Vodafone sim card pin

swagman

A Vodafone customer services rep has told me that the sim card in my Blackberry is locked to the phone. If an attempt was made to use the sim card in another phone, he said, Vodafone would detect that and not allow calls to be made. This doesn't fit my previous understanding, which is that I should set my own sim pin so that a thief could not use the sim card in another phone. Who is right?

grumbler

swagman wrote: »

A Vodafone customer services rep has told me that the sim card in my Blackberry is locked to the phone.

The phone can be locked to the network i.e. work only with, say, Vodafone sim cards. The sim cannot be locked to a phone.

If an attempt was made to use the sim card in another phone, he said, Vodafone would detect that and not allow calls to be made.

I think this is rubbish. Any unlocked phone or a phone locked to Voda will take the sim without problems.

This doesn't fit my previous understanding, which is that I should set my own sim pin so that a thief could not use the sim card in another phone. Who is right?

This is absolutely different matter that has nothing to do with locking to a network.

Mobile Unlocking - Martin's guide.

Techhead_2

Its a bit of an urban myth that phones can only be locked to a network. There are a range of locks which can be applied, for example a phone can be locked to only accept a specific SIM or type of SIM. Most UK phones are locked to either Service Provider or Network. Although, many years ago, Vodafone pay and go handsets were GID locked to pay and go SIMs only.

Its possible , at the network level, to restrict use to a particular IMEI on the account. Which would give the effect the OP described. As far as I know, no UK network does that.

So I think its unlikely the Vodafone rep was correct.

swagman

What I was trying to find out when I contacted Vodafone was the default sim card pin, so that I could then set my own - but as explained in the first post of this thread, I was told there was no need to do so.

As that info now seems questionable, I still don't know what the sim pin is on Voda sim cards. I need to know this in order to set it to my own, so that if the sim is stoelen it could not be used without knowing the pin.

You only get three tries, so I need to be sure. I know that on Orange sims it is 1111, but has anyone actually done this on a Vodafone sim card and knows for sure what their default it?
The phone is a Blackberry 9800. Its manual says contact your network provider.

Graham1

I think the default PIN on Vodafone SIMs is 0000 - but I can't guarantee it.

grumbler

swagman wrote: »

... I was told there was no need to do so.
....

Blatant incompetence and ignorance of Vodafone telephone CS is a well established fact. It is a mystery though how they manage to find so many idiots to employ.

http://help.vodafone.co.uk/system/selfservice.controller?CMD=BROWSE_TOPIC&CMD2=search&PARTITION_ID=1&CONFIGURATION=1000&helpSearchAlpha=default+pin#a=&t=&sq=default+pin

Monthly

The PIN (Personal Identification Number) code is a security feature of your SIM card.
When you get your SIM card, this security feature is disabled. We recommend, however, that you activate the PIN Code Protection (go to phone help, choose your make and model, then select Security - or refer to your phone's user manual) as soon as possible.

Go to Phone and device support

Once activated, you'll be asked to enter a 4-8-digit PIN code each time you switch your phone on. This can prevent unauthorised use of the phone. The default PIN on all Vodafone SIM cards is 0000.

You have 3 chances to enter the correct PIN, after the third attempt, the phone will lock and you'll need to enter your PUK (Personal Unblocking Key) code to unlock it.

If you've registered to manage your account online, you'll find your PUK code under Phone Settings in the Manage Your Phone section or you can contact your Customer Service team.

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Contact Customer Service


PAYG

The PIN (Personal Identification Number) code is a security feature of your SIM card.
When you get your SIM card, this security feature is disabled. We recommend, however, that you activate the PIN Code Protection (go to phone help, choose your make and model, then select Security - or refer to your phone's user manual) as soon as possible.

Go to Phone and device support

Once activated, you'll be asked to enter a 4-8-digit PIN code each time you switch your phone on. This can prevent unauthorised use of the phone. The default PIN on all Vodafone SIM cards is 0000.

You have 3 chances to enter the correct PIN, after the third attempt, the phone will lock and you'll need to enter your PUK (Personal Unblocking Key) code to unlock it.

You can get your PUK code from the Customer Services automated system - call 08700 776655, enter your mobile number and select option 1, then option 2.