How to Unlock Your AT&T Phone

Mindy Woodall

Managing Editor, Home Security & Smart Home

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Set up to leave AT&T merely want to accept your precious telephone with you? You just demand to unlock information technology showtime. Luckily, AT&T makes it pretty easy to unlock your phone. Yous don't even have to phone call anyone (unless you want to).

Before you unlock your phone

Before you can relax into the easy-breezy unlocked lifestyle, your phone has to be eligible. But make sure it meets AT&T's eligibility requirements before you take the next steps.

AT&T'south eligibility requirements

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

The rules are a petty bit unlike if you accept a prepaid plan. For instance, your business relationship has to take been active for at least half dozen months.

Heads up for military members

Megaphone

If you're changing stations, then you lot don't accept to worry about finishing out your contract or paying off your phone. But if you lot want to unlock your phone in the middle of your contract, or when y'all still owe money on it, and then AT&T will ask for copies of your TCS or PCS documents.

How to unlock your AT&T telephone

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

To fill out the class, just go to AT&T's unlock page and follow the instructions. One time you're done, yous'll get an email with a link you have to click to complete the asking.

Subsequently that, it's just a waiting game. You lot'll become some other email from AT&T inside a couple of days that volition give you instructions on how to officially unlock your phone.

The instructions are a piffling unlike depending on the kind of phone you have. But you'll probably need the SIM card from your new phone carrier to finish the procedure.

Can I use my AT&T phone with some other carrier?

Yep. Merely you should know that not every telephone carrier uses the aforementioned applied science and your AT&T phone might not do everything you want it to if you choose an incompatible carrier.

Prison cell phones utilize either CDMA or GSM technology. AT&T uses GSM and so does T-Mobile. But if you lot're hoping to switch to a provider like Verizon, Verizon uses CDMA applied science, so you'll have to check if your device will work with those networks starting time.

Most carriers accept an option on their website where yous can enter your phone's IMEI or MEID number to see if it'due south compatible. You can usually find that number listed somewhere on the back of your telephone.

Check your phone'due south compatibility

  • T-Mobile
  • Verizon

Non certain which carrier to choose?

It's tough to know which carrier will cost the least coin and won't exit you stranded on a road trip with no phone service or no access to Google Maps. Just don't worry, we've reviewed all the major phone carriers to help yous pick the best one.

  • Verizon review
  • T-Mobile review
  • AT&T review
  • Best Cell Telephone Plans review
  • Best Unlimited Telephone Plans review

FAQs

Is unlocking the aforementioned as jailbreaking?

Nope. You unlock your phone considering yous want to utilise information technology with another phone carrier, whereas you jailbreak your phone considering you lot want to download shady apps.

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

Mindy Woodall

Written by

Mindy Woodall

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

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