AT&T unlock guide
How to unlock your AT&T phone
AT&T will unlock most phones for free in about two days. This is how to do it, what the requirements actually mean, and what every one of AT&T's refusal messages is really telling you.
Which of these is you?
There are two ways to unlock an AT&T phone and the right one depends entirely on whether you can prove the account. Find yourself here first.
Use AT&T, free
You have the account details, or the phone was yours from new. AT&T does this in about two days and charges nothing.
- •You are on the account, or were
- •You bought the phone new from AT&T
- •You can get at the account number or passcode
This is where AT&T leaves you stuck
The form assumes you can answer questions about an account you might never have had. If any of these is you, the free route usually ends in a refusal you cannot argue with.
- •You bought it secondhand and the seller has gone quiet
- •AT&T says it has no record of the handset
- •It came from a company and nobody knows which
- •You are not in the US and cannot pass the account checks
Some links on this page are partner links. If you unlock through one of them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or what you pay.
The short version
Go to att.com/deviceunlock, put in your IMEI, and click the confirmation email within 24 hours or the request is cancelled. AT&T takes up to two business days and does not charge for it. Your phone needs to have been bought at least 60 days ago, be paid off, not be reported lost or stolen, and not still be sitting on somebody else's AT&T account.
First, check it is actually locked
Plenty of phones people are trying to unlock are not locked at all, and some have a problem an unlock will never fix. Our free check reads the IMEI and tells you the lock status, the original carrier, and whether the handset has been blacklisted. Worth 30 seconds before you spend anything.
Check my IMEI freeWhat AT&T requires
Four things, quoted from AT&T's own support article so you can see the wording rather than my summary of it.
Bought more than 60 days ago
You purchased your AT&T Wireless℠ device more than 60 days ago. It isn't active on another AT&T account.
AT&T wants the device to have been sold at least 60 days before you ask. Separately, the line has to have been active for 60 days. These are two different clocks and getting them confused is the most common reason a request that "should have worked" comes back denied.
Paid off in full
You paid for your device in full at purchase or paid it off through an installment plan. Your installment balance must be zero before unlocking.
Instalment balance has to be zero. When you can ask depends on how you cleared it, and the three answers are genuinely different.
Not reported lost or stolen
Your device hasn't been reported lost, stolen, or involved in fraud.
No unlock service anywhere can move a device off this flag. If your IMEI is reported lost, stolen or fraudulent, unlocking is not your problem and paying someone will not fix it.
Account not past due
If you're a current AT&T customer, your bill can't be past due.
Any past due balance on the account blocks the request, including on a different line.
When you can ask, depending on how you paid
"Paid in full" hides three different waiting periods, and almost nobody writing about this breaks them apart.
| How the device was paid for | When you can submit |
|---|---|
| Instalment plan, paid off through your monthly bill | Ask at the start of your next bill period |
| Instalment plan, paid off early | Number active 60 days, then wait 48 hours after the final payment |
| Paid in full when you bought it | 60 days from the purchase date |
AT&T Prepaid is a mess at the moment. The help article was updated in June 2026 to say twelve months of paid service. The request form and the message it shows when it refuses you both still say six. Assume twelve if you need certainty, but try at six, because being told no costs you nothing.
Doing it yourself, free
Seven steps, and AT&T charges nothing. Read step five before you start: the confirmation email expires after a day, and a request nobody confirms is cancelled rather than queued. That single detail is behind most of the "AT&T ignored me" complaints on the internet.
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01
Find your IMEI
Dial *#06# and it appears on screen. It is also in Settings, under About. If your phone takes two SIMs, or it is an iPhone 14 or newer, you have two IMEIs. Use the first one.
-
02
Open the AT&T unlock form
It is at att.com/deviceunlock. There is no charge for using it and you do not need to be a current customer.
The first screen of AT&T's unlock request form -
03
Answer the AT&T customer question carefully
Step 1 of 3 asks whether you have a mobile number from AT&T, and Yes is already selected when the page loads. That default is the single most expensive thing on this form. If you have left AT&T, or you bought the phone secondhand, you have to change it to No. Leave it on Yes and you get refused with a message about the device no longer being active on an AT&T account, which reads like a dead end but is only a wrong radio button.
Answering No if you are not currently with AT&T -
04
Fill in the account details it asks for
For a current account that means the last four of the account number or your passcode. If you answered No, it asks for the IMEI and your contact details instead.
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05
Click the confirmation email within 24 hours
AT&T sends a link and it dies after a day. Miss it and the request is cancelled with no further warning. A good share of the people who say AT&T ignored them are actually people whose confirmation email went to spam. Check the junk folder before you assume anything.
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06
Wait up to two business days
AT&T says up to 48 hours. You can watch it at att.com/deviceunlock/status, though that page stops answering after 20 checks in a day.
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07
Finish the unlock on the phone
Approval on its own does nothing visible. On an iPhone, put in another carrier's SIM, or back up, erase and restore if you have not got one. Android phones ask for the code AT&T sends. Enter it carefully: get it wrong too many times and the phone loses the ability to be unlocked at all, permanently. Samsung allows ten attempts, Sony and ZTE five.
When paying somebody makes more sense
AT&T's own form is free and works for most people, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. It also assumes you can answer questions about an account you might never have had. If you bought the phone secondhand, or AT&T has no record of it, you can end up stuck in a loop the form has no exit from. That is what a paid service is for.
Worth paying for
- +AT&T has no record of the handset, or it was sold by Cricket, FirstNet or another network
- +It is an ex-corporate device and the company that bought it is long gone
- +You cannot prove account ownership because you bought it secondhand and the seller has vanished
- +You are outside the US and cannot work through AT&T's account checks
- +You would rather hand it to somebody than chase AT&T yourself
Nobody can help with
- −The IMEI is reported lost or stolen
- −The device is blacklisted
- −It is still active on somebody else's AT&T account
- −There is money still owing on the instalment plan
If you are in the first column, our partner handles AT&T unlocks by IMEI without needing your account details. If you are in the second, save your money. A service that takes payment for a blacklisted IMEI is either confused or lying, and there are plenty of both.
Unlock through our partnerSome links on this page are partner links. If you unlock through one of them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or what you pay.
If you bought the phone secondhand
This is where most people get stuck, and AT&T's form is not built for you. It wants an account number, a passcode, or the last four of a social security number belonging to somebody you have probably never met. There is no option that means "I own this phone but I was not the one who bought it".
One thing is worth trying first, because it is free and it works more often than people expect. When the form asks whether you have a mobile number from AT&T, answer No. Answering yes when you are not on the account is what produces the "no longer active on an AT&T account" refusal, and a lot of people read that as a dead end when it was just the wrong button.
If that comes back refused, you have run out of free options. An IMEI unlock does not need the account at all, which is the whole reason the service exists.
Unlock without the account detailsBefore you pay anyone, run the IMEI through our free check. If it comes back reported lost, stolen or blacklisted, no service on earth can unlock it and you should be talking to the person who sold it to you instead.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you unlock through one of them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or what you pay.
Every AT&T refusal message, decoded
AT&T tells you no without telling you much. These are the messages its form actually shows, what each one means, and whether paying anybody would change the outcome. Find yours and read across.
| What AT&T told you | What it means | What to do | Paid service? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your account must be active for 60 days before we can unlock your device. ULS_8991 | The line has not been active long enough. This is about the line, not the handset. | Wait until the line hits 60 days, then ask again. | Won't help |
| We can't unlock your device until 60 days post-purchase. ULS_8992 | The handset itself was sold less than 60 days ago. | Wait until 60 days after the purchase date. | Won't help |
| You can't unlock your device until your installment plan is paid off. ULS_8030 | There is still a balance on the device. | Clear it. If you pay it off early, wait 48 hours and make sure the number has been active 60 days. | Won't help |
| We can't unlock this device because it has been reported as lost or stolen. deniedLostStolen | The IMEI is flagged. This is a different problem from a carrier lock and a much worse one. | Nothing here will help. If you bought it secondhand, go back to the seller. | Won't help |
| We can't unlock this device because it's currently active on another AT&T account. deniedImeiActive | Somebody else still has it on their account. Usually the person who sold it to you. | The previous owner has to remove it. There is no way around this one. | Won't help |
| We can't unlock your device because it's no longer active on an AT&T account. deniedDataNotFound | You told the form you have an AT&T number when you do not. | Submit again and answer No to the question about having a mobile number from AT&T. This one is a wrong click, not a real refusal. | Won't help |
| Account lock is turned on. ULS_8997 | AT&T's Wireless Account Lock, which exists to stop SIM swap fraud, also quietly blocks unlock requests. | Turn it off in the AT&T app under the person icon, then submit again. | Won't help |
| We're unable to unlock this device because it's an AT&T corporate-owned device. deniedCOUDevice | It was bought by a company, not a person. Common in secondhand stock. | The company that owns it has to authorise the unlock. | Get it unlocked |
| We can't locate it in our database of devices sold by AT&T. ULS_9003 | AT&T has no record of the handset. Often it is a Cricket, FirstNet or other network's device. | Check who actually sold it. This is one of the few cases where a paid service can sometimes get further than you can. | Get it unlocked |
| Service for this device was canceled within the 14-day return policy period. ULS_9000 | Somebody bought it and cancelled inside the returns window. | This is a permanent block on AT&T's side. | Won't help |
| You've tried to enter your IMEI too many times. We can't unlock this device. deniedFraud | Too many attempts, or a flag inherited from a previous owner. AT&T files this under fraud, which alarms people more than it should. | Call 800.331.0500 and ask them to look at the account rather than resubmitting. | Won't help |
| It looks like you didn't confirm your unlock request. deniedEmailConfirmFailed | The 24 hour confirmation link expired. | Submit again and watch for the email. Check spam. | Won't help |
Questions people actually ask
How long does AT&T take to unlock a phone?
Up to two business days. Most come back inside 48 hours. If nothing has happened after that, check whether you clicked the confirmation email, because an unconfirmed request is cancelled rather than queued.
Does AT&T charge to unlock?
Not through the online form. AT&T does reserve the right to charge people who are not customers, in the consumer code it publishes, though in practice the form does not ask for payment.
Can I unlock a phone I still owe money on?
No. The instalment balance has to be zero first. If you clear it early, the line needs to have been active 60 days and you wait another 48 hours after the payment.
I bought it used and AT&T says it is on another account. What now?
The person who sold it has to remove the device from their AT&T account. Nobody can do this for you, and any service that says otherwise is taking your money for something it cannot deliver.
Will unlocking fix a blacklisted IMEI?
No, and they are separate things. A blacklist flag follows a phone reported lost, stolen or left unpaid, and it stops the phone working on any network. An unlocked but blacklisted phone is a Wi-Fi device. Check the IMEI before you pay anyone.
Do I need an unlock code for an iPhone?
No. iPhones unlock against Apple's servers once AT&T approves it. Only Android phones use a code. iPads and Apple Watches are never locked in the first place.
AT&T Prepaid: is it six months or twelve?
AT&T contradicts itself. The help article was updated in June 2026 to say twelve months of paid service. The request form and its own rejection message still say six. Assume twelve if you want certainty, but try at six, because a refusal costs you nothing.
I am in the military. Is it different?
Yes. Send TCS or PCS documents and you may not have to finish an instalment plan. You get four days to send them or the request is cancelled. Fax 214.782.6442 or email deviceunlockreceipt@att.com. AT&T does limit how many devices it will unlock this way.
Can I use the unlocked phone in the UK or Europe?
Once it is genuinely unlocked, yes, subject to the bands the handset supports. Do it before you leave the US. No shop in the UK can clear an AT&T network lock, whatever the sign in the window says.
Where this came from
Everything above was taken from AT&T's and Apple's own pages and checked on 21 July 2026. AT&T changes this policy without announcing it, so if you find something here that no longer matches, tell us and we will fix it.