Unlock T-mobile iPhone?

grumbler

NorthernOne wrote: »

I got it last March and no they didn't and as far as I was concerned it was unlocked hence why I paid £499.00.

If you mean CPW, then now they definitely do:
Please note, SIM Free iPhone 5 will lock to the network of the first SIM used

If you are sure that they didn't when you've bought your phone from them, you can sue CPW instead, but it will be difficult to prove.

NorthernOne

grumbler wrote: »

If you mean CPW, then now they definitely do:
Please note, SIM Free iPhone 5 will lock to the network of the first SIM used

If you are sure that they didn't when you've bought your phone from them, you can sue CPW instead, but it will be difficult to prove.

I got the 4s last year and CPW said nothing.

Even if locked to the first network there must be a way of unlocking it as like me your are paying £499 for something which is one use only. So anyone who buys an off contract iphone is stuck. You wouldn't buy a new car with only one tank of petrol and no way of filling it up would you?

Apple say Tmobile, Tmobile say they don't have the phone registered on their network and they never sold it so there is nothing they can do.

Small claims looks like the only way.

One think I can say is that I will never ever buy another Apple phone.

FiatFan_2

simax wrote: »

New unlocking rules for T-Mobile/Orange/EE from yesterday. Same criteria for all 3 brands now.....

£20.42 cost
Also, the handset needs to have been linked onto the account (ie: bought with the contract) for 6 months now before it will be considered for unlocking.

Phew, glad I done ours before this come into force.

Kingsd316

bignred05 wrote: »

not much I could do :mad::mad::mad:

although shortly after trying to get it unlockeed from Tmobile, it went and packed in on me, and to cut a long story short

I'm now the proud owner of 1 unlocked iphone, thanks to a very good smaritian

via a different network

Sorry to dig up an old thread but just to warn you if this is a replacement phone from apple and you need to get it replaced again it WILL relock to the original network, i know as its just happened to me!

d123

Kingsd316 wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old thread but just to warn you if this is a replacement phone from apple and you need to get it replaced again it WILL relock to the original network, i know as its just happened to me!

If an iPhone is replaced by Apple under warranty the replacement will have the same lock and warranty status as the phone replaced.

So, an unlocked phone will be replaced with an unlocked phone, a locked phone will be replaced with a locked phone. It is part of the replacement service where the details of the old phone are transferred to the IMEI of the replacement.

Kingsd316

d123 wrote: »

If an iPhone is replaced by Apple under warranty the replacement will have the same lock and warranty status as the phone replaced.

So, an unlocked phone will be replaced with an unlocked phone, a locked phone will be replaced with a locked phone. It is part of the replacement service where the details of the old phone are transferred to the IMEI of the replacement.

This is only if the phone that was unlocked is the original phone supplied by the network, if it is a replacement phone that is then unlocked not by the original carrier then it will relock, i will try to explain with a crude example:

Iphone 4(1) issued by orange to customer
Iphone 4(1) replaced by apple to Iphone 4(2)
Iphone 4(2) unofficially unlocked by vodafone
Iphone 4(2) will work unlocked, update fine and remain unlocked untill...
iphone 4 (2) develops a problem and apple replace with iphone 4(3)
when apple replace iphone 4(3) ALL iphone 4(1) carrier information is carried over including the locked status regardless of iphone 4 (2) status, apple servers take the oldest lock status rule and if iphone 4 (2) was not unlocked by orange the unlock chain stops at iphone 4(1)

Here (again very crude) is what happened to me

d123

Kingsd316 wrote: »

This is only if the phone that was unlocked is the original phone supplied by the network, if it is a replacement phone that is then unlocked not by the original carrier then it will relock, i will try to explain with a crude example:

Iphone 4(1) issued by orange to customer
Iphone 4(1) replaced by apple to Iphone 4(2)
Iphone 4(2) unofficially unlocked by vodafone
Iphone 4(2) will work unlocked, update fine and remain unlocked untill...

There is no such thing as "unofficially unlocked by Vodafone", in fact, Vodafone cannot request an unlock on an Orange iphone. When Apple replaced the orange locked phone the replacement would also be locked to orange.

Not sure what or how you did it, but your story is not really a normal procedure or result.

Kingsd316

d123 wrote: »

There is no such thing as "unofficially unlocked by Vodafone", in fact, Vodafone cannot request an unlock on an Orange iphone. When Apple replaced the orange locked phone the replacement would also be locked to orange.

Not sure what or how you did it, but your story is not really a normal procedure or result.

prob then same way this poster did, im not arguing and i know my story is different but there are ways for different carriers to unlock iphones, and at the end of the day vodafone unlocked my orange locked iphone and all i needed to do was use a vodafone PAYG sim for about a week before putting in the request

bignred05 wrote: »

not much I could do :mad::mad::mad:

although shortly after trying to get it unlockeed from Tmobile, it went and packed in on me, and to cut a long story short

I'm now the proud owner of 1 unlocked iphone, thanks to a very good smaritian

via a different network

d123

Kingsd316 wrote: »

prob then same way this poster did, im not arguing and i know my story is different but there are ways for different carriers to unlock iphones, and at the end of the day vodafone unlocked my orange locked iphone and all i needed to do was use a vodafone PAYG sim for about a week before putting in the request

This is where your story falls down.

Your Vodafone PAYG sim wouldn't work in an Orange locked iPhone, not for a day, a week, or a year.

If its locked to Orange, it will accept Orange simcards, and most T-Mobile simcards, but not Vodafone.

Kingsd316

d123 wrote: »

This is where your story falls down.

Your Vodafone PAYG sim wouldn't work in an Orange locked iPhone, not for a day, a week, or a year.

If its locked to Orange, it will accept Orange simcards, and most T-Mobile simcards, but not Vodafone.

Didn't need to use the sim in the Iphone, just needed an active sim which had been used to make and received calls for about a week, with a credit balance and a Vodafone number

At the end of the day vodafone unlocked my replacement phone, and now its locked back to orange which i am having to pay for them to unlock, there is a thread on Macrumors where other people used the vodafone loophole to get their phones unlocked