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https://web.archive.org/web/20230.../KM1262649
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https://archive.is/ucvkn https://web.archive.org/web/20230223144317/https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1262649
Loved the fold3 but build quality is terrible. Never dropped the phone and after 15 months, there's a black stripe down the middle and the right screen becomes unresponsive to touch. The black stripe became larger and larger. It costs $550 to repair. Many other people reported same issues. Beware.
T-Mobile more expensive and oos already Frown missed it
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Let me save y'all about 4 hours, which is how long it took me to finally get to the right people to make this happen. Here is how I got this handled
I ordered a $5 Tello number, selected e-sim, received number within a few minutes. Make sure to register the pin they give you in the email, it gives you all the port out info access. Theres a code there that is needed to enter in Best Buy portal when you port it over to ATT.
Ported that number in to ATT via Best Buy portal
Picked up phone
Powered on Phone with ATT sim
Finished ALL account creation, including pin number creation etc via ATT email
Spent 3 hours getting tossed around 10 different reps and departments and supervisors via online chat, disconnected multiple times, told no multiple times, etc etc etc.
Don't bother submitting request online for unlock, it will be denied.
Just call technical support, JUST CALL!!! 1800-288-2020. Call from a phone other that the Z Fold 3. Reason you call from other phone is you will want to pop your sim in from other provider to get to the sim unlock prompt while you are on the phone with them. Tell them you need technical support, you may get tossed around one more time, but you WILL get someone that can help you.
Have your link ready that states phones paid in full at purchase can be unlocked without waiting 60 days. I had to legit provide not just the wording, but the exact link. The rep will literally navigate to it and will be super surprised and state that this is the first they've ever heard of this policy and that they always get hassled by the unlock team and ultimately never get the unlock code for the customer.
Have your receipt from Best Buy ready ready to go (I had to legit take pics with my phone and text them to a number they gave me).
After about 10 minutes with the rep, they provided the unlock code.
Make sure to input the unlock code prior to getting transferred over to cancellation department.
Get sent over to cancellation department and submit for cancellation under buyer's remorse policy.
Done and done. Save yourself a lot of time and just call them. I paid $299 plus tax and have a fully unlocked phone on T-mobile with no issues at all. ATT service is shut down, I didn't care about the Tello number, much easier to pay the $5 for a Tello than mess with a number you actually care about keeping. Just cancel the service and it is over and done with.
I obviously can't promise this is gonna work for every single person. I suppose a non-cooperative rep might not wanna go the extra mile for you, but my telephone rep was super helpful and patient. She admitted I had done my diligence with researching the terms and pushed the "unlock team" to help her with the code. YMMV of course, but this worked for me. Just be patient and courteous to the rep. I was frustrated with how long it was taking but you need to acknowledge that each new person you talk to, it is their first interaction with you, they have no idea how long you've been dealing with people. You can avoid a lot of frustration by just calling to start out instead of trying to manage the situation via online chat.
Questions, feel free to ask, perhaps I wasn't completely thorough, but that was basically what I went through. Good luck all.
Port out the line to cancel. Line automatically cancels as soon as the number it ported out (5-10 mins). You can port to Tello for $2.50.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16531969-tello-50-off-selected-plans
These phones are subsidized by the carriers and hoping people would switch or add more lines and stay with them, etc; therefore different carrier may offer different prices.
You can request unlock right away because it's paid in full with no money owed; i.e., no monthly installment,
Yes.
Port out the number to cancel right away (5-10 min, as soon as the number is ported) so that you don't have to deal with rep that doesn't allow you to cancel. You can port to Tello for $2.50.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16531969-tello-50-off-selected-plans
Yes, but you can cancel right away.
I picked up my Fold 3 this morning from bestbuy. ATT variant.
Ordered online with the porting in option as it wouldn't let me order otherwise. Used a random boost mobile number I had and have no intention of porting in a number.
BB didn't ask for anything in store, just gave me the phone and i walked out.
Received att emails after pickup, created account, created ATT PIN, jotted down account number, and saw $60 plan but $0 due.
unboxed and booted with t-mobile sim card, asked for unlock code.
tried to unlock from my att portal, but denied.
tried to unlock using the request unlock website for non att members, but denied via email
Started a chat with att to cancel service and request unlock.
I mentioned having bad service reception in my area and wanted to cancel and wanted to unlock phone to use it for work which was a different provider.
They wanted me to reset the network, but i said not interested just want to cancel.
They also mentioned that i lose my port in number if i cancelled. which was wierd since i never actually ported in the number yet.
Eventually, they said, "Since the total due balance if $0.00 there will be no charges now. Your services with AT&T will be completely shut off."
Then i asked about the network unlock, which they said they sent directly to my phone. Didn't work even though she said it was unlocked on their system. Eventually they provided the unlock code which worked.
Now my fold 3 is cancelled with att service with 0 payments or fees and unlocked so i can use my Tmobile sim.
hope that helps some of ya.
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Best Buy seems to be out of these phones as they could not find any available devices to exchange mine with which is a bummer, I wanted to keep the phone as I figured I'd be able to eventually get the thing unlocked.
For some reason my phone return credit was a lot more than what I paid for the device. The best buy rep had no clue why but said maybe AT&T will be charging me some fees and that is to cover those fees.
Just a kind reminder, att phones cannot receive updates without att service even if it is unlocked.
U have to borrow a sim card or buy one, or you can flash global firmware to your phone.
First must be unlocked phone, then download firmware from here (https://samfw.com/firmware/SM-F926U1/XAA [samfw.com]) make sure the model number ends with U1 and select XAA.
Then flash the firmware using a hacked odin3, which is Samsung official software but needs to be hacked to pass the system check. I have it but don't know how to upload it, maybe you can google one.
After that, active without a sim card insert and wifi open, then u are good to go. U can receive system updates without the att network. Moreover, it's an official firmware so no root and no knox safety lock destroy.
Sorry for the short version, u can find more detail on google.
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1. Activated his account by inserting the sim card in his Fold 3 phone.
2. Removed the sim card and inserted it into another unlocked phone.
3. Waited a few minutes, until the device showing on his AT&T account was replaced with the new unlocked phone.
4. Submitted via the AT&T unlock portal a request to unlock the Fold 3. Selected he did not have a AT&T number and used the IMEI number to submit for the unlock code.
Can anyone else confirm they followed this process and they were successful?
Just a kind reminder, att phones cannot receive updates without att service even if it is unlocked.
U have to borrow a sim card or buy one, or you can flash global firmware to your phone.
First must be unlocked phone, then download firmware from here (https://samfw.com/firmware/SM-F926U1/XAA [samfw.com]) make sure the model number ends with U1 and select XAA.
Then flash the firmware using a hacked odin3, which is Samsung official software but needs to be hacked to pass the system check. I have it but don't know how to upload it, maybe you can google one.
After that, active without a sim card insert and wifi open, then u are good to go. U can receive system updates without the att network. Moreover, it's an official firmware so no root and no knox safety lock destroy.
Sorry for the short version, u can find more detail on google.
Mine has been unlocked for a couple days now and have not been able to update with my T-Mobile sim inserted despite some peoples claims on here. I inserted the att sim after I canceled service hoping to update, but that didn't work. Maybe my software is just too old for the system to automatically update with T-Mobile. Running Oct 2021 security patch lol
Go here, select "Equipment" under "Phone issues". From there, more options will open up and device unlock will be one of them.
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