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Official iPhone Unlock from AT&T?

N

NomadicTy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 11, 2007
244
184
Now that they no longer have an excuse regarding exclusivity, would AT&T give out unlock codes for iPhone owners who have finished out their contracts? Or are we going to have to sue them for it?

I have a 3G, and the methods to jailbreak it and unlock it is now getting too troublesome.
 
NomadicTy said:
Now that they no longer have an excuse regarding exclusivity, would AT&T give out unlock codes for iPhone owners who have finished out their contracts? Or are we going to have to sue them for it?

I have a 3G, and the methods to jailbreak it and unlock it is now getting too troublesome.
Click to expand...

Based on the outcome of the last lawsuit, AT&T is supposed to provide unlock codes for all handsets that they do not have exclusivity rights for a period of 10 months or more but the Apple iPhone was excluded in the settlement. There are also other terms and conditions that apply.

Read here.
 
I'm guessing that the jerkoffs would claim they still have exclusive rights to the GSM iPhone which is capable of data and calls at the same time. Based on the crappy state of digital rights for consumers in this country, they'd probably win easily with that argument. There's no chance we'll see a change in this policy until AT&T and Verizon are selling phones with identical hardware, and I'm still not optimistic in that scenario.
 
What the OP is missing is the fact that despite losing exclusivity, AT&T iPhones can't be used on Verizon. So what's their incentive to unlock?
 
rwilliams said:
What the OP is missing is the fact that despite losing exclusivity, AT&T iPhones can't be used on Verizon. So what's their incentive to unlock?
Click to expand...

It does work on T-Mobile albeit the slower 2g. But I'd like an unlock for use out of the country and not get ripped off by their oversees plan.
 
Just called AT&T, and the customer service person told me to all Apple since my iPhone "is Apple's phone". I told her no, it's MY phone since I already paid for it by staying through the contract and more.

Called Apple, and they were more helpful. But they say they do not do unlocking for any phone companies.

Whoever has a lawyer friend who needs some money, here's a quick way to make some...
 
I was under the impression that Apple is the one that has to unlock the iPhone. I believe someone stated a while ago that Apple has sole possession of the codes needed to unlock the phones. That could be just hearsay and incorrect.
 
@rwilliams - I go overseas a lot and I need local numbers when I am there. I usually purchase local SIM cards to use on MY phones.

Using AT&T's plan would be asking to get ripped off. And number two, when I go to third world countries, I would not ask people there to call my US# (expensive long distance for them) just to get a hold of me two blocks away.
 
manueld said:
It does work on T-Mobile albeit the slower 2g. But I'd like an unlock for use out of the country and not get ripped off by their oversees plan.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I'd like to get unlock codes too.

I was in India in January for 2 weeks and I couldn't use my iPhone 4 with an Indian SIM because of the carrier lock. If I had used voice and data in India on my iPhone 4 with the AT&T SIM, I'm sure my bill would've been upwards of $300.

I decided to use my old unlocked Xperia X1a instead, bought a prepaid SIM card in India for Rs. 300.00 (US $6.67) and 14 days of prepaid unlimited data for Rs. 54.00 (US $1.20). For a total of $7.87, I got through 2 weeks of calling (including international LD) and data (including tethering) and I still had a balance enough to make calls for another week. You really can't beat this.
 
rwilliams said:
I was under the impression that Apple is the one that has to unlock the iPhone. I believe someone stated a while ago that Apple has sole possession of the codes needed to unlock the phones. That could be just hearsay and incorrect.
Click to expand...

Carriers are the only one who has the authority to unlock an iPhone.

They must request that Apple does this, but the process is largely automated in the countries where unlocking is permitted.

At a basic level, the process involves the carrier telling Apple the specific IMEI of a phone to unlock. Apple maintains a database of all iPhones ever sold and which network they are locked to. When they receive an unlock request from a carrier, the specific IMEI is set to be "unlocked" in the database - a change which usually takes effect when you next sync the phone with iTunes.

It's not possible to unlock an iPhone using "codes".

The whole idea of "locking" a phone is purely beneficial to the carrier. It ensures that their subsidy is recouped and it makes it harder for people to switch to a different carrier. It doesn't really benefit Apple to have a locked iPhone.
 
Neither AT&T nor Verizon will unlock your phone until they are forced to do so by market pressure or antitrust law suites. Having your phone locked to a particular carrier is about customer retention and is not about offering you the flexibility to change carriers after satisfying the terms and limits of your contract.
 
Daveoc64 said:
Carriers are the only one who has the authority to unlock an iPhone.

They must request that Apple does this, but the process is largely automated in the countries where unlocking is permitted.

At a basic level, the process involves the carrier telling Apple the specific IMEI of a phone to unlock. Apple maintains a database of all iPhones ever sold and which network they are locked to. When they receive an unlock request from a carrier, the specific IMEI is set to be "unlocked" in the database - a change which usually takes effect when you next sync the phone with iTunes.

It's not possible to unlock an iPhone using "codes".

The whole idea of "locking" a phone is purely beneficial to the carrier. It ensures that their subsidy is recouped and it makes it harder for people to switch to a different carrier. It doesn't really benefit Apple to have a locked iPhone.
Click to expand...

So if I can get a different carrier (outside the US, but an official carrier of the iPhone in that country) to unlock my AT&T iPhone, would they be able to? Aside from whether they are allowed or not, I'm just talking about whether or not it's possible.
 
Scott90 said:
So if I can get a different carrier (outside the US, but an official carrier of the iPhone in that country) to unlock my AT&T iPhone, would they be able to? Aside from whether they are allowed or not, I'm just talking about whether or not it's possible.
Click to expand...

It's not possible.

Carriers are only able to unlock phones that are "assigned" to their network in Apple's system.

An iPhone is "assigned" to a specific carrier when it is synced in iTunes with that carrier's SIM inside.

An AT&T iPhone can only accept an AT&T SIM, so it would be impossible for any other carrier to unlock the phone.
 
rwilliams said:
I believe someone stated a while ago that Apple has sole possession of the codes needed to unlock the phones.
Click to expand...
Actually, Apple has a server that generates the key that locks/unlocks the phone. Before you ask about hacking, it's one of those keys that require the brute force of hundreds of servers running 24 hours/day or something like that. The devteam isn't going to bother with something like that.

rwilliams said:
So why will AT&T unlock all other phones but not the iPhone? Revenue from the data plans?
Click to expand...
Exclusive contract. They get a lot of new sign ups from the iphone, which is big for the mobile carriers.

Scott90 said:
So if I can get a different carrier (outside the US, but an official carrier of the iPhone in that country) to unlock my AT&T iPhone, would they be able to? Aside from whether they are allowed or not, I'm just talking about whether or not it's possible.
Click to expand...
No. They can only authorize an unlock for a phone that was locked to their network.
 
NomadicTy said:
Well, then, I hope they lose this lawsuit: http://tinyurl.com/375a7t5

And on principle alone, I hope the next iPhone is LTE or would have T-Mobile's "4g", so I can dump these arrogant $%#s.
Click to expand...

See below.

rjohnstone said:
With the release of the iPhone on Verizon, the lawsuit is rendered moot.
Not that it ever had any chance of being won in the first place.
Click to expand...

Also, AT&T and Apple didn't force you to buy the device. You had the option of having it. It's up the manufacturer to decide on which networks do they allow their phone to work.

Now, once you buy you receive it as is, only with a warranty on parts. If you want it on X network and it works, then self-unlock it on your own means since that is legal in all sense.

You still have a choice.
 
Scott90 said:
So if I can get a different carrier (outside the US, but an official carrier of the iPhone in that country) to unlock my AT&T iPhone, would they be able to? Aside from whether they are allowed or not, I'm just talking about whether or not it's possible.
Click to expand...

Not possible. They can only unlock iPhones locked or sold for their network.
They can't unlock another companys locked iPhone.
 
rwilliams said:
I was under the impression that Apple is the one that has to unlock the iPhone. I believe someone stated a while ago that Apple has sole possession of the codes needed to unlock the phones. That could be just hearsay and incorrect.
Click to expand...
No. That is what AT&T wants you to think. Other carriers outside the US routinely unlock (free or for a fee) their iPhones without having the users deal with Apple. It's AT&T.
 
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