Network Unlocking

[techjunkieforlife]

Ok so I have seen threads on this but I'm looking for feedback of actual experiences.

I need my AT&T Focus unlocked for a trip to Europe next week, so I called, they checked and said he no problem! What she told me was that "it had been sent to my phone", all I have to do is power it on and off and I'm ready to put a SIM in when I hit Europe.

So what did they send? I go not code via SMS or email, no confirmation that anything changed or no way of checking if its going to be Ok next week. The Samsung network profile just tells me it will not work IF locked to a carrier, it does not actually tell me if its unlocked.

Anyone else have a similar experience or do I need to call back and figure this out? Any help appreciated.

 

[gerrymad]

Perhaps they unlocked your phone service to allow international roaming which would mean you can use your phone in Europe and have the privilege of paying $1 per minute for your calls. I assume what you really want is to have your phone SIM unlocked so that you can get a chip once you arrive in Europe. I don't think they will do that very willingly. An easy way to check if it is SIM unlocked is to borrow somebody's SIM from a different carrier like T-Mobile or you may even be able to go into a T-Mobile store and ask them to do you a favor. If your phone works with the other SIM then it is unlocked.

If it is not SIM unlocked you can try again with AT&T, but you may have more success with one of the on-line services. Check Ebay for an unlocking service or do a simple search for one. Depending where you live you may be able to go to one of your independent phone dealers and get the service done. I have used a couple here in San Francisco. It should cost around $30 or so to get it done.

 

[techjunkieforlife]

Thanks Gerry.

I did a little Googling and ended up calling AT&T back as i was handed a bunch of BS from that first call. I did indeed get it unlocked from AT&T no problem as they love me long time. They will do this for good standing customers with devices that have been out for at least 3-6 months. I only do it before an overseas trip, so I'm not sure if they actually check to see if you fed them that line. I've had several unlocks from them now.

In case anyone is interested, you do need a SIM from another carrier to do this. If you boot up the phone with a SIM other than the carrier it is locked to you will get a number pad pop up for you to enter the unlock code. Punch in the code, it will confirm the code good and drop right to the home screen. Since I have a Samsung, I can use their network selector app now to choose the carrier. It did not show T-Mobile here in the US just Vodaphone (and AT&T) from the SIM I tested with. So I don't think it tells you what networks are available like other phones I've had, just networks you can currently use depending on the SIM fitted.