[General Questions and Answers] Black-wolf:
GHORR: you did. unlocking the SIM is different from rooting the phone. Basically, think of it like this (Warning - long explanation):

Root: Allows you to install any software/apps and remove any apps you want, as well as gives you complete control over the phone with the

exception

of SIM lock.

SIM Lock: is coded into the hardware and ROM of the phone. When you try to insert a SIM in it that is not from the carrier that made the phone, the phone will not "allow" the SIM to be recognized as a legitimate SIM, and in this case, locking you into that carrier (AT&T in this case). This is what allows the carrier to "lock"

you

into a two year contract, and in return, you get the phone at a deep discount and prevents you from getting a phone cheap, and then switching SIMs to a cheaper carrier.

The normal, unlocked price for a phone is in the $300 and up range! By locking you into the contract, carriers can have a guarantee that you will be spending money for a couple of years to use their service or pay a penalty to get out of the contract. The only

real

reason to really

need

to unlock a phone is if you travel to areas where you are forced outside the carrier's normal service area and you don't want to have to pay roaming fees for doing so. Typically a carrier will allow you to have an "unlocked" phone if you do travel, especially if you travel internationally - even if you are on a contract. Having a SIM Locked phone is of course, frustrating if you want absolute total control.

There are (as far as I know) four ways to SIM unlock your phone:

1) Now, normally, unless you come up with a hack for the OS, you have to use your IMEI number to get the phone unlocked. The carrier takes the IMEI number, and knows what model phone you have, and then can generate a hash that is used to generate the unlock code. Then send you the unlock code. The thing they neglect to tell you, is that you

must

have another carrier's SIM (for example, from a foreign country). When you put the other SIM in, the phone "locks", and asks you to put in the unlock code. You get a total of three (or maybe five?) tries. As I understand it, this is done at both the hardware and software level.

2) There is a way to "unlock" the SIM carrier in the ROM, but it's hidden in the system directories. I'm not familiar w/ this, and as my phone is unlocked (I'm military and travel) I won't be able to work on it myself. You'd basically need to figure out what file contains what is basically the first hash code, then reverse engineer it to create a 2nd hash code, and then figure out how to take that 2nd hash code and combine it with the IMEI number to create the actual unlock code... A complicated process that is prone to error, and if you exceed your tries, you basically "soft brick" your phone.

3) another way to SIM unlock the phone, is to find a file that tells the ROM that your phone is or is not SIM Locked, and edit it so it tells the phone it's not SIM locked. This only works for that particular ROM. If you install a new ROM, or reinstall over the old ROM, you will need to find that file again, and edit it again.

4) the last way to SIM unlock the phone, is to find a third party unlock tool/company. These normally cost money, and there are a lot of scams out there to try to get your IMEI number or take your $$$. Some companies want you to send your phone to them, and they'll unlock it for a fee also. I personally do not recommend this, unless you absolutely need to get your phone unlocked, and if that's the case, just be forceful enough with the carrier in explaining to them that you are traveling.

Sorry I can't offer more help on this, but I hope it gives you and others insight into why the carriers lock their phones to their service, and to be honest, unless you do travel there really is no gain from SIM unlocking your phone. Even in an emergency, if your SIM is trashed, you can just take it out and dial 9-1-1 and your call will go through (I think it's actually a FCC regulation that requires all cell carriers to allow 9-1-1 calls to go through no matter what).

V/R

BlackWolf