Who is legally responsible to network unlock a mobile phone? (network provider or manufacturer)

ibizara

I have an ongoing dispute that is going to the small claims court and the underlying defence from Vodafone is that it is down to the manufacturer to provide a "network unlock code". Samsung deny this and I fear that in court Vodafone's defence could be allowed.

Does anyone here know and if there is anything that could be referenced?

Other possible complicating factors is that although I am a customer of Vodafone's the mobile device was linked with another persons Vodafone account, and so Vodafone also state they have no contract with me in relation to the mobile device.

[Deleted User]

Was it provided as part of a contract / does your contract mention unlocking and does it have Vodafone firmware/branding?

ibizara

It's an old phone, Samsung Galaxy S7 and I purchased it second hand. Vodafone state they have no issues unlocking it but have been unsuccessful in obtaining the network unlock code from Samsung. Vodafone "did" have the code but they purged it from their database after a period of time. Given they made a concious choice to remove the code from their system and the phone is locked to their network I hold them responsible however they are claiming Samsung are responsible.

k3lvc

ibizara said:

Other possible complicating factors is that although I am a customer of Vodafone's the mobile device was linked with another persons Vodafone account, and so Vodafone also state they have no contract with me in relation to the mobile device.

Given you've taken it as far as Small Claims Court then presumably you're very clear that you're in the right and their defence is flawed ?

Out of interest why is it them rather than the seller that you're chasing ? 

Jon_01

The algorithm that's used to generate the unlock code comes from the manufacturer as they are the ones that code it into the hardware of the phone.

For some manufacturers it it still they who the networks have to go to, to get the code as they don't allow access to their algorithm.

I don't know how you move forward with this?  If Voda can't get the code from Samsung and they are unable to generate it themselves, then on the face of it, there's nowhere else to go?

JJ_Egan

As above .OP are you sure that they are responsible . Where is this law regarding unlocking ?that you are taking them to court over .

ibizara

@k3lvc I do believe that I am right and I didn't know that their defence was going to be "it's down to the manufacturer" which I don't think is true. Samsung deny they are responsible and I tend to believe them, it's in the name surely "network" unlock code.

To make matters more complicated I purchased the device from eBay from a seller who purchased it off of the original owner, considering this I have the full trail and contact details and even the Vodafone account number of the original owner. It was sold to me as unlocked a couple of years ago, I'm 99% sure it was "unlocked" when I received it, either something has happened from then until now that has locked it again (which is extremely unusual) or I made a mistake and it wasn't unlocked (though Vodafone think it should be unlocked). Either way it's been a couple of years and pursuing the seller now would be difficult at best. One fact does remain is that it is locked to a network provider and so surely it should be down to them to unlock it as they no longer own the device. I do understand that this is an uphill battle but I don't see why it should be allowed given that I'm the owner and I'm restricted to using it only on the Vodafone network.

k3lvc

I'm sure someone else will be along soon with a more 'legal-ese' view but personally I don't think you stand a cat in hells chance of winning on that basis 

JJ_Egan

As above and i don't believe their is any legal responsibility in the first instance and then even less 3 owners down the line .

But open to be wrong if you tell us this law .

ibizara

@JJ_Egan I'm hoping that someone on here may have have a better understanding than I. In a nutshell Samsung told me that they send the locked phones and the codes to the network providers. Vodafone state they have to contact Samsung to get these codes. You will note the difference in the events described. If Samsung are correct then Vodafone are responsible and they shouldn't "removed codes" from their database just because they can, of course it is in their interest to keep phones on their network for business. If Vodafone are correct then I would agree that it would be down to Samsung. I believe the vague and purposely misleading responses that I've had to date are to confuse and make it quite difficult to proceed. I'm open to thoughts and suggestions.

Browntoa

I was always under the impression that the codes came from the manufacturer database ( I unlocked phones for many years ) 

Apple used to take up to 10 days to provide the code and you had to connect to iTunes .