Unlock Orange phone...?

shooi

Hello,

I have an Xperia X10 which is locked to Orange. I called Orange for an unlock code but they wouldn't give me one because I bought the phone separately (on ebay) and am on a SIM only contract - i.e. I am not the person who they supplied the phone to.

To complicate things, the phone I bought developed a screen fault, which Sony Ericsson 'fixed' by replacing the unit - i.e. the original phone that Orange supplied is not the phone that I now have.

Can Orange refuse to give me an unlock code (they say that no service provider gives unlock codes to anyone other than the original owner of the phone)? I've tried a third party unlock service and they can't get a code for it.
SE say that they can't unlock it but are happy to tell Orange that they have swapped the original phone out.

Hope this Q hasn't been answered before (have searched but can't find an answer)

Many thanks!

Kingsd316

are you sure the replacement is locked?

Jon_01

As the phone you have now wasn't supplied by Orange they may not even be able to get the code. Networks can, as a rule, only get codes for phones they've been supplied with from the manufacturer...

*cassius*

would jailbreaking the phone also remove the unlock code ? ive been thinking about doing this with my orange san francisco ?

Kingsd316

*cassius* wrote: »

would jailbreaking the phone also remove the unlock code ? ive been thinking about doing this with my orange san francisco ?

Are you talking about debranding, if thats the case no, i think jailbreaking is an iphone term

drbesty

Orange can only unlock their own kit, same as any network, why not take it to a small independent phone shop who specialise in phone unlocking and selling gaudy phone accessories

shooi

Kingsd316 wrote: »

are you sure the replacement is locked?

Yes, the replacement is locked - tried my work SIM in it and it just asks for an unlock code...

shooi

Jon_01 wrote: »

As the phone you have now wasn't supplied by Orange they may not even be able to get the code. Networks can, as a rule, only get codes for phones they've been supplied with from the manufacturer...

I would imagine that the unlock code is simply a vendor specific algorithm that's applied to the IMEI number of the phone, so as long as I give Orange the IMEI number, I believe they should be able to unlock it (although I may be completely wrong on that - I wouldn't have thought that each phone has a dedicated unlock code that stored somewhere - that would be a nightmare to try to manage and administer)

shooi

drbesty wrote: »

...why not take it to a small independent phone shop who specialise in phone unlocking and selling gaudy phone accessories

Is that any different to applying for an unlock code online?

Jon_01

shooi wrote: »

I would imagine that the unlock code is simply a vendor specific algorithm that's applied to the IMEI number of the phone, so as long as I give Orange the IMEI number, I believe they should be able to unlock it (although I may be completely wrong on that - I wouldn't have thought that each phone has a dedicated unlock code that stored somewhere - that would be a nightmare to try to manage and administer)

In theory, yes.
But as I understand it networks can only get unlock codes for the stock they're supplied with from the manufacturer.

If they could just unlock any handset there's be no market in shops offering to unlock.

shooi

Jon_01 wrote: »

...If they could just unlock any handset there's be no market in shops offering to unlock.

Apart from the fact that the providers want to lock you into their contracts and, even when your contract is at an end, still charge you £20 to unlock the phone...

Sony Ericsson have offered to write to Orange stating that they have swapped out the original phone, so SE must think that Orange are able to do it technically.

Which brings me back to my main question - is there any 'rule' to say that Orange must unlock the handset, even though I didn't receive it directly from them?

I'm guessing not...