How to Get Your iPhone Unlocked by AT&T

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Posted April 9, 2012 at 2:25pm by iClarified

As announced, AT&T has begun unlocking off contract iPhones for customers. TNW details the procedure. If you qualify you can contact the company via phone, chat, or in-store to request the unlock.

Here's what happens:

The only piece of information required by AT&T is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which can be found under Settings>General>About on your device. Once you've completed the procedure, Apple pushes the unlock code during the next 72 hours to your email address, so the code comes from the mothership, not from AT&T. Once Apple completes the unlock request, a customer has to back-up and restore and tether the device to iTunes to complete the unlock process.

The maximum amount of unlock codes that can be given to an account is 5/year. You can see a copy of the unlock confirmation below.

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[Image via MacRumors]

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cj - February 20, 2013 at 5:33pm

is there a ways of changing the IMEI on iPhone 3gs with the new jb evasion?

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Ganesh - December 5, 2012 at 11:49am

how should i pay for unlocking iphone 5 at&t ?

ali - December 5, 2012 at 11:59am

just go onto ebay.com and search for att unlock iphone, there are some people who do it for about 3$!!!!! Some fool you for 50$, so just go on ebay and find it buddy

khadiji - November 2, 2012 at 1:39pm

im still tryin teww unlock my iphone 3g

nyliay - May 9, 2012 at 5:12am

AT&T refused to unlock mine because they were not able to verify that my iphone's serial # was an off-contract phone on the account. I had to fight back because It is actually a replacement to the original one, given to me by Apple. I was on the phone for a long time, they contact Apple and they were unable to trace it back to the original. Supposely AT&T finally did something about it (which I don't know) with supervisor's approval, and I can unlock it now..... It's done and working. Don't give up if you have the reason. Good luck

nyliay - May 9, 2012 at 5:16am

When you are unlocking, have an AT&T sim card (doesn't have to be activated) in the iPhone. Make sure you back up (It's not to keep your info, It's the process) before restoring

micheloh - June 8, 2012 at 6:06pm

I called ATT and they cordially complied without hesitation.

nyliay - May 9, 2012 at 3:48am

AT&T refused to unlock mine because they were not able to verify that my iphone's serial was an off-contract phone on the account. I had to fight back because It is actually a replacement to the original one, given to me by Apple. I was on the phone for long time, they contact Apple and they were unable to trace it back to the original. Supposely AT&T finally did something about it (which I don't know) with supervisor's approval, and I can unlock it now. But I havent been able to do so, So I have to call again. I'll keep you update it

ali - December 5, 2012 at 12:02pm

just go onto ebay.com and search for "att unlock iphone", there are some people who do it for about 3$!!!!! and believe me I have done this a zillion times & they do have feedback. Its just for att or just for US, its for almost every carrier. Some fool you for 50$, so just go on ebay and find it buddy

Jay - May 5, 2012 at 8:47am

ATT refused to unlock my Iphone even it was purchased full price with APPLE store and locked on ATT network. :// They said " Phone is not ATT IMEI but i bought it through apple store in CA locked in ATT network now I am overseas.. any info ? I called 5 times had cace open but they just closed it in reason it says same thing.

Aniket - April 24, 2012 at 3:49pm

I received the mail from AT&T and unlocked my phone. I first de-activated my phone using SAM and then connected it to iTunes so that i don't have to restore & lose my jailbreak. Once i connected my phone to iTunes i received a message saying "Congratulations, your iphone has been unlocked...". But after that iTunes gave me an error saying "iTunes could not update your carrier settings". However my iPhone works perfectly on another sim card. So is the unlock sucessful? Or if i update the firmware, will the unlock be lot?

Aniket - April 24, 2012 at 3:50pm

*lost

Niranjan Sigdel Sharma - April 18, 2012 at 5:28pm

Is that news correct you are going to release iPhone4 official unlock on this June please let me know what is the answer, thanks and best regards, Niranjan

Sohan - April 14, 2012 at 9:52am

Finally got my iphone 4 unlocked. Little info about me: I bought iPhone 4 in US back in early 2010 from a local shop in Houston TX by paying full amount and without AT&T contract. But phone was locked to AT&T. Currently staying in India. That time iOS was 4.3.1, so I was using Gevey SIM to unlock it till date. What I have done to unlock: 1. Called AT&T customer care ( they dont accept unlock request on chat, believe me, I tried real hard for that) 2. Gave my IMEI number and told them I was AT&T DSL customer for few months in 2010 (and yes I really was,) 3. I gave them my ATT email id and social to verify. She verified the details and said that I would receive unlock information on my email. 4. After almost 72 hours I got email from ATT saying my iPhone is verified and will be unlocked when connected to iTunes. 5 Connected my iPhone to iTunes and wow my phone is unlocked (no restore required)

Sohan - April 14, 2012 at 1:26pm

type , i bought in Apr 2011

Deepak - April 16, 2012 at 6:56am

Even I unlocked my iPhone 4 by similar method. I thought it was only me where the phone got unlocked without restore.

Sohan - April 16, 2012 at 7:05am

Congrats !

Deepak - April 16, 2012 at 7:09am

Thanks. Now that our phone got unlocked without restore, are you sure our phone is truely factory unlocked? Is there any other way to double-check or cross check this? I mean if we call Apple India will they provide us confirmation that our phone is factory unlocked? Just wanted to be sure, it should not happen that tomorrow we update our iOS and our phone gets locked again :( I did not even receive "Congratulations your iphone is unlocked" message on itunes. Did you receive this message when you synced your phone? Thanks, Deepak

Sohan - April 16, 2012 at 8:30am

No I did not receive the "congrats" message on iTunes while unlocking. But as I said in my post, I was on iOS 4.3.4 before this unlock. Once I got it unlocked (without restore), first thing I did was, upgrade to iOS 5.1 and this upgrade process includes backup and restore. Its working absolutely fine. But to have authentic verfication, I called Apple India tech support on 1800 425 0744, gave them my IMEI , and within few seconds he confirmed that my iphone is unlocked and on latest iOS and will remain unlocked forever (including upgrade to newer IOS in future) !

Deepak - April 16, 2012 at 10:53am

Thanks Sohan for this info. Appreciate that!

Mark t - April 13, 2012 at 9:34pm

Iphone 3G 3GS 4g

Ab08 - April 11, 2012 at 8:18pm

you can just insert a diffrent carrier sim (even an inactive one or from abroad ) and connet to itunes, it will unlock automtically ., no restore required

monito11 - April 11, 2012 at 11:34pm

Can anyone verify if this is true that you don't need to restore as long you insert a different carrier sim.

Deepak - April 16, 2012 at 7:00am

Yes. Even my iphone 4 got unlocked without restoring and just by syncing with itunes after inserting a foreign non-AT&T SIM

Niranjan Sigdel Sharma - April 11, 2012 at 5:46pm

Hello Please answer to me my this question Actually i am in Doha, Qatar so my carrier will show Vodafone Qatar , so please let me know i can unlock my phone anymore or not. thanks and best regards. Niranjan

ali - December 5, 2012 at 12:06pm

just go onto ebay.com and search for "vodafone unlock iphone", there are some people who do it for a good price, for some carriers it 3$ for some its 180$,

lol08 - April 11, 2012 at 4:53pm

I called them as well with 2 of my phones, I got them unlocked within 5 mins.

Phil - April 11, 2012 at 4:35pm

anyone have a working AT&T email address? I cannot use the chat because I am not even with AT&T anymore so I cannot link an account as required. And since I live abroad now I do not want to contact them via phone. thx

european - April 11, 2012 at 6:39pm

I am having the same problem, don't know what to do :(

DMONEYY - April 11, 2012 at 6:50pm

They wont let you, I emailed their customer care and they said "We cannot find your email address in our system, Please login to att.com and send us a message"

R M - April 10, 2012 at 11:38pm

I used the tech support chat online. I put my 4 old iphone imei numbers in the about chat section. I also stated I can supply proof of purchase if needed. The rep took care of it right there in the chat. Im still waiting for the email been about 1 1/2 hours...

jdss - April 11, 2012 at 3:03pm

hi can you give me the link for att support chat? I asked att customer service and was told there is no chat site for att support. thanks in advance.

Shenoy - April 10, 2012 at 6:25pm

I bought my iPhone 4 from off-contract for full price.. I called up AT

G1 - April 10, 2012 at 4:09pm

What about the iphone that was purchased personally ? I dont have att account, no buying receipt. I just have the iphone which is in 4.11.xx baseband. Will they (att) unlock it? Thanks

T - April 10, 2012 at 11:57pm

SO lets get this straight, You bought the Iphone Unlocked AND STILL went to AT&T?

Mark - April 11, 2012 at 5:17am

rash over-generalizations about networks are pointless and stupid. in YOUR part of town Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile may be all great...... in someone else's part of town AT&T may be the only network getting full bars. I've been an AT&T customer for 12 years now because I get GREAT signal where I use my device.

G1 - April 11, 2012 at 11:43pm

Sorry i was not clear. I bought an iphone 4 from a guy in the mall. The phone is locked to atnt and i am with tmobile. So my question was , will atnt unlock the iphone i bought from a random person? Does it has to be the same person to request an unlock who bought the phone? Because in my case, i just have a locked atnt phone. I never had atnt service. Thanks

Mark t - April 13, 2012 at 9:31pm

Iphone 3G. 3gs. iPhone 4g Thank you

JasonBourne - April 10, 2012 at 2:38pm

Got my iPhone 4 unlocked. Process was very simple. Called ATT - gave them my IMEI no - waited for the instructions in the email. Once I got that in a couple hours time, I plugged my phone in - started iTunes - Transfer purchases - Backup - Restore from Backup - and VOILA - your iPhone has been unlocked. I am currently on iOS 5.0.1, firmware 4.10.01.

Niranjan Sigdel Sharma - April 10, 2012 at 2:36pm

Hello Actually i am in Doha, Qatar so my carrier will show Vodafone Qatar , so please let me know i can unlock my phone anymore or not. thanks and best regards. Niranjan

Jeff - April 10, 2012 at 2:24pm

I called ATT on morning of the 8th and was giving case # and said I would get an email by the 16th confirming unlock for my iphone 4. I got the email last night (fast) and restored my phone per instructions (itune restore is all) and the message from iturnes YOUR PHONE IS UNLOCKED. I tested it with other sims and I'm good to go.... good luck all.

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