Unlocking a Note 3 AT&T phone by rooting

[Crxssroad]

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong section or this specific question has been asked before, but I'd like to hear opinions and advice on this from other people, preferably people who've already gone through this process but anyone can throw in their two cents.

My issue is that since I bought this phone from eBay and not directly from AT&T I can't ask the company to unlock it for me because they're asking all this information I don't have access to(like the previous owner's account number or his/her name). I could activate it on AT&T but don't want to because their data plans are priced ridiculously and I can't be bothered to guess how much data I'm going to use a month(another ridiculous notion). I could very well just use 300mb in a month, just as easily as I can use 8gb in a day. I'm not a prophet, I can't tell. /endrant

So my own solution is to use the instructions on this thread and work it out myself. I have experience with flashing handhelds and installing custom firmware(mostly on PSP's) so I'm aware of how careful I have to be through all of the steps, but there ARE a few concerns I have.

One of them is if I need to activate it on AT&T before I do this on my own? I read somewhere that I had to do this before I could unlock it because AT&T can somehow lock my phone completely. I'm not sure on the details, I lost the link to the article, but it had to do with devices that were made after a certain date(can't remember when this was either, sorry). Is there even a need for this though, if I'm going to root the device anyway?

I don't have a warranty on the phone so my only real concern will be bricking the phone, but I'm confident enough I can do it.

 

[wizzrah]

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong section or this specific question has been asked before, but I'd like to hear opinions and advice on this from other people, preferably people who've already gone through this process but anyone can throw in their two cents.

My issue is that since I bought this phone from eBay and not directly from AT&T I can't ask the company to unlock it for me because they're asking all this information I don't have access to(like the previous owner's account number or his/her name). I could activate it on AT&T but don't want to because their data plans are priced ridiculously and I can't be bothered to guess how much data I'm going to use a month(another ridiculous notion). I could very well just use 300mb in a month, just as easily as I can use 8gb in a day. I'm not a prophet, I can't tell. /endrant

So my own solution is to use the instructions on this thread and work it out myself. I have experience with flashing handhelds and installing custom firmware(mostly on PSP's) so I'm aware of how careful I have to be through all of the steps, but there ARE a few concerns I have.

One of them is if I need to activate it on AT&T before I do this on my own? I read somewhere that I had to do this before I could unlock it because AT&T can somehow lock my phone completely. I'm not sure on the details, I lost the link to the article, but it had to do with devices that were made after a certain date(can't remember when this was either, sorry). Is there even a need for this though, if I'm going to root the device anyway?

I don't have a warranty on the phone so my only real concern will be bricking the phone, but I'm confident enough I can do it.

Android and Sony's proprietary OS for the PSP are two different things.

According to the post, it does not seem like you need to have an active AT&T account.

As for the last question, what do you mean by need? You do you mean to ask if you need to unlock your phone to root?

If that is the case, you would only need to unlock it if you are going to use it on another network. Otherwise, No.

 

[Crxssroad]

Android and Sony's proprietary OS for the PSP are two different things.

According to the post, it does not seem like you need to have an active AT&T account.

As for the last question, what do you mean by need? You do you mean to ask if you need to unlock your phone to root?

If that is the case, you would only need to unlock it if you are going to use it on another network. Otherwise, No.

I'm aware of the differences between a PSP and an Android device. The comparison was only to suggest I'm apt at following instructions.

The last question was not if I needed to unlock the phone to root it, but if I needed to activate it on AT&T's network before I unlock it by rooting. Or does rooting the device bypass the need to go through AT&T's circuits to unlock the phone?

 

[wizzrah]

I'm aware of the differences between a PSP and an Android device. The comparison was only to suggest I'm apt at following instructions.

The last question was not if I needed to unlock the phone to root it, but if I needed to activate it on AT&T's network before I unlock it by rooting. Or does rooting the device bypass the need to go through AT&T's circuits to unlock the phone?

It doesn't look like you need to have it activated.

 

[Crxssroad]

It doesn't look like you need to have it activated.

Thank you for the affirmation. I'm still sitting on the decision to do this, but I might go through with it tomorrow if everything is in order.

 

[wizzrah]

Thank you for the affirmation. I'm still sitting on the decision to do this, but I might go through with it tomorrow if everything is in order.

It's better if you research it more. The guy also said AT&T didn't want to give him an unlock code, so it is similar to your situation. He did it without AT&T's help/involvement.

Sent from my One Xl using Tapatalk

 

[Crxssroad]

It's better if you research it more. The guy also said AT&T didn't want to give him an unlock code, so it is similar to your situation. He did it without AT&T's help/involvement.

Sent from my One Xl using Tapatalk

Just a quick update. I rooted my phone last night and used the RegionLock Away. Went to a Metro PCS this morning and everything went smoothly.

Now I can rest assured that wherever I go, I'll be one sim card away from cell service.

 

[wizzrah]

Just a quick update. I rooted my phone last night and used the RegionLock Away. Went to a Metro PCS this morning and everything went smoothly.

Now I can rest assured that wherever I go, I'll be one sim card away from cell service.

Cool!

Sent from my One Xl using Tapatalk

 

[mrv427]

what program did you use to unlock the note 3 from at&t. and did it flag knoxs?
I have been looking to unlock my note 3. be I realy want to unlock the bootloader too.