Unlocking AT&T Atrix 2 - wait time

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cs1992

New member
Mar 4, 2012
3
0
I got my hands on a brand new ATRIX 2 (AT&T) and want to use it with my T Mobile prepaid. Cellunlocker stated that it would be 4-6 business days to send me the code. 4-6 days??? Come on! Does this sound reasonable?
 

big ach

Senior Member
Sep 14, 2006
567
83
Florida!
Some companies are like that.


Others claim 15 to 20 minutes, guess you fell into one of the longer ones. Nothing to do but wait, hopefully they'll have it for you before then.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 with Verizon 4G LTE
 

jboxer

Senior Member
Apr 16, 2009
1,791
509
Bangkok
Actually it is and I will tell you why. Nobody can do an Atrix 2 in 10 to 15 minutes. That is how long they will take to submit your order after you pay. It is word games to trick you into thinking you will get a faster unlock. At this time, until the Atrix 2 is in the AT&T unlock database, which takes about nine months after release, there is only one server (that I know of) to get the codes and all the unlocking services are using the same server. That server only accepts batch orders twice a day Monday through Thursday, one batch early on Friday and one batch Sunday evening. So if you ordered Friday night your order cannot be submitted to the server until Sunday. The turnaround time for this server is two business days, including the day it was submitted. So most likely your code will come back Tuesday. From a late Friday purchase that would be five days including the day you ordered. If you are lucky it might come back Monday. I just got an Atrix 2 sent to me from the U.S. last week. U.S. time my unlock order was submitted around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and the code returned just before Noon on Wednesday (2 business days). Since I subscribe to the unlocking service as a reseller I was notified immediately by the server when my code returned. If you are using a reseller you also need to wait for them to contact you once your code is returned by the server. I hope this explains why you need to wait. Once the codes are in AT&T's database turnaround time will be minutes and the price will drastically drop to a few dollars at the most. Right the cost on these codes run between $15 to $30 for them. The cheapest code resellers are on ebay. Usually the website based resellers will charge around double the eBay sellers. The eBay sellers sell the codes very close to their wholesale cost and only make a few dollars per unlock, if they are lucky.

Also you will most likely be given two unlock codes. Only one will work. If the first one does not work try the second one. One of them should work. In my case I was lucky and the first code of the two worked. Enter your code carefully and make sure you enter it correctly.
 
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alteredlikeness

Senior Member
Mar 2, 2012
2,454
5,472
reflecting on Indra's net
I got mine and my wife's subsidy unlock codes through at&t. They said they couldn't generate the code in- house for the A2, and the had to make a case file and send it the the "National Device Unlock Team" or something.. And like a month before, I got the code for the Infuse from them over the phone within in minutes (was my wife's phone, we returned it and upgraded her to the A2 though). Anyway, the codes for our A2's came in a little less then a week. So, I think it's normal, they probably don't have the codes for our phone readily available yet.

Aside from putting in a diff sim, you can aslo punch in #073887* in the dialer. We tried it with a diff sim once, and the sim itself had a pin lock and I was entering the subsidy code in there and it wasn't working and freaking me out when I got down to one try left... so, the dialer code is much simpler..
 

sazhagianambi

Senior Member
Apr 20, 2011
136
17
Westland, MI
Actually it is and I will tell you why. Nobody can do an Atrix 2 in 10 to 15 minutes. That is how long they will take to submit your order after you pay. It is word games to trick you into thinking you will get a faster unlock. At this time, until the Atrix 2 is in the AT&T unlock database, which takes about nine months after release, there is only one server (that I know of) to get the codes and all the unlocking services are using the same server. That server only accepts batch orders twice a day Monday through Thursday, one batch early on Friday and one batch Sunday evening. So if you ordered Friday night your order cannot be submitted to the server until Sunday. The turnaround time for this server is two business days, including the day it was submitted. So most likely your code will come back Tuesday. From a late Friday purchase that would be five days including the day you ordered. If you are lucky it might come back Monday. I just got an Atrix 2 sent to me from the U.S. last week. U.S. time my unlock order was submitted around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and the code returned just before Noon on Wednesday (2 business days). Since I subscribe to the unlocking service as a reseller I was notified immediately by the server when my code returned. If you are using a reseller you also need to wait for them to contact you once your code is returned by the server. I hope this explains why you need to wait. Once the codes are in AT&T's database turnaround time will be minutes and the price will drastically drop to a few dollars at the most. Right the cost on these codes run between $15 to $30 for them. The cheapest code resellers are on ebay. Usually the website based resellers will charge around double the eBay sellers. The eBay sellers sell the codes very close to their wholesale cost and only make a few dollars per unlock, if they are lucky.

Also you will most likely be given two unlock codes. Only one will work. If the first one does not work try the second one. One of them should work. In my case I was lucky and the first code of the two worked. Enter your code carefully and make sure you enter it correctly.

I am also using T-mobile prepaid after unlock, and I had to wait for week...so it sounds normal...

Thank you jboxer for detail instructions as how unlocking works, I remember being mad with my unlock service provider as he keep telling me for 2 more days for week time(he never explained as why its taking time)...now it makes sense why he took that time..
 

Vahnyyz

Senior Member
I'm super interested in the whole "Unlock" thing since I might want to take my phone to a different service. Since sazhagianambi seems to be our resident genius on the subject I would like to direct the questions to him:

Does unlocking the phone while still being on the network cause any "errors" on said network (e.g. Unlocking AT&T and staying on AT&T)?

Does the unlocked phone need anything when taking it to another network (e.g. Unlocked AT&T android phone and going to straighttalk)?

Finally when everyone says "oh i have a code from __________ and it took me ___ days/weeks" are the codes different? and if not.. howcome people don't post them up? (I would understand if you want to direct the answers to me privately)
 

jboxer

Senior Member
Apr 16, 2009
1,791
509
Bangkok
I will answer your questions since I run an unlocking service and am very knowledgeable on the subject.

Does unlocking the phone while still being on the network cause any "errors" on said network (e.g. Unlocking AT&T and staying on AT&T)?

No it causes no problems at all. The phone never sends a signal to any network that is is subsidy locked or unlocked.

Does the unlocked phone need anything when taking it to another network (e.g. Unlocked AT&T android phone and going to straighttalk)?

Yes. You need to go into settings and set the APN for your new carrier for data to work if the APN is not already in the phone's APN database. On a stock rom it will likely not be there. If you unlock and then flash a custom rom, the APN for most carriers will likely already be in the phone.

Finally when everyone says "oh i have a code from __________ and it took me ___ days/weeks" are the codes different? and if not.. howcome people don't post them up? (I would understand if you want to direct the answers to me privately)

Codes are unique to each and every device. They are usually based on the IMEI number alone, but in some cases they are also based on locked carrier ID and other numbers in the phone (such as an SVN number in some Motorola phones - does not apply to the Atrix or any other Moto Android phone).

Also, in the case of the Atrix 2 AT&T can and does change the unlock codes OTA once the phone is activated on their network. That is why when you get an Atrix 2 unlock code, you may receive two or three unlock codes. These are all codes that are in the databases for a specific IMEI and the wholesalers don't know which one is correct. They don't know if the original moto assigned unlock code is correct or if the AT&T one has been sent to the phone OTA. So they provide all known codes and tell you to carefully try them all. In the case of my personal Atrix 2, the first code worked and I am happily using my AT&T Atrix 2 in Thailand on DTAC getting 4G service. Once the phone is unlocked, even if AT&T sends an OTA unlock code change, it won't matter because once you unlock the phone it stays unlocked forever, unless the carrier sends an explicit re-lock command, which they never do. You only enter the code once and it is done.

People don't post codes because they will not work on your phone. You have a limited number of attempts (usually 5 or 10) to enter the correct subsidy code. Once you have reached the limit of attempts the phone will no longer allow you to enter the code and is considered "hard-locked" to that carrier, meaning you can never unlock it by code. You will then need to have the phone hardware unlocked which is done with special software that hacks either the baseband code or NVM (non volatile memory) that is read at boot time. Hardware unlocking is dangerous and can damage your phone. Unlocking by subsidy code is the only way to safely and properly unlock your phone.

Some phones get almost instant unlock code numbers such as LG and older Motorolas as they are in databases that have been obtained by unlocking wholesalers. Some phones like very old Nokia or BlackBerry devices have calculated codes and once the algorithm is known it is just a case of computing the unlock code. Newer phones like the Atrix 2 are harder to get codes for and take two business days for the wholesalers to retrieve the codes from their source. Soon, maybe two to six months, Atrix 2 codes will likely be in the instant database and the price will drop from around $15.00 to around $2.00, but if you want your phone unlocked now I would not wait for that to occur.

Hope this answered your questions. i know I was not the intended responder but this way you get your answers faster.
 
Last edited:
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streetsmart999

Senior Member
Nov 9, 2010
591
275
New Jersey
I just did the unlock from these guys (unlockfusion) from ebay. they charged me $16 .. I submitted my IMIE code on Monday afternoon and Got the unlock code yesterday (Tuesday evening). That was really fast. may be I was lucky. :)

on a side note: Nowhere related to that company.
 

alteredlikeness

Senior Member
Mar 2, 2012
2,454
5,472
reflecting on Indra's net
I just did the unlock from these guys (unlockfusion) from ebay. they charged me $16 .. I submitted my IMIE code on Monday afternoon and Got the unlock code yesterday (Tuesday evening). That was really fast. may be I was lucky. :)

on a side note: Nowhere related to that company.

What is this VictoryROM? Something you ported to the A2? Is it, or is it going to be available to the community to try out?
 

streetsmart999

Senior Member
Nov 9, 2010
591
275
New Jersey
What is this VictoryROM? Something you ported to the A2? Is it, or is it going to be available to the community to try out?

I create my own Roms.. (All VictoryRom's are created by me) Once I feel comfortable and make sure No bugs are there... I post it.

basically I don't Like heavy Themes + Extras scripts + overclocking which most of the rom's comes with so i create my own.

My rom's consists of

As stock as possible with root and very minimum themes (Mostly ICS)
Some nice to haves like Beats audio etc
some build props edits etc.
Remove junk (But on Atrix2 I did not, as I'm new to Motorola phone so just freezed them)

these are few... So far its as stable as Stock rom.
 
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alteredlikeness

Senior Member
Mar 2, 2012
2,454
5,472
reflecting on Indra's net
I create my own Roms.. (All VictoryRom's are created by me) Once I feel comfortable and make sure No bugs are there... I post it.

basically I don't Like heavy Themes + Extras scripts + overclocking which most of the rom's comes with so i create my own.

My rom's consists of

As stock as possible with root and very minimum themes (Mostly ICS)
Some nice to haves like Beats audio etc
some build props edits etc.
Remove junk (But on Atrix2 I did not, as I'm new to Motorola phone so just freezed them)

these are few... So far its as stable as Stock rom.

Very cool. Hope to get to check it out someday..
 

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    Actually it is and I will tell you why. Nobody can do an Atrix 2 in 10 to 15 minutes. That is how long they will take to submit your order after you pay. It is word games to trick you into thinking you will get a faster unlock. At this time, until the Atrix 2 is in the AT&T unlock database, which takes about nine months after release, there is only one server (that I know of) to get the codes and all the unlocking services are using the same server. That server only accepts batch orders twice a day Monday through Thursday, one batch early on Friday and one batch Sunday evening. So if you ordered Friday night your order cannot be submitted to the server until Sunday. The turnaround time for this server is two business days, including the day it was submitted. So most likely your code will come back Tuesday. From a late Friday purchase that would be five days including the day you ordered. If you are lucky it might come back Monday. I just got an Atrix 2 sent to me from the U.S. last week. U.S. time my unlock order was submitted around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening and the code returned just before Noon on Wednesday (2 business days). Since I subscribe to the unlocking service as a reseller I was notified immediately by the server when my code returned. If you are using a reseller you also need to wait for them to contact you once your code is returned by the server. I hope this explains why you need to wait. Once the codes are in AT&T's database turnaround time will be minutes and the price will drastically drop to a few dollars at the most. Right the cost on these codes run between $15 to $30 for them. The cheapest code resellers are on ebay. Usually the website based resellers will charge around double the eBay sellers. The eBay sellers sell the codes very close to their wholesale cost and only make a few dollars per unlock, if they are lucky.

    Also you will most likely be given two unlock codes. Only one will work. If the first one does not work try the second one. One of them should work. In my case I was lucky and the first code of the two worked. Enter your code carefully and make sure you enter it correctly.
    2
    I will answer your questions since I run an unlocking service and am very knowledgeable on the subject.

    Does unlocking the phone while still being on the network cause any "errors" on said network (e.g. Unlocking AT&T and staying on AT&T)?

    No it causes no problems at all. The phone never sends a signal to any network that is is subsidy locked or unlocked.

    Does the unlocked phone need anything when taking it to another network (e.g. Unlocked AT&T android phone and going to straighttalk)?

    Yes. You need to go into settings and set the APN for your new carrier for data to work if the APN is not already in the phone's APN database. On a stock rom it will likely not be there. If you unlock and then flash a custom rom, the APN for most carriers will likely already be in the phone.

    Finally when everyone says "oh i have a code from __________ and it took me ___ days/weeks" are the codes different? and if not.. howcome people don't post them up? (I would understand if you want to direct the answers to me privately)

    Codes are unique to each and every device. They are usually based on the IMEI number alone, but in some cases they are also based on locked carrier ID and other numbers in the phone (such as an SVN number in some Motorola phones - does not apply to the Atrix or any other Moto Android phone).

    Also, in the case of the Atrix 2 AT&T can and does change the unlock codes OTA once the phone is activated on their network. That is why when you get an Atrix 2 unlock code, you may receive two or three unlock codes. These are all codes that are in the databases for a specific IMEI and the wholesalers don't know which one is correct. They don't know if the original moto assigned unlock code is correct or if the AT&T one has been sent to the phone OTA. So they provide all known codes and tell you to carefully try them all. In the case of my personal Atrix 2, the first code worked and I am happily using my AT&T Atrix 2 in Thailand on DTAC getting 4G service. Once the phone is unlocked, even if AT&T sends an OTA unlock code change, it won't matter because once you unlock the phone it stays unlocked forever, unless the carrier sends an explicit re-lock command, which they never do. You only enter the code once and it is done.

    People don't post codes because they will not work on your phone. You have a limited number of attempts (usually 5 or 10) to enter the correct subsidy code. Once you have reached the limit of attempts the phone will no longer allow you to enter the code and is considered "hard-locked" to that carrier, meaning you can never unlock it by code. You will then need to have the phone hardware unlocked which is done with special software that hacks either the baseband code or NVM (non volatile memory) that is read at boot time. Hardware unlocking is dangerous and can damage your phone. Unlocking by subsidy code is the only way to safely and properly unlock your phone.

    Some phones get almost instant unlock code numbers such as LG and older Motorolas as they are in databases that have been obtained by unlocking wholesalers. Some phones like very old Nokia or BlackBerry devices have calculated codes and once the algorithm is known it is just a case of computing the unlock code. Newer phones like the Atrix 2 are harder to get codes for and take two business days for the wholesalers to retrieve the codes from their source. Soon, maybe two to six months, Atrix 2 codes will likely be in the instant database and the price will drop from around $15.00 to around $2.00, but if you want your phone unlocked now I would not wait for that to occur.

    Hope this answered your questions. i know I was not the intended responder but this way you get your answers faster.
    1
    What is this VictoryROM? Something you ported to the A2? Is it, or is it going to be available to the community to try out?

    I create my own Roms.. (All VictoryRom's are created by me) Once I feel comfortable and make sure No bugs are there... I post it.

    basically I don't Like heavy Themes + Extras scripts + overclocking which most of the rom's comes with so i create my own.

    My rom's consists of

    As stock as possible with root and very minimum themes (Mostly ICS)
    Some nice to haves like Beats audio etc
    some build props edits etc.
    Remove junk (But on Atrix2 I did not, as I'm new to Motorola phone so just freezed them)

    these are few... So far its as stable as Stock rom.
    1
    Very cool. Hope to get to check it out someday..

    Very soon.. :)