If I unlock my phone that's under contract, will AT&T block it?

smokn05

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I have a Motorola One 5G that's under contract. I want to keep my contract and keep my service so I'm not looking to switch carriers or anything. I read that the unlocked Motorola One 5G lets you turn off 5G but the locked AT&T version has that disabled. I love this phone and am very happy with my 4G coverage and plan but I don't really care about 5G coverage. I'd love to unlock the phone and turn off 5G but keep everything else the same. So if I pay to unlock it, will AT&T see that its unlocked and block the phone or my account? Thanks.
 

tadpoles

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If I unlock my phone that's under contract, will AT&T block it?

I have a Motorola One 5G that's under contract. I want to keep my contract and keep my service so I'm not looking to switch carriers or anything. I read that the unlocked Motorola One 5G lets you turn off 5G but the locked AT&T version has that disabled. I love this phone and am very happy with my 4G coverage and plan but I don't really care about 5G coverage. I'd love to unlock the phone and turn off 5G but keep everything else the same. So if I pay to unlock it, will AT&T see that its unlocked and block the phone or my account? Thanks.

That’s an interesting question and I’m curious as to what kind of feedback you’ll get. If it doesn’t cost much to unlock it you can give it a shot. In the event that it does cause issues with the service or AT&T blocks it they’d provably be able to relock it and the phone would likely be used fine.

It does seem like a lot of hassle potentially and I’d wonder is it worth the potential hassle?
 
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Smokeaire01

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I've had ATT for decades, and phones bought through the carrier. At some point I've unlocked all of those phones and haven't had any issues with the carrier.
I have bought unlocked Blackberry phones and now use a Pixel 4a, all using my ATT sim. No problems.
In fact (if this is still the case), if you are out of contract with your carrier you can call them to get the unlocked codes.
 

joeldf

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I would agree that AT&T won't really care as long as you keep paying on your account.

However, I'm not so sure unlocking it will get you what you want. It's still an AT&T branded phone, and AT&T still has access to certain settings by simply being on their network. The network settings could still be locked out such that you can't turn 5G off. They are kind of notorious for that.

But, I could be wrong.
 

smokn05

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Thanks for the answers. I figured once it's unlocked I could wipe and do a clean install of the unlocked OS. A bonus would be getting rid of the bloatware it came with. But as was said, I'm not sure just having the ability to turn off 5G is worth all the risk and effort. I'll have to think about it more.
 

hallux

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Carriers can DEFINITELY have access to adjust network settings by virtue of having their SIM inserted. I had a discussion either here (though I can't find it) or on another forum where we compared the mobile network sections on our Pixel 4a 5G devices. We were on different networks and the screens looked different.
 

VidJunky

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I kind of agree with everyone and I agree with joeldf that this may not get what you want. I have Verizon and a while back I had a device that was known to have an FM tuner built in that every other person who had it on other carriers could use but Verizon still blocked it even on my unlocked device simply by means of having their SIM installed. More recently the issue was Find My Mobile, a Samsung product, that was blocked by Verizon. They eventually removed the block but this was something just because of using their SIM or having their service.

I guess I have a question and a suggestion.

Why do you want to turn it off? I'm assuming that AT&T is similar to Verizon in the fact that if you want the truly fast 5G it would come at a price but they are giving away a version of it included with the plan. So if not because of cost what are the ill effects if it's on or not?

As for my suggestion, if this is a thing, turning off 5G, on this device and you've seen where others have done it or are doing it, then it very likely that you would not be the first to seek out this solution and you'd likely find someone that could answer if it even works with branded devices that have been unlocked. Probably in the Moto forums.

Lastly I can't imagine them cutting off service for unlocking the device but as in the examples I've given it may cause issues with other services or features of the device and probably won't get rid of the bloatware that came with the branded device. So there may actually be other downfalls... well "downfalls" is probably too harsh, maybe "unexpected" side effects is better... especially if you've never gone unlocked before. Well besides the naturally occurring unlock that happens a few months into most carrier plans.

Hopefully you'll let us know what you decide and how it turns out.
 

smokn05

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All valid points made. I'm a longtime BlackBerry guy and used to "fine tune" the old OS and run the latest beta BB OS when they came out. I have not messed with Android since I've made the switch though. I had read that the Moto One 5G only uses one band of 5G and it was the slowest. I have also read where 5G phones have ate through battery staying on a weaker 5G signal instead of switching to 4G.

Ultimately it's not that big of deal. I guess it's just me wanting to tweak something. Lol. If I go ahead and do it I'll be sure to update this thread.