How to Unlock Your AT&T Phone

Mindy Woodall

Managing Editor, Home Security & Smart Home

Read More

A woman using a smartphone with electronic displays spreading away from the phone.

Fix to exit AT&T but want to take your precious phone with y'all? You but need to unlock it commencement. Luckily, AT&T makes information technology pretty easy to unlock your telephone. You don't even accept to call anyone (unless yous desire to).

Before yous unlock your telephone

Before you can relax into the like shooting fish in a barrel-informal unlocked lifestyle, your phone has to exist eligible. But make sure it meets AT&T'due south eligibility requirements before yous have the side by side steps.

AT&T's eligibility requirements

  1. Your contract is up (if you had one).
  2. You lot've paid off your phone (if it was leased or on a payment plan).
  3. Yous've had your AT&T account for at least 60 days.
  4. Your phone isn't tied to any other AT&T accounts.
  5. Your telephone hasn't been reported every bit lost or stolen.

The rules are a little flake different if you lot accept a prepaid plan. For example, your account has to take been active for at least vi months.

Heads upwardly for armed forces members

Megaphone

If you're irresolute stations, then you don't have to worry about finishing out your contract or paying off your phone. But if yous desire to unlock your phone in the middle of your contract, or when yous nevertheless owe coin on it, then AT&T volition ask for copies of your TCS or PCS documents.

How to unlock your AT&T phone

If your phone meets all the unlock criteria, then you're expert to go. And by become, nosotros mean submit an online course to have AT&T unlock your phone.

To fill out the form, just go to AT&T'due south unlock page and follow the instructions. In one case you're done, you'll get an e-mail with a link yous have to click to complete the request.

Later on that, it's just a waiting game. You'll get another e-mail from AT&T within a couple days that will give you instructions on how to officially unlock your phone.

The instructions are a fiddling different if y'all have an iPhone, Android, or you're still stuck on Blackberry. But you lot'll probably need the SIM card from your new phone carrier to finish the procedure.

Can I use my AT&T telephone with another carrier?

Yeah. But you should know that non every telephone carrier uses the same engineering and your AT&T phone might non do everything you want it to if you lot choose an incompatible carrier.

Prison cell phones use either CDMA or GSM applied science. AT&T uses GSM and then does T-Mobile. But if you lot're hoping to switch to Dart or Verizon, both companies use CDMA technology, then you'll have to check if your device will work with those networks offset.

Near carriers have an option on their website where y'all can enter your telephone'southward IMEI or MEID number to meet if it's uniform. You can usually observe that number listed somewhere on the dorsum of your telephone.

Cheque your phone's compatibility

  • Sprint
  • T-Mobile
  • Verizon

Not sure which carrier to choose?

It'due south tough to know which carrier will cost the least money and won't leave you stranded on a route trip with no phone service or no access to Google Maps. But don't worry, we've reviewed all the major phone carriers to assist you selection the best ane.

  • Verizon review
  • T-Mobile review
  • AT&T review
  • Sprint review
  • All-time Cell Phone Plans review
  • Best Unlimited Telephone Plans review

FAQs

Is unlocking the aforementioned as jailbreaking?

Nope. Yous unlock your phone because y'all desire to use information technology with another phone carrier, whereas you jailbreak your phone because you lot want to download shady apps.

Okay, the apps aren't always shady, just jailbreaking does give you access to apps you wouldn't discover in your phone'south authorized app store. It likewise disables a lot of your phone'due south security features, and then we don't really recommend it.

Mindy Woodall

Written by

Mindy Woodall

Mindy has been writing most engineering science for vii years. She covers all things smart home for Reviews.org, and keeps track of the latest robot gadgets. Mindy attended the Academy of Utah and her work has been featured on the likes of Parents.com, Digital Care, Hostfully, and more.

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