glad to share my case no if you are kind enough to get the third one processed as well. Any sort of help at this stage is highly appreciated.
Click to expand...
You need to speak to someone that can actually process the unlocking not a regular tech support prsn that can only file a case. Ask to speak to the person in charge of the case( the person doing the unlocking). You can also speak to a manager. I was on 3-way with the unlock department and tech support.
 
My iphone was unlocked instantly. No case number or 48-72 hours or date for unlock

Got my 4 and a half month old iphone 4 factory unlocked by AT&T yesterday. I was previously using a gevey sim.

Very easy process for me. I think it's best u replace the iphone you want to unlock with another phone BEFORE u request the unlock if you're currently using it and it's still in contract. (Just give them an IMEI of a different phone). Then hang up from that agent and call back and request the unlock for an iphone.

I'm on a family plan so i called on behalf of the line that was eligible for an upgrade and not the one i got the iphone 4 on (which wasn't eligible for upgrade obviously). I told the lady i wanted to unlock an iphone and she put me on hold to see if i was "eligible". She came back and said i was eligible but then i realized that she was thinking i wanted to unlock the 3GS that was currently being used on that line (which was purchased from ebay). I told her no i have the IMEI of the iphone i wanted to unlock and gave her the IMEI of my iphone 4. She put me on a hold for a little while longer and came back and asked me if i bought the iphone 4 on contract (which i did) i told her it was a gift and i guess she immediately thought it was paid for at full retail price. Then said she needed to transfer me to the tech department because they're the ones that process unlocks.

Got on the phone with the tech guy. He asked for the IMEI and the model number of the iphone 4. He put me on hold for 2 mins and came back and said he would be sending me an email with the instructions on how to accomplish the unlock. He sent it but i didn't get it right away so he sent another one and i still did not get it right away. So he said he was sending my IMEI to apple right then so that the unlock could be processed. Then he said he would wait on the phone with me until i received the now 2 emails. Eventually i did and he said all i would basically need to do is backup and restore for it to work. I hate doing that but i said ok.

IMMEDIATELY after i hung up from the tech guy, i took my sim card and gevey sim out of the iphone. Opened up itunes and put my non AT&T sim in alone. (NOTE: IF YOU ARE ON IOS 5.0 AND ABOVE, RESTORING IS NOT NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE UNLOCK IN ITUNES. I believe restoring first is only necessary for ios 4 and earlier.) I'm on ios 5.01 btw. I plugged my iphone in and it immediately said activation required and took me to the ios 5 activation screen. I chose my wifi network and within 15 seconds i got service and itunes showed the "Congratulations, your iphone has been unlocked" screen. Then i did a carrier update. That's it!

HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE!
 
Unlocked IT!!

I just got my iPhone 4 unlocked today bought off craigslist
ahuevo.png

, however i have another one from craigslist that i was told by the chat representative that has been reported as lost/stolen, any word on that? anybody?:(
 
Last edited:
fakeangeldc said:
I just got my iPhone 4 unlocked today bought off craigslist
Image
, however i have another one from craigslist that i was told by the chat representative that has been reported as lost/stolen, any word on that? anybody?:(
Click to expand...

are you a current ATT customer, because i tried chat 4 times today an gotten this message

James: Thank you for contacting the AT&T Business Data Support eChat Team. At this time we are only able to process device unlocks for current AT&T customers via Chat.
Chat session has been terminated by the specialist.
 
no luck today

Tjzoo said:
are you a current ATT customer, because i tried chat 4 times today an gotten this message

James: Thank you for contacting the AT&T Business Data Support eChat Team. At this time we are only able to process device unlocks for current AT&T customers via Chat.
Chat session has been terminated by the specialist.
Click to expand...

I'm not, and the iphone i unlocked was actually done yesterday, today i have tried 4 times to unlock the second iphone and got the same answer as you, so there must be a policy then, i actually chatted with james twice and last one was Tony.

Will wait to see if anything changes:eek:
 
fakeangeldc said:
I'm not, and the iphone i unlocked was actually done yesterday, today i have tried 4 times to unlock the second iphone and got the same answer as you, so there must be a policy then, i actually chatted with james twice and last one was Tony.

Will wait to see if anything changes:eek:
Click to expand...

Well that sucks, i tried a total of 7 times, i had the sim card of the guy that sold the iphone still they asked me for a SSN and the accnt holder's name, since i couldnt provide that they disconnected immediatelly
 
Unlock Requested on 4/9/12 - ETA on 4/17/2012

Hello:

I opened my unlock request on 4/9/12. My Case id is CM20120409_39051XXX. As today has already passed for the most extent, I called AT&T. The agent said she can't do much and suggested me to wait. I pushed her for an escalation and she put me to Tech Support. The tech support reviewed my case and told me that she is going to reach apple for cause of delay and ETA and I can expect long delay. Every 2 mins, she came back to check If I am still online and went back to apple. I guess apple put her a long hold on another line.

Later She conferenced with Mr.Will of Apple. This agent was very nice and suggested that I need to do a restore to see my phone unlocked. Unfortunately, I called them from my iphone. So after hanging up, I restored but did not see the unlocked message.

I had a foreign (India. Provide - Airtel) SIM, I when I inserted - it seems to work. but it still shows AT&T but not airtel.

Is my iphone 4 unlocked? How will I know for sure? I don't have access to T-mobile sim.

Any inputs is appreciated.
 
americandesi said:
Hello:

I opened my unlock request on 4/9/12. My Case id is CM20120409_39051XXX. As today has already passed for the most extent, I called AT&T. The agent said she can't do much and suggested me to wait. I pushed her for an escalation and she put me to Tech Support. The tech support reviewed my case and told me that she is going to reach apple for cause of delay and ETA and I can expect long delay. Every 2 mins, she came back to check If I am still online and went back to apple. I guess apple put her a long hold on another line.

Later She conferenced with Mr.Will of Apple. This agent was very nice and suggested that I need to do a restore to see my phone unlocked. Unfortunately, I called them from my iphone. So after hanging up, I restored but did not see the unlocked message.

I had a foreign (India. Provide - Airtel) SIM, I when I inserted - it seems to work. but it still shows AT&T but not airtel.

Is my iphone 4 unlocked? How will I know for sure? I don't have access to T-mobile sim.

Any inputs is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Airtel would only show up if you are in the sim home country. Airtel & AT@T have strategic alliances to provide roaming to their respective customers while in US or India. You should be unlocked if Carrier Lab 11 shows up in the carrier name.
 
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