Note for NYS: Apparently all Long Island stores are not eligible for this offer as they don't have the appropriate licensing with T-Mobile. Must go to an NYC store.
Folks not receiving verification text from BestBuy - Opt for text messages from BestBuy by sending 'HELP' to numbers - 332211 and 22891 (do both). You should receive verification text on the next try
Additional Info that may help
Q: Do we have to pick a plan from Best Buy for T-Mobile if we are not a current customer?
Ans: You don't have to pick a post paid T-Mobile plan from Best Buy to get this deal. You can sign up for the plan anywhere and have it active before trading in your device at Best Buy.
Q: Can we cancel the plan immediately out of the store?
Ans: If you cancel the plan immediately out of the store then you won't be able to unlock the phone because you are no longer with T-Mobile.
Q: Can we unlock by messaging T-Force?
Ans: Yes, you can. But, you have to be with T-Mobile and wait times are long. People had success unlocking anywhere between 3 days to 40 days after getting the iPhone 13. T-Force can override the system after 30 days.
Q: Do we wait 40 days with service or without service?
Ans: With service, of course. Otherwise you are no longer with T-Mobile and why would they unlock the phone?
Q: Do they accept phones with a lightly cracked front or back?
Ans: Cracked front or back. Totally depends on the rep helping you but more than likely it won't fly.
Q. Can I insert a SIM card from a different carrier other than Tmobile?
Ans: Due to Flex Policy, the device is locked to the first sim card inserted.
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If you get the message "We're sorry, there was an issue processing your request. Please try again later." when trying to validate your T-Mobile account, try the follow procedure below. It seems to help some users but not all YMMV!.
Go to your T-Mobile account and turn OFF every block for "chargeable" things including sms, downloads, etc. If they are already OFF toggle them ON and OFF just to clear the system of residual blocks. You CAN leave scam block ON. Then send "HELP" (without quotes) text message from each of your mobile no. that you are trying to upgrade to 22891, 332211 and 66803. Wait 30 minutes after completing everything above and try again. If it does not work, you might an account that has employee discounts or something else.
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Almost instant unlock process via ATT (AT&T) SIM card (as reported by multiple users)
Note: The iPhone 13 must not be be activated with T-Mobile sim card at Best Buy by the rep in order to use this ATT unlock trick! It needs to be in brand new, inactivated state.
You don't need to be a current ATT subscriber to use the ATT unlock portal as mentioned below.
- Get an ATT sim card.
You can go to a local Apple store and ask for a new ATT sim card. Users reported: I visited my local Apple store and asked for an AT&T not activated SIM card. They ordered one on their iPad and a few minutes later they handed it to me. They didn't ask for any personal or iPhone information.
You can also order one for $2 plus tax from the Microsoft store if you don't have an Apple store nearby or it's not worth the gas: https:// www. microsoft.com/en-us/d/at-t-sim-card/8n0scjxn845k
(Remove spaces!) - Put the SIM card into your new Best Buy iPhone and go through the activation process and connect to WIFI. The iPhone will then state under settings that it's carrier locked.
- Go to the ATT unlock page: https:// www. att. com/deviceunlock/unlockstep1
(Copy, paste and remove spaces as we don't want to send a lot of slickdeals referrers to this page) - Select "No" for "Are you an AT&T wireless customer?"
- Enter the IMEI into the field. You can get the IMEA under settings or dial *#06# on your iPhone to bring up device information.
- Go to the next step and enter your personal information. The email needs to be valid as ATT will send a confirmation email to this address.
- If everything is correct, wait for the confirmation email and click on the link to confirm the request. Note: Use it within 24 hours or ATT will cancel your request.
Users reported that the "No SIM restrictions" info under "Carrier Lock" appeared within 60 seconds after clicking on "confirm your unlock request".
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Once you get the email, click on the link to confirm the unlock. It should be unlocked within a minute
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I can confirm that the ATT sim card unlock trick worked for my 3 Best Buy iPhone mini 13. I used an unactivated (new) prepaid AT&T SIM card when I started the iPhone and then proceeded to unlock via the portal.
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Top Comments
Good luck!
Jon
6,472 Comments
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I hope the loophole is still open by the time I receive my phone (ETA 12/17).
I had big concerns when people were posting ATT will stop unlock. Do not worry. I do not think ATT will stop this as the system recognize as ATT iphone so they have No way to block the unlock request unless they change policy like Verizon 60 days auto unlock
As of right now you can unlock any ATT iphone as long as there is no finance,​
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Need some advice. I wanted to do the iphone mini (walmart phone) trade-in with Best Buy to get the iphone 13 pro for my son as his holiday gift. But he is on Visible mobile.
If purchase them online & pick-up in store without inserting the T-mobile SIM, Can i come home & use my son's Visible SIM and activate this phone and continue to use them on Visible Network? Will this work or should i go get a brand new AT&T SIM card and try the unlock method?
Need your suggestions. Thanks for your time.
Bottom line, we are all on the same side and I definitely wish this will NOT happen.
I went to my local BB and tried getting the phone trading in my iPhone 12. However, the BB user's employee kept giving an error and I waited for 1 hr for nothing. Does anyone have the same issue or a way around this too?
Just to reiterate my experience:
1 You can purchase it online with full activation, walk into the store and do the trade-in
2. They'll basically go through a process of asking you for some information (last 4 digits of SSN + Drivers license).
3. They'll take your old phone and inspect it and if it's in good condition to meet their standards, they'll process the trade-in through their system and then hand the new phone sealed in the box over to you.
4. They did ask if they wanted to put the SIM in the phone (yes they'll give you a free t-mobile SIM) and if you say no, they'll just leave that step alone and give you the phone in the box unopened. The new SIM will be unactivated which also means that the iPhone itself is also technically unactivated.
From here, people have reported that putting an ATT sim into the phone first will allow it to get unlocked. Again, this is not a requirement but it just means it is a trick to get the phone unlocked quicker vs going through t-mobile.
If you don't have a t-mobile account to do the trade-in (yes you need one), you can sign-up for their $20 unlimited plan by calling 1800TMOBILE (1-800-866-2453)
You'll probably need to chat with t-mobile to do this (again, not part of this deal) but it's the cheapest plan to get a t-mobile account to do a trade-in. You can also borrow a friend/family t-mobile account to do the deal which is what I did. After you get the phone, you can basically decide the cancel the plan if you want.
The iPhone 12 mini deal that Walmart was selling on Black Friday just meant that people could save up to $300 ($630 trade-in minus $300 for purchasing the phone) if they wanted to trade this in. Again this is not a requirement but it meant that people could take advantage of more savings which made this trade-in a bit sweeter.
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Just to reiterate my experience:
1 You can purchase it online with full activation, walk into the store and do the trade-in
2. They'll basically go through a process of asking you for some information (last 4 digits of SSN + Drivers license).
3. They'll take your old phone and inspect it and if it's in good condition to meet their standards, they'll process the trade-in through their system and then hand the new phone sealed in the box over to you.
4. They did ask if they wanted to put the SIM in the phone (yes they'll give you a free t-mobile SIM) and if you say no, they'll just leave that step alone and give you the phone in the box unopened. The new SIM will be unactivated which also means that the iPhone itself is also technically unactivated.
From here, people have reported that putting an ATT sim into the phone first will allow it to get unlocked. Again, this is not a requirement but it just means it is a trick to get the phone unlocked quicker vs going through t-mobile.
If you don't have a t-mobile account to do the trade-in (yes you need one), you can sign-up for their $20 unlimited plan by calling 1800TMOBILE (1-800-866-2453)
You'll probably need to chat with t-mobile to do this (again, not part of this deal) but it's the cheapest plan to get a t-mobile account to do a trade-in. You can also borrow a friend/family t-mobile account to do the deal which is what I did. After you get the phone, you can basically decide the cancel the plan if you want.
The iPhone 12 mini deal that Walmart was selling on Black Friday just meant that people could save up to $300 ($630 trade-in minus $300 for purchasing the phone) if they wanted to trade this in. Again this is not a requirement but it meant that people could take advantage of more savings which made this trade-in a bit sweeter.
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