ovivo, apple iphone and invalid sim

john1002

yes d123 gave the link in this thread, they sell on ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FACTORY-UN...item2ece8705f4

I have seen a link on vodaphones site that quotes 19.99 but the way the form is set out you need to be a true vodaphone customer not a piggy backer like we are.

john

Balkris

Hi all, i've had some progress on this that I thought I would share.

I spent about an hour on the phone to Apple last night trying to unlock the phone - they were actually really helpful, but in the end they couldn't do anything. They did confirm, however, that it was now locked to Vodafone as the registered carrier, and that Vodafone should be able to unlock it.

I rang Vodafone Customer 'Care', and was told that i needed to go and buy a Voda sim, put it in my iphone, and pay Voda £20 to unlock it. I pointed out that I was having to pay them to resolve their affiliates own mistake, but they were adamant.

So there you go. Buy a Voda PAYG sim, put it in your phone, pay them to unlock it then you can put whatever sim you like in there. I would advise against Vodafone.

grumbler

I think you have cases against Voda, Apple and QVC, but IMO the strongest case is against QVC as they in fact missold you.
Personally, I'd pay Voda and ask QVC to refund the charges. If they refuse, I'd take them to the small claims court on principal.

john1002

grumbler that is what i am going to do, balkris is right I've just had the same conversation with apple and that is the only way around this, I appreciate apples problem as they have strict operating licences etc with the major networks etc, had I known then it would not be an issue, hindsight and all that but I am not going to let QVC get away with this.

Ill keep you posted

John

john1002

Just an update, ebay order placed and QVC refunding me fee, plus loss of service and compensation so the threat of court seemed to get them to listen and act.

Just happy to get it all sorted and will learn from this and hope other people who maybe search will appreciate our input on the subject.

John

d123

john1002 wrote: »

Just an update, ebay order placed and QVC refunding me fee, plus loss of service and compensation so the threat of court seemed to get them to listen and act.

Just happy to get it all sorted and will learn from this and hope other people who maybe search will appreciate our input on the subject.

John

Good to hear it's getting sorted, let us know how it goes (if you used the unlocker in my link they took 3 days to organise the unlock I bought from them).

john1002

D123, yes used them so will post back to give my timeline.

thanks

john

gjchester

Balkris wrote: »

I have a similar problem - I bought an unlocked iPhone from a 3rd party (not Apple direct) last year and used it on O2 with no problems.

Who did it get bought from? iPhones from anywhere other than Apple should lock to the first network they are used on. Why it never locked to O2 I don't know, but it did to Vodafone

Balkris wrote: »

I would advise against Vodafone.

Not sure why you are blaming Vodafone. Vodafone unlock phones for free at the end of a contract, but here they are simply looking for an admin fee to cover their costs as you are not a customer of theirs. Its also possible that Ovivo initiated the lock not Vodafone..


You didn't buy the phone direct from Apple, so it should have locked to the first network, the fact it didn't is odd, but the blame lies with the 3rd party who sold the phone. They should have told you the phone will lock to the first network used.


Yes it was sim free in that it could then be used on any network, but was not fully unlocked, the blame lies entirely with the seller of the phone mis-informing you.

gjchester

john1002 wrote: »

D123, yes used them so will post back to give my timeline.

Too late now but as they unlocking fee was being paid by QVC I'd have gone down the rou! of a Vodafone SIM and putting credit on it so there's less chance of a reversal later.

buglawton

If QVC really do pay that unlock fee I'd be interested to hear the details.