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AT&T Will Unlock Off-Contract iPhones Starting Sunday, April 8
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Just got off the phone with AT&T. They said because of the huge demand of unlocks, they can't cope with all the requested unlocks. Also, there are large number of non-AT&T-clients who've requested an unlock and that'll require some more "investigation". So, the rep asked me if they can use another two business days. I asked for verification of my email adress (haven't had any email so far) and of the fax I was supposed to send with a copy of the receipt. My adress was correct and also the fax with the receipt was included to my case. So, two more days of waiting...
an odd thing is happening...
I've posted a couple of times on this thread about this issue.
Chatted 4.10, got the "you should be eligible" go ahead with case # and such. Have yet to receive an email, and restored a few days ago thinking that maybe I'd be one of the lucky ones that were able to unlock without getting the email.
So my phone has been in the grey start up screen for a few days, unable to complete the final step of activating with my foreign sim. Earlier, I popped in my old ATT sim because I wanted to access some pics that were only saved in my last backup, but finally I just decided not to do that and wait a couple of more days. Not even 10 minutes ago, I popped in the foreign sim again and connected to iTunes and still got the "unsupported sim" message. Then from the phone, I don't know why, I decided to try to complete the activation from there, and suddenly unlike so many times before, it allowed me to continue, and I am now restoring from my last iCloud backup with the vodafone sim inside as we speak.
The only thing I can think of is, A) this is working finally and it'll be unlocked. or B) because I didn't shut off the phone between having the ATT sim and the vodafone sim inserted, that it still thinks the ATT sim is inside and let me continue?? I have no idea about that sort of thing.
Any thoughts?
by the way, I have still not received any type of email from ATT. While it is restoring from my backup, it says 'No service'. Can't remember if thats normal or if the carrier is usually present at this point.
I've posted a couple of times on this thread about this issue.
Chatted 4.10, got the "you should be eligible" go ahead with case # and such. Have yet to receive an email, and restored a few days ago thinking that maybe I'd be one of the lucky ones that were able to unlock without getting the email.
So my phone has been in the grey start up screen for a few days, unable to complete the final step of activating with my foreign sim. Earlier, I popped in my old ATT sim because I wanted to access some pics that were only saved in my last backup, but finally I just decided not to do that and wait a couple of more days. Not even 10 minutes ago, I popped in the foreign sim again and connected to iTunes and still got the "unsupported sim" message. Then from the phone, I don't know why, I decided to try to complete the activation from there, and suddenly unlike so many times before, it allowed me to continue, and I am now restoring from my last iCloud backup with the vodafone sim inside as we speak.
The only thing I can think of is, A) this is working finally and it'll be unlocked. or B) because I didn't shut off the phone between having the ATT sim and the vodafone sim inserted, that it still thinks the ATT sim is inside and let me continue?? I have no idea about that sort of thing.
Any thoughts?
by the way, I have still not received any type of email from ATT. While it is restoring from my backup, it says 'No service'. Can't remember if thats normal or if the carrier is usually present at this point.
Today's the date given for my cases filed on April 9, 2012. Still no emails (and it wasn't unlocked when I checked a few hours ago). Have to wait a few more hours and see how it works out.
Guessing you're having the same trouble as I do. Just phone them and ask if they'll refile the case and I'm gonna bet you they'll say to give it two more days.
^^^ Well, I checked the status over chat a few hours ago and was told that the resolution date is still today. No mails yet (as of this moment). Will wait till late evening and check again.
hey guys i just made an account to talk about my experience unlocking the phone.
I called at 1130am to unlock my iPhone 4 that i bought on ebay, I have never been an at&t customer, only t-mobile. When i called the first thing i told him was that I'm not a at&t customer but i was wondering if i can unlock my iPhone. He then asked for my IMEI number. Once he confirmed that the previous owner had terminated his contract he asked for my email address and phone number. Finally he said that i should get the confirmation number, by email, on april 23 at the latest.
Hope this works!!!
I called at 1130am to unlock my iPhone 4 that i bought on ebay, I have never been an at&t customer, only t-mobile. When i called the first thing i told him was that I'm not a at&t customer but i was wondering if i can unlock my iPhone. He then asked for my IMEI number. Once he confirmed that the previous owner had terminated his contract he asked for my email address and phone number. Finally he said that i should get the confirmation number, by email, on april 23 at the latest.
Hope this works!!!
Just unlocked my 4S, had my 3GS unlocked last week. (My US carrier is AT&T)
If you have a 4S and are still on 5.0 due to JB like me you can check to see if you are unlocked w/out restore (my guess is that any iOS 5 devices would be the same). by doing the following:
1) Remove AT&T SIM card
2) Connect iPhone to iTunes by USB
3) Place new XXXX SIM Card
4) Wait for the activation screen to come up, choose the WIFI network then wait a couple of seconds and BOOM you are unlocked even though you will not get a msj because no restore was done.
5) Check carrier in settings to be 11 so you know you are now unlocked. When ATT SIM is in it says "AT&T 11.0" when my foreign SIM is in it says "Carrier 11.0"
GL to all
If you have a 4S and are still on 5.0 due to JB like me you can check to see if you are unlocked w/out restore (my guess is that any iOS 5 devices would be the same). by doing the following:
1) Remove AT&T SIM card
2) Connect iPhone to iTunes by USB
3) Place new XXXX SIM Card
4) Wait for the activation screen to come up, choose the WIFI network then wait a couple of seconds and BOOM you are unlocked even though you will not get a msj because no restore was done.
5) Check carrier in settings to be 11 so you know you are now unlocked. When ATT SIM is in it says "AT&T 11.0" when my foreign SIM is in it says "Carrier 11.0"
GL to all
For those who're wondering how others seem to get their iPhones unlocked quickly, note that most of those stories are from people who have an AT&T account or bought the phone from someone who had the phone tied to an AT&T account before. It seems like current and past AT&T customers are definitely given a higher priority while those who never had an account with AT&T or never had their phones activated with an AT&T account are forcefully pushed to the bottom of the queue.
Yes, there are some exceptions to this, but in general this is what seems to be happening.
As someone suggested earlier, it would help if people reporting successful unlocks clearly state whether they have or had an AT&T account, the mode of accessing support (phone/chat), date of request, where they bought the phone from (Apple or AT&T or elsewhere).
Yes, there are some exceptions to this, but in general this is what seems to be happening.
As someone suggested earlier, it would help if people reporting successful unlocks clearly state whether they have or had an AT&T account, the mode of accessing support (phone/chat), date of request, where they bought the phone from (Apple or AT&T or elsewhere).
not yet, it took 4 days after I did the online chat though. Also, since this doesn't affect current setup of your iPhone, you can try it as much as you can.
Still waiting, and thanks to my residence abroad, I now have a bricked iphone that will not activate, since I did a restore. I'm stuck in the activation screen even though I have an AT&T sim card in my phone. I think this is because it sees the local network (MTC Touch or Alfa) and thinks I am not on AT&T, and since it's locked to AT&T, it will not activate.
I told AT&T that if they don't fix my bricked phone soon I will cancel my account, since their customer service rep told me I could definitely restore/update my software from abroad, and so if I don't have an answer soon I will cancel my account.
I told AT&T that if they don't fix my bricked phone soon I will cancel my account, since their customer service rep told me I could definitely restore/update my software from abroad, and so if I don't have an answer soon I will cancel my account.
Im also abroad, and have restored several times (jailbreaking, custom ispw's for the gevey) and I was always able to restore with my 'dead' ATT sim. I am no longer on contract and it is by no means an active sim or whatever, but I can always pop it in to activate the phone. Try it again maybe?
Yesterday was my day (4.17), but I figured I'd give them a couple of days before I start pestering them
Maybe you could try SAM or redsn0w to deactivate the phone. Once deactivated:
a) Insert the AT&T SIM and connect to iTunes. It will then be activated.
OR
b) If you're on iOS 5.x, then you can activate over WiFi once you start it and choose the wireless connection.
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I just called AT&T to ask about the cases that were supposed to be resolved by yesterday. The agent said that they were waiting for Apple to provide the unlock codes and that due to the high volume of cases it's taking more time. He didn't provide a new ETA.
If it doesn't get unlocked today, I'll just have to call again tomorrow in the hope of speaking to someone who would be more helpful in connecting to the tech support team and getting it done quickly.
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hey..thanks..this method worked for me..
here is my story..
1. called AT&T on 11th. Said will get mail by 19th..
2. just called on 16th, to know status.. realized wrong mail id is updated..so again case updated with correct email id..said will receive mail in 48hrs.
3. No response after 48hrs. so called again today..they said, already request is accepted and done..but since mail id was wrong no communication happened. Also told, u need to receive some code to unlock..asked to wait till 26th.
I havent heard about any code for factory unlock..so tried below method saw in a forum and it worked...
After re starting phone it showed the unlock message also..even though it shows carrier coverage..am not able to call..but am getting messages..need to check that..may be need to change sim..current one is a cut sim from existing..
Now am updating with 5.1 OS..
just got my iphone 4 unlocked today, so look out for that email if u havent got yours yet. heres my situation in case you want to compare to yours.
not an att customer, left them over 5 years ago
called on the 10th and originally told to wait 72 hours, then told to wait until the 17th. the itunes wouldnt give me the unlocked message so i just updated to 5.1.
not an att customer, left them over 5 years ago
called on the 10th and originally told to wait 72 hours, then told to wait until the 17th. the itunes wouldnt give me the unlocked message so i just updated to 5.1.
And again, no email from AT&T. Today should be the day my iPhone was unlocked after a two day delay, but to no avail. Give them some time though because of the time difference, but otherwise I'll be hanging on Skype once again in about 8 hours.
the main customer service number I've been seeing everywhere. Not the out of country number
hey..thanks..this method worked for me..
here is my story..
1. called AT&T on 11th. Said will get mail by 19th..
2. just called on 16th, to know status.. realized wrong mail id is updated..so again case updated with correct email id..said will receive mail in 48hrs.
3. No response after 48hrs. so called again today..they said, already request is accepted and done..but since mail id was wrong no communication happened. Also told, u need to receive some code to unlock..asked to wait till 26th.
I havent heard about any code for factory unlock..so tried below method saw in a forum and it worked...
After re starting phone it showed the unlock message also..even though it shows carrier coverage..am not able to call..but am getting messages..need to check that..may be need to change sim..current one is a cut sim from existing..
Now am updating with 5.1 OS..
1) I called 4.10, was given 24-48 hour wait time.
2) I also misspelled my email the first time on chat, and immediately contacted them a second time to correct it and they said everything was updated, still had the same case number...
3) As of yesterday, still no email, had restored before after reading that many were able to unlock after a few days even without receiving an email.
4) Finally called using Skype and spoke with someone who said I had a resolution date for that day (the 18th) and then verified my email. It was still the wrong one! She said she couldn't change it, and wanted to start a new case and I'd have to wait another 5 days. So I complained a little, saying that I know that actually receiving the email and opening it made no difference (I am right about that right?), and how I was told that the email was updated within minutes of the first chat with them. How for their mistake, I was waiting more than a week for no reason and now I have to wait again?... She sympathized, and asked me personally for my email, and said she'd keep an eye on it and email me when she sees the case has been 'solved'.
As of now, I have no email still, and with my iPhone in the activation screen, plugged in or not to iTunes, it still shows me the 'invalid sim, insert card compatible with carrier' message, both on the phone and the iTunes screen. Should I wait another day, or call again? Is it normal for them to be a day past the resolution date and maybe that gives me some indication that I should hopefully FINALLY see "Congratulaions..." today? Also, and most importantly, I am doing this correctly right? The state of the phone is in the grey setup/activation screen, and I have an active Spanish sim inserted. When they resolve the case, put my IMEI number on the white list, send me an email (albeit to the wrong address), then magically the next time I try to plug in, I will get the message correct? Is plugging it in necessary or can I unlock it by setting it up on the phone?
Any response would be appreciated. Thanks
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If you were never an AT&T customer (or you bought the phone from someone who was never an AT&T customer), then there's no telling when they would respond. The deadlines given to many people here (non-AT&T customers) have passed and there's been no unlock or update from AT&T.
The only suggestion that's popular here is to keep calling them and somehow get to the tech support team so that they can unlock it quicker.