The Samsung Galaxy S24
TurangaLeela's profile

Tutor

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12 Messages

Wednesday, December 27th, 2017 2:16 AM

Unlock request approved, but phone is still locked to AT&T

Hi there,

I am not an AT&T customer, but I received a Samsung S8 Plus from my brother that was used on AT&T. I have been going around in circles trying get it unlocked so I can use it on Boost for about 3 months. Boost tells me the phone should work on their network once it's unlocked. My brother has requested the phone be unlocked at least 3 times, and i have done it twice. Every time, it is approved, and we are sent the same unlock code. But there's nowhere to enter it. With a Boost sim card in the phone, it starts up with the AT&T logo and apps and wants me to set up an AT&T account.

 

I've called a store and been told I need to wait for a third email AFTER the "unlock approved" email for it to work. I've gone to a store and been told there was nothing they could do but request it to be unlocked again. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with a rep who eventually said my brother should just request another unlock because mine wasn't associated with the original account, or something to that effect. I called again tonight and a rep straight up said, "Nothing we can do, sorry." I can't understand how the company the phone is locked to is either unable or unwilling to help. 

 

I know for a fact that the phone is paid off. Every time i receive an unlock approved email, there are no instructions. It just says this:

 

"Unlock instructions:

 

Contact your manufacturer if you have additional questions.

 

Thanks for choosing us,
AT&T"
 
Samsung said they can't help either. I'm at a loss. Does anyone have any idea why this might be happening? Thanks in advance.

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

ACE - Sage

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116.4K Messages

6 years ago

To complete unlock on Samsung phones, 

 

IMG_5477.JPG

1 Attachment

ACE - Sage

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116.4K Messages

6 years ago

Boost is Sprint.  ATT android phones will not work on Sprint.  In fact with only a couple of exceptions, no ATT phone will work on Sprint or Verizon

 

Tutor

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12 Messages

6 years ago

Thanks. I'm getting conflicting information on this, but assuming you're correct, the phone still seems to be locked to AT&T, and no one has any ideas on how to unlock it.

Tutor

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12 Messages

6 years ago

Nothing happens when I enter anything on the keypad. The first AT&T rep I talked to gave me three or four different things to enter and nothing happens.

ACE - Sage

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116.4K Messages

6 years ago

Tutor

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12 Messages

6 years ago

Well, that's the first time entering anything in the keypad accomplished anything. It did take me to a debug screen, but all the options were different, and since I have no idea what I'm reading there, I figured I'd better not mess with it too much.

 

Anyway, thanks for trying. I am having the same frustration on the users on the thread you linked. AT&T is the only entity that can help me, and they're saying sorry, no idea. Kind of frustrating.

ACE - Sage

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116.4K Messages

6 years ago

Do some google searches on the issue.  Unfortunately, ATT did it’s part by providing the code.  If the phone isn’t responding correctly, it becomes a Samsung issue.  

The phone is still under warranty.  

Unlocking still would not make it compatible with Boost/Sprint, the G955A is GSM only.  

Had he purchased G955U, it would never have been locked and universally compatible 

 

 

Tutor

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12 Messages

6 years ago

Thanks. I did some searching last night and though a lot of people seem to have had the same issue, I didn't really see a resolution. It is a G955U though. Even if I can't use it with my network, I'd still like to unlock it. But no matter what SIM card is in it, the prompt to enter the code just doesn't come up.

ACE - Sage

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116.4K Messages

6 years ago

If it’s a G955U, perhaps it’s not locked?  Does it have ATT boot screen animation?   Have you tried your SIM card and power cycled the phone?  

 

Tutor

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12 Messages

6 years ago

Yep it still boots up with AT&T. I have tried power cycling, resetting, different SIM cards, starting it without the SIM card, starting it with the SIM card (all things the first AT&T rep had me do). The second one pretty much said tough luck. Her only suggestion was maybe my brother didn't actually pay the phone off (I know he did) or I send the phone back to him and have him go to an AT&T store and demand they fix it. But when I took it to a store, they said they couldn't do anything and sent me to the customer service line.

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