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Carrier I plan on buying an AT&T iPhone 4 to unlock for T-Mobile, is unlocking easy now?

A

albo23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
So I plan on buying an iPhone 4 for my dad because they are much simpler than Androids, and he is a simple man.

However, I have been out of the iPhone game for sometime now. If I buy an ATT iPhone 4, what are my unlocking options to get it on T-Mobile?
 
So long as the phone is no longer locked into a contract, anyone with an AT&T account should be able to request the unlock for you.

I am happy to do it, if you like. I have not done an unlock this year, and I think each account is allowed five yearly.
 
akron0488 said:
Not really. Places have guaranteed services for 50 bucks now for iPhone 3gs-5 and have pretty reliable services for out of contract 4's for around 20.
Click to expand...

$50 is still way more than what it used to be before. That's what I meant.
Before it was $1-2.
 
akron0488 said:
Yeah but 50 is nothing compared to what it was 3 months ago. Besides chances are it's out of contract so he could probably do 20-30.
Click to expand...

True.
But if it is under contract he can prob get it unlocked for free if he knows someone who has AT&T service.
 
lordofthereef said:
So long as the phone is no longer locked into a contract, anyone with an AT&T account should be able to request the unlock for you.

I am happy to do it, if you like. I have not done an unlock this year, and I think each account is allowed five yearly.
Click to expand...

Is this true? If it is that would be amazingly helpful to me because I'm in the same situation.

Edit: would you be willing to help out a fellow Boston resident? 😀
 
Applejuiced said:
True.
But if it is under contract he can prob get it unlocked for free if he knows someone who has AT&T service.
Click to expand...
No you can't (at least not anymore). Only the original owner can request the unlock for free.

AT&T now checks if the IMEI of the iPhone matches the account number and phone number. If it doesn't then they won't unlock the phone. We've got 4 lines on our account and regularly switch upgrade eligibility between lines. I used the wrong phone number to request the unlock for my 4S and the unlock request was denied. Re-requested unlock using the correct phone number and that went through just fine.
 
rui no onna said:
No you can't (at least not anymore). Only the original owner can request the unlock for free.

AT&T now checks if the IMEI of the iPhone matches the account number and phone number. If it doesn't then they won't unlock the phone. We've got 4 lines on our account and regularly switch upgrade eligibility between lines. I used the wrong phone number to request the unlock for my 4S and the unlock request was denied. Re-requested unlock using the correct phone number and that went through just fine.
Click to expand...

that's not true. i just purchased an ATT phone from ebay (sealed) and decided to try to unlock it and test my luck. the phone is now unlocked, through ATT, even though i'm not the original owner.
 
rui no onna said:
No you can't (at least not anymore). Only the original owner can request the unlock for free.

AT&T now checks if the IMEI of the iPhone matches the account number and phone number. If it doesn't then they won't unlock the phone. We've got 4 lines on our account and regularly switch upgrade eligibility between lines. I used the wrong phone number to request the unlock for my 4S and the unlock request was denied. Re-requested unlock using the correct phone number and that went through just fine.
Click to expand...

Not true, I recently purchased an at&t locked iPhone 4 off of ebay and unlocked it through at&t's unlock process. I didn't need it to be unlocked, but it does increase its re-sale value by $50-$60 by having it unlocked.
 
ineel said:
Not true, I recently purchased an at&t locked iPhone 4 off of ebay and unlocked it through at&t's unlock process. I didn't need it to be unlocked, but it does increase its re-sale value by $50-$60 by having it unlocked.
Click to expand...
Curious, how recently? My unlock request that got denied was in October 2013. I wonder if AT&T has relaxed their policy again.
 
rui no onna said:
Curious, how recently? My unlock request that got denied was in October 2013. I wonder if AT&T has relaxed their policy again.
Click to expand...

October 2013 is a while ago.
Also sometimes they deny you for no apparent reason and let other unlocks go through with no probs.
Gotta have some luck too I guess.
 
goobot said:
Yea, they denied me twice. Third time was the charm tho.
Click to expand...

Same here.
They denied me to unlock an old iphone when I had just updated that line to an iphone 5. So the old iphone 4 on that line was eligible for unlock.
I called tech support and the rep was also surprised on why they would deny that online unlock request and went in and unlocked it for me while on the phone.
 
rui no onna said:
Curious, how recently? My unlock request that got denied was in October 2013. I wonder if AT&T has relaxed their policy again.
Click to expand...

Literally a day before I made that last post haha. At&t sent me an email within the 24hr timeframe but the iPhone didn't seem to unlock through iTunes. Waited a couple more days and tried unlocking through iTunes again to no avail. I filled out the form again and got the email the next day. Tried unlocking through iTunes and it worked.

It just seems like at&ts unlocking process is kind of finicky
 
As other member said, AT&T iPhone unlocks are tricky and success rate varies by model.

At the end of the day the absolute best any company can do for the lower priced serves is TRY and that is all, no one can give 100% guarantee unlock for the anything thats priced $50 or less.
 
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