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AT&T To Unlock Out-of-Contract iPhones

Posted by timothy on from the with-great-reluctance dept.

NicknamesAreStupid writes "Many outlets are reporting that AT&T will allow owners of iPhones whose contracts have expired to unlock their devices. One might think that a call or a quick trip to their local AT&T store would do the trick, and they do provide this service to people who are currently under contract with a newer phone and want to use their older one. However, AT&T has never made anything free to be easy, and this may not bode well for former customers who offer no profitable revenue. For example, when AT&T bought Bell South, they were ordered by the court as part of the acquisition to offer $10/month 'DSL lite' service. The maze in their website which led to this opportunity is now a story of legend. Will the key to this unlocking the iPhone be as byzantine for former customers?"

4 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Seriously? by Xacid · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've just called customer service, gave them the IMEI, they submitted a request to the manufacturer, and I got an unlock code about 3 days later. There wasn't anything painful other than taking the time to just call. Mind you - I did this as a former customer and this was maybe a couple months ago.

    1. Re:Seriously? by schnell · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, AT&T has always unlocked phones except for the iPhone - this was a legacy of their early exclusivity with Apple. Now they unlock iPhones too. It has never been terribly hard from my experience (with two non-iPhones over the past 10 years).

      But remember this is Slashdot. If it the article is about AT&T, Microsoft, Apple or any cableco, the story must be written such that even if the company is doing something good the summary must be negative. I'm guessing there is a step two for Slashdot somewhere and step three is profit.

      --
      "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
  2. Re:former customers? by puto · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work for ATT and might not agree with some of their policies, the unlocking of the Iphone is a contractual obligation the company has with Apple.

    --
    The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
  3. Re:What about older devices? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jailbreak != Unlocking

    Jailbreaking is gaining root-level permissions on your phone.
    Unlocking is removing the carrier restriction on the phone, e.g. allowing your ATT branded phone to be used on Verison's network.