How to Fix a "Permanently" Network-Locked Atrix Phone

One unfortunate feature of the Motorola Atrix is that if you try to unlock it with an invalid network unlock code more than ten times, it will permanently lock up. After this point, no matter which SIM card you insert (even the one from your own carrier), you will be given a dialogue to enter your network unlock code. However, even if you enter the correct unlock code at this point, it will not work.
On top of this, calling AT&T customer support and/or going into their store won't get this problem solved (trust me, I tried it ;-)...

Your Atrix is now is useless... or is it?
There is actually a solution that I was finally able to find. It will involve some hacking, so follow this guide at your own risk. For reference, I used these steps to fix my AT&T Atrix using a Windows XP system (side note: the XP was actually installed on a VirtualBox instance).

This guide also works for Atrix 2, but nobody has reported it working for the Atrix HD.

1. Download and install RSDLite 5.0 (it can be found through a web search or here).

2. Download Retail Brazil Radio.sbf from here (preferred) or here. This file will work regardless of where you bought your phone.

3. Turn off your Atrix and remove the SIM card and MicroSD card.

4. While pressing the volume up key, reboot your atrix. If you are using the Atrix HD, you may need to hold both the volume up and volume down keys.

5. The phone will display "Starting RSD protocol support" (and "Unlocked" if you have unlocked your bootloader, which is not necessary for this guide).

6. Connect the USB cable from your Atrix into your computer.

7. Open up RSDLite on your computer. Your phone should be recognized as "NS Flash Olympus" or "SE Flash Olympus". If not, try searching online for a newer version of RSDLite and try again.

8. Press "..." next to the "Filename:" box and select your "Retail Brazil Radio.sbf."

9. Press the "Start" button and cross your fingers. This will take a few minutes and your phone will reboot in the process. If this process fails, please read through the comments below as some users have found workarounds.

10. Once this is done, you may be asked to log in to Motorola Blur.
11. Bypass this log in by:

1. Holding down the menu button (bottom left button on your phone), which will bring up the virtual keyboard
2. Press the keys ?123, ALT, ABC, e, ?123, ALT, ABC, e
3. Then, type "bluroff" (with no quotes)

12. Put your phone into airplane mode by holding down the power key and selecting airplane mode.

13. Now, shut off your Atrix and insert your original carrier-provided SIM card (my AT&T SIM card in my situation).
14. Disable airplane mode.

15. Congratulations! Your Atrix should work again!

16. If you know you have the correct network unlock code (either by calling your carrier directly or by having purchased it online), let's quickly unlock your phone permanently.

17. Open up the dialing pad and type "#073887*", which should open up a "SIM network unlock PIN" prompt. If this does not work, turn off your Atrix, insert a non-accepted SIM card (i.e. from another carrier), and reboot.

18. Enter your network unlock code.

19. Congratulations again! Your Atrix should now be permanently network-unlocked!

20. Now that your Atrix is unlocked, don't you wish you could select your network operator manually (disabled by default on Atrix)? If so, see the other guide I wrote exactly on this topic.
21. [Extra step] If you want to restore the original AT&T radio, see this comment. Note that this is not necessary and requires a lot of extra work.


If you run into any issues, try searching for a solution (either in the numerous comments below or online) before posting a comment.

Special thanks to antoniolcrd for his forum post that proposed the Brazil Radio solution, Whipon for uploading the Retail Brazil Radio SBF, and to the entire Atrix development community as a whole!