Sharing experience unlocking iPhone 14 bought from BestBuy

Sharing my experience of getting my iPhone 14 Pro unlocked. This device was bought in early March 2023 from Best Buy, full price paid. I guess it was ATT locked device (maybe coz Best Buy doesn't sell unlocked?) Anyways, on an international trip in Aug 2023, I needed it unlocked. So I put the request on att website. It showed a 2-day ETA. I got an auto-response 2 days later that "its taking a bit longer". After a week of not hearing back anything, I called customer care at the international number 314 925 6925 and made a case. The agent said 2 days ETA. I called after 2 days... another agent said 1 more day ETA. I called again after one day. This time, they escalated the call to the manager, who then forwarded it to the "advanced technical team". That Agent asked for proof of full payment for the device. Thankfully my Best Buy online account had a copy. I downloaded it and emailed it to the Agent's manager. That Agent finally got it unlocked. I hung up the phone, restarted my iPhone... and yes, it is unlocked! The portal never got updated.. turns out the "advanced technical team" has access to another system to do this.

Lessons learned - Buy the phone from Apple (unlocked) or ATT store. Seems like Best Buy does not forward the payment information to ATT. I wasted 2-3 hours on the phone and 2 weeks without having my phone unlocked on an international trip after paying $$$ for a phone!