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Would it be possible to get AT&T to Unlock my iPhone 3G?

M

MrMacMini

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 4, 2009
149
4
So Cal....
I have had multiple phones and have had them unlocked by AT&T after my contracts expire.

Most recently I had a blackberry, called AT&T, got the unlock, Unlocked the phone, and handed it down to my sister to use on TMobile.

Now Im getting the iPhone 4, and since my contract is over I should be able to do what I please with my 3g....Can I call AT&T to get the phone unlocked so that I can hand it down to my nephew?

Is it wishful thinking?
 
Might be. You could always jailbreak it, but not sure if you want to go down that route.
 
j3yq said:
Might be. You could always jailbreak it, but not sure if you want to go down that route.
Click to expand...


I kinda wanna stay away from jailbreaking so that I dont have to worry about my nephew updating or doing something to brick it. I will if I have to but if I can avoid it, I will.
 
I talked with a AT&T rep on the phone and he told me that iPhones are locked to AT&T even after the contract expires.
 
Applejuiced said:
Good questions.
Hope the government puts some pressure on them so a customer that has fulfilled their contract or paid full price on an iPhone can have it officially unlocked.
Click to expand...

IIRC, they got an exemption from the government to allow them to keep the iPhone locked. Probably they made generous gifts to the right people.
 
well when the first iphone came out it was not subsidized but it was still locked to at&t. You knew from the begining the iphone was different. It was the only phone you had to pay full retail for yet sign a new 2 year agreement and have the phone locked. and we all said OK that sounds fair (including me)
 
snook911 said:
well when the first iphone came out it was not subsidized but it was still locked to at&t. You knew from the begining the iphone was different. It was the only phone you had to pay full retail for yet sign a new 2 year agreement and have the phone locked. and we all said OK that sounds fair (including me)
Click to expand...

and not cool at all
 
old-wiz said:
IIRC, they got an exemption from the government to allow them to keep the iPhone locked. Probably they made generous gifts to the right people.
Click to expand...

APPLE and ATT is bigger than government :D

i want to unlock my iPhone legally also - because i completed two year contract and and it is freaking my phone; i can do whatever I want with it...

APPLE and ATT are really waiting for some government action before doing any steps to unlock the old iPhones ...

think about all these iPhones sitting as iPods because it cannot be unlocked properly (without going illegal method).
 
Applejuiced said:
Its not Apple, they unlock their iphones in many different countries per carrier request.
AT&T doesnt want them to and probably have that small detail on their contract with Apple not to provide an official unlock to US iphones.
Click to expand...

thanks...

we should start signature campaign to unlock all the old iPhones, every other country can do it, why not US and ATT.
 
Well, here is the scoop-

  • You know going into a contract that the phone is locked. If not, you ask.
  • Even if you can unlock the phone, what other carrier are you going to use it on in reality? T-Mobile? Really?
  • Only thing you can do with an unlocked phone is sell it overseas or use it on AT&T.
  • Since you already know the phone is locked and cannot be unlocked after your contract (you should have asked this to start with), you can't complain after the fact. Don't like it? Don't buy it.
 
shanmugam said:
thanks...

we should start signature campaign to unlock all the old iPhones, every other country can do it, why not US and ATT.
Click to expand...

Have fun with that. Lets unlock all the iPhones because here in the USA - we have 1 choice. AT&T. T-Mobile doesn't count because you can't even use the phone to it's full potential. Lol. :rolleyes:
 
I believe there's currently a class-action law suit going on against ATT about the practice of locked phones filed by the citizens of California.

Perhaps the US government will make it illegal for the US carriers to have phones to be sold locked in the future???
 
On T-Mobile, you can use Edge, I suppose.

If you're adamant on unlocking it, jailbreaking would be your best option. It really isn't all that risky.
 
Middiebear said:
Perhaps the US government will make it illegal for the US carriers to have phones to be sold locked in the future???
Click to expand...

Their reasoning for locking the phone is because it is subsidized.

Of course, if you pay full retail price, there is no justification for locking the phone, and should be deemed an illegal practice.
 
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