network change

larry_lurex

i bought my motorola v50 about four years ago and signed up to t-mobile payg.

until recently i had no problems and i was quite happy with this arrangement. last month though, when i wanted to use another credit card for topping up they could not manage the extremely complex work involved. so i decided to move on to tesco and asked for a pac code so i can keep my number.

the letter with the pac code duly arrived so i bought the new sim card today. i put it in but i'm asked for an eight digit code to use the new sim card.

i presume t-mobile have locked my phone to their network. i phoned them and they told me it would cost £15 to unlock.

so what's the drill with locking phones ? i think it's quite outrageous they can hold me to ransom when i own the phone and i paid payg rates for years to be flexible. i understand being locked into a network when you're on a contract but it should be made illegal in my circumstances.

anyway, once it is unlocked is it unlocked for good or will the next provider lock it again ? i can't find a free code, is the bloke at the market stall a good choice should everything else fail ?

any answers gratefully received.

the_tired_one

The bloke at the market is your best choice IMO - he'll probably do it for a fiver.

Its scandalous the way T-Mobile act! I am assuming the phone was altready locked to their network - I cant see how they could 'remotely' lock it (but I may be wrong)

Time to hurt T-Mobile in the best way - and walk away from them!

Good luck.

redux

the_tired_one wrote:

Its scandalous the way T-Mobile act!

It's scandalous? Why? The phone is cheaper by typically £20 to £50 when sold locked on the network, hence the occasional title of subsidy code. Some countries have bans on phones being locked, which probably makes them more expensive in the first place.

To answer the question, once unlocked it's permanent.

cube_2

Most providers don't really value their Pay As You Go customers, although O2 were pretty nice to me when I asked for my PAC code.