Unlock iPhone T Mobile

[Technerd108]

I am not sure where the proper place for this post is but I thought I would try here.

I bought a iPhone 13 Pro Max through t mobile but I picked up the phone at Best Buy. I upgraded and traded in my iPhone 11 Pro Max. Paid the difference for the trade up front.

According to T mobile I have fulfilled all the requirements to have my phone unlocked.

I bought it on a post paid account and recently switched to a pre paid account.

It has been 3 weeks calling T mobile and getting shuffled back and forth between departments. They even sent my call to Apple, now they are saying because I bought it or picked it up from Best buy that Best Buy has to unlock the phone?

I have spent countless hours just trying to get the phone unlocked. I am very upset with T mobile and was wondering if anyone else has gone through a similar situation and what they did to resolve the situation?

I will never buy another locked phone again. And I am seriously considering leaving t mobile. If you are a prepaid customer it is like you are a second rate citizen.

 

[chabig]

I don't have a lot to add, I'm afraid. That sounds like a terrible situation. But to my knowledge, Best Buy doesn't lock phones. Phones are locked to carriers, not retailers. So T-Mobile has to unlock it.

Out of curiosity (and please don't take this as anything other than a simple question), are you sure your phone is locked? To check, go to Settings -> General -> About. Scroll down until you see Carrier Lock, if you see a message that says "No SIM restrictions", it means that your iPhone is unlocked. If you see something different, your iPhone is locked to that carrier.

By the way, was the phone you traded in locked? If so, I could see the lock carrying over to the new phone...maybe. I'm just throwing ideas out there.

 

[Technerd108]

I don't have a lot to add, I'm afraid. That sounds like a terrible situation. But to my knowledge, Best Buy doesn't lock phones. Phones are locked to carriers, not retailers. So T-Mobile has to unlock it.

Out of curiosity (and please don't take this as anything other than a simple question), are you sure your phone is locked? To check, go to Settings -> General -> About. Scroll down until you see Carrier Lock, if you see a message that says "No SIM restrictions", it means that your iPhone is unlocked. If you see something different, your iPhone is locked to that carrier.

By the way, was the phone you traded in locked? If so, I could see the lock carrying over to the new phone...maybe. I'm just throwing ideas out there.

Appreciate your response.

Yes I have checked the settings, about and sim lock. It is locked. I have also a new sim from Boost mobile and it won't work because it says the device is locked to a carrier.

My previous iPhone was unlocked.

I also told the t mobile rep that Best Buy doesn't lock phones, you do. Then today they proceeded to tell me that if you buy from a 3rd party like BestBuy then it may not even be eligible to be unlock at all.

I said let me understand this, you are telling me if I buy a locked phone from a 3rd party that there is a chance it can't be unlock? Even though I paid the device off. It doesn't state that on the mobile website or BestBuy when I bought the phone?

She said she put the request in and will call me tomorrow. This is the same response I have received numerous times now.

It seems like unfair business practices. iPhones are not hardware locked by default. So whatever story they are telling me is a lie. They just need to send a software command to my phone.

I will never buy a locked phone again, specifically not from T mobile.

I was transferred to Apple on one call because they said since it was an Apple phone they had to do something to unlock. Apple told me to reset the phone and as long as t mobile unlocked it I should be good. I reset it and it was still locked.

I don't know who to go to but this seems like an illegal practice to keep you locked into a carrier.

 

[chabig]

I don't know what to say. I'm sorry you seem to be stuck. I personally quit buying locked phones a few years ago. I only buy unlocked from Apple. But my son has purchased unlocked directly from T-Mobile. I think having the third party in the middle is what created your problem.

 

[Technerd108]

I don't know what to say. I'm sorry you seem to be stuck. I personally quit buying locked phones a few years ago. I only buy unlocked from Apple. But my son has purchased unlocked directly from T-Mobile. I think having the third party in the middle is what created your problem.

I suspect you are right.

My issue is I want to use an unlimited plan from Boost which is only $25 a month. I wanted to keep my IPhone 13 pro max and use it on the new network.

I have a few days before I will get billed for T mobile prepaid plan and I was hoping to unlock before I made the switch because I feel like if the process is this bad as a customer it will likely be only worse if I make the switch before I unlock it.

I may just trade in the phone for another but I like the 13 and don't want to get rid of it. I don't plan on buying a 14.

I was kind of hoping someone might have some helpful advice.

 

[Banglazed]

I suspect you are right.

My issue is I want to use an unlimited plan from Boost which is only $25 a month. I wanted to keep my IPhone 13 pro max and use it on the new network.

I have a few days before I will get billed for T mobile prepaid plan and I was hoping to unlock before I made the switch because I feel like if the process is this bad as a customer it will likely be only worse if I make the switch before I unlock it.

I may just trade in the phone for another but I like the 13 and don't want to get rid of it. I don't plan on buying a 14.

I was kind of hoping someone might have some helpful advice.

Yup, you are stuck. You can purchase a GSX report to get the activation/tether policy applied to your device. Retailer like Best Buy, Target etc use a Reseller Flex policy that allow them to set it to any carrier but complicate to unlock. You’ll need to resolve it with Best Buy or escalate your issue with Apple. Do not buy from retailer in the future and stick to either carriers or from Apple.

 

[Technerd108]

Yup, you are stuck. You can purchase a GSX report to get the activation/tether policy applied to your device. Retailer like Best Buy, Target etc use a Reseller Flex policy that allow them to set it to any carrier but complicate to unlock. You’ll need to resolve it with Best Buy or escalate your issue with Apple. Do not buy from retailer in the future and stick to either carriers or from Apple.

Thank you for your advice. I will follow up with both.

 

[Technerd108]

So I have spoken with BestBuy, Apple and neither say they can help me and that only T Mobile can unlock the phone. For the 5 days I have called T mobile customer service for over an hour or two each time.

They said on the 9th speaking to a customer service supplier that the phone was approved for unlock on the 6th. It would be unlocked yesterday. I just need to reset the phone. I did so and it is still locked.

I am on the phone now for an hour and a half and they keep telling me first it is an unknown seller, then when I tell them it is BestBuy they say you have to contact BestBuy and I told them I spoke with geeksqaud activation specialist and they said that only T mobile can unlock the phone. Then they say Apple has to unlock and I told them I was previously transferred to Apple and Apple said only T mobile can unlock the phone. So now I am on hold to see what they can do.

This is a total scam on part of T mobile. I am so upset about the fact that none of this is told to you when you buy the phone. If I knew that unlocking would be a problem if I bought from BestBuy I wouldn't have bought from BestBuy. Now they are saying they might not be able to unlock the phone? Unbelievable. They have to unlock it legally don't they?

 

[eyoungren]

According to T mobile I have fulfilled all the requirements to have my phone unlocked.

Did you have the phone active on the network for 40 days?

You can buy outright, but the requirement is a minimum of 40 days of use on the network. Aside from the postpaid/prepaid switch this is still true.

 

[eyoungren]

So I have spoken with BestBuy, Apple and neither say they can help me and that only T Mobile can unlock the phone. For the 5 days I have called T mobile customer service for over an hour or two each time.

They said on the 9th speaking to a customer service supplier that the phone was approved for unlock on the 6th. It would be unlocked yesterday. I just need to reset the phone. I did so and it is still locked.

I am on the phone now for an hour and a half and they keep telling me first it is an unknown seller, then when I tell them it is BestBuy they say you have to contact BestBuy and I told them I spoke with geeksqaud activation specialist and they said that only T mobile can unlock the phone. Then they say Apple has to unlock and I told them I was previously transferred to Apple and Apple said only T mobile can unlock the phone. So now I am on hold to see what they can do.

This is a total scam on part of T mobile. I am so upset about the fact that none of this is told to you when you buy the phone. If I knew that unlocking would be a problem if I bought from BestBuy I wouldn't have bought from BestBuy. Now they are saying they might not be able to unlock the phone? Unbelievable. They have to unlock it legally don't they?

Try reaching out to T-Force on either Facebook or Twitter.

T-Mobile

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T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) / Twitter

T-Force = Customer service gurus: Billing trailblazers: Tech scholars: Un-carrier fanatics: Wireless experts.

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You are wasting your time calling. Phone support for most business is simply a series of gatekeepers designed to eliminate the company's problem, which is YOU calling them. It's not designed to help you and they don't educate customer support beyond the rote scripts necessary to get you off the phone.

T-Force has a little more authority and knowledge to do things. Note that you should treat them as if you are sending them an email. Response times are at that speed.

 

[NoBoMac]

What @Banglazed said. Lots of threads here over the years about locked phone gotchas when going BB, Walmart, Target, etc. For example, this recent thread where member is trying to get a phone bought through Walmart unlocked years later.

 

[Banglazed]

Try reaching out to T-Force on either Facebook or Twitter.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile. 7,943,355 likes · 67,702 talking about this · 50,885 were here. Welcome to the T-Mobile USA Facebook community, home-base for the Un-carrier revolution. Social Support from 3:00 am - 9:30...

www.facebook.com

T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) / Twitter

T-Force = Customer service gurus: Billing trailblazers: Tech scholars: Un-carrier fanatics: Wireless experts.

twitter.com

You are wasting your time calling. Phone support for most business is simply a series of gatekeepers designed to eliminate the company's problem, which is YOU calling them. It's not designed to help you and they don't educate customer support beyond the rote scripts necessary to get you off the phone.

T-Force has a little more authority and knowledge to do things. Note that you should treat them as if you are sending them an email. Response times are at that speed.

I agree. You may have better luck with T-Force by supplying them with your IMEI, phone number and purchase receipt. If the device is not registered in their network, then they may need to manually add it and then possible unlock it afterward. This may be the reason why some carrier requires that the device needs to be activated and active on their network for a few days before they can unlock it.

 

[eyoungren]

What @Banglazed said. Lots of threads here over the years about locked phone gotchas when going BB, Walmart, Target, etc. For example, this recent thread where member is trying to get a phone bought through Walmart unlocked years later.

A lot of that is down to Apple's Retail Flex policy for third party retailers. The Flex policy allows a device (typically purchased unlocked) from a third party to be locked to the carrier of the first inserted SIM card. So, you buy an unlocked device from BB, insert your carrier's active SIM and bam the device is locked to your carrier.

The complication comes from the fact that the IMEI may already be in Apple's unlock database, but because it was purchased from a third party that IMEI is not in the CARRIER'S database. So the carrier doesn't see this as their device. Getting the IMEI added to the carrier's whitelist and THEN getting the carrier to submit the unlock to Apple is the headache.

Apple has supposedly stopped using the Flex policy, but who really knows.

 

[NoBoMac]

OP might not really be eligible yet for an unlock. Per this page, need to invest $100+ on pre-paid line of service before can be unlocked.

 

[Technerd108]

Thanks for all the comments. I have used the phone on T mobile network for more than a year. As for Pre paid I have spent over a hundred dollars as of yesterday. I was transferred numerous times to post paid because I didn’t meet pre paid eligibility but I did on post paid. Now that I made a third payment my eligibility requirements should be satisfied for both. Supposedly the phone has been whitelisted. It was also supposedly approved for unlock on the 6th. According to Apple they have nothing to do with unlocking the phone.

As I stated I was on the phone yesterday for over 2 1/2 hours and they hung up on me twice. I have spoken to supervisor and regular agents.

As for T mobile the IMEI is listed as unknown seller. They said they whitelisted and requested unlock yet nothing changes on my end.

I understand that they are trying to get me off the phone but if I keep calling them then wouldn’t they understand if they just unlock the phone then I will stop calling?

I don’t generally buy locked phones. But the iPhone was a good deal at the time and I didn’t see myself switching from T Mobile. Now my budget has tightened and I needed to lower my monthly bills. So I found an unlimited plan that is very cheap.

I am going to keep bothering them a bit more because I want to keep this iPhone. However Google has an excellent deal right now on a Pixel 7 Pro and high trade in value. Essentially the phone is free if I trade in my iPhone and it will be unlocked. I am not sure though as my 13 pro max is just about perfect.

One thing is I am done with T mobile as a carrier after this month.

 

[spotalertzero]

I would love to help you out.

Let me tell you my story with tmobile happened a week before. I bought two iPhone 13 pro Max with tmobile. Both of them was paid off during purchase itself. As per the unlock guidelines the iphone needs to be active on T-Mobile network atleast for 40 days for postpaid. I spoke with the sales support before purchase even they confirmed that phone can be temporarily unlocked twice with the duration of every 30 days and also they confirmed that phone can be taken outside of the country internationally. Also they confirmed me that tmobile only lock primary physical sim not ESIM and they informed me to use ESIM internationally in the local provider of the international country.

Now the bad part of the story...

The phone is now outside of the country and primary physical sim with tmobile active line even today, tied activating ESIM with local provider but didn't work as tmobile locked both primary and esim.

Called tmobile customer support transferred to several team spoke with them for more than 3 hours to regular reps and supervisor from technical support. None of them was helpful at all instead they found some answers while i am speaking with them and made clear notes on the account. So that next rep will review it.

1. Phone was already taken outside of usa, so as per supervisor roaming usage even with tmobile not considered as usage in their network. So option they provided me was to bring my phone back to usa use it in tmobile for total of 40 days in my postpaid account and request for unlock.

2. Even supervisor informed me that phone was locked by apple not tmobile, anyone needs to be active atleast 40 days in tmobile USA network to unlock.

3. Even with further pain, supervisor documented everything in the account so even if try future rep they won't help after reading the account notes.

Workaround from tmobile force through Facebook.

I read several reddit forums from the previous users as per the advice i followed the below.

1. First i contacted the tmobile force in the Facebook messenger and i authenticated my account via Facebook messenger.

2. Informed that i have upcoming international travel and phone was fully paid off at initial purchase itself and requested for permanent unlock.

3. Agent assigned to me replied back saying you haven't completed 40 days and informed me to wait till Jan 10.

4. I replied back to him saying to help atleast with temporary unlock and also requested that i need only ESIM unlocked not the primary physical sim.
Note: As far apple iphone is concerned there is nothing called temporary unlock once unlocked it's permanent and also unlock means both the sims will be unlocked whereas in Android tmobile can do unlock and relock several times as it is allowed with them.

5. The agent saw my reply and replied back to me saying as a one-time exception he unlocked my iphone 13 pro Max immediately and unlocked reflected in the iphone immediately ( phone was connected to wifi internationally). I am with them for almost 13 days now.

6. When you are chatting with Facebook rep chat with almost sweet gesture and add several thanks, please, use many kind words to attract him and he should think to help him before he leaves the chat.

7. For me as i have another Fully paid device active inside the USA i will use the another device properly for 40 days request unlock after 40 days and disconnect both the lines before the end of second month.

8. Also in the past before 4 years i used/bought iphone Xr from Costco with carrier tmobile and even they unlocked after 2 weeks of usage but that was former tmobile feathered account so they unlocked easily.

The recommendation for you after reading all the above posts.

1. As mentioned by you that you used in the postpaid account see you have bill for initial purchase, and also old bills that you used for atleast 40 days. Keep all the receipts handy. I won't recommend to follow the prepaid path even still you have used for more than 365 days and completed more than 100$ refills.

2. If you don't have a tmobile account create New postpaid account or re-establish the old tmobile account you closed. Basically you are doing this so that you can authenticate your account via the Facebook messenger if you don't have valid live account then self authentication is not possible and it will further delay.

3. Port in or bring a new number but use the same phone was still locked with tmobile.

4. Use the phone in the tmobile account atleast for a week.

5. Now in the chat request them that you have upcoming international travel and need unlock incase if they ask share them the proof that it was fully paid off device and was with tmobile in different account or say them someone's else friend account.

6. They will unlock it for you considering you paid off and also you satisfied 40 days with them in the past but now you are with them again.

7. Once unlocked verify it in the device Settings - About - Carrier lock - it will show as NO SIM RESTRICTIONS

8. Use your line with tmobile atleast for a month, simply cancel or port out to some other prepaid operator before the cutoff date for next month. That's all.

9. End of day T-Mobile have cheapest plan of tmobile essential for 60 per line or 100 for two lines with auto-pay you can save another 5 dollars per line. Total i am paying for now is 90$ plus tax and other fees roughly another 10 dollars.

10. If any of the approach still don't work you can still pay for two months and happily unlock after 40 days and port out in the end of second month.

Hope you can unlock your phone with T-Mobile let me know how it goes contact me for any other help.

 

[eyoungren]

According to Apple they have nothing to do with unlocking the phone.

They don't.

The way this works with iPhone is that the carrier submits the unlock and Apple puts the IMEI in their unlock database. The next time your iPhone checks in with Apple, unlock status is checked and since it's now in the unlock database a new activation policy gets applied OTA (Over the Air) to your iPhone. That unlocks it.

But only the carriers can submit the unlock and only Apple can insert the IMEI into the unlock database.

I understand that they are trying to get me off the phone but if I keep calling them then wouldn’t they understand if they just unlock the phone then I will stop calling?

Right now your only avenue to use the phone at all is through T-Mobile. Yes, you stop calling and they lose money to another carrier.

Perhaps I am cynical, but rarely is the customer's best interest in the best interest of a business.

 

[Technerd108]

So I have been called by a supervisor twice and today after saying I bought a non T mobile phone that my whitelisting was denied by T mobile. They are such liars. Basically saying BestBuy has something to do with unlocking the phone.

I told the rep you are saying to me that a phone I bought locked to T mobile and used on T mobile network for over a year is not a T mobile phone and not able to be unlocked by T mobile but no other party is responsible or can unlock my phone? BestBuy is a seller and so is Apple. T mobile provides the software lock. So it is T mobile simply not abiding by their own standards and requirements to unlock the phone? So I will get a call in 24-72 hours as they emailed a last resort department to unlock my phone but it is not guaranteed that they will even get the request approved.

I can’t tell them I am traveling because I already told them numerous times that I am trying to sell my iPhone as an unlocked phone to get more money in the sale. Also it should not matter why I want it unlocked it is my right as a consumer who fulfilled their requirements.

Never ever buying a locked device again and F T mobile for being complete d!cks.

 

[Technerd108]

I haven’t used Facebook in several months. But I just messaged T mobile from the previous post link. I will update if they respond and what happens.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

 

[eyoungren]

I haven’t used Facebook in several months. But I just messaged T mobile from the previous post link. I will update if they respond and what happens.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

If all else fails…file complaints with the BBB and the FCC.

 

[Technerd108]

Okay so I activated my Facebook account after being away for several months and went to the T-MOBILE link provided in the posts above and shared my experience with a representative there.

After I explained the situation and gave them proof of purchase and IMEI number they said it will be unlocked by Thursday.

I am a little skeptical that it will be that easy but if it unlocks by Thursday I will be very happy. Now I know what to do if I need customer service with T mobile. I am still rather upset with them in general by my experience and I shouldn't have to go to social media to get a resolution. I understand that my voice has a little more power if they know potentially a lot of other people might know my bad experience but they should treat their customers better no matter how a customer reaches them.

Thank you so much to those that shared the Facebook link. It seems to have made a huge difference. We will see what happens in a few days and I will update to let everyone know.

 

[Technerd108]

OP might not really be eligible yet for an unlock. Per this page, need to invest $100+ on pre-paid line of service before can be unlocked.

I have paid over $100 this month plus I was on post paid account for over 365 days. Both meaning I meet eligibility requirements. Spoke to numerous agents who already said that I met their eligibility requirements but thanks for the input.

I was initially a post paid customer and was using the phone via my post paid account for over a year before I switched to prepaid. Now I have been a Prepaid customer for 3 months at $35 a month equalling $105.

 

[Corgirat]

I have paid over $100 this month plus I was on post paid account for over 365 days. Both meaning I meet eligibility requirements. Spoke to numerous agents who already said that I met their eligibility requirements but thanks for the input.

I was initially a post paid customer and was using the phone via my post paid account for over a year before I switched to prepaid. Now I have been a Prepaid customer for 3 months at $35 a month equalling $105.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the troubles you are going through but I have to ask. Did you notice any differences in speed or coverage between post paid and pre paid? I’m thinking about switching to prepaid for some odd reason, but AFTER my device installments are fulfilled in a few months. Thanks to this post I learned something

 

[Technerd108]

This has absolutely nothing to do with the troubles you are going through but I have to ask. Did you notice any differences in speed or coverage between post paid and pre paid? I’m thinking about switching to prepaid for some odd reason, but AFTER my device installments are fulfilled in a few months. Thanks to this post I learned something

No worries. No I haven't noticed any difference. I have a 10gb data and unlimited everything else.

I had mint mobile before I switched to T mobile a little over two years ago and even though they were on the same network the reception was very different. I live in the hills of Las Vegas and couldn't get any reception near my home when I first moved here. Once I switched to T-Mobile I had reception and it has gotten better over the past couple years.

I would stick with T mobile prepaid as it offers the best price and best reception but the Boost offer of unlimited data for $25 a month is too good not to try out. If it isn't as good I will probably switch back.

My post paid account bill was around $70 a month just for comparison.

 

[Corgirat]

No worries. No I haven't noticed any difference. I have a 10gb data and unlimited everything else.

I had mint mobile before I switched to T mobile a little over two years ago and even though they were on the same network the reception was very different. I live in the hills of Las Vegas and couldn't get any reception near my home when I first moved here. Once I switched to T-Mobile I had reception and it has gotten better over the past couple years.

I would stick with T mobile prepaid as it offers the best price and best reception but the Boost offer of unlimited data for $25 a month is too good not to try out. If it isn't as good I will probably switch back.

My post paid account bill was around $70 a month just for comparison.

$25 a month is a great deal. Please let me know how you like it. I’m on T-Mobile post paid for $50 a month for years now. There are occasions where I lose data connection here and there, or gets really slow even when my usage was just 2gb. No way over 50gb. But for the most part it’s pretty fast. I watched a YouTuber saying prepaid had faster 5g than postpaid so I’ll try it out just to see the differences.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It really helps. Finger crossed for Thursday!