Database Users

IS AT&T SGSIII carrier-locked when paying for the full price?

I'm attempting to buy the AT&T SGSIII with the full price since it's probably the cheapest you can get among all the options.
As I am going to use it on Rogers network in Canada, I would like to know if it's carrier-locked even i pay for the full price???
I know Android phones are pretty easy to get unlocked. I just don't want the hassle.
I plan on driving down to the Seattle this upcoming weekend and nail one!!! Cannot wait anymore!

Even if you get it without commitment, the device will still be locked. AT&T won't unlock it for about six months (I don't know the exact length). Why not just try cellunlocker.net? It unlocked my phone in thirty mins. It's just 25$ so give it a try
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

amgpower63 said:
Even if you get it without commitment, the device will still be locked. AT&T won't unlock it for about six months (I don't know the exact length). Why not just try cellunlocker.net? It unlocked my phone in thirty mins. It's just 25$ so give it a try
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
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Wow..... 6 months.... So, if i get it unlocked through cellunlocker.net, and I flash back to the factory setting and have AT&T unlocked it for me 6 months later?? Will they still honor the warranty??
Sorry for my noob question. Coming from iPhone and not quite familiar with American carrier.

AT&T says they have a 6 month period when they have exclusivity on the phones, but they obviously don't have exclusive rights in the US. Also, they've been unlocking iPhones that were purchased outright, so you can use that to your advantage.

noahattic said:
Wow..... 6 months.... So, if i get it unlocked through cellunlocker.net, and I flash back to the factory setting and have AT&T unlocked it for me 6 months later?? Will they still honor the warranty??
Sorry for my noob question. Coming from iPhone and not quite familiar with American carrier.
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Once you do a sim unlock, it's unlocked forever. No need to get a code from AT&T when it's available.
AT&T is interested in selling phones for it's network, not selling to people looking to sell or take them somewhere else.

zaisaroni said:
Once you do a sim unlock, it's unlocked forever. No need to get a code from AT&T when it's available.
AT&T is interested in selling phones for it's network, not selling to people looking to sell or take them somewhere else.
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there's a way to unlock the phone allay, check the dev section in the international s iii forum

noahattic said:
I'm attempting to buy the AT&T SGSIII with the full price since it's probably the cheapest you can get among all the options.
As I am going to use it on Rogers network in Canada, I would like to know if it's carrier-locked even i pay for the full price???
I know Android phones are pretty easy to get unlocked. I just don't want the hassle.
I plan on driving down to the Seattle this upcoming weekend and nail one!!! Cannot wait anymore!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just wait until tomorrow when Rogers releases the same phone?
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

dLo GSR said:
there's a way to unlock the phone allay, check the dev section in the international s iii forum
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Click to collapse
Does it work with the US variant? Last time I checked, it was only for I9300 version...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

SIM Unlock

Does anybody now if the ATT S4 is unlockable already? Amazon.com is selling it for 700$ and im thinking about buying, since the international is hard to find.

if you buy the phone full price, you can get the code from AT&T but they wont budge easy. prepare for a fight but it can be done, ive done it several times my self.

XsMagical said:
if you buy the phone full price, you can get the code from AT&T but they wont budge easy. prepare for a fight but it can be done, ive done it several times my self.
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The problem is I dont have ATT service..

edgarzin said:
The problem is I dont have ATT service..
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I wouldnt worry about that, just give them a call and tell them you bought the phone full price and have the receipt in hand. They will play dumb, i always ask for a manager when on the phone with them.

I bought mine full price and att said the unlock codes were not available yet and not confirmed when they will be.
Sent from my Galaxy S4

tony1208 said:
I bought mine full price and att said the unlock codes were not available yet and not confirmed when they will be.
Sent from my Galaxy S4
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That's terrible!

tony1208 said:
I bought mine full price and att said the unlock codes were not available yet and not confirmed when they will be.
Sent from my Galaxy S4
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That my friend is a bold-faced lie. No locking is done without a key available to unlock it. They just don't want to share.

Att can definitely unlock it they just choose not to. Regardless I got mine unlocked today with cellunlocker.net took about 15 minutes and cost $24.99. Got my GS4 on T-Mobile for now.

androidoholic said:
Att can definitely unlock it they just choose not to. Regardless I got mine unlocked today with cellunlocker.net took about 15 minutes and cost $24.99. Got my GS4 on T-Mobile for now.
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Further proof that the unlock code is available!

I was at AT&T. We looked up the information while in the store. If you sign the 2 year contract they will give you the unlock code after 3 months. If you pay full price and go prepaid service you have to wait 6 months before they will give you the code. I read it right from the AT&T's sales reps. tablet.

buyslake said:
I was at AT&T. We looked up the information while in the store. If you sign the 2 year contract they will give you the unlock code after 3 months. If you pay full price and go prepaid service you have to wait 6 months before they will give you the code. I read it right from the AT&T's sales reps. tablet.
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I've read several accounts of people who recently bought an Att phone at full price and with no contract who where able to unlock their phone through Att. You really have to be vigilant. I just ordered an s4 from amazon and will try to unlock it tomorrow to use with my T-Mobile sim.

I unlocked mine through a code purchased from a website. Not helpful if you're trying to get ATT to do it, but proof it can be done!
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

C0mbe said:
I unlocked mine through a code purchased from a website. Not helpful if you're trying to get ATT to do it, but proof it can be done!
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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I don't know if it's against policy to list the website but if not please let me know. Also, how much did it cost you?

C0mbe said:
I unlocked mine through a code purchased from a website. Not helpful if you're trying to get ATT to do it, but proof it can be done!
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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Which website? I am looking to buy an unlock code as well.

androidoholic said:
Att can definitely unlock it they just choose not to. Regardless I got mine unlocked today with cellunlocker.net took about 15 minutes and cost $24.99. Got my GS4 on T-Mobile for now.
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Great to know.
Stroked from my Dirty Nocturnal'd Galaxy S4

buyslake said:
I was at AT&T. We looked up the information while in the store. If you sign the 2 year contract they will give you the unlock code after 3 months. If you pay full price and go prepaid service you have to wait 6 months before they will give you the code. I read it right from the AT&T's sales reps. tablet.
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Click to collapse
What if we're buying this full price as a gift? Sighs, would they give unlock code?

If you unlock using a code bought from one of this website offering this kind of service would it be a permanent unlock? You won't have any problem updating firmwares, OS, or anything?

buyslake said:
I was at AT&T. We looked up the information while in the store. If you sign the 2 year contract they will give you the unlock code after 3 months. If you pay full price and go prepaid service you have to wait 6 months before they will give you the code. I read it right from the AT&T's sales reps. tablet.
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Click to collapse
DropZite said:
If you unlock using a code bought from one of this website offering this kind of service would it be a permanent unlock? You won't have any problem updating firmwares, OS, or anything?
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This is SIM unlock (to be used on multiple carriers), will have nothing whatsoever on the firmwares or OS.

Has anyone tried using the unlock method that wlrked on the note 2 and s3?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

ktetreault14 said:
Has anyone tried using the unlock method that wlrked on the note 2 and s3?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Since it requires 4.1.1, there will be no luck on 4.2.2.

AT&T and Sprint branded phones are carrier locked

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PI1HJCS/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PI1G69K/
Click on "without a service plan" it will state they are carrier locked.

Cheetohz said:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PI1HJCS/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PI1G69K/
Click on "without a service plan" it will state they are carrier locked.
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Click to collapse
No they aren't. There are multiple threads to confirm this. I have a Sprint Nexus 6 and it works on T-Mobile with no problem.

Not true. I have a "Sprint" N6 and popped in my AT&T sim and it works fine.

Has anyone been able to confirm this if purchased from Amazon?

derfnoslen said:
No they aren't. There are multiple threads to confirm this. I have a Sprint Nexus 6 and it works on T-Mobile with no problem.
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Purpleclad said:
Not true. I have a "Sprint" N6 and popped in my AT&T sim and it works fine.
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It depends on what batch you got. Only the initial Amazon batches were unlocked. The later Sprint Amazon batches are sim locked AFAIK.

Skripka said:
It depends on what batch you got. Only the initial Amazon batches were unlocked. The later Sprint Amazon batches are sim locked AFAIK.
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I got a Nexus 6 straight from Sprint, and I'm using my Verizon sim. The Verizon sim actually works better. I only have data with my sprint sim I can't send or receive texts or make or receive calls. I get a message cannot validate you account when trying to make a call. Everything works flawlessly with my Verizon sim.
Sent from my Nexus 6

Not to sound like an advertisement but I got my att model from bestbuy sim locked and used Cellunlocker to unlock it.

as of this moment, onlty att locks the sim. people are speculating if verizon will also do this, but its only att at the moment.

Another nod for Sprint being unlocked. I just put my N6 that I got 2 days after it hit the Sprint shelf on Tmobile and it rings for incoming calls again. Sprint has network issues and I got tired of missing calls and having cust service always start out with "factory reset your phone." My note 3 had the same issue on Sprint. 15 mins for Tmob to setup the account and put the sim in. 0$ and a better plan price to boot.

simms22 said:
as of this moment, onlty att locks the sim. people are speculating if verizon will also do this, but its only att at the moment.
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my experience with Verizon's version of the Galaxy Nexus left a bad taste in my mouth. I will be very very hard pressed to ever buy a verizon branded phone ever again. they do get my money though. That I don't mind paying for because I have signal everywhere I go and the legacy unlimited data plan.

The carrier locks aren't really a big deal in any case. $20 and you can get it unlocked at any number of cell unlocking sites.
Would rather it not be locked at all, but isn't that big of a deal....

I just paid to get mine unlocked so I can sell my nexus. I really don't like it

konaman said:
I just paid to get mine unlocked so I can sell my nexus. I really don't like it
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What you don't like about it?

yellowman82 said:
What you don't like about it?
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Probably the paying part to need to unlock it.

As of today, if you are not under contract with the carrier that the phone is locked to, or owe them money due to an EIP, they have to unlock the phone.
http://www.tmonews.com/2015/02/new-carrier-phone-unlock-regulation-active-from-today/

v8dreaming said:
As of today, if you are not under contract with the carrier that the phone is locked to, or owe them money due to an EIP, they have to unlock the phone.
http://www.tmonews.com/2015/02/new-carrier-phone-unlock-regulation-active-from-today/
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The nexus was never locked to begin with unless you had a contract through AT&T, all other versions are unlocked from factory
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

A2CKilla said:
The nexus was never locked to begin with unless you had a contract through AT&T, all other versions are unlocked from factory
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
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I'm not sure you read my post correctly, as that's what my post pertained to. Contracts, EIP, or if they bought the phone outright from AT&T etc.

v8dreaming said:
I'm not sure you read my post correctly, as that's what my post pertained to. Contracts, EIP, or if they bought the phone outright from AT&T etc.
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it's still wrong information, mine is with a contract through sprint, it's still fully unlocked, I can put any sim in and I'm good to go, t-mobile was the same way, at&t was the only one that did a lock and we still have yet to find out about verizon

HELP
im looking to purchase an AT&T Nexus 6 from clist TODAY to use on Sprint. I got a sprint nano sim and was wondering if i can activate it. I heard you give sprint the IMEI number without the last digit or something. Has anyone done this? Anything i should know? im searching and googling and havent gotten a solid answer before i drive an hour to meet this guy. thanks in advance

edisepic said:
im looking to purchase an AT&T Nexus 6 from clist TODAY to use on Sprint. I got a sprint nano sim and was wondering if i can activate it. I heard you give sprint the IMEI number without the last digit or something. Has anyone done this? Anything i should know? im searching and googling and havent gotten a solid answer before i drive an hour to meet this guy. thanks in advance
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AT&T are the only ones that are carrier locked, unless it was purchased outright or paid off, I would really double check with whoever you're buying it from and have them meet you at a sprint store to actually check everything out before you commit
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Legit unlock services?

Currently using the AT&T variant with Cricket. The Cricket service is TERRIBLE in my area. But Metro/TMo is strong. Got the phone through a trade and it seems there's a balance from the previous owner so AT&T DOESN'T want to unlock it through their unlock site. Any word on legit unlocking services? Like, put in the IMEI and pay $25 or so for an unlock code when I slap a Metro PCS sim into the phone? There's cellunlocker and unlockradar etc but just curious who has experience with a legit unlocking service online? Thanks.

Thanks for the link! I found one on eBay for $13 that worked like a charm! Back on metro and back in business. Thanks again.

Soooooo much better.

I know it's late, but I bought a second hand S8 AT&T that was also with a debt (previous owner didn't mention it on the listing) and doctorsim.com managed to unlock it anyways
Just for future reference

Thanks! Yeah I may be getting an ATT S7 (found a good deal) for my gf for Christmas so that's a good tip.

I would like to help too if any one need unlock

cadorette said:
Currently using the AT&T variant with Cricket. The Cricket service is TERRIBLE in my area. But Metro/TMo is strong. Got the phone through a trade and it seems there's a balance from the previous owner so AT&T DOESN'T want to unlock it through their unlock site. Any word on legit unlocking services? Like, put in the IMEI and pay $25 or so for an unlock code when I slap a Metro PCS sim into the phone? There's cellunlocker and unlockradar etc but just curious who has experience with a legit unlocking service online? Thanks.
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I used Unlock Radar and It took 2 days to get my Unlock code.

Bitzu said:
Just spent 22$ and worth it. Got the code, inserted the code when the phone asked for it, and that's all. My phone is now unlocked. Found this article on google about how to do it myself:
https://medium.com/@floring.plesa/how-to-unlock-samsung-galaxy-s8-or-s8-plus-661ca2612c73
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Click to collapse
unlock codes no need to pay for it check my signature for more info

Yes $22 is a little expensive though prices change i guess. I used attunlocker.us for samsung At&t codes. I did not find any free codes so I will PM you.
instrumentaly said:
unlock codes no need to pay for it check my signature for more info
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instrumentaly said:
I would like to help too if any one need unlock
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can you help me unlock my Dream 5G

T-Mobile (USA) Carrier Lock

I got an S10+ as a gift. I asked T-Mobile support to unlock it and they said no problem and that it would take 72 hours.
Well it's been over a week and I've been back and forth with support trying everything up to and including a factory reset all with no luck. They're now saying that they've "exhausted their efforts" and that *some phones can't be unlocked".
I've never experienced this with support before and am not sure what to do next. I'm pretty sure Samsung is just going to refer me back to the carrier if I try them. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

Mikesmith2738 said:
I got an S10+ as a gift. I asked T-Mobile support to unlock it and they said no problem and that it would take 72 hours.
Well it's been over a week and I've been back and forth with support trying everything up to and including a factory reset all with no luck. They're now saying that they've "exhausted their efforts" and that “some phones can't be unlocked".
I've never experienced this with support before and am not sure what to do next. I'm pretty sure Samsung is just going to refer me back to the carrier if I try them. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
*Bump*

How do you know it's still locked?

Do you have an account with T-Mobile? Contact their Twitter at TMobile help they are usually way more helpful then calling or chatting thru their website and I've personally unlocked dozens of phones like that, paid off or not.

Outbreak444 said:
How do you know it's still locked?
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Click to collapse
When I go to Settings and click "Permanent Unlock" I get an error message *Your phone isn't elligible to be unlocked. Reason code: 999".
However, you're right that I haven't tried to put in a different SIM maybe it already unlocked?

Mikesmith2738 said:
When I go to Settings and click "Permanent Unlock" I get an error message *Your phone isn't elligible to be unlocked. Reason code: 999".
However, you're right that I haven't tried to put in a different SIM maybe it already unlocked?
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If it is a Tmobile branded phone version then it is locked. Tmobile can unlock it as long as your account is 3+ month old and in good standing I think.

VICosPhi said:
If it is a Tmobile branded phone version then it is locked. Tmobile can unlock it as long as your account is 3+ month old and in good standing I think.
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Again, their support said they entered it in the system to unlock and it's not working so I don't know what to do next. It's a weird position to be in.
It's my understanding that they used to unlock with an app, but that now it's built into the firmware? In any case, can't get it to work and they have literally said there's nothing else they can do which is really strange.

Mikesmith2738 said:
Again, their support said they entered it in the system to unlock and it's not working.so I don't know what to do next. It's a weird position to be in.
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If the person that gifted it to you got it from T-mobile store then it would be quick, but if they got it from elsewhere, T-mobile always has trouble finding that order and IMEI and takes forever to actually unlock it.
Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

VICosPhi said:
If the person that gifted it to you got it from T-mobile store then it would be quick, but if they got it from elsewhere, T-mobile always has trouble finding that order and IMEI and takes forever to actually unlock it.
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It's directly from T-Mobile, and I gave them a screen shot of the IMEI which they confirmed over and over.
If they can't unlock it, can a third party?

No one knows?

Mikesmith2738 said:
No one knows?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try with a non T-mobile SIM and if it is still locked, take it to the T-mobile store and have them call customer service to unlock. This way the store representative can let them know it is in fact locked.
Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Mikesmith2738 said:
No one knows?
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Bump

Having the same issue with TMobile always get my phones unlocked via Twitter s8, note8, s9, note 9, onplus 6t all on JOD one thing they all had in common was the unlock app with the new S10 they having build in into the system and I have spend 1 month trying to unlock it even have gotten the phone replaced thinking it was defective , T-Mobile chat has said multiple times they did a override to unlock and still nothing I feel like there is an issue with the new build in unlock process vs the unlock app

Do we know if we can use a code to unlock the phone with different firmware? Are we stuck using T-Mobile's unlock protocol/app?

HtcOnekid said:
Having the same issue with TMobile always get my phones unlocked via Twitter s8, note8, s9, note 9, onplus 6t all on JOD one thing they all had in common was the unlock app with the new S10 they having build in into the system and I have spend 1 month trying to unlock it even have gotten the phone replaced thinking it was defective , T-Mobile chat has said multiple times they did a override to unlock and still nothing I feel like there is an issue with the new build in unlock process vs the unlock app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my experience too... there's no app and T-Mobile seems to have no solution.
So what do we do now?

Mikesmith2738 said:
That's my experience too... there's no app and T-Mobile seems to have no solution.
So what do we do now?
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Click to collapse
I traded in the S10+ to the LG g8 just to make sure is the phone since the LG still has the unlock app I'll test and see
Edit: asked TMobile via Twitter for the unlock and when through the app , pressed permanent unlock and walla

I was able to successfully unlock my phone through T-Mobile on twitter. They just need your IMEI and will whitelist it. There is no unlock app anymore. I did have to chat with another rep however because the first rep that tried to help me did something wrong on their end and they tried to tell me to use the unlock app which the S10's don't have.

Locking a device with zero EIP balance should be illegal.
I went through this when I bought a 128GB S6 Edge outright. The phone was paid in full at the store yet they wanted me to wait 40 days to unlock it. I tried 3rd party unlockers and they said they couldn't unlock it. (all attempts with codes failed)
It was a real cluster-f.
I just buy my phones from ebay now. No carrier junk or branding and none of this nonsense either. Paypal is great if a seller tries to jerk you around. Fortunately I haven't had any problems.

djlee0314 said:
I was able to successfully unlock my phone through T-Mobile on twitter. They just need your IMEI and will whitelist it. There is no unlock app anymore. I did have to chat with another rep however because the first rep that tried to help me did something wrong on their end and they tried to tell me to use the unlock app which the S10's don't have.
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Click to collapse
Yeah their training is clearly a little behind, but I went through their escalations team and everything and they literally said the had "exhausted all efforts" and added that "some phones can't be unlocked". How crazy is that?
So my current question is... are there still third party unlocks possible?

cpufrost said:
Locking a device with zero EIP balance should be illegal.
I went through this when I bought a 128GB S6 Edge outright. The phone was paid in full at the store yet they wanted me to wait 40 days to unlock it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mines similar, a promo free phone with no obligation.