Travel Technology - Do unlock codes expire?

I was in Italy last week and tried to get an Italian SIM at a TIM store for my Motorola V-190, which is quad band. The people at the store popped in a SIM and I tried to enter the unlock code three times, and each time the message (in Italian) said something to the effect that the unlock code wasn't valid.

When I received the code over the phone from Cingular (now AT&T), I wrote it on a piece of paper and read it back to the Cingular rep to verify that I'd written the unlock code down correctly. So I'm positive that I was using the 8-digit string that Cingular gave me.

The only thing I could think of is that I got the code from Cingular (now AT&T) last October (2006) when I thought I was going to Italy. That trip got cancelled, so more than a year passed since I received the unlock code. It never crossed my mind that an unlock code would expire, but maybe it does.

I was wondering if anyone else had had a similar problem with a more-than-a-year-old unlock code.

Anyway, if I get to take another foreign trip, I'll call AT&T again and try to get another unlock code closer to the trip date.

Thanks!

No, they don't expire. They are calculated based on the serial number of the phone, so as long as that doesn't change it should be the same code. What probably happened is that they issued the wrong code, it wouldn't the be the first time.

Anyway, if I get to take another foreign trip, I'll call AT&T again and try to get another unlock code closer to the trip date.

Thanks!

And be sure the phone is unlocked before you leave. Why not do it now? There is no downside to having an unlocked phone.

Some phones will not give you the option to enter the unlock code until you place a "foreign" sim card inside.

If you don't have one, perhaps a friend is on T-Mobile? Just borrow his Sim for a few minutes. Or go into a bar and offer a beer to someone to loan you his/hers.

Better sooner, than later, before your trip.

When I received the code over the phone from Cingular (now AT&T), I wrote it on a piece of paper and read it back to the Cingular rep to verify that I'd written the unlock code down correctly. So I'm positive that I was using the 8-digit string that Cingular gave me.

Ah. But did Cingular correctly transcribe the IMEI you gave them to generate the unlock code? As a general principle, it is not a good idea to keep trying with the same code, because after a few (usually five, I think) attempts, the phone will lock in such a way that it has to be returned to the factory.

If at first you don't succeed - call the carrier and start from Square One. And have them read back the IMEI.