AT&T Starts Unlocking iPhones: Customers Gripe Over Long Delays

10.04.2012
Want to unlock your off-contract AT&T iPhone to use with competing GSM carriers such as U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile? As reported last week, , the only hitch is it may take up to a week for AT&T to process the request even though AT&T claims it only takes minutes.

Here are the hassles I'm dealing with trying to unlock my old AT&T iPhone 3GS. And judging from other iPhone owners seeking to unlock their AT&T iPhones I'm far from alone.

The minute I heard AT&T officially allowed me to unlock my iPhone I wanted to go for it. Better yet, AT&T said it would walk iPhone users through the process, making the entire procedure easy. With AT&T itself unlocking my iPhone this allows me to avoid trying alternative back alley unlock hacks that . Better yet, since AT&T sanctions the unlock it does not invalidate my iPhone's warranty.

To get started, you have three choices to perform the unlock process: you can call customer care, use AT&T's online support system, or walk into a retail AT&T store.

After AT&T receives your unlock request it confirms the phone is off contract and that your account with AT&T is in good standing. Next, AT&T forwards your unlock request to Apple which activates the unlock command through a restore feature in iTunes. Now, in theory, just plug your iPhone into iTunes and Apple sends an unlock command to the phone, and you're done.