My phone is locked to your service only and I paid cash and bought through best buy

Have you used the online unlocking portal?  What message do you get?

https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/

The fact that you paid full price means nothing to the phone being locked.  Best Buy doesn’t sell unlocked iphones, only Apple does.  Their phones either come already locked to AT&T and are sold with an AT&T  SIM and plan, or they are sold under Apple’s Flex Reseller program where the phone doesn’t come with a SIM, but locks to the carrier of the first SIM inserted.  The buyer has a choice of which SIM to use, and if it’s an AT&T SIM, the phone locks itself to AT&T.  That locking process is Apple’s doing, not AT&T.

Does the phone meet the unlocking eligibility requirements as shown on the unlock page?  Specifically the 60 days after purchase if you paid full price, or 6 months if you used prepaid?  Was the phone actually used on AT&T’s network?  If not, the IMEI of the phone might not have been registered in AT&T’s database, and can’t be found by the unlocking portal.

@mctasha22 Best Buy traditionally only sold iPhones tied to carrier accounts.  Either prepaid or with a postpaid plan.  

People get confused because the phones are sold locked, but the actual carrier they lock to depends on how activated (often the first SIM inserted).  

Best Buy has a few models now they sell as unlocked, but you have to be careful that it actually is unlocked.

Yes I’ve tried the phone had g been used for 2 years and I haven’t been with AT&T for at least a year it just says it can’t process my request and tells me to check back in 24-48 hours I’ve tried multiple times 

I bought an unlocked iPhone @ kevink

it wasn’t tied to a carrier because when I bought it I hadn’t switched services yet.

How do you know it's locked?

In Settings, tap “General,” then select “About.” On the “About” screen, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and locate the “Carrier Lock” item. If you see “No Sim Restrictions,” then your iPhone is unlocked. If it says “SIM Locked” (or something similar), then your iPhone is locked to a particular carrier.

Hi @mctasha22. Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We are more than happy to assist with your device unlock request.

Have you tried to submit a unlock device request. We are asking these questions just to clarify and make sure we give you the correct steps to follow.

Here are a few steps to walk you through on how to unlock  your device

1. Go to att.com/deviceunlock.
2. Select Unlock your device and follow the prompts

• Check your email(including spam or junk folders) or text messages for updates on your request. If you don't have a wireless phone account, you have to select Confirm your request in the email we sent you.
• Go to att.com/deviceunlock/status and follow the prompts
• It usually takes a few minutes to approve your request, but it can take up to 48 hours. Dont have a wireless account. Make sure sure you select Confirm your request in the email we sent you or request will be canceled.
• If we don't approve your request, its probably because your device isn't eligible to be unlocked. Review the list of eligibilty requirements.

Once your request is approved, check your text messages or email for instructions and an unlock code(if required) Iphones don't have unlock codes.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Brittany, AT&T Community Specialist.