UnlockBase

Update 19th June 2015: Too complicated ?! Don’t want to risk to flash your phone with new firmware ?! Please take a look to our new Official mobile “Device Unlock” app method to unlock your Samsung using official Android App.

The Samsung Galaxy Avant (SM-G386T) cell phone from T-Mobile USA is using a custom firmware preventing the phone from being unlocked by code as there is no way to enter it (the phone is simply not asking for “SIM Network Unlock PIN”). Before this post, the only way to Unlock the phone was by using the official T-Mobile  “Mobile Device Unlock App” which is an Android app called “Device Unlock” that allows you to request and apply a mobile device unlock directly from the device.

So what do you do if you get an Unlock Code but you cannot use it?

Now there is a solution consisting of an upgrade to the firmware of the phone with MetroPCS Firmware instead of T-Mobile, and this will allow the phone to ask for the Unlock Code. Below you will find a tutorial about how to do this. Once you flash (update) your Phone with this New Firmware, please make sure that your Samsung SM-G386T is asking for “SIM Network Unlock PIN”. And if the answer is yes you can then click this link to order the Unlock Code of your Samsung Galaxy Avant from T-Mobile USA.

Service Name: Samsung T-Mobile USA [NEW GEN 2015] – NCK + SPCK (1<>4 Hours Mon-Fri) – [Tool ID: 775]

Step by Step Tutorial Firmware Upgrade
Samsung Galaxy Avant (SM-GT386T) to MetroPCS Firmware

Disclaimer: UnlockBase is not responsible if users break / brick or damage their phone while trying to use this method. You must not use this firmware for any other Android Cell Phone other than the Samsung Galaxy Avant (SM-G386T) from T-Mobile USA. Do so at your own risk. If you’re not sure what you are doing, please seek assistance at a local cell phone service center in your area.

Step 1 (Preparation): 

1. Download the Special MPCS Firmware for Samsung SM-G386T using think link.
2. Download ODIN v3.09 Service Software using this link.
3. Make sure your phone battery is charged more than 60%.
4. Enable USB Debugging, by open Settings > Developers Option > USB Debugging
   If Developers Option is hidden, go to Settings > About Phone > Built Number (tap on it for 5-8 times)
5. Make sure you install the Samsung Galaxy Avant USB drivers on your PC, if you haven’t already.

(Optional: Download the Original T-Mobile Firmware for Samsung SM-G386T using think link.)

Step 2 (Update SM-G386T Firmware): 

1. Run Odin3 v3.09 as administrator (Right-Click: Run as Administrator).
2. Switch OFF your Samsung Galaxy Avant SM-G386T
3. Boot in download mode, by pressing the Volume Down + Home + Power Key simultaneously.
   
4. When a construction Android robot icon with a warning triangle appears on screen:Tap Volume Up button to enter Download Mode:
5. Connect the Samsung Galaxy Avant SM-G386T (T-Mobile) to your PC with the USB cable.
   Odin will automatically detect your phone and show the “Added!” message.
6. In the Odin, click on AP or PDA
   and then choose G386T1UVU1ANH3_G386T1TMB1ANH3_G386T1UVU1ANH3_HOME.tar file.
   
7. Ensure Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options are selected selected in Odin
   while the Re-Partition option is unchecked (this is very important).
8. Click Start in Odin and wait for the software to update your phone.
   
9. Once the root installation is done, your phone will reboot
   and soon a PASS message with a green background appears in the left-most box at the very top of Odin.
10. You can close Odin after device turns on.
11. Your Samsung Galaxy Avant SM-G386T is now fully update with MetroPCS Firmware!

AFTER FLASHING A SAMSUNG SM-G386T T-MOBILE WITH THIS FIRMWARE THE PHONE WILL ASK FOR A NETWORK CODE WHEN YOU PUT A NON APPROVED CARRIER’S SIM CARD ON THE PHONE. AFTER YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE SM-G386T YOU CAN FLASH A T-MOBILE FIRMWARE BACK TO THE DEVICE SO THAT IT GOES BACK TO STOCK AND THE CUSTOMER DOES NOT LOSE WARRANTY. PHONE WILL REMAIN UNLOCKED.

When it comes to mobile phones, most people are choosing to hop on the smartphone bandwagon.  Not only do these phones offer an assortment of features and application capabilities, but they also come in many shapes and sizes.  And best of all, some of them are unlocked, meaning they can be used on various networks.  Most importantly, some of them can be used overseas, making them perfect for those of you who travel internationally or have loved ones who are in the military.

Here’s a quick look at five of the most popular unlocked phones that can be used internationally.  Do keep in mind, though, that once you land in a different country, you’ll need to purchase a new SIM card for the carrier you wish to use; this allows you to make international calls without going bankrupt.

Asus ZenFone 4

The ZenFone 4 is an incredibly affordable smartphone.  If you want a larger display screen, opt for the ZenPhone 5.  The ZenFone comes with several attractive features, including:

• 5-megapixel camera
• Intel Atom processor
• Android 4.3
• 1GB of RAM
• Moto G

If you liked the Moto X, then you’ll love the Moto G.  Available without a contract and for only $179, the smartphone features Android 4.4 KitKat, great performance, and specifically directed toward people traveling internationally, it is available with GSM.

Nokia Lumia 625

If you’re wanting to travel with a Windows phone, then the Nokia Lumia 625 is an excellent option that you should take advantage of.  It has 512MB of RAM, a 4.7-inch display, a 2,000mAh battery and much more.  Although this phone regularly retails for nearly $300, you can usually find it online for much cheaper.

Asus PadFone Mini

Wanting a smartphone that doubles as a tablet?  If so, you’ll love the PadFone Mini.  It comes out of the box with Android 4.3 as well as 1GB of RAM.  It’s 8-megapixel camera takes amazing pictures and captures clear video.  When it comes to extreme versatility for international travel, this is the phone you’ll want to invest in.

Sony Xperia E Dual

Although this phone doesn’t come with a microSD card slot, it still features a rear-facing camera, 4GB of memory, a big battery life and plenty of compatible apps.  You can usually find this phone for well under $100, and it works well with just about any international carrier.

If you would like more information about unlocking your cell phone to use while traveling abroad, contact UnlockBase today.

It wasn’t that long ago that unlocking your cell phone was like going to the underground black market and purchasing some illegal unlock code, followed then by hitting up a dealer on the way home who dealt unlocking services as a side job. Nowadays, though, that’s all behind us. Thanks to the FCC, carriers must now allow you to unlock your phone if you meet certain requirements.

Here’s a quick look at the legal way for unlocking an AT&T cell phone.

Make sure you meet the requirements

First and foremost, you’ll need to meet the following requirements to unlock AT&T phone:

• Your contract has ended and all terms have been fulfilled
• If your contract hasn’t ended, your remaining balance and an Early Termination Fee will have to be paid
• Your account is in good standing
• The phone has not been reported lost or stolen
• The phone must be fully paid for
• Prepaid phones must have previously had active service with AT&T for at least 60 days
• GoPhones must have previously had active service with AT&T for 6 months

Locate Your IMEI Number

Once you have made sure that you meet the above mentioned requirements, you’ll then need to identify your phone’s IMEI number, which can be viewed by typing *#06# on your keypad and hitting SEND or CALL. You’ll receive a message with your IMEI number or it will automatically appear on your screen depending on the type of AT&T phone you have.

Give the Number to Your Unlock Code Service Provider

Contact the service provider who you are getting an unlock code through and give them your IMEI number. They will in turn give you an unlock code either for free or for a fee. Do keep in mind that you need to get the code from a trustworthy source or the data on your phone could be exploited. The service provider who gives you an unlock code should provide you with step-by-step instructions for unlocking your phone. If you have any questions, make sure to contact UnlockBase today.

Here’s a quick look at 10 common questions and answers relating to the FCC and its unlocking guidelines.

1) Is the FCC okay with consumers unlocking their cell phones?

Yes.  There was a ban on unlocking phones, but it has been lifted.

2) What do the FCC guidelines mandate U.S. wireless carriers to do?

The guidelines instruct that five of the nation’s biggest US wireless carriers must inform their customers of the dates and stipulations related to when their phones can be unlocked.

3) Does the FCC implement a fee when a phone is unlocked?

No.  The FCC mandates that carriers not charge an unlock fee when a consumer has met all ‘unlocking’ requirements.  The providers themselves, however, may charge a fee if the consumer has not met the requirements, such as an Early Termination Fee.

4) Does the FCC decide when phones can be unlocked?

The FCC says that phones can be unlocked when the contract with the carrier has been fulfilled.  If the contract has not been fulfilled and the carrier charges an Early Termination Fee, this fee must first be paid before the phone can be unlocked.

5) What does the FCC say about unlocking prepaid phones?

All prepaid phones can be unlocked, but there may be delayed unlocking dates.  For example, some carriers will mandate that you cannot unlock a prepaid phone until after it has been activated for at least 60 days.  All carriers must allow prepaid phones to be unlocked at least one year after initial activation.

6) Does the FCC unlock all phones once the contract has ended?

No. The FCC itself does not unlock phones, however, some carriers automatically unlock them after a contract is up.

7) What does the FCC say about unlocking phones for military members?

There are exceptions in which the FCC mandates that military members who are deployed internationally will receive the right to have their phones unlocked before a contract has been fulfilled, and most times, the associated accounts must be in good standing.

8) If I owe money on my phone but not the service itself, can I get my phone unlocked?

If you purchased your phone through a network carrier and your contract has ended but you still owe money on the phone, you will most likely be required to pay off the balance on your phone before you can unlock it.

9) Can a lost or stolen phone be unlocked?

Yes, but not if it is reported lost or stolen before it gets unlocked.

10) Will an unlocked phone work on any carrier?

No. The technology on your phone must be compatible with the technology being used by the network carrier. GSM Cell Phone will only work on a GSM Carrier and will not work on CDMA Network Provider, and CDMA Cell Phone will not work on GSM Carrier but only CDMA Service Provider.

If you would like more information on unlocking your phone, contact UnlockBase today.

If you have a cell phone that you would like to have unlocked, there’s a good chance that it is on a Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon network. Fortunately, unlocking a phone on any of these networks isn’t as difficult as you might think.

Sprint Unlock Policy

• You must be current on all payments
• You can’t have a write-off balance associated with the phone you want to unlock
• Your contract has been fulfilled
• If your contract isn’t fulfilled, you can pay an early termination fee
• Phone cannot be associated with a bill sent to collections

AT&T Unlock Policy

• Phone must be currently locked to AT&T network
• Phone cannot be reported lost or stolen
• Phone cannot be connected with any type of fraudulent activity
• Contract must be fulfilled or an early termination fee must be paid
• Phone must be associated with only one AT&T account

If phone was obtained through an early upgrade, the unlock cannot take place until 14 days have passed since the phone was activated. And finally if you own a prepaid/GoPhone AT&T phone, it must be active for 60+ days before it can be unlocked, and there can be no unpaid balance.

T-Mobile Unlock Policy

• Phone must be a T-Mobile device
• Phone cannot be reported lost or stolen
• The account the phone is connected to must be in good standing
• You can request only two unlock codes within 12 months
• All postpaid and/or prepaid balances must be paid in full
• The phone itself must be completely paid for
• Early termination fees must be paid if the account is canceled early

Verizon Unlock Policy

Please keep in mind that most devices obtained through a postpay service account with Verizon are not normally locked.  Also, 4G LTE Verizon devices are not locked, meaning there is no unlock code needed to use them on a different carrier.  3G devices are not locked either, except for Global Ready 3G phones.  To unlock these phones, either of the following unlock codes will work:

• 000000
• 123456

If you do not know how to access the unlock menu on a Global Ready 3G phone, simply give us a call and we can walk you through the process.

*Bonus Tip

Almost all carriers have special processes you must go through to unlock a phone for Deployed Military Personnel reasons.  View the features of UnlockBase today and learn more about the cell phone unlocking services that we provide.

The cost of roaming is overwhelming and confusing. If you’re with AT&T, it remains one of the most expensive carriers for using a cellphone internationally. Learn more about how much you’re paying in AT&T roaming fees, and two solutions to help avoid these costs by unlocking your phone.

Infographic | Avoid AT&T Roaming Costs by Unlocking Cell Phone

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Today we have just added a new and exciting service for Unlocking all Generic Cell Phones from AT&T USA. This new service is available from Monday to Friday with an advertised turnaround of delivery of up to 3 Business days. This new Unlock Service even supports the latest following cell phones from AT&T USA (but not limited to) that require a network code:

• Amazon Fire,
• Asus PadFone X,
• Blackberry Z10, Q10,
• Garmin G60,
• HTC M8, Desire 610, Desire Eye
• Kyocera DuraForce,
• NEC Terrain,
• Nokia Lumia 520, 635, 820, 830, 900, 920 1520, 2520.

To make it simpler, if you get a “Not Available” result with any of these (cheaper) service below:

– AT&T USA – Generic “Out of Contract & Clean” (ZTE, Samsung, Sony, etc…)
– AT&T USA – Nokia Lumia 520, 635, 820, 900, 920, 925, 1020, 1520 (Express)
– AT&T USA – Nokia Lumia 520, 635, 820, 900, 920, 925, 1020, 1520 (Regular)
– AT&T USA – Nokia Lumia 520, 635, 820, 900, 920, 925, 1020, 1520 (Slow)
– AT&T USA – Nokia Lumia 520, 820, 900, 920, 1020, 1520 (Low Success Rate)

Then you can use this new service :

Service Name: AT&T USA – Generic “Premium” (Nokia, Amazon Fire, Kyocera, etc..) – [Tool ID: 198]

This service also support all AT&T Lumia Models. Even Lumia 520 IMEI starting with 353045 & IMEI starting 359208, Lumia 635 IMEI starting 353047, Lumia 820, Lumia 900, Lumia 920 all IMEI including IMEI starting 354149, Lumia 925 IMEI starting 357260, Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520 IMEI starting 358341 model. This is an exclusive service from us. Make sure your phone is not hardlocked as there is no refund for hardlocked Lumia.

You can check our prices on our Wholesale Unlock Pricing page.

Christmas Sales season begin, and as usual competition is fierce to Unlock all the iPhone models from AT&T USA  – as of today we have just updated our list of services and have also reduced the price of all existing services. In total we now offer no less than 7 services for Unlocking absolutely all iPhone from AT&T USA, including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Regardless of whether they are “Out of Contract” or “Still in Contract” (Premium),  unlock your cell phone with us today.

Wholesale price for Gold User start at $3
and are still negotiable if you find cheaper with one of our competitor !

Unlock the iPhone from AT&T USA – Premium Services:

AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S & 5C “Premium” (2<>5 days)
AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S & 5C “Premium” (5<>15 days)
AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “Premium” (2<>5 days)

Unlock the iPhone from AT&T USA – Clean IMEI & Out of Contract Services:

AT&T USA – All iPhone Including 6/6+ “Out of Contract & Clean” (Express)
AT&T USA – iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S “Out of Contract & Clean” (3<>4 days)
AT&T USA – iPhone 5, 5C and 5S “Out of Contract & Clean” (3<>4 days)
AT&T USA – iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “Out of Contract & Clean” (3<>4 days)

You can check our prices on our Wholesale Unlock Pricing page.

Exclusively  for UnlockBase server we are now able to offer you three new services to Unlock any GSM Cell Phone from MetroPCS USA in less than 24 Hours. The first service is called “Regular“, this service works for any phone that has been with the company for more than 3 months. If your cell phone is in a contract for less than 3 months with MetroPCS then you can use the second service that called “Premium” instead. The last service we are offering is the “Premium Express” that delivers the unlock code in less than 2 Hours from 8:00am to 5:00 PM CDT from Monday to Saturday.

Absolutely all MetroPCS GSM Cell Phones are supported including these latest releases:

– Samsung Galaxy Mega, Galaxy Light, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Avant,
– Alcatel One Touch Fierce 2, OT-Evolve, OT-Evolve 2,
– LG 450, Optimus F60, Optimus F6, Optimus L70,
– ZTE Aspect, Concord II, Zmax,
– All Nokia Lumia,
– Kyocera Hydro.

The name of the three services with their Tool ID’s are listed below :

– MetroPCS USA – All GSM Models (Premium Express) – [Tool ID: 714]
– MetroPCS USA – All GSM Models (Premium) – [Tool ID: 713]
– MetroPCS USA – All GSM Models (Regular) – [Tool ID: 712]

Regular: Any MetroPCS GSM handset that has been activated on the network and has been a customer for more than 3 consecutive month. If you get a “NOT FOUND” answer on your code, it means that it is not available and even if you use any of the other services we will not be able to generate a code with this set of tools. Two common reasons for this is that the manufacturer never handed the code for that particular device or it is within a batch that was destined for another carrier IE T-Mobile. Second reason could be that this phone was blacklisted for improper use of device or device was reported lost or stolen.

Premium: You can use this service when the device was connected to the network, even if it has been less than 3 month. If you try the regular service and you get an answer “Try Premium Tool” you can use this tool to generate your code. If you get a “NOT FOUND” answer on your code, it means that it is not available and even if you use any of the other services we will not be able to generate a code with this set of tools.

Premium Express:  This service is available from MON – SAT from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM CDT. It’s destined to generate ANY code (EVEN IF IT WAS NEVER CONNECTED TO THE NETWORK) that is in the MetroPCS database AND is NOT BLACKLISTED. We here at Unlockbase are trying to provide a REAL EXPRESS service that has a turnaround of less than two hours. If you get a “NOT FOUND” answer on your code, it means that it is not available and even if you use any of the other services we will not be able to generate a code with this set of tools.

You can check the prices on our Wholesale Unlock Pricing page.

Since the competition is fierce to Unlock all the iPhone models from AT&T USA  – as of today we have just updated our list of services adding three new ones. And we have also reduced the price of all existing services. In total we now offer no less than 9 services for Unlocking absolutely all iPhone from AT&T USA, including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Regardsless of whether they are “Out of Contract” or “Still in Contract” (Premium),  unlock your cell phone with us today.

Unlock the iPhone from AT&T USA – Premium Services:

AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S & 5C “PREMIUM” (1<>2 days)
AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “PREMIUM” (1<>2 days)
AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “PREMIUM” (1<>3 days) – NEW
AT&T USA – Apple iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S & 5C “PREMIUM” (5<>15 days) – NEW

Unlock the iPhone from AT&T USA – Clean IMEI & Out of Contract Services:

AT&T USA – iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S “Out of Contract & Clean” (2<>5 days)
AT&T USA – iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 5C “Out of Contract & Clean” (1<>2 days) – NEW
AT&T USA – iPhone 5, 5C and 5S “Out of Contract & Clean” (2<>5 days)
AT&T USA – iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “Out of Contract & Clean” (1<>2 days)
AT&T USA – iPhone 6 and 6 Plus “Out of Contract & Clean” (1<>4 days) – NEW

You can check our prices on our Wholesale Unlock Pricing page.