Unlocking your Cingular Phone
From HowardForums Wiki
If you want to unlock your Cingular phone, you have to call Cingular customer service and ask them for the subsidy unlock code. It is important that they understand what you want so that they don't confuse your request with assistance to get the security PIN or PUK code to unlock your SIM card. The subsidy unlock code is for your phone, not for your SIM card. Therefore, if the customer service representative doesn't understand what the subsidy unlock code is, sometimes it is necessary to explain that you are going overseas and you want to be able to use a foreign pre-paid SIM card in your Cingular phone and that's why you need to unlock it.
Cingular will take your information and will request a subsidy code for you to a different department. This department will send the unlock code back to the CS. CS should then return your call (about 5 to 7 days later) with the unlock code and specific instructions on how to enter it. You can request they email you the information as well. Once CS receives the code, they can to pull the subsidy code immediately. Therefore, if they don't email or call you back, you can call them again and ask for the code. If they have it, they should be able to give it to you right away.
There are two requirements to meet before Cingular will give you the unlock code:
1) The first requirement is that the phone's IMEI number must be in your account for at least 90 days. Sometimes they don't check how long the IMEI has been in your account but they do check to see it it is there. So sometimes you can get away with having the IMEI in your account for less than 90 days. In other words, you can call today to have them enter an IMEI in your account, and then tomorrow call again to request the subsidy unlock code.
2) The phone has to be a Cingular branded phone. Cingular WILL NOT and CANNOT unlock phones that are not Cingular branded including those branded by the former AT&T Wireless.**
(What about phones bought for full retail price? Seems like it should be possible to get these unlocked immediately. I know one person who paid full retail for a Cingular phone back in 2003 and used it immediately with a T-Mobile SIM.)
Another possible (unconfirmed) requirement is that the phone was purchased from Cingular/AT&T, and not from a third party such as Let'sTalk.com or other similar outfits.
If you do not meet these requirements, you may be able to get your phone unlocked by a third party vendor who provides unlocking services. The Marketplace in Howard Forums is one source for such vendors.
Go to Howard Forums Marketplace
Former AT&T Wireless customers (aka, Cingular Blue):
If your phone is branded AT&T Wireless the account will need to be canceled, either by migration, port out, or straight cancelation in order to get the unlock code. Once the account is canceled call CS and they will apply for the unlock code and it will come back in 5-7 business days.
Cingular Blue corporate accounts should go through their corporate rep to obtain the subsidy unlock code.
