Someone told me that Apple would unlock my out-of-contract phones for me at the Apple Store (this turned out to be false, but maybe it was true at some point --I simply don't know). With a pocketful of iPhones, I walked into the Glendale Americana Apple Store for my Genius Bar appointment. I let them know beforehand when making the appointment that I wanted to unlock my phones for a vacation to Taiwan.
The Genius told me that Apple does not unlock phones in their stores, ever. Great.
He told me to go to an AT&T Corporate Store and get my phone unlocked there. They should be able to unlock my out-of-contract phone, he said.
Apple will not unlock carrier phones in their store, even if they're out-of-contract.
I walked a half mile down the street to the AT&T Corporate store. The greeter at the front asked me what I was here for, so I told her. "Hi I've got some iPhones I'd like to get unlocked for a vacation abroad. One of them is out of contract, so I was wondering if you could unlock them for me. The Apple Store told me to come here because you could unlock my phones for me."
Judging by the look on her face, it's as if I walked in and asked to see all the dead bodies they hide in the back room. "Ummm, hold on let me ask the front desk." she said. She went up to some dude at the desk and asked about unlocking phones. She came back and said, "Sorry, we don't unlock phones in the store."
WHAT?!
"You might be able to unlock the phone if you call customer service, though. Call customer service and ask for the unlock code," she added.
For a second I was overwhelmed by the size of this mobile phone bureaucracy. Here I was, standing --in the flesh-- in an AT&T Corporate Store, and they told me I need to call AT&T Customer Service myself to get the phones unlocked?!
No matter how nicely you ask, you're not getting out of this.
I walked into the corner of their small store and dialed 611 for customer service. I got a hold of a tech support guy, I'll call him Mark. Mark was rather nice and explained to me that they "may or may not be able to unlock" my phones. I gave him the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number for my out-of-contract iPhone 3GS to check his files. "Nope," he said. "It looks like we won't be able to unlock that phone."
"Are you telling me that my phones are permanently tied into the AT&T network???" I said, loudly (I hope the people in the store heard me).
"Yes, they are.... But, there is something you can do."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Some people have been able to manually unlock their phones through something called 'jailbreaking.' You can jailbreak your phones and unlock them that way."
I was well aware of jailbreaking, but I embarked on this journey to unlock my phone legally. I couldn't believe my ears --an AT&T Customer Service agent was telling me to jailbreak my phone.
"Hmm interesting," I said naively. "Is there some website I need to go to for this?"
"Uuuhhhhh, heh heh well just Google 'jailbreak iphone' and you should find some things. I shouldn't even be telling you this, but other customers are doing it and they know about it so you should look into it too. Make sure you do your research though, because you might damage your phone if you do it incorrectly."
"Alright," I said. "Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out."
Anyway, my iPhones have since been unlocked. They are jailbroken and unlocked. I could have jailbroken them before visiting Apple and AT&T, but I wanted to do it legally. I wanted to believe that American telecommunications companies like AT&T still had the interests of the customer at heart --I wanted to live the dream. But I was wrong. AT&T sent me on a wild goose chase to get the unlock codes, and in the end I couldn't get them.Something is clearly wrong with AT&T's locking practices if their own employees feel compelled to tell customers about "jailbreaking."
I believe that AT&T and other phone carriers like Verizon and Sprint are using unethical business practices to sell contract phones. I understand that my phone will be locked to the network during the 2-year standard contract, but after the contract is over, the phone should belong to the consumer (he paid for it, after all) and not the carrier. The consumer should be able to take the phone and use it on any network.
The use of permanent phone locks is especially unethical when you consider that Apple's iPhone 4s is being sold as an "international phone," sporting CDMA and GSM antennas in the body. The carriers will tell you that you can use the phone internationally, but unless you keep asking for details you'll find out that the phone cannot ever be used on other American carriers when you are in the States. Even when you buy a no-contract iPhone at full unsubsidized price, your phone is locked into the carrier you bought it from. Forever.
That is, unless you jailbreak it yourself.
I understand that AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are trying to protect their investments by locking consumers into their networks. If you buy a subsidized phone from them, it is in their best interests to keep that investment within the network by locking the phone. The carriers need to do a better job at explaining to consumers that their phones will be forever locked into their network before the consumer signs at the dotted line. I have a feeling that consumers would think twice before buying a phone from a carrier if they knew about all the network restrictions on their phones.
For a fantastic expose on unethical branding of "unlocked" iPhone 4S's, check out this article from Forbes magazine.
PS: I saw a girl with one of those iPhone bunny ear cases and thought it was the cutest thing ever. If you want to buy one, here's an Amazon link.
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