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I requested for an unlock code from AT&T and this is what I got back. This is the first time that my request was not honored. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.
Big Thanks to “sanfranx415”. I followed his guide and got my Infuse unlocked.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1093476
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Dear XXXXXX YYY,
Thank you for contacting AT&T International care. My name is Cccccc Aaaaaa and I will be happy to assist you with your inquiry today.
I do apologize for the inconvenience but unfortunately at the moment your Samsung Infuse with IMEI xxxxxxxxxxxxxx can not be unlocked. AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the device and under the existing exclusivity agreement we are unable to provide the device unlock code. In addition, some devices for which AT&T Mobility has exclusive marketing rights are permanently excluded from unlocking obligation. The device will be eligible to be unlocked until after the exlusivity agreement expires. Your device will be eligible for unlocking after December of this year.
For more information concerning unlock codes, please call 1-800-331-0500 at your earliest convenience.
If you need further assistance please reply to this e-mail or by calling us at 1-800-335-4685 (while in the United States) or 001-916-843-4685 (while outside of the United States). You may also visit www.ATT.com/global to view all of our international services available or to access your online account. Please comment on the services I have provided by accessing the online service link listed below.
We at AT&T appreciate your business and value you as a customer.
Cccccc Aaaa
Online Customer Care Professional
AT&T International Care
1-800-335-4685(When calling from U.S.)
+1-916-843-4685(International)
chompx2 said:
I requested for an unlock code from AT&T and this is what I got back. This is the first time that my request was not honored. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.
Big Thanks to “sanfranx415”. I followed his guide and got my Infuse unlocked.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1093476
*****************************************************************
Dear XXXXXX YYY,
Thank you for contacting AT&T International care. My name is Cccccc Aaaaaa and I will be happy to assist you with your inquiry today.
I do apologize for the inconvenience but unfortunately at the moment your Samsung Infuse with IMEI xxxxxxxxxxxxxx can not be unlocked. AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the device and under the existing exclusivity agreement we are unable to provide the device unlock code. In addition, some devices for which AT&T Mobility has exclusive marketing rights are permanently excluded from unlocking obligation. The device will be eligible to be unlocked until after the exlusivity agreement expires. Your device will be eligible for unlocking after December of this year.
For more information concerning unlock codes, please call 1-800-331-0500 at your earliest convenience.
If you need further assistance please reply to this e-mail or by calling us at 1-800-335-4685 (while in the United States) or 001-916-843-4685 (while outside of the United States). You may also visit www.ATT.com/global to view all of our international services available or to access your online account. Please comment on the services I have provided by accessing the online service link listed below.
We at AT&T appreciate your business and value you as a customer.
Cccccc Aaaa
Online Customer Care Professional
AT&T International Care
1-800-335-4685(When calling from U.S.)
+1-916-843-4685(International)
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You seriously need to learn to GOOGLE before you email AT&T
Pretty standard - AT&T won't provide unlock codes for devices until they've been out for a few months. I think the magic number may be either 6 or 9?
But it doesn't matter... Pulling unlock codes out of Samsung GalaxyS phones (and the Infuse is for all practical purposes a GS in terms of hardware and software architecture) is incredibly easy.
Do they normally provide these free? Like instead of song oneclick or something this.seems a little easier. Im going to be selling a iphone 4 would they send me a code?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
iPhones are special cases, not sure.
However, usually if:
1) The phone has been out for 6+ months
2) You're a customer in good standing (e.g. bills all paid)
3) You've had the phone 90 days (I think that's the number)
They'll give you an unlock code if you ask. You often do better by calling international support and telling them you're traveling, that's how I unlocked my Tilt.
Easier to just pull the code from the Infuse though.
Congress passed a law that states they have to give you the sim unlock code as long a certain conditions are met. They normally have provided it if you have a business account and tell them you are going over seas for an extended period. As for the exclusive agreement, they may have been able to delay when they have to give it to you as they state. I would research the law to be sure. Or as stated above.....Google is Good...guud lol
To correct all. Any device that is exclusive to one carrier, does not have to be unlocked. Att policy is generally 6 to 9 months after release. Your account must be 6 months old or you will be required to provide proof of purchase. As of now, in all att systems, the infuse is listed as unlockable. These things will randomly change in time. If you want an unlock code, for an unlockable model, say it was purchased 2nd hand and you have no account. As long as the device is not reported lost or stolen, you will get the code.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Entropy512 said:
iPhones are special cases, not sure.
However, usually if:
1) The phone has been out for 6+ months
2) You're a customer in good standing (e.g. bills all paid)
3) You've had the phone 90 days (I think that's the number)
They'll give you an unlock code if you ask. You often do better by calling international support and telling them you're traveling, that's how I unlocked my Tilt.
Easier to just pull the code from the Infuse though.
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bingo! I told them I needed it for overseas sims on my iPhone 4 and they said sure!! (You have to add international roaming on your plan, but there is no charge unless you go overseas and actually use it)
+1
faslane said:
bingo! I told them I needed it for overseas sims on my iPhone 4 and they said sure!! (You have to add international roaming on your plan, but there is no charge unless you go overseas and actually use it)
+1
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Click to collapse
That's new - I didn't have to add international roaming. After all, that's the point of unlocking, to use another carrier when abroad.
strychninetwitch said:
..Snip...
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Please fix your attitude or go away. I have yet to see a single post from you that hasn't been rude or offensive.
Have you used this way to unlock it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1081072
Been a long time since I've been here, things have changed big time. Anyways i know this isn't an iPhone site but its the only site a trust. I have a girlfriend who currently lives in Brazil and everything there is over priced. A decent cell phone is $2000-$3000. I plan on getting a new phone here in the next month or so and will send my iPhone 4 to her. The iPhone is the att version and she has a gsm carrier so it should work if its unlocked (not sure which carrier she has but i can find out) Is there anything else i need to do besides unlocking it and changing the language? I don't want to send it and it be useless to her.
thanks
Sending Things to Brazil
I can't answer your question about unlocking, etc., but from reading your post, I'm guessing you don't know much about Brazilian Customs and rules.
I am certainly not an expert on those either, but I have sent things to various friends in Brazil many times, and there are some things I learned. Please understand that I do not intend any of this as definitive; I am simply sharing my experiences and what I think I know.
First, I was told by a friend who was running an import/export business in Brazil that importing used electronics into Brazil is illegal.
Next, if you want to send new electronics to Brazil, you need to follow the rules and fill out the customs forms properly, declaring the contents and value. Include the receipt as supporting evidence. Send by FedEx or UPS, and keep the tracking number. Customs will decide their own value of the item, which may be based on the price in Brazil, not the price you paid in the USA, and they will add the shipping costs as part of the total value. The recipient will be charged import duties and other taxes, which can be up to the total value.
Brazil has huge tariffs on electronics, cars, and other things, and along with the 2:1 exchange rate of the Brazilian real to the dollar, that is why things cost so much there. Your gift will be taxed, too.
Also, even if you do everything properly, the phone can be stolen -- oops, I mean confiscated -- by corrupt workers in Brazilian Customs. There are many. For example, I sent an 8 GB USB flash drive to a friend, which I bought for about $8 in the USA. She simply never got it. That was my lesson to ALWAYS get the tracking number, no matter how small the item. I'm assuming that it was taken by a Customs official, but if you write iPhone on the Customs form, anyone along the delivery route can see that. So who knows?
By now you probably decided against your idea. If you want to give her the phone, get a plane ticket and fly there to see her, and leave your phone behind. :angel: Brazilians typically are allowed to re-enter Brazil bringing *one* new laptop, iPod or such. I am not sure whether that is by law, or just Customs policy or typical behavior.
Jay Ts
Hi,
I am considering buying one of two used Galaxy Notes off craigslist for use with a T-Mobile SIM. One is AT&T and one is an international one.
From some of the research I've done, if buying the ATT one, I should run the IMEI by ATT to make sure it's clean, then make the seller sign a document stating that he's transferring ownership of the phone and IMEI to me to prevent him from reporting it stolen in the future, resulting in the blacklisting my IMEI, right? Also, how do I confirm he's the original owner? Will running the IMEI by ATT tell me that info?
Is it safer to pay more and go with a used international one? In other words do carriers tend to ever blacklist IMEIs of phones not sold by them?
Thanks
Good luck getting some random person from Craigslist to sign that kind of thing (which would have tenuous legal bearing, anyway).
I prefer to buy on eBay so that instead of having to deal with the police / legal system, eBay will handle it if they state something false about what they're selling.
Even if you run the IMEI by ATT, it can take some time for it to have entered their database - and that's assuming the seller already reported it stolen or defaulted on it. Most people trying to do that are smart enough to wait until you have the working phone, then report it - that way your phone works for a while and by the time it doesn't - what... you have a piece of paper they signed ? That's great, but then you have to either get the phone company to believe you or enter a legal dispute with this seller - with a document that's likely not notarized, from a person you probably have no idea where they can even be found - who might have given you a fake name and ID.
Plenty of people take the chance and it turns out okay. Some get burned - taking the chance is up to you. I prefer to go through eBay or a friend - because I know where friends live and generally they're actually friends and don't want to screw me over.
Hi Pennycake,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. The signed document was a suggestion I received from an ATT rep, who said it would show I was the owner and she would unblacklist it for me, and worst case scenario I have something instead of nothing if police are involved. Also both sellers have agreed to sign the documents, but thanks for the good luck
So again, my original questions: how do I identify the original owner of a phone sold by ATT, and secondly, do carriers ever blacklist IMEIs of international phones not sold by them?
Thanks in advance
I'm not sure if ATT and T-Mobile use the same company to manage blacklisting - that it's actually the same list (ie - if you're removed from the ATT list, will you be removed from T-Mobile's list or would they need to do it separately) . So you might have to convince T-Mobile reps - who by and large aren't that well (or at all) trained about the blacklist. I've never dealt with ATT reps, but they sound a whole lot better than the ones at T-Mobile when it comes to the IMEI blacklist (I've had great customer service from T-Mobile, but their training concerning the IMEI blacklist was sub-par, at least when I was on the market a few months ago).
I don't think T-Mobile will personally blacklist international phones. I know that USA carriers are starting to work together more and more - but I don't know about international.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
The largest GSM carriers in America, T-Mobile and AT&T, are collaborating on efforts in maintaining a national IMEI blacklist for GSM phones to help stop thefts, and began implementing policy beginning last month. This is why I am extra cautious as I have never been over the purchase of a used GSM phone. Which led me to a new question I would never have thought to ask, which was, again, "Do US carriers blacklist IMEIs of international phones not sold by them?"
So an example is if an ATT customer activated an int'l phone sold by Samsung, not ATT, and defaulted on payments. The relevancy of this, if the IMEI was blacklisted, would be that T-Mobile would not activate the phone. Carriers have had incentive to blacklist phones sold by themselves to protect against their investment in subsidizing the phones, but I am unclear on phones not sold by them. Anyone with little or great information would be very helpful in posting.
Thanks
Edit: I feel I may have been unclear, but this is the question I'm mainly trying to get answered: "Do US carriers blacklist IMEIs of international phones not sold by them?" I'm not seeking advice on how to be unblacklisted if my phone is reported stolen or where I should buy my phones from, I am seeking those with experience buying international phones, such as an unlocked iPhone from an Apple Store, for instance, and have defaulted on payments. These phones would never be blacklisted for being reported stolen as they weren't sold by carriers, but have the potential to be blacklisted for a bad account. If the potential is not there then this would be the path I would choose from here into the future when purchasing used GSM phones. If the potential is there then there would be no added benefit of choosing int'l over carrier-sold used phones. Thanks again and I apologize for any ambiguity
I know that, the problem is that if ATT and T-Mobile aren't using the same IMEI blacklist, they would have to each remove the number individually. They could maintain a national list, but still input those values into separate systems.
I'm not really sure where you're going with the example of, "So an example is if an ATT customer activated an int'l phone sold by Samsung, not ATT, and defaulted on payments. The relevancy of this, if the IMEI was blacklisted, would be that T-Mobile would not activate the phone."
Why would they blacklist that phone ? That phone must have already been paid for, to Samsung. If you buy an international phone outright, there shouldn't be any "payments" to default on - sure, maybe you bought it with a credit card, but in that case it was still fully paid for - and if you stop paying the card, they're going to send you to collections and trash your credit score. The phone is your property even if you stop paying for the service it's connected to. If they ARE doing this, it strikes me a slightly illegal unless you sign away property rights under contract or something.
I'd be more worried about the hypothetical international phone's IMEI being reported stolen - since it looks like the FCC efforts are concerned primarily with theft, not with where the phone was purchased - like if you report a car stolen. Their efforts are motivated by preventing phone theft and related crimes - not on carrier subsidies or carriers making money (because, really, carriers stand to lose money by blocking stolen phones).
"T-Mobile USA prevents use of stolen devices internal to its network, and has established connectivity to the GSMA Global IMEI database that is ready for use by other carriers as recommended in the GSMA-NA Report (entitled “Analysis and Recommendations for Stolen Mobile Device Issue in the United States”), and as set forth in the Industry/FCC Agreement"
So I imagine that in the future, if not already, T-Mobile will have the capacity to block stolen international phones.
So, I agree - there's probably no added benefit since IMEI blacklists are on the path to converge with the focus on theft as the goal, not subsidy.
They are using the same blacklist. When they run the IMEI and it's on the list shared by both companies, they don't activate the phone.
Can anyone else please chime in with knowledge and experience with international phones? Thank you much.
Some of you may give me the advice of avoiding Craigslist all together, however as I am a poor college student, there's not much you could say to deter me from risking a little for a cheaper Samsung S3. On Ebay most S3s are 400-550$ while on Craigslist I see quite a few in the 300-400$ range. I understand that deals that are too good to be true are scams, but there are certainly exceptions to the rule. I need your help understanding the tricks of the trade and how to prevent scams. Here are the few that I know and how to prevent them, I ask you as the community to add onto this list:
SCAMS:
Stolen or Unpaid Phone
Agree to meet @ carrier store, ask a CSR to check IMEI and if it's clean to change the phone to your account. Assuming that your partner knows the info to his account, this will ensure that your phone will not be blocked in the future.
Chinese Clone
Download Android System Info check info compare to screenshots found here. Avoid this.
OTHER TIPS
Ask seller to Bring Driver's Licence, & record their name.
Ask seller to bring account information if this phone used to be on the same carrier.
Make a call/ receive a call
Open browser
Check wifi radio
Check GPS
Ensure the touchscreen works in all areas.
Record video to ensure mic, camera works
Ensure the phone shut down and starts up properly
Ask about the warranty*
Test all hardware buttons
Test headset and loudspeaker work
using my daily bump
bumping, any advice?
Any thief worth his or her salt is going to have a good fake ID and no problem lying.
Agreeing to meet at T-Mobile support and have them check it out, tell you the details (if phone is under EIP or attached to another account), and make a record on your account is probably your best bet.
Pennycake said:
Any thief worth his or her salt is going to have a good fake ID and no problem lying.
Agreeing to meet at T-Mobile support and have them check it out, tell you the details (if phone is under EIP or attached to another account), and make a record on your account is probably your best bet.
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Thanks a lot for the reply. If I am using the Tmobile prepaid 30$/month wallmart plan. Is there any way for them to make a note on my account is there? How do I go about this? I see two possibilities:
1) Phone in question is not paid off yet (purchased for discounted price):
If I go in there and they tell me the phone is attached to someone's account, is it still ever reasonable to go through with the trade? Is it possible to break that link somehow with 100% certainty that someone else's lack of responsibility won't come back and bite you in the arse?
2) Phone in question is paid off (purchased for full price):
no problem here, if I have them check it and it looks ok then done deal right? or can it still be reported stolen later and blacklisted despite me checking in with them?
Thanks a bunch.
Just spoke to a t-mobile CSR. Here's how the process works.
A phone can be blocked for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only:
1. A customer has not paid his monthly account bill on a discounted price phone
2. A customer reports a phone stolen within 30 DAYS.
The solution to avoiding getting scammed via either method is to ask the CSR at the store to add the phone to your account. It doesn't matter what plan you're using, as long as the phone is on your account, you are safe. Have the IMEI ready.
Hello everyone. Thanks a lot for your time and attention.
I am here to request for assistance with my prepaid Samsung A13 and A03 for my brother. We acquired the aforementioned prepaid phones in a neighbouring country Kenya while we worked there. We came back home Uganda when we had paid 93% of the price on each of the phones. We had opted for monthly subscriptions but all have expired and the phones are locked. It's now six months without subscription. We have paid more than 95% of the purchase price.
We want to use the phones but we can't travel to Kenya to make a subscription because it's expensive.
Kindly guide me how we can unlock the phones for ever and make them ready for use without having to pay subscription?
Thank you for your time and attention good people.
Note: These phones are not carrier locked. They are vended by a company called M-Kopa. The company is not a Telecom company. This company offers mobile devices to the public for purchase on a pay as you go basis. Payment can be daily, weekly or monthly. The phones come with administration software installed for locking the phone out of use after expiry of payment.
Kindly check out the vendor's website for details
Mod edit: Website link removed.
Kindly advise how to unlock
May be this guide helps:
How to unlock a phone on every carrier in 2023 | Digital Trends
Want to break your smartphone out of carrier jail? Here's a guide on how to unlock your phone so you can change carriers or use it while traveling abroad.
www.digitaltrends.com
xXx yYy said:
May be this guide helps:
How to unlock a phone on every carrier in 2023 | Digital Trends
Want to break your smartphone out of carrier jail? Here's a guide on how to unlock your phone so you can change carriers or use it while traveling abroad.
www.digitaltrends.com
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Thank you for your time and attention.
Note: These phones are not carrier locked. They are vended by a company called M-Kopa. The company is not a Telecom company. This company offers mobile devices to the public for purchase on a pay as you go basis. Payment can be daily, weekly or monthly. The phones come with administration software installed for locking the phone out of use after expiry of payment.
The devices are not network locked.
Kindly check out vendor's website
Balbuenna said:
Hello everyone. Thanks a lot for your time and attention.
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Greetings. While we appreciate your plight, XDA does not condone any methodology or discussion used to circumvent any mobile vendor, or carrier restrictions placed on devices
until they are paid in full. To do so would be inviting legal trouble as described in XDA Rule #9:
9. Don't get us into trouble.
Don't post copyrighted materials or do other things which will obviously lead to legal trouble. If you wouldn't do it on your own homepage, you probably shouldn't do it here either. This does not mean that we agree with everything that the software piracy lobby try to impose on us. It simply means that you cannot break any laws here, since we'll end up dealing with the legal hassle caused by you. Please use common sense: respect the forum, its users and those that write great code.
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Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding.
Thread closed.
-Regards: Badger50