Advertisement

PSA: AT&T now unlocking out-of-contract iPhones

In case you've been living under a rock (or enjoying the weekend holidays), AT&T on Friday revealed its plans to start unlocking out-of-contract iPhones. However, customers looking to take advantage of the deal will have to meet a few requirements first, which include having an account in good standing (so pay those past due fees before inquiring), a fulfilled contract, paid an early termination fee or that a handset upgrade was done. The unlocking process can be achieved at any brick-and-mortar shop, online via chat or by dialing AT&T's 611. For what it's worth, we tried this and found it to be pretty straightforward. In this writer's case, it only took about 40 minutes after the initial approval went through. The most tedious step was that required restore, after which we were greeted with a joyful "congratulations your iPhone has been unlocked" message. Still, users are reporting mixed results: depending on whose account you believe, AT&T is asking users to wait 72 hours, or telling folks the unlock will complete on April 16th. Be sure to let us know in the comments how it's all turning out for you.