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I think there is a big misunderstanding what locked/unlocked means.

All phones that are made are always assigned to a carrier (yes even the ones that say "Factory GSM Unlocked") to prove that just look up the model of the phone and you will see what carrier it was assigned to.

In order for a phone to have service the company has to know that you want service on this phone.

In the past company's like Sprint and Verizon did not work with a sim card they worked with the id of the phone to recognize what kind of phone / what carrier it was assigned to. This is know as CDMA. Yet company's like att/t-mobile did that too but the service was applied by using a sim.

Once LTE came out for what ever reason all company switched to the "Sim technology". There is still one thing that did not change, each carrier has their assigned bands that they have from the FCC that they are allowed to use.

Being that there are standard bands that every one uses (for international or the like) these are included in every phone. So.... All verizon phones will work on att, BUT will only have the bands for slower internet since those are standard bands.

Now verizon's LTE band is NOT a standard nor is their CDMA a standard so an att or a t-mobile phone will NOT be able to accept a Verizon sim.

Now lets go to sprint phones,

All other company's when they had the phones made for them all they do is have it customized for its own use (Read: their own LTE bands). Sprint on the other hand not only did they have them customize it they put a lock in the software blocking all local USA bands (Verizon ATT and Tmobile).

They even go a step farther and they still do the old way of checking the device ID to see if its a sprint phone or not.

Hope this explains a few things feel free to ask any questions.

Att has an easy way to ask for an unlock https://att.com/deviceunlock

How to check a Sprint iPhone (only): You cannot check it with an american sim you must put in a foreign sim. You DO NOT have to backup and restore as sprint sends in the email! Connect to wifi before starting this procedure.

When you put the sim in one of 3 things will happen.
1. It will say no service in the top right corner = Unlocked
2. It will do a soft restart and ask you for your apple id password = Almost unlocked, after putting in the password its unlocked
3. It will do a soft restart and say "Sim not valid" = Phone is locked

If you got number 2. and you dont know the password just put in your old sim and all will return. When you find out the password repeat the steps.

Willmyphonework.net Can check if the phone will work
« Last edited by yakov116 on June 29, 2016, 01:34:42 PM »

Author Topic: cell phone unlocking  (Read 157863 times)

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #100 on: August 11, 2013, 11:12:49 AM »
all carriers will unlock if you are a paying customer who has the phone for a short time.
From what I heard recently, ATT won't unlock until the contract is up

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #101 on: August 11, 2013, 12:48:55 PM »
From what I heard recently, ATT won't unlock until the contract is up
That's what they said to me this week

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #102 on: August 11, 2013, 01:25:03 PM »
I guess they changed their policy. Just pay 2 to 5 dollars and get it done.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #103 on: August 12, 2013, 10:37:01 AM »
did not work for me. I tried on 2 devices
for me it worked

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #104 on: October 02, 2013, 01:03:10 AM »
HOT!!! unlock code that works for all samsung sgh-a667t
Type in *2767*3855# makes a full reset then after it re boots type#*7337#

If u work for a living, why kill urself working?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #105 on: October 23, 2013, 08:23:31 PM »
Bad news for ATT unlockers :(

@HackiPhone: AT&T unlock source arrested. My fellow unlockers know him by name "One Shot Unlocker".
He used to do 400 imei in 400 seconds.

https://twitter.com/HackiPhone/status/391455683830226944
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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #106 on: October 23, 2013, 11:06:03 PM »
3 weeks ago I purchased a uphone unlock on ebay for $1.29. I got a message back from the seller that at&t unlocking service was down, and that all sellers are having the issue. After that all ebay prices jumped.
I ended up onlocking the phone for free by using the unlocking form on the att website with a friends account info.
Is this arrest related/the source for this?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #107 on: October 23, 2013, 11:26:49 PM »
3 weeks ago I purchased a uphone unlock on ebay for $1.29. I got a message back from the seller that at&t unlocking service was down, and that all sellers are having the issue. After that all ebay prices jumped.
I ended up onlocking the phone for free by using the unlocking form on the att website with a friends account info.
Is this arrest related/the source for this?

ATT is majorly cracking down. FWIU, only ATT employees have access to unlocking, and ATT is going after them big time. This guy that was arrested was the big fish.
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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #108 on: October 24, 2013, 02:11:33 AM »
Bad news for ATT unlockers :(

@HackiPhone: AT&T unlock source arrested. My fellow unlockers know him by name "One Shot Unlocker".
He used to do 400 imei in 400 seconds.

https://twitter.com/HackiPhone/status/391455683830226944
Which law did he violate?  Punishable by how many years?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #109 on: October 24, 2013, 08:47:40 AM »
Which law did he violate?  Punishable by how many years?

He wasn't arrested for unlocking phones, which just became illegal in the USA. Because they will not crack down on those.

He was arrested because he worked for AT&T and sent IMEI numbers to Apple to unlock devices, which means he stole from AT&T.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #110 on: October 27, 2013, 11:50:14 AM »
Will ATT unlock a phone bought on ebay if have ATT account?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #111 on: October 27, 2013, 11:58:14 AM »
Will ATT unlock a phone bought on ebay if have ATT account?
IME yes, if the phone is not stolen or owing money.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #112 on: October 27, 2013, 11:59:38 AM »
IME yes, if the phone is not stolen or owing money.
Thanks, do you officially have to be the original owner?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #113 on: October 27, 2013, 12:06:20 PM »
Thanks, do you officially have to be the original owner?
Dont know what their official policy is, but I purchased an iPhone off Craigslist, used a friends at&t acount details and filled out the unlocking form online and received the code in minutes.

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #114 on: October 27, 2013, 12:21:49 PM »
Dont know what their official policy is, but I purchased an iPhone off Craigslist, used a friends at&t acount details and filled out the unlocking form online and received the code in minutes.
Ok great... thanks

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #115 on: October 27, 2013, 02:07:55 PM »
Can someone please help!!!

I cant find anyway to unlock my iphone 5 from AT&T! I tried calling and they said i wasn't eligible and wherever i look on the internet it says "unlocking for AT&T iphone is temporarily unavailable" I am leaving to israel tonight and would love any advice!

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #116 on: October 27, 2013, 02:10:04 PM »
Can someone please help!!!

I cant find anyway to unlock my iphone 5 from AT&T! I tried calling and they said i wasn't eligible and wherever i look on the internet it says "unlocking for AT&T iphone is temporarily unavailable" I am leaving to israel tonight and would love any advice!

Bad news for ATT unlockers :(

@HackiPhone: AT&T unlock source arrested. My fellow unlockers know him by name "One Shot Unlocker".
He used to do 400 imei in 400 seconds.

https://twitter.com/HackiPhone/status/391455683830226944

You're out of luck.
Get a different phone.
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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #117 on: October 27, 2013, 02:24:36 PM »
Maybe try these guys:
http://www.gsmunlocking.eu/

I've used them before and was very happy.
For tech help feel free to Telegram me @DanTechSupp

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #118 on: October 27, 2013, 02:24:58 PM »
You're out of luck.
Get a different phone.

is this the same as jailbreaking? Is there anyway to do that?

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Re: cell phone unlocking
« Reply #119 on: October 27, 2013, 02:28:02 PM »
You're out of luck.
Get a different phone.

What is the latest apple phone can i get to use in israel, or can i buy an apple 5 for a different company and have it work?