AT&T responds to unlocking woes

We’ve been covering the cellphone unlock situation as much as we can. That’s why we need to let you know about a new player added to the game. At least, to the sidelines. AT&T has been feeling insecure about the situation. Everyone keeps making statements about not being able to unlock their phones anymore. AT&T is trying to remind everyone that you can, in fact, unlock your phone through them. They updated their official policy blog today with statements like “we unlock our customers’ devices” and that “the ruling has very little impact on AT&T customers.” They were quick to add their list of stipulations, though. You can unlock your AT&T phone if and only if all the following conditions are met:

1.  they have the unlock codes
2. you have been an AT&T customer for at least 60 days
3. you are in good standing without any fees or overdue statements
4. you have fulfilled your contractual obligations

That’s quite a list for a company saying they unlock their consumers’ phones. It seems to us that they’ll find any excuse to keep that phone locked into their service. You have to fulfill a contractual obligation? What about people without contractual obligations such as someone that isn’t an AT&T customer or who has already paid full price for their device? Not to mention, the people that can’t be a customer for 60 days because they’re on another carrier. This is all compounded by ignorant (not stupid) service reps that don’t know these rules or think that only iPhones can be unlocked (something we’ve run into before). Lumia 920s on AT&T still can’t be unlocked officially, either. AT&T can’t unlock the phone until sometime in May, which is 6 months after they started selling them. What AT&T should have stated in their blog was “We’ll unlock your phone if we feel like it.” What do you think about AT&T’s statement? Do you think it has merit? Or are they just blowing smoke so they don’t lose customers? Let’s hear your stories! Source: AT&T