Lumia 1020 unclocking

[ryoanji]

Hello,

I am thinking about purchasing 1020 now that the prices have come down a bit. There are a few listings on the local craigslist where I live in the 200-300 range, about what they sell right now on eBay. A lot of them are locked to AT&T. I was just wondering what is the current state of unlocking 1020, especially, given the recent law that mandates all carriers to unlock the phone at customer request once he or she is out of contract? Has anybody have any difficulty with that lately?

Secondly, a bit related question. I currently have Lumia 521. Will I be able to transfer all my settings & apps, etc. once I sign in into microsoft account on 1020? (Similar to Apple iCloud account?) Or everything has to be duplicated manually?

Thanks so much!

 

[xandros9]

As of now, the law hasn't passed or anything so its business as usual.
ATT policy bans unlocking of secondhand phones. So if its secondhand, expect it to be ununlockable or to pay money to unlock it.
TL;DR: Don't bother, either it wont be unlockable, or you will have to pay.

Your settings on your 521 should carry over, unless you choose to start from scrafch

 

[ryoanji]

Wow, that was quick! Thanks so much!

EDIT: Just a quick question, if I would be buying it used is there something that I need to be aware of? check? Thanks again!

 

[xandros9]

Wow, that was quick! Thanks so much!

EDIT: Just a quick question, if I would be buying it used is there something that I need to be aware of? check? Thanks again!

Just wanted to clarify, ATT requires the original owner unlock the device.

Check the ESN/IMEI, make sure it is good. (there are sites that do that like the marketplace site Swappa)
Bad/flagged ESN's often signify a stolen device or one that has an unpaid balance. Either way, a phone blacklisted this way cannot be used for cellular activities. Other stuff, sure, but no texting, calling...

and the obvious check the phone's condition.

 

[ryoanji]

Ok! Proud owner of a yellow 1020 Just a quick questions - the phone I bought is on Developer Preview, can I remove it and just have stock OS?

 

[Ryan ODonnell]

Ok! Proud owner of a yellow 1020 Just a quick questions - the phone I bought is on Developer Preview, can I remove it and just have stock OS?

Use the Nokia Software Updater for Retail 4.2.1 tool

 

[ryoanji]

Thanks for quick reply! I googled a bit and found that I can use Nokia Software Recovery Tool 1.5. I connected the phone and it offered to update the software. I am downloading the new OS right now. There are no major benefits of being on Dev Preview, right?

 

[Ryan ODonnell]

Thanks for quick reply! I googled a bit and found that I can use Nokia Software Recovery Tool 1.5. I connected the phone and it offered to update the software. I am downloading the new OS right now. There are no major benefits of being on Dev Preview, right?

Other than just getting developer preview updates before normal updates, there really isn't any benefits except getting features before the normal updates get pushed out. The new OS you're downloading is stock and not Dev Preview, so you should be on Cyan when it's downloaded and installed and another benefit of not being on the Dev Preview is that you get firmware updates at the right time as sometimes the Dev Preview software and the current firmware may not work well together *cue Samsung Windows Phone devices*