Question

Tmobile Keeps Failing to Unlock my Phone, lying about the status and dropping my calls

  • 27 August 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 256 views
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I leave for Europe in 2 days. For the last 2 weeks I have been on over 2 hours of calls with T-mobile representatives. My phone is eligible for a simcard unlock and has been for years. For the first week Tmobile reps claimed that there was an issue with my phone and that the fault was with apple. After following up on another 30 minute call a tmobile rep then left me on the phone with an apple rep who after 40 minutes confirmed that apple had absolutely nothing to do with Tmobile being unable to unlock my phone.

 

I call tmobile again, woman puts me on hold to “speak to her supervisor”, then after 20+ minutes without taking me off hold she TRANSFERS me to an irrelevant service line in broadband connections. The broadband connections rep, Jason, was actually super helpful and noted that my phone being an insurance replacement had something to do with the difficulties, and that he would forward the issue to management. He said it should be solved in a matter of hours. Within the hour one of the previous indian tmobile reps called back stating the device status was unlocked.

 

Unfortunately this was a bald faced lie. My device still showed as SIM locked in the settings. And now after 2 more days, my phone is still locked according to tmobile website and decice settings.

 

I am leaving to Europe in 2 days. Why has Tmobile been so utterly useless in the simple task of unlocking a phone? Can I file a lawsuit against tmobile for the cost of purchasing an unlocked phone to use in europe? 

5 replies

gramps28
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Userlevel 7
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Out of curiosity have you ever had a warranty claim and the phone was replaced? Also have you ever had any other phones unlocked in the last 12 months.

Also did you buy the phone directly from Tmobile or a 3rd party reseller? If the latter there's the Apple Flex policy that locks the phone to the first sim and the imei number isn't in Tmobile's system as a phone they sold.

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Yes, the phone is a warranty replacement from over a year ago. Phone bought direct from tmobile store otherwise and no other phones unlocked in the last 12 months.

When tmobile put me on the phone with an apple rep they told me there’s absolutely nothing they can do from their (apple’s) end after consulting with her entire team.

 

 

gramps28
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Userlevel 7
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The warranty replacements imei number needs to be added to Tmobile's data base. Don't believe Apple since they control all aspects of their phones. Was the warranty replacement done through Apple care or Tmobile insurance!

tidbits
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Userlevel 6
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If both Apple and T-Mobile did everything correctly. Then you may need to connect to iTunes  or do a factory reset. 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201328

Even though Apple says carriers are in control of unlocking it's bullocks. Carriers have to SUBMIT an unlock request to Apple for devices to get unlocked. If carriers could unlock devices like any other device they sell then carriers wouldn't need to submit anything.  

H
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Userlevel 7
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Unlocking devices is super important when travelling and should be a really easy process. Having calls that take hours and having to make those calls a bunch of times sounds exhausting. Gramps28 and Tidbits are correct. iPhones rely on their connection to Apple’s systems for many things like iMessage, FaceTime, and security. There has to be updates between T-Mobile, your phone, and Apple’s systems so everything syncs that it is eligible and unlocked. Since your device was a warranty device, things can get a little stickier, so going through the steps that Tidbits linked would help synchronize everything and should show your phone as unlocked. 

I have very limited account access, but if you send me a DM with the IMEI number then I can take a second look at the unlock status and make sure all ducks are in a row. You can also message our customer support team on Facebook or Twitter, so they can verify your account and deep dive into why this is being a pain. 

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