Moto g 2 locked by Tesco - any ideas?

gw23

Had this handset which I bought from Tesco Direct - NOT Tesco Mobile - sim free. Put my sim card in and it's been perfect for 10 months. Last week I changed providers as talk talk in their wisdom, couldn't provide me with my original package and suggested I either bought their more expensive package or swapped providers. I swapped to ASDA mobile - I don't use the phone a lot and their small bundles suited me. Got the SIM and got my number transferred but whatever I did, or someone else did, or Carphone Warehouse did it would only show "No SIM card - Emergency Calls Only" To cut an extremely long story short it appears that Tesco lock you into certain networks even if you buy a SIM free phone from Tesco Direct and the ASDA mobile network (02 or whatever it is) isn't one of them. I've argued my socks off with Tesco but they won't unlock it because I've had it less than a year - I can't even use a SIM card from one of the networks it does support as you can only transfer your number once every 28 days. I know I can use a different SIM card and have to put up with a different number, or I can buy a cheap handset from Asda and use their SIM card in it which has my number on it but that makes my Moto G redundant - certainly until Tesco do me the favour of unlocking it which for some reason takes them about 28 days! I even have the unlock code but because the phone is saying Emergency Call Only, rather than "Unlock PIN" I can't enter the unlock code.
Hope all this makes sense - I've summarised over a week of aggro as well as I can!

If anyone has any magic tricks to unlock the phone I'd be extremely grateful,

Browntoa

you need a sim card from a non Tesco network in the phone to enter the unlock code as I see you have it


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorola-Moto-G-Tesco-network-Mobile-Phone-Unlock-Code-FAST-SERVICE-/281556018300

gw23

Thanks but that's the problem. I do have (several now!) SIM cards from non Tesco networks but none of them prompt me to enter the unlock code - they just give out the "Emergency Calls only" message - the unlock code is redundant unless there is a prompt message on the display which allows you to enter the code

mwarby

you sure the new sim card has gone in correctly, I had a moto g 4g and never saw that message while I was getting it unlocked. From the error it looks like the sim is in wrong or simply not working (can you try it in another phone)

gw23

Can I just say this has been going on for well over a week now - card ok in other phones, card is in correctly - 2nd card ok in other phones. We really have gone down all the obvious routes and taken it into 2 phone shops and at least 4 other people have tried with a variety of SIMs. Tesco have confirmed that although it was purchased SIM Free - their interpretation of SIM Free is different to the rest of the world. It is definitely locked, by Tesco.

[Deleted User]

gw23 - This sounds very strange but I don't think it's the case that Tesco lock you into their network on their sim free phones.
I bought a sim free phone off them in late March this year and it's a Moto E 2nd gen.
I put an Asda sim in and it's been no trouble, I wonder if the phone supplied to you was originally incorrectly packaged as sim free when it was actually locked to Tesco/O2 and put in the wrong box - that seems the only logical explanation to me.

mrochester

It doesn't sound like the phone is sim locked as it would give you to option to enter a network unlock code if it was. Haven't you tried resetting the phone and starting again from scratch?

sillygoose

Curious if this not an unusual issue... on this unlockers site in the instructions it say..

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1816838-How-To-Unlock-Motorola-Moto-G-By-Unlock-Code-To-Work-With-Any-GSM-Network

"If your Motorola is not asking for an unlock code and it only reads “Network Locked. Emergency calls only” or “Insert correct SIM card” please contact us.
"

As above I have bought a simfree Tesco moto E and used it directly on an O2 network.

indesisiv

Turn off the phone completely .. leave it off for 10-20 mins or so. Then turn it on and see what happens.