The T-Mobile unlock lie

S
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Here is my story as of 8/15/23:

 

I’m a T-Mobile prepaid customer for several years and was happy with the company so far.

I lost my phone on 7/15/23 (ouch) and bought a new Motorola razr+ from T-Mobile on 7/16/23 for $999. Since I knew that I will be abroad for several months, it was important to me that I can also use the phone with a non T-Mobile operator. Thus at the shop the salesperson and me carefully read T-Mobile’s “Unlock your mobile device” page (https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy).

 

It says:

  • If the device was activated less than 365 days ago, then the Prepaid account associated with the device must have had more than $100 in refills during that period for each line active on the account.  In addition, more than 14 days must have passed since the device was purchased.

I refilled my account with two payments ($100 and $20), left the US on 28/7/23 and expected to unlock my device 14 days after purchase.

 

Which didn’t work.

 

After hours with T-Mobile customer care, my understanding is that the “We're committed to providing you with clear information about unlocking your mobile device.” (cited from the aforementioned web page) is not clear enough for the team who implemented the unlocking system. As far as I can tell, unlocking is based on days active on the network and has nothing to do with the date of purchase of the device whatsoever.

 

Hence the last sentence should read as “In addition, the device must be active for more than 14 days on the T-Mobile network” instead of “In addition, more than 14 days must have passed since the device was purchased.”

 

“Purchased” vs. “activated” - why does it matter you may ask? Well, it does in my case. I’m abroad (not on the T-Mobile network) and won’t return to the US for several months. I can’t unlock my $999 phone and most likely must buy a second phone to use here. Needless to say that I wouldn’t have bought the phone in the first place if T-Mobile would have been honest about their unlocking policy.

 

Thank you, T-Mobile for lying to me and all the time, material and money wasted.

12 replies

H
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Userlevel 6
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The Motorola Razr+ is a great phone. I have one myself and it has been great to travel with because it folds small enough to fit securely in my pocket, so I don’t have to worry about it falling out and getting lost. Unlocking devices nowadays is supposed to be super easy because the whole thing is automated. That means you should not have to have anyone approve the unlock once it is eligible. I saw your other post that provided some screenshots of your purchase and account payments. I removed the post because it did show your account number and this is a public site so we want to keep that stuff under wraps. When you meet the unlock eligibility requirements, you can go directly to Settings and tap on About Phone. There is an option there that says Device lock. When you tap on that it does an automatic check and shows the current lock status and whether or not you met the requirements. You will want to make sure your T-Mobile SIM is install or eSIM is activated and connect to Wi-Fi. Have you gone to that screen on your phone? What information does it say there? That information is going to be the best indicator for what steps come next for getting your device fully unlocked. 

S
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Thanks for your reply. I’m aware of the settings page to unlock the device. The issue is that T-Mobile did not implement the eligibility requirements the way they are stated on the web page. That’s why I call it a “lie”. For whatever technical reason, the 14 day period (since the purchase, as stated on the page) is implemented as the device being active on the network for 14 days. In most cases that’s the same, since most users will use their phone after the purchase on the T-Mobile network. However, in my case, I left the US within the 14 days. While I fulfill the requirements regarding the purchase (as stated on the web page), it seems that T-Mobile can’t unlock my device because it was not active for 14 days (only 12 days I’ve been told by customer service). I would appreciate if they can come up with a creative solution (e.g. add more temporary unlocks) until I’m back in the US (and on their network, I keep paying my bills). or simply unlock my device. The page suggests that they can make exceptions (as under “Military and other exceptions”).

syaoran
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Userlevel 7
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You still have to meet the on network usage requirements as outlined in T-Mobile’s SIM Unlock Policy.  In a lot of cases, your device must be connected to the T-Mobile USA network to process the SIM unlock when you meet the requirements.  

Unlock eligibility for mobile devices on Prepaid plans

  • At least  365 days  must have passed since the device was activated on the T Mobile network.
  • If the device was activated less than 365 days ago, then the   Prepaid account associated with the device must have had more than $100 in refills during that period for each line active on the account.  In   addition, more than 14 days must have passed since the device was purchased.
  • No more than 2 mobile device unlocks have been complete per line of service in the last 12 months.
  • T‑Mobile may request proof of purchase or additional information in its discretion and certain other exceptions may apply.

SIM Unlock Policy | Unlock Your Mobile Wireless Device | T-Mobile

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
S
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As mentioned in my post, the requirements stated are not the ones implemented in the (unlocking) system:

  • If the device was activated less than 365 days ago, then the   Prepaid account associated with the device must have had more than $100 in refills during that period for each line active on the account.  In   addition, more than 14 days must have passed since the device was purchased.

The bold part is wrong. According to customer support, the system requires the device to be active for more than 14 days. Hence they should either fix their system (take into account the purchase date instead of number of days active) or change their web page (probably easier for them to do). The requirements as stated on the web page are simply not true. 

 

BTW, temporary unlock works from abroad. It’s really an issue with their system counting the wrong days.

syaoran
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Userlevel 7
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The way I read that.  It seems pretty clear.  Condition one and two as well as the rest of them are cumulative, not independent.  In the first point, it mentioned the device must be activated, which implies use.  Also, the first full day the device is used on the network is the first day.  Not half a day or whatever to the next half a day.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
S
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The device was activated on 7/17/2023. The device was active (I made and received calls with T-Mobile, sent and received text messages) for 12 days (confirmed by customer support). So the first condition (If the device was activated less than 365 days ago) is fulfilled.

S
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Device purchase:

Refill:

A few days of call / message log:

 

I really can’t see which requirement I’m not fulfilling. I’m still convinced that their unlocking system is not implemented according to the terms stated on the web page.

H
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Userlevel 6
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From the screenshots you shared and the information from the terms, it does seem like the device is eligible for unlocking. You mentioned that you are familiar with the unlocking screen in the settings. Can you share a screenshot of the unlocking screen when you attempt to unlock the device in settings? That is going to give us a giant clue to what link in the chain is missing. 

Thanks!

S
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Here we go:

 

S
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According to T-Mobile support, there is nothing wrong with the refills. It’s all about the number of days active.

F
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Userlevel 7
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it says or...not that both are needed for it to be unlocked. couldnt enlarge your pic showing whats been spent so far but from what i could see it didnt look like its been refilled for $100 worth yet.

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S
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Here are the refills of $100 on 7/19/23 and $20 on 7/24 /23 enlarged. Purchase and activation of device was on 7/17/23 (see one of the above screenshots):

 

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