Will AT&T unlock my phone?

B. Wright <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Anon E. Muss <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:38:19 GMT, John Navas
> > > >>Will AT&T unlock my phone?
> > > >No.

> > > But they used to when they were Cingular ([email protected])
> > > right?

> > I had someone give me a couple of old AT&T phones.
> > They won't work with the new at&t sims, they are locked. The account for
> > these phones is long gone, and I can't seem to convince the new AT&T that
> > they should give me an unlock code for the old AT&T phones.

> > Maybe I'll try email to [email protected]. I had tried the same
> > cingular web site email that I have used to unlock phones that are locked
> > to Cingular.

> Call the office of the president and complain. I had to do this
> to finally get a phone unlocked that they "didn't have the code for" but
> somehow they managed to find it there within a matter of a couple hours or
> less! Basically, this should have been part of the class action going on
> against Cingular if it wasn't already, to get these phones unlocked. They
> made countless numbers of perfectly functional devices into electronic
> waste (not good for the environment (lead in PCBs, batteries, etc..) or
> customer relations) by refusing to unlock them & refusing to provide SIM
> cards to make them work, even on their own network.

> That is just one of the many reasons I don't and won't do
> business with this company again. Vote with your money and let people
> know how you were treated by their "customer service".

Just a followup to my own post here, I should have made this clear
that the phone in question I spoke about was a former AT&T phone. Cingular
DO have the codes for these but they're complete assholes and refuse to
give them out unless you go to the extreme of calling the office of the
president. Instead they want to force you into a new 2 year contract for
a phone that works with the only SIM cards they provide now.

I do agree with the others here that the OP in this thread does
not have a chance to get it unlocked because only the original carriers
have the subsidy codes. If he got his phone from somewhere else, forget it
and go pay someone to unlock it. In the case I mentioned Cingluar bought
AT&T so they do have the codes, they just like to lie through their teeth.

---

› See More: Will AT&T unlock my phone?

In article <[email protected]>,
"B. Wright" <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
> > Anon E. Muss <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:38:19 GMT, John Navas
> > > >>Will AT&T unlock my phone?
> > > >No.
>
> > > But they used to when they were Cingular ([email protected])
> > > right?
>
> > I had someone give me a couple of old AT&T phones.
> > They won't work with the new at&t sims, they are locked. The account for
> > these phones is long gone, and I can't seem to convince the new AT&T that
> > they should give me an unlock code for the old AT&T phones.
>
> > Maybe I'll try email to [email protected]. I had tried the same
> > cingular web site email that I have used to unlock phones that are locked
> > to Cingular.
>
> Call the office of the president and complain. I had to do this
> to finally get a phone unlocked that they "didn't have the code for" but
> somehow they managed to find it there within a matter of a couple hours or
> less! Basically, this should have been part of the class action going on
> against Cingular if it wasn't already, to get these phones unlocked. They
> made countless numbers of perfectly functional devices into electronic
> waste (not good for the environment (lead in PCBs, batteries, etc..) or
> customer relations) by refusing to unlock them & refusing to provide SIM
> cards to make them work, even on their own network.
>
> That is just one of the many reasons I don't and won't do
> business with this company again. Vote with your money and let people
> know how you were treated by their "customer service".

Were you a brand new customer? How much did you piss off the CS person?
It was no problem to get an unlock code for my Treo. I was also nice
about it.
Meanwhile, there are a million sellers on eBay who will be glad to help
to out.

--
To reply by email, remove the word "space"

In article <[email protected]>,
"B. Wright" <[email protected]> wrote:

> B. Wright <[email protected]> wrote:
> > [email protected] wrote:
> > > Anon E. Muss <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:38:19 GMT, John Navas
> > > > >>Will AT&T unlock my phone?
> > > > >No.
>
> > > > But they used to when they were Cingular ([email protected])
> > > > right?
>
> > > I had someone give me a couple of old AT&T phones.
> > > They won't work with the new at&t sims, they are locked. The account for
> > > these phones is long gone, and I can't seem to convince the new AT&T that
> > > they should give me an unlock code for the old AT&T phones.
>
> > > Maybe I'll try email to [email protected]. I had tried the same
> > > cingular web site email that I have used to unlock phones that are locked
> > > to Cingular.
>
> > Call the office of the president and complain. I had to do this
> > to finally get a phone unlocked that they "didn't have the code for" but
> > somehow they managed to find it there within a matter of a couple hours or
> > less! Basically, this should have been part of the class action going on
> > against Cingular if it wasn't already, to get these phones unlocked. They
> > made countless numbers of perfectly functional devices into electronic
> > waste (not good for the environment (lead in PCBs, batteries, etc..) or
> > customer relations) by refusing to unlock them & refusing to provide SIM
> > cards to make them work, even on their own network.
>
> > That is just one of the many reasons I don't and won't do
> > business with this company again. Vote with your money and let people
> > know how you were treated by their "customer service".
>
> Just a followup to my own post here, I should have made this clear
> that the phone in question I spoke about was a former AT&T phone. Cingular
> DO have the codes for these but they're complete assholes and refuse to
> give them out unless you go to the extreme of calling the office of the
> president. Instead they want to force you into a new 2 year contract for
> a phone that works with the only SIM cards they provide now.
>
> I do agree with the others here that the OP in this thread does
> not have a chance to get it unlocked because only the original carriers
> have the subsidy codes. If he got his phone from somewhere else, forget it
> and go pay someone to unlock it. In the case I mentioned Cingluar bought
> AT&T so they do have the codes, they just like to lie through their teeth.

Yes, and I'm sure you gave that CSA a piece of your mind, too.
That always works to bring out the best in people.

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To reply by email, remove the word "space"

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote:

> Were you a brand new customer? How much did you piss off the CS person?
> It was no problem to get an unlock code for my Treo. I was also nice
> about it.

B. Wright had a former AT&T phone that won't accept the new at&T SIMs. I
have a pair of AT&T phones that also won't work on the new at&t.

This is different from getting phones that are working on the current
carrier unlocked by that carrier. I have done that a few times.

There is no old AT&T customer service to call for an unlock code, and the
new at&t customer service says they can't do it.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote:

> > > That is just one of the many reasons I don't and won't do
> > > business with this company again. Vote with your money and let people
> > > know how you were treated by their "customer service".

> Yes, and I'm sure you gave that CSA a piece of your mind, too.
> That always works to bring out the best in people.

Yes, and I'm SURE you are a complete arsehole that likes to make
generalized assumptions without knowing the facts. I was polite to them
but politeness can not overcome ignorance or the bad policies of a
company that does not care about their customers. For the record, I did
not have any of the ignorance or lies from the "Office of the President"
that I got from the telephone representatives, but my point is this:
Why the hell should I have to take it to that level just to get a simple
problem like that taken care of? If they had any real notion of customer
service to begin with it should have been resolved sooner. It wasn't for
lack of trying either, I tried the phone "cusomer (dis)service" multiple
times and also asked about it in a store.

What is the benefit of unlocking a phone? I currently have a 8525 Not
unlocked. What will I notice different with the phone or signal if I get my
8525 unlocked? I live in the Cincinnati Ohio/ Northern Kentucky area. South
of Florence KY. If that makes a difference.


<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Kurt <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Were you a brand new customer? How much did you piss off the CS person?
>> It was no problem to get an unlock code for my Treo. I was also nice
>> about it.
>
> B. Wright had a former AT&T phone that won't accept the new at&T SIMs. I
> have a pair of AT&T phones that also won't work on the new at&t.
>
> This is different from getting phones that are working on the current
> carrier unlocked by that carrier. I have done that a few times.
>
> There is no old AT&T customer service to call for an unlock code, and the
> new at&t customer service says they can't do it.
>
> --
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Viper <[email protected]> wrote:
> What is the benefit of unlocking a phone? I currently have a 8525 Not
> unlocked. What will I notice different with the phone or signal if I get my
> 8525 unlocked? I live in the Cincinnati Ohio/ Northern Kentucky area. South
> of Florence KY. If that makes a difference.

There is no benefit as long as you continue to use the same carrier you
have now; the one for which your phone has a subsidy lock. The subsidy
lock only prevents you from using a SIM from another carrier.

The only downside to unlocking is that customer service might warn you that
the warranty is voided if you unlock the phone. I doubt that is true, but
I have been told that on more than one occasion.

There are some potential benefits.

You might want to travel to some foreign country and use a SIM from a local
provider. That is sometimes cheaper than "international roaming".

You might move to an area not served by your current carrier, and want to
use the SIM of a local carrier.

You might want to switch carriers, and continue to use the same phone.

You might want to use a pre-paid SIM for various reasons, like anonymity,
or appearing to have a local phone number while visiting a new area, or ...

Later, when using a different phone on a different carrier, the new phone
might stop working. The old phone, still locked to the old carrier, can't
be used with the new carrier, and if you are no longer their customer, they
won't provide the unlock code.

You might want to give your phone to someone to use on a different carrier.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

In article <[email protected]>,
"B. Wright" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Kurt <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > > That is just one of the many reasons I don't and won't do
> > > > business with this company again. Vote with your money and let people
> > > > know how you were treated by their "customer service".
>
> > Yes, and I'm sure you gave that CSA a piece of your mind, too.
> > That always works to bring out the best in people.
>
> Yes, and I'm SURE you are a complete arsehole that likes to make
> generalized assumptions without knowing the facts. I was polite to them
> but politeness can not overcome ignorance or the bad policies of a
> company that does not care about their customers. For the record, I did
> not have any of the ignorance or lies from the "Office of the President"
> that I got from the telephone representatives, but my point is this:
> Why the hell should I have to take it to that level just to get a simple
> problem like that taken care of? If they had any real notion of customer
> service to begin with it should have been resolved sooner. It wasn't for
> lack of trying either, I tried the phone "cusomer (dis)service" multiple
> times and also asked about it in a store.

I have found their service to be excellent for simple problems, but have
needed to ask for the next tier support level to find the ones who have
the experience. You know they hired a slew just to handle the new
iPhone, so I'm sure there's a lot of green staff these days.

I was faced with a similar situation a couple years ago when Cingular
bought ATT. I bought a Treo, but couldn't bring our old phones into the
plan because of the network change. The Treo had to be on the new
network, our Motorolas could only remain in the old (which they were
phasing out) There was so much confusion (Old network customer support
now went to poorly-trained India staff) and new support did not have
access with my old ATT billing files. The two couldn't communicate. I
was doubled billed for couple months. Took a lot of effort to get fixed.

You can imagine my joy when Cingular got gobbled up by The New ATT.

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To reply by email, remove the word "space"

"Viper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What is the benefit of unlocking a phone? I currently have a 8525 Not
> unlocked. What will I notice different with the phone or signal if I get
> my 8525 unlocked? I live in the Cincinnati Ohio/ Northern Kentucky area.
> South of Florence KY. If that makes a difference.

If you were traveling, want to use it on tmobile or wish to sell it,
otherwise, nothing. BTW there is a free TYTN/Hermes/8525 program available,
I used it, works fne, tried it with a TM sim afterwards and it worked. It
also unlocked the CID if you want to MOD the interface, or use one of the
WM6 mods currently available.

At 02 Sep 2007 20:46:29 +0000 B. Wright wrote:

> Just a followup to my own post here, I should have made this clear
> that the phone in question I spoke about was a former AT&T phone.
Cingular
> DO have the codes for these but they're complete assholes and
refuse to
> give them out unless you go to the extreme of calling the office of
the
> president.

Maybe they're respecting the wishes of the former AT&T Wireless, who,
if you'll recall, would not give unlock codes under any
circumstances, unlike T-Mo or Cingular.

I'm not suggesting that's "right" or "fair," but it might explain why
it's difficult getting "old AT&T" codes when they are pretty good
about giving Cingular/"new at&t" codes.

Or, arguably, while you old AT&T customers became Cingular customers
now, that's only by virtue of the buyout. You were, at one time,
customers of the competition. Maybe they hold a grudge! ;-)


--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003