Device unlock request
How do we decide a device unlock request against the unlocking policy by rule, unlock the device, or record the reason it cannot be unlocked?
Make the unlock a classification against the written policy with the reason recorded either way. Callvu authenticates the customer (or takes the request from a non-customer with the device's identifier where the policy allows), prefills the device (the identifier, the model, the activation date, the installment agreement and its balance, the account standing, the line's status, any lost or stolen or fraud flag), classifies the request against the unlocking policy and the industry commitment (the service and payment conditions met, the device paid off or the term served, the account in good standing, no fraud or theft flag, the deployed service member exception, the prepaid period served), unlocks an eligible device by rule through the device maker's or the network's unlock system, routes an exception (a balance that can be paid, a flag the customer disputes, a deployment with orders) to the device desk in the Decision Desk with the options, and writes the unlock or the denial with the reason and the date the device becomes eligible to the BSS, the system of record, with the customer told. Live at AT&T.
Live at AT&TSimpleCallvu moves: classify, decide, write back
Last updated November 7, 2026.
The problem today
The customer was told the phone could not be unlocked 'yet' three times, each time with a different reason and no date.
Unlock requests are high volume and policy driven, and they are handled as if each were a judgment: an agent reads the account, guesses whether the device qualifies, and says no with a reason that changes by agent. The customer traveling abroad, switching carriers or selling the phone gets no date and no record. The regulator's complaints are mostly about requests that should have been approved.
The industry's unlocking commitment and the carrier's published policy set the conditions: the device fully paid or the service term complete, the account in good standing, the device not reported lost or stolen or associated with fraud, a notice when the device becomes eligible, a response within a set number of days, the deployed service member exception, and the prepaid waiting period. Every condition is a data point on the account and the device. The decision is a rule, and the denial is a reason with a date.
An unlock decided by rule with the eligibility date recorded is a request that does not come back as a complaint.
How it runs
From the requestto the system of record.
A customer requests an unlock in the app, the web, the store or on a call, or a non-customer with a device the carrier sold requests it where the policy allows. Callvu opens the request on the device.
- Customer or device holder
- Requests the unlock, provides the device identifier, pays a balance or supplies orders where that is the path, and receives the result with the reason or the date.
- Device desk
- Decides exceptions in the Decision Desk.
- Callvu
- Prefills, classifies against the policy, unlocks by rule, routes and writes.
Prefill the device and the account
The device's identifier and model, the activation date and the service period on the carrier, the installment agreement and its remaining balance, the account's standing and the line's status, any lost or stolen or fraud flag on the device, the prepaid period served, and any prior unlock request are prefilled from the BSS; a non-customer's request is matched by the identifier to the device record.
Classify against the policy
The request is classified against the unlocking policy and the industry commitment: the device paid in full or the service term completed, the account current and in good standing (or the device paid off on a closed account), no lost or stolen report and no fraud association, the prepaid waiting period served, the postpaid eligibility period met, and the exceptions (a deployed service member with orders, a business account's authorization) with the result: eligible, eligible on a payment of the balance, eligible on a date, or not eligible with the reason.
Decide
An eligible device is unlocked by rule through the device maker's or the network's unlock system with the confirmation and the instructions to the customer; a device eligible on a payment is offered the payoff through the buyout process; an exception (a flag the customer disputes, a deployment with orders under the service member exception, a business authorization question, a device the unlock system rejects) goes to the device desk in the Decision Desk with the classification and only the allowed outcomes: unlock with the reason, clear the flag through its process and unlock, hold for the orders or the payment, or deny with the reason.
Write back
The unlock or the denial with the reason and the date the device becomes eligible is written to the device record in the BSS, the system of record, the customer receives the result with the instructions or the date and the notice the policy requires when the device becomes eligible is scheduled, and the request is counted for the response time the commitment sets.
Where it ends: The unlock was decided by rule against the written policy, eligible devices were unlocked with the instructions, and every denial carries a reason and an eligibility date on the record with the notice scheduled. The Decision Trace shows the classification and any decision; the Audit Trace shows the request, the unlock or the denial and the notice with time.
Runtime enforcement
What is enforcedwhile the work runs.
The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.
The handoff
Between the front doorand the back office.
The front door
The app, the web, the store or a call; the customer requests and receives the result with the reason or the date.
The back office
The device desk sees only exceptions; eligible unlocks and denials with reasons run by rule.
The Decision Desk
- A disputed flag, a deployment with orders, a business authorization question or a device the unlock system rejects goes to the device desk in the Decision Desk with the classification and only unlock with the reason, clear the flag and unlock, hold for the orders or the payment, or deny with the reason.
Proof
Live at AT&T.Published results only.
Each result is a published claim, with its code on agents.callvu.com, where its status, source and last verified date are kept.
AT&T runs close to 100 processes on Callvu, including transfers of billing responsibility, port-outs, line separations, SIM changes, activations, payment arrangements, billing, prepaid and top-ups, collections, account takeover reports, authorized user changes, device financing agreements and business account onboarding.
TEL-02 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05
At AT&T Business, Callvu worked inside the existing contact center platform with no changes to internal processes.
ATT-03 · Customer-attested · verified 2026-11-02
"Callvu helps us transform how we connect with customers across critical touchpoints. We quickly deployed digital experiences that reduce service volume, improve customer satisfaction and automate low value service tasks. We were able to implement meaningful changes with minimal IT strain or compliance headaches." David C. Williams, AVP Automation, AT&T.
ATT-01 · Customer-attested · verified 2026-11-05
Questions
What buyers ask next,answered plainly.
When is a device eligible for unlock?
Under the policy and the industry commitment: the device paid in full or the service term complete, the account in good standing, no lost or stolen or fraud flag, and the prepaid period served; a deployed service member with orders is an exception.
What does a denial include?
The reason (for example an unpaid balance or a flag) and the date the device becomes eligible, with the notice scheduled for that date.
How fast is the response?
Within two business days of the request under the industry commitment; an eligible device is unlocked by rule with the instructions.
Related processes
Bring this process, or the one that costs you most.
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