Sim Restricted???

Bradfield

I have a Samsung gt e1270 mobile phone. Purchased from Asda quite cheaply a year or so ago. It is tied to the Virgin network who charge 40p a minute on the Pay as you go tariff.

I decided to get an unlock code off ebay so I could use it sim-free and put in an Asda sim which charges just 8p a minute.

I put the unlock code in and did a check and it reported that all the locks, including the network lock, were, and are, unlocked.

However, when I put in an Asda sim I get a message on screen saying "SIM RESTRICTED" and the phone does not work on the new network. It will still work on the Virgin network when I re-insert the original sim card.

So I am now in the situation where all the locks are supposedly unlocked but the phone is "sim restricted".

Any ideas how I get the sim restriction removed?

Thanks

jnm21

May I ask how much the unlock code cost? Samsung codes got rare thus pricey for a while. Phones have 4 locks (network, sub-network, tariff & sim card IIRC - never heard of the last 2 being used). Could you have unlocked one, but another is still on?

Bradfield

jnm21 wrote: »

May I ask how much the unlock code cost? Samsung codes got rare thus pricey for a while. Phones have 4 locks (network, sub-network, tariff & sim card IIRC - never heard of the last 2 being used). Could you have unlocked one, but another is still on?

I paid £7.99 to someone with very good feedback. Virgin are asking £15.39.

The guy on ebay said to put the code in and then key in *#7465625# and "If everything says off, then your phone is fully unlocked. There are 12 locks in all (ie, network lock, subset lock, sp lock, cp lock, sim lock and etc, and they are all "off".

So it seems all the locks are unlocked but there is still something called a "sim restriction" preventing the phone from working on a non-virgin sim card

jnm21

I know a little about this area, but not enough to help further. I did find this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1758352 which suggests the screen may show locks as open when they are not...

Bradfield

jnm21 wrote: »

I know a little about this area, but not enough to help further. I did find this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1758352 which suggests the screen may show locks as open when they are not...

It is a conundrum alright. It is not network locked but it is sim restricted. Hopefully someone will come along tomorrow with a definition of sim restricted. It would be good to get the phone working sim-free; it is a nice clam-shell phone. But not worth throwing much more money after. You can buy them sim-free on ebay for about £23. I am just curious to try and understand what it all means.

techspec

Have you tried another sim which would prove the phone is unlocked and the problem lies with the SIM?

Is the Asda sim new and in date?

Don't sims come with a code? Maybe that's what it wants.

Or does the phones APN need changing because Asda is not on its database?

When i've sold an unlocked phone in the past i make a point of saying will only work with major networks, for this reason.

Bradfield

techspec wrote: »

Have you tried another sim which would prove the phone is unlocked and the problem lies with the SIM?

Is the Asda sim new and in date?

Don't sims come with a code? Maybe that's what it wants.

Or does the phones APN need changing because Asda is not on its database?

When i've sold an unlocked phone in the past i make a point of saying will only work with major networks, for this reason.

No! I have not tried it with another sim. Yes! the Asda sim is new and in date (I think).

Perhaps the Asda network is not on its database. What is the APN and how does one change it?

You have given me some possibilities that I will explore. Thanks.

[Deleted User]

If the ASDA sim is not a new one on the EE network it might be that it is an old one on the Vodafone network, in which case it will not work as ASDA have changed over to EE for their mobile phone service.

Bradfield

I have just tried it with a sim card tied to the Orange network. I did not get the "sim restricted" message but was asked to enter the "network control key", I entered this (which it seemed to accept) and was then requested to enter the SP code.

I entered the SP code but got a "syntax error" reply and then a return to the "sim restricted" message.

What seems to be happening is that when I insert a new sim card it requests the network control key and then sp code. It accepts the network control key but not the sp code. It seems I must have been given the wrong script for the sp code and hence each sim card is being sim restricted each time I insert a new one and enter the wrong sp code.

I am still working on it but will soon run out of sim cards.

ste_wilko

This guide will explain a little more for unlocking the phone: http://www.mobifreedom.net/unlocking/unlock-codes/how-to-unlock.php?targ=device&vend=samsung&samsung=samsung-e1270

It appears that the guy on eBay has pulled a fast one as there is no code that unlocks all the locks on the handset. You need an NCK (network) and and SPCK and/or an SCK to get the handset to unlock fully

Bradfield

ste_wilko wrote: »

This guide will explain a little more for unlocking the phone: http://www.mobifreedom.net/unlocking/unlock-codes/how-to-unlock.php?targ=device&vend=samsung&samsung=samsung-e1270

It appears that the guy on eBay has pulled a fast one as there is no code that unlocks all the locks on the handset. You need an NCK (network) and and SPCK and/or an SCK to get the handset to unlock fully

Thanks for that excellent link. I will peruse that very carefully later this afternoon.