Why does it cost to unlock?

Radiation

Radiation

Radiation

Soldato
Joined
12 Oct 2003
Posts
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I wish to use an old phone that will just go to waste if i can't unlock it for free, from looking around it appears there are all these services to unlock mobiles, if thats the case it means they have access to some sort of code generator, how come they can use it and not anyone else?

Considering this phone is a few years old i don't see why i can't just get a code for free, is it possible to email the network and request one?
 
Radiation said:
I wish to use an old phone that will just go to waste if i can't unlock it for free, from looking around it appears there are all these services to unlock mobiles, if thats the case it means they have access to some sort of code generator, how come they can use it and not anyone else?
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because the people who developed the unlock generator want to make money off it.

Radiation said:
Considering this phone is a few years old i don't see why i can't just get a code for free, is it possible to email the network and request one?
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it varies from time to time and network to network. if the phone is currently in use on that network then they should unlock it for a fee (around £15)
 
Wow what a disgusting business practice , im surprised people just bend over and take it, phones should be unlocked for free after a certain time at the very least.

All this does is make me angry at the network which i will have to avoid in the future and condemn a perfectly good old phone to waste, imposing artificial limitations like this is wrong and can't be justified, it's often little things like this that show just how greedy and pathetic business can be.
 
Personally I feel the charge to unlock a phone is jutified and something a business would be crazy not to impliment.

When you buy a phone you ae getting it at a network subsidised rate - you are not paying the full value of the phone.
Where the network gets money from you is the contract.
At the end of the contract - if the phone is still locked to say O2 then there is a potential revenue stream, a way of making some more of that initial subsidy back
Unlocked it could go to any network and there is a revenue stream lost.
So a nominal £15 back is really nothing.

You've got the phone at a knock-down price due to the initial subsidy, so a one-off payment of £15 to take it to any network seems fair to me.
 
In cases like this where a phone is a few years old and is just passed on to friends and family all it does is cause annoyance at the network and im pretty sure the network got their moneys worth and whos to say they will see a penny if someone goes to any number of places to unlock it?

Now the phone is essentially useless unless its unlocked and the only other option is to bin it, if these networks want to do their business this way they can but it doesn't change the fact its rather pathetic, even downright disgusting and wasteful tbh.
 
Yeah I don't think it's anything to get in a tizz about. Phones with contracts are bought on a lease plan essentially; they're not free and the network has every right to re-coup the cost. There are plenty of sim free phones available and unlocking is cheap and easy anyway.
 
I really wish people would get annoyed about stuff like this, its a little thing sure but it shows us just how greedy and wrong business is at times, i will contact the network and if they don't hand over a code the phone will end up being thrown away, what a waste and all for nothing, its the principle of the thing, if only people stood up for whats right, the world would be a very different place. :rolleyes:
 
have you actually asked the network ? ive had three unlock my old phone for free after the contract had ran out.

what phone is it anyway ? someone might be able to advise a free method
 
reflux said:
Vodafone do not lock any of their phones iirc.
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Neither does O2, at least none of the 4 phones I got from them was locked.

Odd thing was though I gave my sister one of my old (O2) phones, she put a Virgin sim in it and then a few months later she went to put a new O2 sim in it. The phone was apparently locked to Virgin and she had to pay to get it unlocked.

No idea how that happened, anyone any the wiser?
 
Try one of rebels sims they deceive the phone effectivly unlocking it - its about a tenner cheaper than the £15 or so the networks charge
 
Radiation said:
I really wish people would get annoyed about stuff like this, its a little thing sure but it shows us just how greedy and wrong business is at times, i will contact the network and if they don't hand over a code the phone will end up being thrown away, what a waste and all for nothing, its the principle of the thing, if only people stood up for whats right, the world would be a very different place. :rolleyes:
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Get annoyed by something that isn't annoying? Why? Demanding what you want isn't "standing up for what's right" it's called being greedy.

There has always been a charge for unlocking phones, and rightly so. Now untwist your knickers and get your phone unlocked.
 
i have managed to unlock a couple of phones for free, a sony ericsson k850i and a samsung g600. it took a bit of research on the web but it saved me 20-30 quid. as you say it's a older model it may be possible as the k850i was unlocked with 'free' software.
 
Everything in life costs! People try to get money out of you in every way they can. To be fair if they have developed the software or are going to take the time to unlock if for you then you should have to pay them something.
 
Well it looks like Orange were as greedy and pathetic as i suspected, what a disgusting business practice it is asking someone to sign up for at least 3 months then charging you £20 to get a code to unlock a phone thats years old which will have to be thrown away if its no longer useful.

This sort of silly little thing just shows what kind of world we live in when company's get away with stuff like this, they're mostly greedy and bad for the environment, sometimes i almost wish the economy fails and the oil runs out but that would just hurt us all, its about time businesses stopped being purely out for short term profit and our systems were better designed so these sort of practices are a thing of the past.
 
[Cas];16814798 said:
Get annoyed by something that isn't annoying? Why? Demanding what you want isn't "standing up for what's right" it's called being greedy.

There has always been a charge for unlocking phones, and rightly so. Now untwist your knickers and get your phone unlocked.
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Some of you clearly don't understand what artificial scarcity and restrictions are and why they're inherently bad, think how the 'privilege' of recording with sky+ used to cost £10 a month when there was no reason the hardware should be restricted in any way, no service was provided as its a simple hardware thing that would work for the cost of the box alone, same here with unlock codes, im all for reasonable profits and stuff but artificial scarcity and restrictions i am certainly not.

If they said hey we want you to stay with us in a contract for a year thats fine but making it so the phone can never be used elsewhere without unlocking it for a fee is unacceptable, as you can imagine i find companies like Apple and Sony to be some of the worst offenders.
 
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