How to unlock AT&T phone for T-mobile?
By
HuutiMoney
This blog post will give you information related to unlocking the AT&T phone for the T-Mobile network. It will also provide a piece of information about checking the compatibility of your phone, and steps to unlock your phone manually.
How to unlock an AT&T phone for T-mobile?
Use the following steps to unlock AT&T phones.
- Open the device unlock portal of AT&T and click on the “unlock device” option.
- Enter your phone number.
- Enter your name and email address and complete the form.
- Within 24 hours, and you will receive the confirmation email from AT&T, you will have to click the link in the email.
- AT&T will provide you with more information on how to unlock a specific device.
A Brief introduction of T-Mobile
T-Mobile is the third-largest wireless network provider in the United States. T-Mobile is a German telecommunication industry and it has some investments in other mobile communication industries in the United States
T-Mobile USA has a network sharing agreement with Cingular Wireless, an American mobile operator. Due to this, T- mobile has access to some top markets in the USA.
Which carrier is used by T-Mobile?
Mainly, there are two carriers, namely GSM and CDMA. GSM stands for “Global System for mobile”. It is second-generation cellular technology. Another carrier is CDMA, and CDMA stands for “code division multiple access.” T-Mobile is a GSM network carrier, and it is used for mobile voice and data services.
What is AT&T?
AT&T is in the American Telephone and Telegraph industry. It is the second-largest telecom industry in the United States. It’s headquartered in Downtown Dallas, Texas. The technological invention of AT&T provided a base for the world’s telecommunication industry. AT&T also makes use of the GSM technology.
Effect of carriers on unlocked mobile
- A locked GSM phone can be unlocked using a unique code, and the operator can be changed.
- AT&T uses GSM carriers, but Verizon and Sprint have CDMA carriers.
- Since AT&T and T-Mobile use the same carrier (GSM), you can use it with T-Mobile if you unlock a phone from AT&T.
- The CDMA carrier is more restrictive. So unlocked phones from Verizon cannot be used with sprint.
- Before unlocking the phone, one should check whether it is compatible with other carrier networks or not.
What do you mean by a locked AT&TPhone?
The primary reason cell phones are locked is to keep users under contract. For example, if you are an AT&T Mobile user, you will contract with an AT&T Mobile wireless carrier. Under the contract, if you purchase a new phone, the cost of the phone will be broken up, and it will be added into a two or three-year contract.
This cost will be divided into EMIs, and it will be adjusted into the monthly bill. It will be in addition to service charges. Under such circumstances, the phone will be locked with AT&T Mobile wireless carrier.
If you wish to change the carrier, you should request unlocking your cell phone. You are generally unlocking the phone means you will have to pay extra to remain out of the contract.
Eligibility criteria to unlock AT&T phones
One can unlock AT&T phone devices, provided that the following criteria are satisfied.
● The cell phone must have been sold by AT&T.
● The cell phone should not be reported as blocked or lost.
● An account concerned with the Device must be active. For postpaid devices, the account should be active for at least 60 days, and the prepaid device should be active for at least 6 months.
● Your account should not have any past due balance.
How to unlock devices manually?
You can also unlock different phones manually. Especially for LG devices, AT&T doesn’t allow you to unlock the phone. In such cases, a manual method is used.
Following are the steps to unlock different phone devices manually.
How to unlock iPhone devices?
You can use the back and erase method to unlock your iPhone device.
- Firstly, create a backup of your phone in iCloud.
- Erase the phone device.
- Restore the device using backup files.
How to unlock LG phones?
This method is not applicable if you have a SIM card from AT&T plans. It is applicable only if you have a new SIM card.
- On your device, open the “Settings”.
- Then open the menu “network and internet”.
- Click on “mobile network”.
- Click on the “network unlock”.
- Finally, restart your phone.
How to unlock Samsung phones?
If your Samsung phone doesn’t have a current AT&T phone plan then the following steps are used to manually unlock your phone.
- On your device, open the “Settings”.
- Click on “connections”.
- Click on “connection settings”.
- Select “network unlock”.
- Restart your phone.
How to check the compatibility of your phone?
Even if you have an unlocked phone, you need to check the compatibility of your device on the T-Mobile network. Use the IMEI number to check whether your device is compatible with T-Mobile or not.
How to check IMEI?
To check the IMEI number of your device following steps are used.
- From the Home screen, select Main Menu.
- Scroll to and select Settings.
- Scroll to and select Phone Settings.
- Scroll to and select Phone info.
- Scroll to and select Version info.
- Scroll to and view the IMEI.
You can find the number in your iPhone’s settings.
Go to Settings > General, then About.
Or
On the dial pad screen, press *#06#, and you will see the IMEI. Some phones require you to press the send key after the code.
Once you have the IMEI number you can directly go here to enter your IMEI number there and click on check.
How to retrieve PIN?
Open “My AT&T” and complete the signup process.
- Click on the “Forgot PIN” option
- First Enter your mobile number and then request a PIN.
- Click on the option “send PIN”.
- Select “Continue”.
How to check whether iPhone is already unlocked?
For the iPhone, make use of the following steps to check whether your phone is unlocked or not.
- Go to the “settings” and click on the “connections” option.
- Select mobile network.
- Select “network operator”.
- Click on the “search now” option.
Are all iPhones compatible with T-mobile?
Almost all iPhones are compatible with T-mobile. But depending upon the model of your iPhone, some features may not work. The following table shows a summary of some iPhone models.
| iPhone model | Network | Band |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 7 and 7plus | 3G and 4G | 66,71 |
| iPhone 8and 8plus | 3G and 4G | 71 |
| iPhone X | 3G and 4G | 71 |
| iPhone SE | 3G and 4G | 71 |
| iPhone 11 | 3G and 4G | 66,71 |
| iPhone 12 | 3G and 4G | 66,71 |
Is it worth using AT&T phone for T-Mobile?
We will prefer T-Mobile for its unlimited plans and good data speeds. AT&T provides better coverage, but its plans will cost you more. Even though we might prefer T-Mobile over AT&T because of its cost, you may prefer AT&T for superior performance. Comparing unlimited plans of both the network providers, T- mobile has an edge. Some unlimited plans from T mobile are cheap, and you get more premium data.
As far as unlimited data plans are concerned, T mobile Magenta and Magenta Plus plans are cheaper than corresponding AT&T plans. You can save $5 per month by choosing any of these plans compared to corresponding AT&T plans. If you are concerned only about family plans, then almost all family plans of T mobile are cheaper and more flexible than corresponding AT&T plans.
For a T mobile prepaid plan, you have to pay $40 per month for 10 GB of data. While for the similar plan in AT&T, you need to pay $40 per month for 8 GB of data. Presently, AT&T has significantly improved its coverage area. For the 4G network, AT&T covers 68% of the country, whereas T mobile covers 62%.
On average, the T-Mobile network provides much faster 5G speeds compared to AT&T. If you have a 5G mobile with a T mobile network, you can expect internet speeds of about 85 Mbps. While having 5G on AT&T network internet speed over just 52 Mbps. So, for 5G mobile phones, the T-Mobile network is much faster than AT&T mobile network.
Can you keep the current phone number and switch to T-mobile?
Yes, you can keep your old phone number when you transfer to T-Mobile. The next step will be to select a suitable phone plan.
T-Mobile phone plans
Under this category, we will consider the following significant plans
- Unlimited plans
- Family plans
- Prepaid plans
Unlimited plans
It is a plan which gives unlimited text and voice for the entire month. It also includes unlimited data. But after reaching a specific data limit, the data speed is affected, and it is reduced.
Technically, these plans are unlimited, but the fact is that speed gets reduced as you go on using premium data.
Family plans.
T-Mobile network providers give reasonable offers for family plans. If you add lines, then the cost per line will get reduced. For the magenta max family plan, if you add one line, the cost per line will be reduced by $15. If you add more lines, you can bring the cost down to $40 per line. It’s a perfect offer for totally unlimited and high-speed data. Speed up to 30 Mbps or even more can be obtained.
Prepaid plans
T-Mobile offers its prepaid plans. The range of prepaid plans is from $45 to $75 per month. You can avail 4GB of LTE data for $45 and 10GB of data for $50. At the higher end, T-mobile offers unlimited data plans for $75.
How to activate SIM with T-Mobile?
To activate your SIM card, use the following steps.
- Log in to your T-Mobile account.
- Provide the security verification details.
- Select the option either SIM or eSIM.
- Enter the EID number of your phone. It is the serial number of your device.
Below are other T-Mobile articles you may be interested in:
Can T-Mobile recover deleted text messages?
Can T-mobile account holders see internet history?
Can you use a straight talk phone with T-mobile sim card?
Conclusion:
This blog explains to you all the ways by which you can unlock AT&T phone for T-Mobile. This blog gives you details about checking compatibility with the T-Mobile network, and steps to activate your Phone with the T-Mobile network.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs): How to unlock an AT&T phone for T-mobile?
Are all cell phones locked?
All cell phones are not locked. The cell phone purchased from a carrier under contract is locked. However, if you purchase a phone directly from the manufacturers, it is unlocked. In this case, you can easily switch from one carrier to another.
What do you mean by a locked phone?
A locked phone is a mobile device tied up with a particular mobile carrier network. If you purchase a new cell phone under some contract, it is locked.
How to set up your iPhone with T-Mobile?
- Check out the compact ability of your phone.
- Check out whether your phone supports the frequency band of T-Mobile carrier.
- Use “online SIM is checker” to find out which SIM card is suitable for your device.
- Set up and configure your iPhone.
Is T-Mobile’s phone plans better than AT&T?
As far as unlimited data plans are concerned, T mobile Magenta and Magenta Plus plans are cheaper than corresponding AT&T plans. You can save $5 per month by choosing any of these plans compared to corresponding AT&T plans.
Both network providers give reasonable offers on family plans. If you add lines, then the cost per line will get reduced. All family plans from T mobile are cheaper than AT&T family plans.
In the case of both service providers, AT&T and T-Mobile, you will get prepaid plans which are less expensive than the corresponding postpaid plans.
Is it worth switching from AT&T to T-Mobile?
Yes, T- mobile is better than AT&T. Because it offers cheaper data plans and superior data speeds. On average, the T-Mobile network provides much faster 5G speeds compared to AT&T.
Does T-Mobile use Verizon or AT&T towers?
Both T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM, that’s why in some areas T-Mobile does use AT&T towers, whereas T-Mobile does not have towers of their own. But they do not share hardware and signals.
References:
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