Help-Having AT&T Unlock iPhone 4S

[JulesK]

I've upgraded to a 5S (AT&T), and wanted to know the procedure for having AT&T unlock my old 4S, which is no long associated with my account as I've upgraded. Do I need to go to an AT&T store to do this in person, or can it be done remotely? Also, is there a charge?

I realze that there are a number of service out there that offer to unlock phones, and because of the age of my phone, I do not believe unlocking it is illegal. But if I can get AT&T to do it officially for a low fee, I'd prefer that.

I'd like to have the phone for when I travel overseas, so I can avoid all the roaming charges.

Any advice welcomed. Thank you.

 

[gpz828]

I've upgraded to a 5S (AT&T), and wanted to know the procedure for having AT&T unlock my old 4S, which is no long associated with my account as I've upgraded. Do I need to go to an AT&T store to do this in person, or can it be done remotely? Also, is there a charge?

I realze that there are a number of service out there that offer to unlock phones, and because of the age of my phone, I do not believe unlocking it is illegal. But if I can get AT&T to do it officially for a low fee, I'd prefer that.

I'd like to have the phone for when I travel overseas, so I can avoid all the roaming charges.

Any advice welcomed. Thank you.

you will need to submit an online request form for your device to be unlock, as long as you phone is off contact and good account standing with AT&T.
This is the form i used to unlock my family's iphone4S.
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/termsAndCondition

 

[Col Ronson]

you will need to submit an online request form for your device to be unlock, as long as you phone is off contact and good account standing with AT&T.
This is the form i used to unlock my family's iphone4S.
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/termsAndCondition

i used this to unlock my iPhone 4S too when my contract expired. They will unlock for free if your contract expired or you upgraded (note you have to wait like 14 days after you upgrade before they'll unlock it...likely to prevent people from upgrading, unlocking their phone, and then returning the new phone and canceling the upgrade)

The unofficial unlock websites on the web will work, but technically that's illegal and you have to pay. might as well have AT&T do it for free, and officially.

 

[JulesK]

Thanks for the replies!

Due to some fortuitous circumstances, I decided to sell my 4S and not bother unlocking it. Thank you!

 

[DucMike]

I tried their online unlock portal & got the message;

We cannot complete your request for one of the following reasons:

If you are under contract you must complete the contract period before your device can be unlocked.
If you are a GoPhone customer, you must have 6 months of prepaid service.
If you paid full price for your AT&T device and are a postpaid customer you must have at least 60 days of service with AT&T.

Now I've been with AT&T longer than they've been AT&T. Try 4 aliases (PacBell Cellular>AT&T Cellular>Cingular>AT&T). I recently re-upped with them & got myself a 5s, so I might as well see about unloading my 4s while it still has some value. Is there anything I may be missing or mis-understanding?