https://archive.is/ucvkn
https://web.archive.org/web/20230.../KM1262649
Code:
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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Let me share my story.
I purchase it with a number transfer from Google Voice. I couldn't receive an incoming call from non-ATT.
Called the Port Activation Center (PAC) to resolve my issue. It was resolved.
I took out the ATT sim card from Fold3 and put it in my unlocked Iphone. And check the Att website. No luck.
I tried it the following day in the morning. It was changed to Iphone!
Right after that, I requested the unlock code through the ATT website. A few minutes later, ATT gave me my unlock code through email.
Using the code, I unlocked the Fold3. Put the Att Sim card in.
But still, I couldn't see the Sim Manager. Spent some hours on the research. I downloaded the Rom to flash and prepare for it. But I didn't do it.
Today, I found the software update available. I updated 4-5 files. Finally, Sim card manager showed up! and it was updated to Android 13.
For the test run, I activated my Google fi Esim. it works!
Good luck all!
Then I went here https://www.att.com/portstatus/ to update the pin from tello, so now port in is done, but still no service right now. Probably have to call them again tomorrow.
Here is what I did.
I received the phone this morning (new line, no port)
Inserted the SIM that came with the phone into the fold 3 let it register on the att network
Switched the sim to an unlocked phone and entered the folds IMEI in the unlock portal along with my contact info and submitted
Didn't get an email until about 6 hours later asking me to confirm, I did and a couple minutes later they sent me the unlock code.
So the unlock portal trick works, just make sure the other phone (not the fold) shows up on your account before attempting it
I tried unlock portal and just did it with no sim got denied, figured this would be safest route
then I could try with att sim... but then its locked to 1 request per 24 hours, so now the waiting game... I rebooted the phone with att sim card in so hopefully that gets things setup? is that the theory or would I need to do a factory reset?
anyways impatient on 24 hours, gave att a call and they gave me the round about saying the account says I have a number intended to port, but I never intended to port a number since people were saying you could unlock without it so I would just unlock then cancel no need to acquire a number or anything; they were saying any dept can do the unlock but porting dept will specifically have to do it cause of this unfinished account setup error etc
anyone able to do it without having to setup account?
I did a new line on an existing account. Once I received the phone I activated it by putting the SIM in it then requested the device unlock in the portal by choosing existing ATT customer and giving the main number (not the new one) in the account. It got denied saying the "Service needs to active for 60 days" error. I started a chat with CS rep and they were not willing to do anything. I called the tech support line somebody mentioned and the agent was aware of the new policy change recently and she agreed that I bought the phone before the policy change but couldn't do it. It got to her supervisor who genuinely tried to override it and consulted with other supervisors but kept getting multiple errors. He also apologized for it.
So I followed the method mentioned before and everything went smooth. It seems to me that if the phone is attached to the network then the system is enforcing the policy while if it's not (but it needs to be on the network for the very first time) then the system allows it to be unlocked.
Planning to cancel the line tomorrow. So, in summary if you are an ATT customer or creating a new account follow the steps mentioned in the beginning. If that does not work, FCC complaint seems to be the way to go. What a CF!
I tried unlock portal and just did it with no sim got denied, figured this would be safest route
then I could try with att sim... but then its locked to 1 request per 24 hours, so now the waiting game... I rebooted the phone with att sim card in so hopefully that gets things setup? is that the theory or would I need to do a factory reset?
anyways impatient on 24 hours, gave att a call and they gave me the round about saying the account says I have a number intended to port, but I never intended to port a number since people were saying you could unlock without it so I would just unlock then cancel no need to acquire a number or anything; they were saying any dept can do the unlock but porting dept will specifically have to do it cause of this unfinished account setup error etc
anyone able to do it without having to setup account?
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you mentioned "make sure ATT portal/app shows the unlocked phone instead of z fold 3" is that from the phone as an app or is that from browser online? / overall where do I find that?
you mentioned "make sure ATT portal/app shows the unlocked phone instead of z fold 3" is that from the phone as an app or is that from browser online? / overall where do I find that?
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