From: https://slickdeals.net/f/17077762-at-t-128gb-samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra-5g-w-added-line-or-new-customer-activation-350-35-activation-free-w-free-s-h?v=1&page=9&sr
Unlocking and Flashing to OEM Firmware
1. ATT changed their unlock policy on 3/18 to require 60 days of service before they can unlock a fully paid device. Previously, it used to be right away if you have paid in full.
2. There two timeline for the cancellation. If you cancel a line before 3 days it was active then the activation fee is waived. If you cancel it within 14 days from activation under buyers remorse then no bill is charged but activation fees need to be paid. The line activates on right when you place the order not the day you receive the phone on hand so you might have to pay the activation fee of $35.
3. You can use a tello number and port to ATT but you would have to make sure porting is successful by going to https://www.att.com/portstatus/. Many from z fold 3 got stuck in porting limbo and got the ATT account cancelled.
4. As with many deals here, a SIM swap method is found which can be used to unlock the device. This was working recently but not sure if ATT would fix it by the time you try it. The steps are as follows.
a. Pay in full for the phone.While your payment will quickly reflect in your account it will be at least a few hours before it updates for the unlock request.
b. When you receive the phone activate it on ATT with the SIM provided. Make sure it shows up on myATT app/in the web so ATT knows and registers the IMEI in the network. Then put the SIM in another unlocked phone, reboot, make some calls and make sure this unlocked phone is now showing under the line in app/web portal.
c. Now go to ATT unlock portal https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/ and then choose not an ATT customer and use the IMEI of ATT phone and submit an unlock request.DO NOT attempt more than twice or you will be blocked for 24 hours.
d.Confirm the unlock request email and receive the unlock code.
e. Only cancel the line after you have unlocked the phone.
Then after unlocking if you are feeling adventurous and want to flash the phone to an unlocked firmware to get rid of ATT bloat you can follow these steps. It's actually very easy to do with Odin.
1. There are many models of S24 ultra but in US two models are imp. S928U is carrier locked version and S928U1 is the unlocked US version. The firmware for these versions are interchangeable so you can flash the ATT model with S928U1 firmware.
2. Download patched odin v3.14.1_3B_PatchedD.zip from https://xdaforums.com/t/patched-o...1.3762572/ as regular odin does not allow flashing mismatched firmware.
3. Download the firmware from S928U1 XAA version from https://samfrew.com/model/SM-S928U1/region/XAA/ Extract as there will be multiple files.
4. Connect S24U to the windows PC.
5 .Put S24u in download/recovery/odin mode. Power down. Press Volume up and down together and then press Volume up to go into recovery (a green screen would appear).
6. Start odin and then select different files for different categories and then start.
7, It should be now the US unlocked version.
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ATT requires 60 days active before unlocking the phone. However, there is SIM Swap method which worked well in the past for unlocking paid-off ATT phones right away.
0. Do the following steps after paying off the phone fully and then waiting for a day or so for the unlock portal to get the paid off status.
1. ATT changed their unlock policy on 3/18 to require 60 days of service before they can unlock a fully paid device. Previously, it used to be right away if you have paid in full.
2. There two timeline for the cancellation. If you cancel a line before 3 days it was active then the activation fee is waived. If you cancel it within 14 days from activation under buyers remorse then no bill is charged but activation fees need to be paid. The line activates on right when you place the order not the day you receive the phone on hand so you might have to pay the activation fee of $35.
3. You can use a tello number and port to ATT but you would have to make sure porting is successful by going to https://www.att.com/portstatus/. Many from z fold 3 got stuck in porting limbo and got the ATT account cancelled.
4. As with many deals here, a SIM swap method is found which can be used to unlock the device. This was working recently but not sure if ATT would fix it by the time you try it. The steps are as follows.
a. Pay in full for the phone.While your payment will quickly reflect in your account it will be at least a few hours before it updates for the unlock request.
b. When you receive the phone activate it on ATT with the SIM provided. Make sure it shows up on myATT app/in the web so ATT knows and registers the IMEI in the network. Then put the SIM in another unlocked phone, reboot, make some calls and make sure this unlocked phone is now showing under the line in app/web portal.
c. Now go to ATT unlock portal https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/ and then choose not an ATT customer and use the IMEI of ATT phone and submit an unlock request.DO NOT attempt more than twice or you will be blocked for 24 hours.
d.Confirm the unlock request email and receive the unlock code.
e. Only cancel the line after you have unlocked the phone.
Then after unlocking if you are feeling adventurous and want to flash the phone to an unlocked firmware to get rid of ATT bloat you can follow these steps. It's actually very easy to do with Odin.
1. There are many models of s22 ultra but in US two models are imp. S908U is carrier locked version and S908U1 is the unlocked US version. The firmware for these versions are interchangeable so you can flash the ATT model with S908U1 firmware.
2. Download patched odin v3.14.1_3B_PatchedD.zip from https://xdaforums.com/t/patched-o...1.3762572/ as regular odin does not allow flashing mismatched firmware.
3. Download the firmware from S908U1 XAA version from https://samfrew.com/model/SM-S908U1/region/XAA/ Extract as there will be multiple files.
4. Connect S22U to the windows PC.
5 .Put s22u in download/recovery/odin mode. Power down. Press Volume up and down together and then press Volume up to go into recovery (a green screen would appear).
6. Start odin and then select different files for different categories and then start.
7, It should be now the US unlocked version.
Finally i received end of 3rd day. it was memorial day holiday when i ordered hence the delay. Was able to cancel it 4th day. Will likely get bill including the activation fee which will see if can get waived . Thanks OP
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No, I had to call and got a lunatic who was super suspicious of how I got the phone for $360. He eventually refunded it but I was on the phone for something like 45 minutes.
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I didn't call until I got the final bill. That was the first time I ever contacted them. The first bill just had the monthly service charge plus the activation fee and then a bill for the second month popped up with a negative balance. That one disappeared at some point and a final bill generated which was the same one sent to my home that had the DPP balance on it. Idk what happened with the rep but he was unhinged. 😵 💫 He acted like I reduced the price online myself or something. 🤣 It's ok though, he did refund it in the end but I won't be doing any Verizon deals for a while.
Yes, I ordered on 17th got phone on 20th and paid off phone and cancelled line on 21st.
Sunday 6/15:
Ordered from Walmart and paid $23 for tax.
Monday 6/16:
Created a Verizon Account after receiving Verizon email. Cannot link new line to new VZ account because I didn't know the phone or account number.
Friday 6/20:
5pm - Galaxy S24+ delivered from OnTrac
5:30pm - Linked new phone number/account to Verizon account
5:45pm - The bill was for $117 ($35 activation + $75 unlimited welcome - $15 welcome credit + $10 for device monthly charge + $8 for surcharges + $4 for tax & govt fees)
6pm - Went into a Verizon Corporate store with $360 cash to pay off the phone
7pm - Came home and logged back into Verizon account and the account showed that the phone was paid off
7:30pm Started a chat on Verizon website to cancel the account immediately. The reason I gave was bad signal at home and buyer's remorse. I asked to be refunded for the $35 activation fee as well as having the majority of the bill to be prorated since I've only activated the phone for less than 2 hours.
After trying to convince me to stay, eventually the representative said the line will be canceled and I should see a confirmation email in a few hours
Saturday 6/21:
No confirmation email came. The phone still works. Contacted support again via Chat. Nothing accomplished. Chat was so slow to respond. So I gave up.
Sunday 6/22:
Contacted support again and asked line/service to be canceled immediately. The line was canceled and I received a canceling email from Verizon confirming the cancellation.
New bill is now $72 (instead of the original $117). I assume the $72 is $35 activation fee + the prorated use/tax/surcharge, etc).
OTD total for my S24+ looks to be $455 ($360 phone + 23 tax + $72 bill)
Seems like the phone is still tied to the account. You can try with the other IEMI and then if it does not work try SIM swap again by first making sure s24 shows up on the new account. Sometimes SIM swap might not work in which case you can try your luck talking to CS to give you an unlock code. At the worst case, you do have to wait fro 60 days.
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