How to get the unlock code prompt on AT&T Nighthawk MR1100

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 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.

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.