[General Topics] S0AndS0:
[MENTION=5303842]brookeaidan[/MENTION] - Not to trole you or anything but I noticed a pattern forming of telling people to just google it. Though its a good suggestion to use google, I'm not saying write pages or something, just be a bit more helpful if your going to post help. Maybe post a link to a google search for them (not everyone is a wiz a google) because this is hard to get into (unlocking or hacking or rooting) the first time but once someone gets a win it's all good for the most part from there on.

I would suggest;

1. example Google search the following or to help resolve the questions in this here thread:

"Iphone"+"unlock" how to similar:xda

Or

"Iphone"+"unbrick" how to similar:iphone-developers

2. If you've got some knowledge to drop or experience to share its a good idea to post it so that the original poster can benefit and all future readers. For example:

When I had to unlock my first phone I first read up on the legalities, the how to(s) and then picked the best rout of action... at that time it was not illegal in the nation I resided and most of the how to(s) where way over my head (at that time) so I found that adding "solved" to the search queries pulled one up on "how to unlock your phone with help from service provider" in that guide it went over the steps of escalating a call without burning bridges and the legitimate reasons that you can give a service provider to assist you with unlocking a device.

Example of escalating the call

Service provider turns a request down

Respond something like

"That's ok <insert name> I won't waist your time further, can you please connect to your supervisor"

When supervisor answers, this is usually after the person you've just talked to has shared some words about you to their supervisor, so be polite but firm with the first person you talked to ;) they'll likely also try to turn you down as well. Don't get impatient here, instead re-state your wishes completely, pause long enough that the supervisor can "grunt" that they've herd you but not long enough that they can interrupt you until you've finished everything that you need to say, if they do interrupt say something like

"I respect your time <insert name> and I need you to listen because this is very important <continue statement>"

When you're telling your story some things to keep in mind; don't lie, don't raze your voice (tention in the voice works far better), know that the first 2 or 3 people you talk to may not have the knowledge or the ability to do what you want so treat it like an adventure :D

Now for the reasons why a service provider might be cool enough to help you;

~ A family or business emergency, vacation, or trip is taking you out of your provider's coverage without incurring steep roaming charges wile your abroad.

This was the one that worked for me at least and was suggested by others. Make it sound like it could happen soon and let them know that you love your device and your service and don't want to have to leave them just to get a phone that'll work over seas because you love your phone (remember ;) )... most people get it by then and are more apt to be on your side about connecting you to the department that handles unlocking.

So to recap

~ polite but firm and prepared to repeat yourself

~ request to be connected to the person(s) or department that can resolve your issue

~ use the persons name and the names of the persons to talked to before

~ treat it like an adventure

Doing so ensures

~ the person you are talking to is willing to help

~ prevents you from getting turned down and hung up on

~ let's them know that you will remember them, this is powerful when used correctly

~ by being up beet with company represinitives on the phone you can make them really eager to please. Note though; not to be to chatty or friendly as this will drag things out.

Some additional notes about unlocking devices:

I've unlocked many phones (no iphones yet) and two with the above method before doing it with guides and USB and programs or exploits on other devices. Both routs are tedious at times but if you take notes and are persistent you'll find a method that works in either rout.

In all companies the least secure and most flexibility/leverage can be found in the call centers, as a customer it's a good idea to know how to get your moneys worth out of 'em so perhaps look up social engineering (The Art of Deception was an entertaining read) or NLP (Darin Brown can be found on Youtube and it's good for a laugh too. Tools like that when used to get what you want as a customer can make life far quicker and easier even if your not out to exploit something but instead have a legitimate concern. I'm not saying that you should become some kind of mind master but instead take a look at the key concepts and apply them to actively construct a conversation that leads to your goal. After playing round with both ways of unlocking I can say getting a service provider to do it for you is kinda more fun, ya get to make peoples days a bit more interesting (such as when ya get a talker that then clams up because the realize that the conversation is recorded on their end and they've just said... something...) and not stare into a PC screen but instead kick your feet up and let them handle it.

If you go with option 1 and find a guide and unlock your device at home do be sure your not going to get stuck with some kind of fine for breaking a law and be sure to look up guides on how to unbrick and or recover from boot loop; bricks and boot loops happen, knowing how to solve it before it happens makes things so much quicker.

If you go with option 2 be sure to not cancel or suspend your contract or otherwise alter your contract (such as adding international roaming, they tried that one a few times on me, just said "no, thanks though" and moved on) because such things are not needed And if they suggest it then; let them know that you will make contact just before traveling and that "this" call is to ensure that the next rep you talk to has only those steps left to do and that "this" call is to get all the time and technical intensive things out of the way so that you and the next rep are not scrableing to get it done that day. They may suggest all sorts of other solutions, like a pre-paid phone, this is where you loving your phone or needing something on it for business to work comes into play. If one level of supervisor doesn't cut it go higher. And if you're transfered more than twice and had to repeat yourself more than that then on the next transfer ask to be directly connected or to have the person that is trasfering you to stay on the line to help explain why your being trasfered to the new person; this makes it so that you are using duble the resources of the company and most of them know it, so getting you quickly trasfered and the issue explained becomes a priority to the first person you talked to and the second person your about to talk to is being put at ease because someone from their company is explaining things to them before you do (prepping the target) these two forces combined cause you to become viewed as within their circle and leads to them wanting to work with you more rather than just push you down the line. Like I said though don't go lieing to your service provider but know that there are ligit reasons you may have to require your service provider do this.

As with all things you see on the web use at own risk

And happy hacking, whether it be on humans or what they make.

Sent from either my SPH-D700 or myTouch3Gs

Debian Kit/QEMU Linux Install guide for all android devices that I'm writing:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2240397

Now have working Installers for ARM Java 7 JDK + Maptools + jMonkey