Confusion about AT&T unlock instructions

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Level 1

8 points

Confusion about AT&T unlock instructions

I am preparing to sell an off-contract AT&T iPhone SE (2006). I reset it and then afterwards I decided to request that AT&T unlock the phone so I would be able to sell it as an unlocked phone to a wider pool of potential buyers. AT&T approved the unlock request. The email from AT&T says "we approved your unlock request. Use these instructions to unlock your device. *Using a non-AT&T SIM*: remove your SIM card and insert the new SIM card. *Using an AT&T SIM*: backup and erase the iPhone and restore from backup. *Contact apple support if you have additional questions*".

I do have this additional question: I am selling the phone so I don't know if my future buyer will want to use the phone on AT&T or not. I think I want to remove and dispose of the old AT&T SIM card and just sell it that way, noting that the phone does not come with a SIM card and is unlocked. Is that fair to say--even though AT&T's unlock instructions suggest that the unlocking is not complete until the new SIM is inserted.

iPhone 6, iOS 12

Posted on May 31, 2020 3:13 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Michael Black

Level 10

80,629 points

May 31, 2020 5:37 PM in response to russcoleman

Just complete the unlock first and the buyer can use any carrier in the world they wish to. All you now have to do is erase it in iTunes - choose to restore as new, and when it’s done you will get a message in iTunes confirming it is now unlocked.

Then, don’t set it up, just shut it off, take your AT&T SIM out, and sell it. The buyer will find it boots right into the welcome and setup menu and go from there.

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Answer 2

MrPRTR

Level 2

349 points

May 31, 2020 4:15 PM in response to russcoleman

To be fully sure, I recommend you do a factory reset on the iPhone and if your able to use another carrier SIM in the phone (sometimes you can get free pay-as-you-go SIM cards from different carriers) it will 100% prove it's unlocked so you can factory reset the phone again to sell it with piece of mind. Hope this helps :)

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Answer 3

russcoleman Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 1, 2020 11:18 AM in response to Michael Black

After upgrading macos to Catalina in order to communicate with the phone, I restored the iPhone as new with Finder, which is the Catalina way of doing it. At the end of the restore, there was no message saying anything about the phone being in unlocked status. However there was a message about "activation failed". The phone booted into the welcome menu as you said it would. I guess all is fine?

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Confusion about AT&T unlock instructions

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