Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AT&T Will Unlock Off-Contract iPhones Starting Sunday, April 8
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
No. I bought it on day one through my old business account. Since then I left that company and when AT&T changed my account, it went month to month on my individual account. I am waiting till the 5 comes out to sign a new contract but in the meantime, I now have a unlocked 4S.
Denver133 and Forum world: my situation is that i bought an iPhone 4 with a corporate account in the past (yesterday i talked to an agent and they told me that ( now is contract free). ATT told me to give them the phone number that this iPhone use to have to track the history of it. Of course, i don' t have it.. What can I do???
Call your previous employer? I kept my number as I brought it over from a personal AT&T account prior. Did you give them your IMEI number? I don't see why the previous number would matter as you are now without a contract.
Who has actually got their phone unlocked? and how long did it take for your request to get sent in?
I got my iPhone 4S unlocked just 15 minutes ago.
I bought it off of Craigs List. The previous owner had paid the early termination fee. I have never had an AT&T account. When making my request for the unlock (via AT&T's phone support), I just told them that my friend gave it to me since he switched carriers.
I made my request on Sunday (April 8) evening at 6:00 pm CST. I was growing very anxious and actually losing hope after reading all the other posts of people requesting after me getting their unlocks. I had been restoring my phone every few hours to check, with no luck.
Well, I tried just a little while ago, and I got the 'Congratulations' screen. I never received any email or text or phone call from AT&T or Apple. I guess they are not doing such a good job with notifying people. Anyway, I am extremely happy (and relieved) that the phone is unlocked.
I made another request for a another phone around the same time, but it is still not unlocked, so the waiting game is not over for me yet.
I hope this helps you with any concerns you have. Unfortunately, we just have to wait, but it looks like our patience is being rewarded.
So after waiting a couple of days with a total of three unlock cases submitted (overkill I know), my iphone 4 has just been unlocked.
I have not yet received an email with unlock instructions; only one asking for proof of purchase which I was not able to provide. Also, I did not need to restore, simply put in my Chinese sim card and got the unlock message in itunes. So, if you've already submitted a case and it's been a couple of days, just plug in a sim and try it.
Good luck to all!!
P.S. I was on ios 5.1 with preserved baseband 4.10.01 using Gevey sim. If anyone else is also in that situation, the unlock will still work without a restore.
I have not yet received an email with unlock instructions; only one asking for proof of purchase which I was not able to provide. Also, I did not need to restore, simply put in my Chinese sim card and got the unlock message in itunes. So, if you've already submitted a case and it's been a couple of days, just plug in a sim and try it.Good luck to all!!
P.S. I was on ios 5.1 with preserved baseband 4.10.01 using Gevey sim. If anyone else is also in that situation, the unlock will still work without a restore.
So after waiting a couple of days with a total of three unlock cases submitted (overkill I know), my iphone 4 has just been unlocked.
Good luck to all!!
P.S. I was on ios 5.1 with preserved baseband 4.10.01 using Gevey sim. If anyone else is also in that situation, the unlock will still work without a restore.
first of all - congrats!
did u have to take out the gevey for it to unlock? or can i leave the gevey inside?
it is 5.0 also with 4.10.01 ( custom firmware) right now. I am planing to update actually. I am downloading 5.1 at the moment via itunes.
----------
I just put my new national simcard ( it is not at&t) without gevey or anything. and open itunes let it try to find my iphone connected via usb. when it found, itunes told me that I have to activate or sth but actually it gave an error. then when I look at phone screen I saw a blue warning says "activate phone" then I say next on the phone. it said it can take a few minutes, and done. my new simcard working. Just make sure u have wireless connectivity on your iphone. because it is activating itself online.
----------
I just put my new national simcard ( it is not at&t) without gevey or anything. and open itunes let it try to find my iphone connected via usb. when it found, itunes told me that I have to activate or sth but actually it gave an error. then when I look at phone screen I saw a blue warning says "activate phone" then I say next on the phone. it said it can take a few minutes, and done. my new simcard working. Just make sure u have wireless connectivity on your iphone. because it is activating itself online.
Well, when 7-Eleven starts giving you down payment money to buy the Chevy and as part of the purchase you agree to buy your gas and snacks exclusively @ 7-Eleven with occasional roaming permitted to other service stations when there are no 7-Elevens nearby I suppose you could compare the two.
However, I do agree this AT&T unlocking business is long overdue.
Cheers,
Yes I had to take out my Gevey and put in my sim card with the original sim tray. If you don't, it just backs up in iTunes like normal.
No. I bought it on day one through my old business account. Since then I left that company and when AT&T changed my account, it went month to month on my individual account. I am waiting till the 5 comes out to sign a new contract but in the meantime, I now have a unlocked 4S.
That's awesome. I emailed the CEO a couple of days ago, because I want mine to be unlock for overseas use. Some guy named Tom Grey called me back. Starts reading the policy. I told I know what the policy is, I am complaining about the policy. He said you can buy an unlocked phone at full price, I explained to him that when you start offering cheaper service for people who don't subsidize their phones through them, I will consider it.
The plans are pricey and you're forced to buy an over priced data plan because the cost of the phone is rolled into the cost of the 2 year contract. If I buy a full priced phone the plan should be discounted.
He read policy and told me that if they unlock my phone I will drop AT&T (yeah, I've been with them since 1999 and only dropped. when I went to Korea and Iraq and I always came back to them).
I said if I drop you're going to charge me an ETF which then satisfies the requirement to unlock.
He said he can't unlock it, I said I will continue to contact the CEO (I am thinking once a day). He said "Is that a threat?, it sounds like you're threatening us".
Anyway, I sent a second email to the CEO yesterday explaining that I want to be able to use a SIM card in my phone while in Japan, and I am willing to pay an ETF but when I finish off my 24 month agreement I want it back, and they can keep it if I leave early. Sounds fair to me. I think they'd rather lose a long term customer. I also stated I will drop AT&T forever and join the "AT&T is evil ranks that plagues the internet".
I went over 3 gig and got the warning text. I wrote a nice email thanking AT&T for the privilege of allowing me to pay thousands of the years to use their network.
The next day I got a phone from a policy reader. I politely cut her off and asked when the contracts were up as I had decided to change services.
After a song and dance the information was provided.
I asked if the phones could be unlocked.
AT&T AT&T does not unlock phone that are on contract.
Me. Rephrasing the question I asked, once the contract is satisfied how can I have the phones unlocked.
AT&T AT&T offers unlocked phones for that purpose. If the phone is on contract it can not be unlocked, however you can purchase an unlock phone, would you like me to see what products are available for you service area?
Me no thank you,
AT&T. Did I answer all your questions today?
me. No
AT&T. Great, Well thank you and we at AT&T appreciate you selecting us to be your service provider, you have a nice day.
I couldn't help but laugh
LOL, I called 611 a couple of times prior to this, going from bottom feeder to shift supervisor to floor manager (or something like that) and I had to advise each one to stop reading your script and listen to what I am saying and provide logic (not reading your policy letter to me) to why I am wrong.
They just kept saying they are sorry but there is nothing I can do. Which is technically wrong because I know someone at work who falls into the same category as I do and he was unlocked. Guess he got the "right" person on the phone. So to say there is nothing you can do is wrong.
They just kept saying they are sorry but there is nothing I can do. Which is technically wrong because I know someone at work who falls into the same category as I do and he was unlocked. Guess he got the "right" person on the phone. So to say there is nothing you can do is wrong.
Has your phone ever been replaced by apple? If not is there any trivial problem that can warrant a replacement? If so:
Contact the chat reps. If you have multiple lines it might be better to use one without a 4S. Give them your imei and claim it was bought off contract. Hopefully they won't ask for proof of purchase (they didn't for me).
From my experience, you don't need to wait til you get the email to have your iPhone unlocked. I submitted an unlock request on Apr 9, 2012 5:58:15 PM EST and my phone was successfully unlocked by iTunes on April 11th around 9PM. I never got an email but I just kept plugging my iPhone in every hour on April 11th and it eventually went from saying my sim was incompatible to your iphone was successfully unlocked. Still have yet to get the email.
You don't need to constantly restore to get the unlock success screen. What I did was restore the iPhone but never activated it. I put in a T-Mobile sim and plugged it into my computer to check if it has been successfully unlocked yet.
You don't need to constantly restore to get the unlock success screen. What I did was restore the iPhone but never activated it. I put in a T-Mobile sim and plugged it into my computer to check if it has been successfully unlocked yet.
I don't have an issue with my phone, and I don't really like to lie to get my way. I would prefer to use reason and logic, and go off my reputation. (doesn't seem to be working for me though).
I just got my on-contract iPhone 4's not 4s' unlocked. Both of them had been replaced by apple under warranty so the imei's were not in AT&T's system. When I called and asked to have my iPhone 4's unlocked they said no but when I went on chat and just gave them the imei's they unlocked them. I never received an email from AT&T but when I plugged into iTunes with a foreign sim I got the message for one of the phones, but the other just said could not update carrier files. Before it wouldn't even allow the phone to be used with iTunes with the foreign sim so I'm guessing it is unlocked despite not getting the message on the second phone.
Well I guess I was "lucky" in that the wifi decided to just stop working on my original 4S. As far as lying to AT&T... I have no qualms about that; they've been lying to us for years about it being impossible to unlock iPhones.
If you insist on contacting CEOs, try Tim Cook instead. I don't know if it will work now that there's an official policy, but it's less likely that AT&T will give you any leeway
I'll probably just end up paying the ETF (before I leave to go to Japan this fall), port my phone number to google (I would have already done this if google voice did MMS), and go pre-paid.
Couple Questions
I live in China and will be getting my bro-in-law's old 4. I got 2 questions:
1) Will the 3G still work? Seems like some things said no, or is that just an issue with T-Mobile?
2) The Backup/Restore from iTunes can be from any iTunes account, right?
I live in China and will be getting my bro-in-law's old 4. I got 2 questions:
1) Will the 3G still work? Seems like some things said no, or is that just an issue with T-Mobile?
2) The Backup/Restore from iTunes can be from any iTunes account, right?
1) I also live in China and am using an iphone 4 from ATT. China Unicom's 3G network works just fine but with China Mobile, you'll only be able to use EDGE.
2) You can restore and set up as a new phone, and you'll be able to use whatever itunes account you want. Also, even if you don't restore, itunes should give you the option to sync the phone with your current account when you plug it in. However, this will erase all the music/movies/apps etc. which are not in your itunes library.
Hope this helps.
If you desperate to get your iPhone unlocked, keep trying. I was denied by AT&T twice saying that it wasn't eligible since it was apparently associated with the previous owners account. I gave it another shot and the rep immediately processed my unlock after I gave her the IMEI, no questions asked. 2 minutes after the chat, I got an email with the PDF attachment saying that "We have reviewed your request and confirmed that you are eligible to have the requested iPhone unlocked."
It seems like it's really up to the rep on whether or not they want to unlock your iPhone or not. Some are definitely stricter than others.
It seems like it's really up to the rep on whether or not they want to unlock your iPhone or not. Some are definitely stricter than others.