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Can I get help?

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My grandmother bought an Apple 11 mobile phone on T-mobile mobile in May 2020. At the end of last year, she was sick, old, and her memory was not very good. The mobile phone had not been used for a long time. Some time ago, I plugged in the card and found that it could not be activated. Why? I heard that it needs to be unlocked to activate, right? I called the customer service and said that I needed a mobile phone number account to unlock it, right? Why can someone unlock it by only providing an IMEI number? 352897110834325 Can I unlock this?

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Best answer by syaoran 22 March 2023, 11:37

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syaoran
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Accounts are looked up by phone numbers, not IMEI’s.  You must be an active T-Mobile customer and meet all of the SIM Unlock Policy requirements for the device to be eligible for it to be SIM unlocked.  

SIM Unlock Policy | Unlock Your Mobile Wireless Device (t-mobile.com)

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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The phone number has not been used for a long time. Does it have to be the previous phone number? Isn't the phone number tied to IMEI? Can't you unlock it without a phone number? Just like the expiration of the contract, can't it?

syaoran
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The phone number is not tied to the IMEI.  T-Mobile does not require the IMEI of a device to be used on their network.  The phone number is used to verify that the device meets the SIM unlock requirements, like ensuring the device is fully paid off.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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The phone number has not been used for a long time. Does it have to be the previous phone number? Isn't the phone number bound to IMEI? Can't you unlock it without a phone number? Even if the phone bill is paid at the end of the contract, can't it?

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What if there is no T-mobile number?

syaoran
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The phone number has not been used for a long time. Does it have to be the previous phone number? Isn't the phone number bound to IMEI? Can't you unlock it without a phone number? Even if the phone bill is paid at the end of the contract, can't it?

That doesn’t matter!  The account the phone was on must meet the SIM Unlock Policy requirements, which has to be verified through the account it was purchased on.

SIM Unlock Policy | Unlock Your Mobile Wireless Device (t-mobile.com)

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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How can I send an email to the technical department?

syaoran
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How can I send an email to the technical department?

The technical department does not use e-mail to interact with customers.  You can call  611 from your T-Mobile device or reach out to the T-Force Team via Facebook or Twitter to have the same information repeated to you.

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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Oh, my God! I don't believe in T-mobile anymore. I don't think I will use it again.

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Only a broken mobile phone can't be unlocked. It's not as good as S.

syaoran
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Only a broken mobile phone can't be unlocked. It's not as good as S.

Have a nice day! 

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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Haha! Then you can try my IMEI 352897110834325. Thank you.

syaoran
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I can check it through Swappa to make sure it isn't blacklisted but I can't put in a request for it to be SIM unlocked.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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Thank you for your reminder. I just checked the white list. Is there any hope?

syaoran
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If you can't provide the phone number for the account the device was purchased on to Customer Care to verify the SIM Unlock eligibility.  Your device can not be SIM unlocked.

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
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Thank you very much for your answer! Although my problem has not been solved satisfactorily, you are much better than them. It should be that my grandmother didn't know that there was a lock before. It was T-mobile who deceived her.

syaoran
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Carriers sell devices SIM locked to their network here in the US.  The best place to buy a SIM unlocked iPhone is from the Apple Store.

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
gramps28
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Just to add on your grandmother, the account holder, needs to request the unlock code.

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