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obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

pay of tmobile phone and unlocked

I am new to Tmobile and signed up with the iPhone 5s where I got it with no money down and pay it every month pursuant to the EIP. I am wondering, once its paid in full, is the phone automatically unlocked? So I can go to AT&T, for example?

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

Not sure if it's automatic, but T-Mobile will unlock it once it's paid. Might just require a phone call to get the process in motion.

The T-Mobile iPhone 5s works fine on AT&T.

Edit: More info here. Looks like it requires a phone call:
»support.t-mobile.com/doc ··· DOC-1588

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

Thank you.

acadiel
Press fire to begin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-22
Atlanta
Apple AirPort Express (2012)
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)
ARRIS SB6183

acadiel

Premium Member

It'll eventually be automatic. Check out condition #2 and #5.

»www.ctia.org/docs/defaul ··· king.pdf

All these have to be implemented by the carriers by 02/2015.

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

That is nice to see for once. I contacted Tmobile yesterday and they didn't give me a hard time about unlocking but said that it can take as little as 24 hours or as much as a week. Everything I read online indicates that the carrier sends it to Apple and Apple adds the IMEI to their database right away showing it is unlocked. Tmobile said I will get an email with an unlock code and/or unlock instructions. What exactly will i have to do to unlock?
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

Daemon

Premium Member

said by obeythelaw:

That is nice to see for once. I contacted Tmobile yesterday and they didn't give me a hard time about unlocking but said that it can take as little as 24 hours or as much as a week. Everything I read online indicates that the carrier sends it to Apple and Apple adds the IMEI to their database right away showing it is unlocked. Tmobile said I will get an email with an unlock code and/or unlock instructions. What exactly will i have to do to unlock?

There is no unlock code. Unlocking is done by the iTunes activation servers sending a unique string to the phone when you restore the phone and set it up again, or by inserting a new carrier's SIM and rebooting the phone.

The best thing to do would be to get an AT&T SIM or borrow a friend's briefly, and see if your phone will take it. If not, reboot the phone. If that still doesn't work, backup and restore the phone with iTunes, then set it up again, either via iTunes or on the phone directly. (You can restore from backup) You should see a message that says "Congratulations, your phone has been unlocked"

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

Hmmm. interesting. I can use my sister's iPhone 5 sim from att to see if I the phone will pick up ATT. I'm going to check that out tomorrow. I wonder if I can order the AT&T sim now and when I get it pop it into the phone as well. What I don't want to have happen is that my phone on Tmobile not work. I need to port my number from Tmobile to ATT. If I order the ATT sims and put the number I am porting over, will that automatically stop my service with Tmobile? I do not want to lose my phone numbers.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

So, that means you'll be paying for both T-mobile and ATT at the same time just so you can have your ATT number? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have gotten an iPhone 5 through ATT in the first place?

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

Right now I have Tmo. I would port my number over to ATT and my Tmo account would be cancelled. I'm not keeping Tmo.
I used my sister's sim from her iPhone 5 on Att and after putting it in my Tmobile iPhone 5s, a screen came up saying my device is not unlocked and does not match an unlocked device on the activation server. I restarted the phone and something came up upon restart. I have a feeling Tmobile is going to jerk me around. It's been a couple of days so far and the Apple server seems to be saying that the phone is not unlocked.
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

Daemon

Premium Member

said by obeythelaw:

Right now I have Tmo. I would port my number over to ATT and my Tmo account would be cancelled. I'm not keeping Tmo.
I used my sister's sim from her iPhone 5 on Att and after putting it in my Tmobile iPhone 5s, a screen came up saying my device is not unlocked and does not match an unlocked device on the activation server. I restarted the phone and something came up upon restart. I have a feeling Tmobile is going to jerk me around. It's been a couple of days so far and the Apple server seems to be saying that the phone is not unlocked.

TMobile may submit IMEIs in bulk to Apple, which is why it may take up to a week. If you are getting the "does not match an unlocked device on the activation server" then the phone is trying to reactivate, which is good. You just have to try again later until TMobile finishes the unlock.

Inserting an AT&T SIM into your phone will not do anything at all to your existing T-Mobile service.

When you port your number, make sure you do everything with AT&T and let them make the number transfer request. If you try to do it through T-Mobile, they will close your account and then AT&T will not be able to grab your current number.

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

Click for full size
Attached is the screen that comes up with my iPhone when I insert the ATT sim card. I have restarted the phone. The only thing I haven't done yet is do a restore and connect to iTunes. But based upon this screen, apparently, the phone is not unlocked at this point.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

I'm confused - you said you were new to T-Mobile and still making payments. Have you paid off the phone already?

T-Mobile won't issue a domestic unlock for a phone that still has an EIP balance. Maybe the CSR thought you meant international unlock?

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

I've been with them for 5 months now. I have already paid off the EIP. The coverage just isn't enough and I need to go back to AT&T. I explained to the CSR that I paid it in full and she was able to see it and told me I was eligible. I didn't specifically state that I was looking to go to another carrier but she said that it would be unlocked. She said I would get an email, which I never received. Is it possible just to unlock the phone internationally? I did tell that I want to be able to put another sim into the phone.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

Sounds like as long as the CSR processed the unlock, you'll get it eventually. How long has it been?

My unlock through AT&T took 4-5 days to get approved and sent up to Apple.

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

It's been three days now. I guess I'll see what happens on Monday.
tdumaine
Premium Member
join:2004-03-14
Seattle, WA

tdumaine

Premium Member

Takes 3 to 5 business days.

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

I finally got the email from Tmobile yesterday. It says in the email that I need to wait 72 hours and then should connect to iTunes and it will pop up saying it is unlocked.
tdumaine
Premium Member
join:2004-03-14
Seattle, WA

tdumaine

Premium Member

said by obeythelaw:

I finally got the email from Tmobile yesterday. It says in the email that I need to wait 72 hours and then should connect to iTunes and it will pop up saying it is unlocked.

Dont need itunes even, just pop the other sim in, once its done in apples back end it'll take the new sim fine

obeythelaw
Premium Member
join:2003-04-16
Warren, NJ

obeythelaw

Premium Member

I just tried again with my sister's ATT sim and sure enough it worked. It was asking me for my apple id. great to know that they are finally unlocked!