Help! What do I do? iPhone unlocking...

Soldato
Joined
6 Nov 2004
Posts
5,778
Hi. Basically this is it i'll try and explain as simple as I can.

I get a 18 month O2 iPhone contract for a BLACK 8GB 3G. I sell the 3G whilst still in my contract and buy a iPhone 3GS 16GB WHITE from O2 on PAYG however use my O2 pay monthly sim. One month prior to the contract for the original phone ending (The original 3G), I ask O2 via the web interface to unlock my current iPhone the WHITE 3GS and they comply. I move onto a T-Mobile deal where I get a free 32" TV (happy days).

So i'm all happy and all is going good. :D

My 3GS WHITE has tiny cracks everywhere, after reading the forums on here I goto the Apple Store to get it replaced, hey presto it is replaced by a brand new WHITE 3GS 16GB (we'll call this phone erm WHITE 3GS 16GB MK2). Now the woman tries to unlock this phone instore so I can use my T-Mobile sim but with no avail but tells me if I restore my phone from the restore file located on my home computer the unlock code should carry over (sounded dodgy to me but what the hell). Fair to say it didn't work.

Therefore I contacted O2 said my contract is over however they unlocked my other phone 16GB WHITE which has now been replaced by 16GB WHITE MK2 and that is not unlocked, can they do this for me, he fills in some 'form' with all the phone details (IMEI). I get a text 4 days later saying they could not unlock my iPhone WHITE 3GS MK2 (great). So I go back to Apple store have a bit of a go at them she tries everything but she clearly has no clue so says she can't do anything and even the manager couldn't help.

So where do I go from here? I'm using the WHITE 3GS MK2 with a O2 sim I bought and using my T-Mobile contract with a Nokia 1208 and i'm telling no one to text me as I can't handle buttons anymore :(

Question is who holds the unlocks codes... Apple or O2? I don't see how O2 can help me as the handset was provided by Apple and comes locked to O2, Vodafone, Orange & Tesco as standard however the woman in the shop insists O2 can unlock it.
 
I understand your situation (had thought about it myself), but absolutely no one wants to deal with it from what I've heard. Easiest thing to do is to keep badgering O2 because they're the ones that are involved in unlocking it, despite Apple being in the bad by giving you a locked phone.
 
I'm using a O2 sim with it currently. It's PAYG, could I get the thing unlocked via the PAYG and just pay the £15? It'll be worth it to sort this mess out.
 
I'm using a O2 sim with it currently. It's PAYG, could I get the thing unlocked via the PAYG and just pay the £15? It'll be worth it to sort this mess out.

That was going to be my suggestion. Seems to be the simplest way of sorting this problem out.
 
I had exactly this issue yesterday,. The chap who replaced my phone (at a cost of £139 eeek) advised that the IMEI transfer which they do on their system would carry over any unlocks. Hey presto when he inserted my T-Mobile sim it would not activate. He basically shurgged his soulders and said i should contact tmobile or 02. I left with a shiny phone, not working, and £139 lighter. However, when i got home and plugged it into my itunes, it activated with T-Mobile fine and is working without issue.

Weird..
 
Rang Apple Care. My phone is unlocked wooohooo!!! :D Sorry lol. The guy on the phone said the phones aren't shipped as locked the lock goes on the first activation/sync of the iphone. He said it just took apples systems a few days to recognise the fact that my old IMEI to replace it with my new one, thats why O2 were unable to unlock it and refund my £15. I have a O2 sim with some money on I don't even need is there anything I can do with it? lol. Like claim it back somehow?
 
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