The four requirements

• Bought 60 or more days ago — and the device must not be active on another AT&T account.
• Paid in full — either at purchase, or the installment plan paid off. The installment balance must read zero before unlocking.
• Not reported lost, stolen, or involved in fraud.
• Account current — if you are a current AT&T customer, the bill cannot be past due.

You do not need to be an AT&T customer to unlock an AT&T phone. If you bought one secondhand and it meets all four conditions, you can submit an unlock request without an account.

Automatic or not, depending on the phone

This distinction is the one worth reading twice. An eligible Apple, Samsung or Google device on an AT&T Wireless plan should unlock by itself once all the requirements are met. Anything outside that set — older handsets, other manufacturers, AT&T Prepaid, and anyone without an AT&T account — has to submit a request at att.com.

For AT&T Prepaid the split is by platform rather than eligibility: Android phones use the AT&T Device Unlock app, while a prepaid iPhone has to go through the web request instead.

AT&T Prepaid

AT&T Prepaid phones can be unlocked after twelve months of service. That is shorter than the 365 days most prepaid brands impose in practice only by rounding, but it is the figure AT&T states.

Checking whether yours is locked

AT&T publishes more detail here than any other carrier, including a Samsung method that changed in September 2025.

• AT&T account — sign in, select the device, and look at Device info. It will say Device unlocked if it is.
• iPhone — Settings, General, About, then scroll to Carrier Lock. "SIM locked" means locked.
• Samsung released before 1 September 2025 — Settings, About phone, Software information, then read Service provider software version. Ending in ATT/ATT means an AT&T device that can be unlocked. Containing ATT but ending in something else means it was already unlocked before it came to AT&T. No ATT at all means AT&T cannot unlock it and you need the original provider.
• Samsung released after 1 September 2025 — Settings, Connections, More connection settings, then Network lock status.

Military deployment

AT&T is the most accommodating of the three here: active-duty personnel deploying can unlock a device before paying it off. Flag the deployment when you submit the unlock request, then email the deployment documents. Both T-Mobile and Verizon still require the balance settled first.

Three different things called a lock

AT&T uses the word for more than one feature, and searching for one turns up the others. They are unrelated, and you may need to deal with more than one when you switch.

• Device unlock — frees the handset to accept another carrier's SIM. That is what the rest of this page covers.
• Wireless Account Lock — a free security feature in the AT&T app that disables transactions and account changes. It protects the account, not the phone, and locked features simply appear greyed out. On AT&T Wireless: tap the person icon, then Wireless account lock; only users with primary or secondary access can change it, and AT&T emails the primary account holder and texts every active line when it is switched. On AT&T Prepaid the path differs — pick the number, then Profile & Settings, then Account Info & Preferences, then Wireless Account Lock, and you must enter a one-time code texted to the device to confirm. Standalone tablets and hotspots have to be handled by contacting AT&T.
• Carrier Lock — the label on the iPhone settings screen you use to check whether the device is locked. It reports status; it does not control anything.

If a transfer or change is being refused and the device is already unlocked, Wireless Account Lock is the likely cause.

Business and other edge cases

• Business-owned devices on a contract can be unlocked once the service commitment term has ended.
• A device active on another AT&T account will not unlock, even if it otherwise qualifies.
• AT&T cannot unlock a phone it did not sell — that goes back to the original carrier or manufacturer.

Once it is unlocked

An unlocked phone is worth more and costs less to run. It also removes the main reason people stay on a plan they have outgrown. Two things are worth knowing: check the phone supports the bands your new carrier uses before you switch, because unlocked does not mean fully compatible, and re-pick your plan rather than porting your old one across — data pricing has changed a great deal, and most people are paying for far more than they use.