Forum Discussion
Overseas military cannot unlock phone
I am permanently station overseas on orders and was just told by T-Mobile customer service representatives that I cannot unlock my iPhone 16 pro since there is a balance on it. I was under the impression that active duty service members on orders overseas were allowed to have their phones unlocked with or without balance on their account. T-mobiles’ website says it should be allowed with orders, but the customer service representatives did not give me the option to send up the orders.
Does anyone else have insight on this?
Therein lies the problem. The published policy says one thing but I have been told another by T-mobile reps over the phone. Per that website:
Military and other exceptions
Deployed military personnel who are customers in good standing are eligible to have their devices unlocked upon provision of deployment papers. Please contact us for more details.I would love the opportunity to provide my orders, but have been getting shut down by reps on the phone unfortunately.
That is why I suggested reaching out to T-Mobile with a DM explaining your situation on Twitter/X or Facebook. They are a tier 2 support right from the start. They have always been very helpful the few times I have contacted them.
T-Mobile is very straight forward with their SIM Unlock Policy.
SIM Unlock Policy | Unlock Your Mobile Wireless Device | T-Mobile https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy
There are supposed to be exceptions for certain circumstances. Try reaching out to T-Mobile via a DM on either Facebook or Twitter/X. Just be aware that if approved, an iPhone can take 3 weeks and sometimes longer for the SIM unlock to go through. This is because T-Mobile forwards the request to Apple and then it is up to Apple to complete. If you had an Android device, it could have literally been done in minites.
