Can i unlock phones?

Zziggi

I'd better say first off that i am a complete technophobe!!

I have a PAYG nokia phone with O2 currently but it has gone on the blink.I've got about £40 credit on it and i am really reluctant to change the phone number as it would really be a hassle.

My OH reckons that if i buy another nokia phone then he may be able to somehow unlock it via a code on the internet so that i can put my old SIM card in the new phone. However the new phone has to be a nokia.

Is this right? Do i HAVE to buy another nokia or can i get an ericcson or any other brand??

thanks for any advice.

thewizard

I am not 100% certain but I dont think that it has to be another Nokia, but I wouldn't put my money on it.
I havent been much help, ill have a think for you tonight.

basill

Nokias seem to be the easiest to unlock without the use of PCs and cables. There is a long thread here somewhere which links to the unlock code generator programs.

If you want another make they can mostly be unlocked at market stalls for £5-10. It might be easiest to get another phone from o2 and put your sim in that, the number and credit are both on the sim. Either a new payg or old contact phone would work.


B

dealwala

Zziggi wrote:

I'd better say first off that i am a complete technophobe!!

I have a PAYG nokia phone with O2 currently but it has gone on the blink.I've got about £40 credit on it and i am really reluctant to change the phone number as it would really be a hassle.

My OH reckons that if i buy another nokia phone then he may be able to somehow unlock it via a code on the internet so that i can put my old SIM card in the new phone. However the new phone has to be a nokia.

Is this right? Do i HAVE to buy another nokia or can i get an ericcson or any other brand??

thanks for any advice.

you can unlock most phones but a nokia can normally be done by entering a code (i.e free) wheras an erricson would require a cable that costs 20 quid. so your best off with a nokia. Also if your new phone is from o2 then you dont need to unlock it.

redux

If you go to the Mobile Phones board, you'll find threads at the top about unlocking - people there will give you the code to unlock a Nokia if you put the phone details on there or PM one of them. Read the first post for instructions.


edit - I see it's been moved here now anyway

*!*HIBS*!*

Zziggi wrote:

I have a PAYG nokia phone with O2 currently but it has gone on the blink.I've got about £40 credit on it and i am really reluctant to change the phone number as it would really be a hassle.

My OH reckons that if i buy another nokia phone then he may be able to somehow unlock it via a code on the internet so that i can put my old SIM card in the new phone. However the new phone has to be a nokia.

Is this right? Do i HAVE to buy another nokia or can i get an ericcson or any other brand??

When you do get a new phone, you can use the o2 sim card (assuming you bought another on the o2 network) in that phone, just call CS to transfer your phone number and details to that new sim, BUT you will lose all your texts, contact details from your old sim. If you don't then you have a spare sim to use whenever you need to.

dealwala wrote:

Also if your new phone is from o2 then you dont need to unlock it.

Is this true for o2 branded phones like the x1m (or something)?

tOpCaT_3

*!*HIBS*!* wrote:

Is this true for o2 branded phones like the x1m (or something)?

Yes all O2 phones are supplied unlocked although there have been a few reports of people buying XDA Execs and them being SIM locked, but I don't know if this is actually true. I have had about 15 XDA Execs in my hands (nothing dodgy ) and NONE of them have been locked. That's why the XDA Exec is so much more popular than other branded versions of the HTC Universal. That and the fact that is is sexy black with a blue keyboard light (instead of red)...

jonnym

tOpCaT wrote:

Yes all O2 phones are supplied unlocked although there have been a few reports of people buying XDA Execs and them being SIM locked, but I don't know if this is actually true. I have had about 15 XDA Execs in my hands (nothing dodgy ) and NONE of them have been locked. That's why the XDA Exec is so much more popular than other branded versions of the HTC Universal. That and the fact that is is sexy black with a blue keyboard light (instead of red)...

Agreed, although its not looking like the case anymore, A lot of O2 stock comes through locked, but it depends on whether the retailer buys the stock from the network (almost always locked) or whether they buy from the manufacturer, which are always unlocked.

There is a lot of advertising for I-mode at the moment because the network wants to be able to get retailers to buy all stock from them.Thus creating a culture of all their phones being locked, but as long as the networks are charging as much as they are for stock, retailers won't buy into it. The smaller retailers need to buy generic unlocked stock to allow them to connect to most networks.

to the OP, if you need a code for a nokia handset, let me know...providing you're not going with any of the latest more expensive 6680 or n70 style range, you should be able to get a code.

drahcir_2

02 contract phones are usually unlocked but payg are locked although you may get unlocked from cpw as they often use sim free stock