Step 1: Getting the mysterious unlock code
Persuading your phone network carrier to give you the unlock code to your cell phone may be the most difficult part of the entire process.
The code is a number entered into U.S. phones to allow a SIM card from a third-party carrier to work with your cell phone. Internet message boards are full of complaints about carriers withholding codes along with offers of software or services for unlocking. But I also found a number of postings from people who said they got the code from their carrier simply by asking.
I called AT&T as a customer and explained my situation: I was going to the U.K. for one week, and would like to avoid high roaming fees by using a local SIM card. I explained that I had no wish to permanently change carriers, as I had a two-year contract and was happy with their service. Could I please have the unlock code for my phone?
I was met with a little reluctance. The first customer service representative told me this would require her to "submit a case" for getting the unlock code and that once approved it could take up to a week for the "unlock code team" to figure out the code for my particular phone. Her supervisor then tried to sell me an international plan that would reduce the usual $1.29 per-minute charge to "only" 99 cents per minute. I promptly declined. He then told me that it could take a week to get the code because it must be sent from the manufacturer.
I had already learned from AT&T's public relations team via another reporter that retrieving the unlock code merely involves looking up the manufacturer's corresponding unlock code for a particular phone's IMEI (serial number). They also said that the process should not take a week.
So, I politely persisted with my plea. After a total of 22 minutes on the phone, we agreed that AT&T would try its best to send the code in time for my trip and would call me the next day to update me on the status of my request.
About five hours later, AT&T sent the unlock code and instructions on how to use it to my personal e-mail account. (I took pains to keep a low profile, but AT&T may have easily figured out I was with CNET by simply Googling my name. I'm interested to hear from others who have made this request of their carrier.)
