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How to get the unlock code prompt on AT&T Nighthawk MR1100
I have a AT&T Nighthawk MR1100 through OTR Mobile. They are switching to T-Mobile based service so I had to get the unlock code and a T-Mobile post paid SIM. When I put the T-Mobile SIM in and power i...
If you can connect to T-Mobile network without entering the code, your device was unlocked.
Thanks
Thank you very much for your quick response. I went ahead and used that link to have OTR send me an unlock code. The way you describe what happened when you tried the instructions to get the unlock code prompt, I am wondering about something, and it has to do with which SIM card you had in your Nighthawk when you tried it. See, I had gotten the new SIM card and was going to try and get it activated, and that's when I got the prompt for the unlock code. You have to keep in mind that the old SIM card is meant to work on the AT&T network and with an AT&T device. The new SIM card switches you over to the T-Mobile network (much better anyway in my opinion) and so the device is saying "hey that ain't right" and proceeds to want to unlock the device in order for a foreign SIM to work. That's the only thing I can think of that could be causing you the headache.
I never got it with the T-Mobile SIM either. That’s why I’m assuming it was already unlocked. When I got my T-Mobile SIM, which I just went to a T-Mobile store and bought one for $10, it still didn’t work and was told that I needed a static IP and it would take 1-2 days and I would get an email with instructions on how to proceed. 3 days go by and no email then I saw a post on their Facebook page from someone in a similar situation and on a whim he factory reset his Nighthawk without a SIM in it and then put the T-Mobile SIM in and rebooted it and it was working. I followed the same thing and mine was working as well. So the static IPs must have been assigned but they just never sent out an email letting us know. Still haven’t received an email and it’s been about 10 days. Just got lucky stumbling across that post on the OTR Facebook page.
If your Netgear nighthawk is not AT&T branded it should be unlocked. Mine is AT&T branded and sadly this one I inserted the TMobile sim that OTR sent me and it is now locked and unuseable. I tried factory reset and it still says device locked. Inserted AT&T sim factory reset, still locked. Anyone have an idea how to recover it from being device locked?
Yes, I wrote about this very thing and you can see my answer in Reply 10 of this same thread on that topic. In short you need to unlock the Nighthawk in order to use the SIM card they sent you and yes, that SIM card will work in your Nighthawk once you unlock it. Fortunately OTR has their own unlock service and it's only $30 for the service. I just ordered it and still waiting for the unlock code with the instructions in my email. The reason for the SIM they sent you is so that they can get your service off of AT&T and switch you to the T-Mobile service which is far more reliable and faster and that's why it's called the BLAST plan. Be patient with OTR, I can attest to the fact that their customer service has been extremely good but they have been closed like many businesses by the COVID-19 virus. I am waiting for them to call me and get me switched over. Hope all that makes sense, if not feel free to ask.
This the link on the OTR website where you will find the service listed.
Thanks. And no I have had 1 on blast for past week I think maybe a bit more. Honestly for me about the same as it was on ATT far as speeds, bit slower. I was getting max 77 Mbps down and 14 Mbps up on ATT. I am getting max 38 Mbps down 6 Mbps up on TMobile. But with understanding. I live closer to Dallas and the number they give me is for Minnisota. Ping times are around 40 ms higher then I was getting to Dallas which was usually 37 now I am at near 80ms. TMobile appears to be using ATT towers here so great on that, but the push to MN is a mistake. If you just watch TV that isn't an issue, if you play online games it is. I have had OTR since Sept. last year and your right that the CS has been great. The downside is at least when they were with AT&T was losing broadband data, and having to get in chat with them. All fine and good, unless like me it has happened the past 2 Saturdays(I have 1 still locked to AT&T). I spent a total of nearly 3 hours in chat hold today, just to get them to reset the data. Yes them going to blast and covids was the perfect storm for OTR. BTW they said they will unlock legacy customers devices for free, and the cost for the new plan lowered to $65 a month.
Thank you very much for bringing me up to speed. I've only been with OTR a few months, first on the Velocity 2, a nice little device but I have more devices than it can handle and the Nighthawk has been awesome. And I just read on their website this notice they put out that they will waive the cost of the Unlock. Thanks again for all the encouraging news and I look forward to the switch to T-Mobile. I use them as my carrier and know I will get good reception here in Arkansas, anything beats the hell outta Comcast, or as Trump calls them, CONCast, he's not shy about telling the world the truth! Very good to hear from another satisfied OTR customer, take care and Godspeed!
https://otr-mobile.s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/Corona+final+final.pdf
- I completely disagree with OTR's customer service being good. It has been absolutely horrible. I put my request in for an unlock on March 17 and still have yet to receive an unlock code. Live chat takes on average 2 and a half hours to get in touch with someone who tells you to just wait longer. There have been no updates given for weeks at a time. I can't request an unlock with ATT since I bought the device through OTR mobile. ATT claims that I am not the owner. I asked OTR to take my device off their account so that I could make the request myself and they said no. It is absolutely atrocious. I am half tempted to file a grievance with the states attorney generals office, consumer protection division for fraudulent business practices.
If anyone has any recommendations for other Internet providers (I don't get wired where I live) I would probably pay double what OTR is asking just to get away from them.I can't fault your sentiment about OTR Mobile, though in their defense (and yes, it pains me mightily to defend them) they're dealing with a situation for which they had little time, and I suspect even less desire, to prepare. And when it hit, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, they were completely overwhelmed, from whatever their daily support volume is to over 8000 calls/chats per day (or so I've been told). I've only been a customer since January, and I've spoken to support a couple times in January and February. At THAT TIME, they were quick and efficient, and the answers I got were reasonable.
Fast forward a month, and they're a complete shambles. Phone is unavailable, chat is their only communication, and people are trying constantly for days or weeks to get to chat with someone. And when they do, they find that NOTHING will be handled quickly. Yes, they'll send you a new Sim. MAYBE. If not, as in my case, you go through the whole process again. And the second time, they'll send you a new Sim. Fortunately, this time it arrived. I haven't tried to unlock the device because at this moment I'm still functional on AT&T. This, of course, can change at any moment, and my Nighthawk hotspot will become a useless doorstop until I get it unlocked. But I'm NOT touching it 'til then.
BUT, AT&T won't unlock Nighthawks purchased from OTR Mobile, NetGear won't unlock Nighthawks at all, and for whatever reason OTR Mobile also says they CAN'T unlock the devices. So you have a Sim and a hockey puck instead of a hotspot.
OTR Mobile contracts with SOME COMPANY to do provide unlock codes, and things are slow. Periodically, unlock codes dribble into OTR Mobile and go out to frustrated, angry, desperate customers. Then THAT company stops functioning - I've heard variously that they were simply overwhelmed and that they shut down because of the virus. Don't know which and don't care, but in theory, OTR Mobile contracts with a different company. One they say is "very small".
Once again, occasionally, a few hundred codes drop into OTR Mobile. When asked WHEN I WAS LIKELY TO GET MY CODE, I was told by the person on the chat "They're at least 3500 codes behind. We have no idea. My manager says the new company hasn't met a single milestone."
On the two chat occasions, both OTR Mobile people recommended I go to DC-Unlocker to get the device unlocked. I checked their website and was uncomfortable (think foreign, teenage hacker group), and was reluctant to give them an IMEI number, and even more reluctant to give them money. Then I went online to see how their reputation is. There are some people out there screaming that what DC-Unlocker provided didn't work and that its a scam. Add to that their system where you end up buying credits or bitcoin or whatever, so your payment isn't recoverable, and it wasn't confidence inspiring. BUT, since Morgan, on the chat, assured me that OTR Mobile would REIMBURSE users (exactly HOW OTR Mobile will do this wasn't explained) for the cost of having their devices unlocked by DC-Unlocker, I figure when I HAVE to switch, I'll take the chance on them.
BUT, if you want to get converted to T-Mobile, remembering that even WITH the new Sim, unlock code, and, theoretically, all the information needed to get the static IP address, you may STILL join the ranks of people who have been unsuccessful getting all this to work, you're going to have to pay someone to unlock your device. Or wait for your code to show up at OTR Mobile and hopefully get to you.
So, yes, OTR Mobile, looks terrible, and has failed miserably to provide even the barest minimum of support expected by most of us who have been paying for what they provide (I've heard that payments were still charged even when users were disconnected but I don't know this to be true). There are things OTR Mobile COULD have done:
1. Send an immediate message to every customer stating that not a single customer would receive another bill or be charged a cent until they were successfully migrated to T-Mobile.
2. Keep the same fee. If AT&T is $60/month, a much higher-cost company than T-Mobile, surely T-Mobile CAN'T charge more for their generally inferior service.
3. Tell EVERY customer that a new Sim will be sent ASAP. No need to contact anyone, no need to sit for hours or days to reach a chat person. Nothing. Just a new Sim.
4. If OTR Mobile REALLY IS incapable of providing the unlock codes themselves (which I find hard to believe, certainly for devices they sold), contract with a large, reputable company to get unlock codes as quickly as possible. There HAS TO BE ONE SOMEWHERE.
Just those 4 things would have, I believe, mitigated the anger and frustration experienced by thousands of their customers. And if, diety help us, DC-Unlocker IS the best choice, OTR-Mobile should have contracted directly with them to provide unlock services for every customer that needs it. No having us contact OTR Mobile OR DC-Unlocker. For any device OTR Mobile sold, they must have the IMEI and could handle it. Of course AT&T should also be able to unlock the devices, as should the company that made and sold them.
I also fault AT&T for dumping this on OTR Mobile then continuing in the face of the current crisis. They COULD have told OTR Mobile that their ejection was postponed for the duration of the current situation, providing a few months of service while OTR Mobile, in a calmer environment, moved people to the replacement service.
In any case, as far as I'm concerned, all involved have handled this poorly, but it's pointless to be mad at a virus, and AT&T for sure doesn't give a damn how much chaos, frustration and pain they cause, leaving us with OTR Mobile to be the brunt of our ire. Which they deserve, but they're not the only ones.
As for the question you actually asked, there are a number of other providers - I know they exist because they've been mentioned in the many threads out there. Unfortunately, the mentions are buried in the thousands of posts and I recall mobilemusthave.com. There's a site somewhere that supposedly lets you compare a bunch of different providers but I can't find the reference to it.
I purchased a unlock code through cellcorner which provided me with unlock software, no instructions
This whole unlock situation has been a monumental pain in the behind for a LOT of people. And having to play games giving crypto-currency to a bunch of foreign hackers and hope they actually provide what you need to make your device usable is repugnant.
At this point I know of people that STAYED with a provider that used AT&T because getting their device unlocked was so onerous.
In theory, My Nighthawk is unlocked, but since I'm not connected to any network with the Nighthawk right now - I got the T-Mobile Sim from OTRMobile while I was still a member but the repeatedly promised Static IP was never provided and eventually I cancelled and went elsewhere.
But, the whole OTRMobile situation was a good learning experience about trusting any of these Internet snake-oil salespeople.