If you are a current T-Mobile customer, then unlocking your cell phone with them is a very easy process. The carrier has plenty of ways to help you unlock your phone. Unfortunately, the carrier has made it nearly impossible to request an unlock without an active account.
This is completely different than its competitors such as AT&T. AT&T has a portal that allows you to request an unlock by yourself, something T-Mobile should try to emulate as well. Through the portal, AT&T will unlock your device without a former or active account for free.
T-Mobile requirements to unlock phone
To begin with, in order to unlock a T-Mobile phone the legal way, we must meet all of their unlock policy requirements. These are the unlock requirements you should meet:
- The phone must be locked to T-Mobile, they cannot unlock a phone from another carrier.
- The device has to be clean and not reported as lost, stolen, or blocked.
- The person requesting the unlock must have a T-Mobile account in good standing condition.
Unlocking a T-Mobile phone
Before following the T-Mobile unlock procedures, it’s important to know a few things. T-Mobile will automatically unlock your phone 40 days after it was activated if it was fully paid off when purchased. The carrier will also automatically unlock your phone within two business days after it’s fully paid off.
Now, to get your device unlocked, head over to T-Mobile.com and login into your account:
- After login in, scroll down until you see your device and click the option that says “View account” at the right side of “My line.”
- Scroll down to “Lines and Devices” and select the handheld you would like to unlock.
- Now from this page, select “Check device unlock status.”
- From this page, you will be able to see all the information about the unlock status of your device.
- If it says that your device is eligible to be unlocked, just hit the Contact us button and explain to a rep that you would like to unlock your phone. From this point on, all you’ll need to do is provide the rep with your phone’s IMEI.
To get your phone IMEI for the T-Mobile rep:
You can easily obtain your device’s IMEI from your T-Mobile account or through the T-Mobile mobile app. The other method of obtaining your IMEI is through the device itself…
On iPhone – Navigate to Settings> About > IMEI.
On Android – Just dial *#06#.
After you request to get your device unlocked, instructions to finish the unlock process will be sent to your email address.
iPhone users do not need an unlock code. All they need to do is insert a non-T-Mobile SIM card in their device once T-Mobile sends the email confirmation of the unlock.
Unlock T-Mobile phone without an account
If your T-Mobile phone is not reported lost or stolen and is fully paid off, you can get it unlocked by popping in your friend/relative active T-Mobile SIM card. After your friend’s SIM card is in your phone, download the T-Mobile app and login into your friend’s T-Mobile account.
Once you’re logged in, just ask a representative to submit an unlock request. The unlock request will be served through your friend T-Mobile’s account.
Unlock my T-Mobile phone for free
Update: The method below used to be a successful method of submitting unlock requests without the need for a T-Mobile account. Unfortunately, T-Mobile closed the loophole and denies unlock requests to any who tries to use this method.
If somehow you’ve ended up with a T-Mobile-locked device on your hands — whether you bought it from another person, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace and you do not have access to a T-Mobile account, don’t worry about it! You can still get your device unlocked for free using different methods.
Any T-Mobile rep will unlock it as long as the device has not been reported lost, stolen, or blocked and it has been fully paid off by its original owner.
The problem with those who do not have access to a T-Mobile account is that they also do not have access to a customer service representative in a timely manner. If you fall into this category, you will have to contact T-Mobile through some other methods other than directly from a T-Mobile account. Here are all the ways you can contact a T-Mobile representative without a T-Mobile account:
- @TMobileHelp On Twitter
- 1-800-937-8997
I’d recommend contacting a representative on Twitter as it’s faster. You can also call them. Once you get a hold of a representative, explain to them that you would like to have your device unlocked. They do not need account information or previous device owner information to request an unlock on your behalf.
