Has anyone actually gotten AT&T to unlock an iPhone? We're going to be moving to Germany in a few weeks, so I visited AT&amp;T today and asked them to unlock our phones.  They unlocked my Android device, but told me that "Apple did not give [them] the tools to unlock iPhones".  I had a little shouting match, but I got nowhere.

I might be able to figure out how to jailbreak and unlock my wife's 3GS (v 4.3.5 8L1, BB  05.16.02 if that matters) but she's really hesitant to "mess with it".  I'd really prefer to be able to go through official channels.

I found plenty of questions here about unlocking iPhones, but nearly all of them seem to be overrun with irrelevant answers about how other networks work.  I get the impression from other web sites that AT&amp;T is a "special case" and flatly refuses to ever unlock any iPhone, for any reason, period.  Is this true?  Would I have better luck talking directly to Apple?  Do I have any recourse, or is this phone going to magically turn into an iPod Touch after our plane ride is over?
Yes, I've unlocked 4 myself and helped family members and friends unlock another dozen.

The web interface is nice, but I also call them after 2 days if the unlock isn't done since most of the unlock requests are either processed rapidly or hung due to an error or mis-typing/missing entirely a digit or two. Once I get someone on the phone, the unlock usually is done the next day but I also follow their procedure and submit the web form first before bugging AT&amp;T in person.

So, the process is straightforward andbutyou'll do well to triple check your IMEI and account details before submitting your unlock request. I've not had any issues by following the guide as published by AT&amp;T - even when we purchased an AT&amp;T phone second hand for a gift / spare phone while traveling internationally or for a young child to use as an iPod and occasional unlocked phone.

Here is AT&amp;T's knowledge base on their current unlock policy:


What are the eligibility requirements for unlocking iPhone?