I'm still amazed that cellphone exclusivity continues to be permitted. It's ridiculously monopolistic - once your contract is up, your phone should be unlocked. Period. You've paid it off, so why force the lock after that time?

Go to horizonwirelessonline.com and pay them $15 (Canadian, about $14.50 US) and they will send you an unlock code in about a day. I did it a few days ago and it worked perfectly.

I had a similar problem. I lost my iphone but lucky for me my sister had an extra google phone. She got it directly from google so it was already unlocked. Yet my data plan will never fully work with AT&T because it is technically a Tmobile phone. So I'm stuck with this advanced phone with no internet connection!

Liza
http://projectlabel.org

There are sites that will send you unlock codes for your blackberry. I unlocked mine that way. Also, if you live in a big city like new york, there are all sorts of shops that unlock phones.

@computerwiz3491: but you have to pay... the point of the article is that the 2-year contract is used to subsidize the cost of the phone... he fulfilled the contract, tmobile should unlock the equipment... T&C that he searched for found no reason for tmobile to deny this unlock, only that he's no longer a customer

Look on eBay, you will find tons of same day providers that will unlock for under $10. Most of them would sail they will "mail" the code using USPS but they actually email it to you anyway right away.

He should be able to find a way to unlock it online. Google is your friend.

The online policy says that "T-Mobile customers must meet the following eligibility requirements"; at this point, he's not a T-Mobile customer, so by the strict wording of the policy he's not eligible. (By the strictest wording, even the 180-day post-cancellation option mentioned in the email could be made unavailable.)

Maybe he can find a friend with a current account, add the phone as an additional line on a family plan or something, and get the code that way?

That said, I still think T-Mobile should unlock his phone for him without requiring any such shenanigans; adhering to that strict a policy is defensible, but wrong. If it were up to me, carriers would be required to give customers unlock codes at the completion of a contract, whether or not the customer asked for them.

@solareclipse2: Not without it costing him money. Even if it's only $5-10; it's about principle.

Well I've always known that both AT&T and T-Mobile require you to be a current customer to unlock phones. You haven't been a customer for atleast 90 days if you aren't a customer. The last 90 days, you have not been a customer.

I do agree that they should unlock his phone. However, I always make sure I unlock my phones while my account is current If I wish for the phone to be unlocked.

T-Mobile (or AT&T) doesn't know the code. They email a request to the manufacture which responds. The Manufacture won't unlock either as their contract with T-Mobile stipulates that only T-Mobile can request the code.

Or Greg can unlock his Blackberry himself.

There are plenty of tools online that would give anyone the basic knowledge to unlock a phone.

I have done it with all my cellphones. All you need is an USB cable and some softwares. Howard Forums is a great place to start with.

[www.google.com]

Just call back and get a different rep. They should do it.

If the unlock code is generated from the IMEI number, he should be able to call AT&T and get them to generate one for him.

I've been with Cingular/AT&T and had them unlock 3 phones for times when I've traveled overseas and just wanted to use a pre-paid card.

@shifuimam: At least it's legal to unlock them yourself (if you can figure out how).

Before the Copyright Office granted that temporary exception, you were likely breaking a federal law just to use your own phone on a different network.

If you have a friend with tmobile currently, give them the model, the make, the imei and have them call in and request the code for you. Not that big of an issue.

And FWIW, the argument in this case is not against cell phone exclusivity, but cell phone locking.

You could always ask a friend or family member who *is* a current T-mo customer to hook you up; they don't care who owned the hardware first, they only care if it's a piece of T-mobile equipment.
Other than that, I had a good experience with cellunlock.net; there are several easy-to-find promo codes to lower the price, I have yet to see any phantom charges show up on my card, and I got my code within minutes.
It's perfectly reasonable for T-mobile to deny this request, as Greg is not a customer. Granted, any subsidies on the phone have been paid back through completion of the contract, and it's not reasonable to expect that any old blackberries are worth holding as exclusive, but at the same time, service (no matter how trivial it is for them to provide) costs money. Greg is no longer a customer (which may explain why the posted policies don't mention this situation; the policies are in place for customers).

@josephbloseph: I have done this many times in the past with my family's accounts. I am the oddball on AT&T, but I have unlocked 2nd hand phones this way.

This is a good example of why you should always get the thing unlocked right from the get go. When I first signed up with T-mobile years ago, they had some policy of giving the unlock code after a few months of a contract. Just make sure you do that and you don't have these issues going forward.

Reader Greg:

If you leave me a message here with your contact info, I'll take care of unlocking your phone for you. I'm a former Tmobile vendor and I can still handle unlock requests. I don't need your personal info or your SIM, just a few numbers off the phone. No charge, and no strings attached. I hate exclusivity. I unlock all my phones the instant I get them.

At this point, T-mo has zero financial interest in providing that service. Not to say that it's right, but I'm guessing that is how they see it.
I agree with other posters in saying the best way to do it is to go through a current tmo customer.
That failing, just google around!
Hey, at least your not dealing with Rogers... According to something that I read, they simply refuse to unlock phones, even for current customers, as of July of '07

@ChristopherDavis: Or it should be illegal to lock phones in the first place.

Try getting an unlock code from AT&T. This is what they say: To control theft of devices and to protect customer security, AT&T wireless does not provide device unlock codes for customers. The unlock code is a unique for each device as determined by the manufacturer. If you would like your phone to be unlocked, you will need to contact your device's manufacturer.

Be happy T-Mobile even provides the service to current customers.

Oh, lookey here: [consumerist.com]

Way to do the research consumerist.

So could ATT unlock a phone I have since I have been a customer for over a year?

@josephbloseph: Yeah I agree with this method if he knows someone with tmobile.

Google for "Blackberry unlock MML" and you'll find plenty of instructions and download links how to unlock every single model of blackberrys guaranteed.

I doubt the veracity of this story, frankly. What "connectivity error" did he get? Did he try calling T-Mobile phone support instead of relying on an automated system?

Use Horizon Wireless to unlock the BB for $19ish. [preview.tinyurl.com]

I use them at least 2-3 times a month for clients and have no complaints.

What's the [sic] for? "Cancelled" is correct. [dictionary.reference.com]

@Binaryslyder: I hope Greg sees your message-very nice of you.

Alex, there is no need for the [sic] after "cancelled," it is a correct alternative spelling.

@TancredoHelmer: That's what I do as well. I unlocked all my phones as soon as T-Mobile would. I am now using my T-Mo branded Curve on AT&T.

Though most people don't know why they should unlock their phone.

Should have gotten his phone unlocked when he cancelled service with TMO. Granted that TMO should unlock his phone as he fulfilled his part of the contract but it is unreasonable to string TMO for life being liable to unlock his phone after he did not have service with them for 4 years.

@temporaryerror:

At this point, T-mo has zero financial interest in providing that service.

That's true, but the OP could simply call back a dozen times and take up CSR time until he gets the result he wants. TMobile has to pay the CSR and the CSR cannot help current TMobile customers because they're helping him, so TMobile may end up losing some money or frustrating existing customers.

Plus maybe the OP found the Android phones intriguing and would have switched back to TMobile for one of them. No chance of that happening now because TMobile burned that bridge.

There is a cell phone kiosk at the local mall that will unlock phones for people. I'll bet there is something like that in your area if you have trouble finding a way to it for free on the Internet.

wireless exclusivity = NOT ok
Mac OS exclusivity on apple hardware = ok
just making sure

There is a Jail break for that one at Phone -Dev .org

@Jbjohn942: ATT HAS to give you the unlock code after 90 days if it is locked to their network.

I am going to take T-Mobile's side with this one. I have been with T-Mobile for many years and if I want to unlock my phone (which I do with all of them) I call them up and unlock it. It takes 5 minutes tops. He had 120 days from when he ended his contract to call up T-Mobile and say, hey can you unlock my phone? And T-Mobile would have been yes, yes we can. But no the Op didn't do that. Yes this takes some pre planning but we should all be used to this by now. If you get a discounted phone from a cellular provider its going to be locked. Getting it unlocked should be a high priority once you have passed any time limit the company may have. I believe with T-mobile I can unlock up to 3 phones a month. I think this should serve as a lesion as soon as you can unlock your phone do it because you never know when you might need to go overseas or loan to a friend who just trashed their phone.

@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: I don't think they have to, but I've done it by just asking nicely.

This is why I go prepaid and purchase my own unlocked phone for the full retail cost. Yeah, you might save a few dollars upfront on the cost of the phone, but the exclusivity contract just isn't worth it.

@shifuimam:

I'm still amazed that cellphone exclusivity continues to be permitted. It's ridiculously monopolistic - once your contract is up, your phone should be unlocked. Period. You've paid it off, so why force the lock after that time?

No it's not monopolistic, nothing tells you, you have to use a specific phone. My thought is if they get rid of exclusivity agreements, be prepared to pay full price for a phone right out at the gate. Plus that would relieve the carrier of any phone problems as well.

"oh your blackberry has a problem. Well you will need to talk to blackberry about that!"

The carriers would not have any incentive to support the phone or make apps work either. Since they wouldn't be responsible for equipment they wouldn't have to care if you can twitter from your phone or not. It wouldn't be their problem.

my thought is "go ahead" least then all the iphone people that are complaining now really will complain when they hear the price of the phone.

Ebay will become more popular then for phones.

you can go to various sites online to unlock your phone. For example at [www.gsm-unlock.com] I unlocked my sony ericsson w760a for ten bucks.

@consumerdave: Come on now - there's a difference between "exclusivity" and and giving a discount with a 2 year contract.

No one is saying that the wireless providers should stop giving discounts with new or renewed contracts, we are simply saying that they should not be allowed to add in artificial hardware incompatibility.

@consumerdave: That's how it is in China, and yet, the carriers still support and actively develop content for the phones they sell even without exclusivity. Moreover, people are happy paying for unsubsidized, pre-jailbroken real iPhones from local vendors.

@ChristopherDavis:
By the online policy, he doesn't have to do anything precisely because he isn't a current T-Mobile customer.

With AT&T, they have most of the unlock codes in the system already; if the rep can't get it, a supervisor should be able to access the program.

Also, with AT&T, they will unlock the phone while you are in contract if you are going to do international travel (or you say you are). They make your phone eligible to make international calls and then give you the code.

When I was with AT&T, we could unlock phones from closed accounts if the person had bought it at a yard sale or eBay.

I don't know what T-mobile's rules are to unlocking for intl travel, but it might be worth a try for those with that carrier.

He is not with T-mobile anymore and has not been for a few years, simple as that. It cost T-mobile money to get an unlock code for that phone. He broke his phone so he should cough up the money for a new one, not place blame on a company he is no longer a customer of.

@georgi55: Only reason they say they 'mail' codes is because it's against eBay's TOS, IIRC, to sell electronic items like that and that said electronic items must be sold by way of Classified Ads.