IMEI not recognized, but it's a att phone

Okay we're going to get to the answer to your question in a roundabout way...

Have you submitted your orders and canceled your AT&T service with number held?

Please read... 

https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1046235/

You will either need to return the phone or pay it off. And because you only purchased it a week ago, it is likely better you return the phone.  The IMEI would not be registered in AT&T database for unlocking for 2 weeks.   This is why submitting an unlock request has been on fruitful. If you've already paid off the phone and still want to keep it, you will have to contact AT&T directly let them know that you have submitted your deployment orders and set up service cancellation and wish to unlock your paid off phone. They will have to manually search the IMEI to do so. 

AT&T stores do not unlock phones and they cannot handle your military cancellation. 

If you have not yet processed your deployment orders for military cancellation, you need to do that before AT&T will unlock the phone even after the phone is registered

Formerlyknownas,

First off I appreciate you responding and thank you for your time. To answer your first question I have not cancelled my service with ATT but I have scheduled a military suspension of service through the support system. That way I still pay off the phone but don't pay for service.

Now all I need to do is unlock it, per the att unlock portal active duty military on orders can get their phone unlocked without it being payed off. But as stated the portal doesn't recognize my IMEI. So I'm not sure the military suspension and the military cancelation are the same thing. At this point I've gotten the run around by every att support system and will have to work it while deployed and when I return I planned on staying with ATT but if their service is like this I probably won't be.

Once again thank you for replying any help is greatly appreciated.

-Hunter

Formerlyknownas,

Sorry I seem to have missed something in your response, are you saying my IMEI will not populate in their system till after 2 weeks?

Thank you -hunter

To answer your first question I have not cancelled my service with ATT but I have scheduled a military suspension of service through the support system...So I'm not sure the military suspension and the military cancelation are the same thing.

They are the same thing. You are not actually suspending your service, you are cancelling it but ATT is holding your number.  Read the support article linked above, note it says “cancel” and “reactivate”, not “suspend”. If you did not follow the process outlined in that article and had support suspend your service, you may find you will continue to be billed. Suspension of service does not stop getting billed for it.

@sandblaster 

Interesting, the support said otherwise but at this point I honestly don't think they even know what they're talking about. I appreciate your help and will re do it through that process rather than with the call support. And how long till my IMEI populates in their system for unlock? Above mentioned possibly 2 weeks?

Thank you -hunter