AT&T Community Forums

Cannot unlock ZTE phone purchased from AT&T

I went through the process on line and waited four days for an unlock code. The instructions say to use the "soft key". What is that? even if I follow what I can of their instructions, I never get to a place where I am asked for an unlock code. They sent two sets of instructions. One set was if you still had your AT&T sim card. The other was for if you did not have an AT&T sim card. I have an AT&T sim card. My account is active on another phone. This was misplaced for over a month so I purchased a new one. I want to unlock the old one to use in Mexico. It has not been used since 2016. Since it is a go-phone, there is no unpaid balance due or contract that has been broken. I tried calling customer service and have been disconnected twice so far. I paid for this phone and sould be able to use it. Why s there no on at AT&T who can or is willing is help?

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ATTHelp

Community Support

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231.3K Messages

5 years ago

Hello @1santacruz,

We can definitely provide you with some more information about the unlock process. The soft keys are the buttons on your device that are usually right below your cell phone's display screen. The function of these buttons will change depending on the corresponding text on your cell phone's display screen. Once you've received the email confirming AT&T has approved your unlock request, please follow these
instructions to complete the unlock for your ZTE device.
Please keep in mind that five unsuccessful unlock attempts permanently locks the device to the AT&T network.
1. Insert a non-AT&T SIM card.
2. Power on the device.
3. The device displays “Phone locked. Please insert a valid SIM card.”
4. Select Unlock (left soft key).
5. The device displays “Please enter network unlock code (16 digits). Remaining: X.”

6. Enter the 16-digit unlock code.
7. Select OK (left soft key).
8. Select OK to reset the device.

Let us know if this helps.

Sean, AT&T Community Specialist

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1santacruz

Contributor

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2 Messages

5 years ago

I was able to unlock the phone when I changed to a Telcel (Mexican) sim card, however, I was not able to make the phone act as a hotspot even though it is a smart phone. I called AT&T and they told me to go to Telcel in Mexico. Here, in Mexico, the Telcel people (of course) said it was a problem with the phone. It works as a telephone and I was able to send text messages but I was not able to set it up as a hot spot. We ended up buying a new phone in Mexico.

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