UNLOCKING SIM LOCKED PHONES
A Service Provider (SP) lock is used to ensure that your phone will only work on one network; the one that you bought your phone from. If your phone is locked then it will refuse to accept a SIM card from another network. Unlocking is the process of removing the SP Lock so that it’s possible to use other SIM cards in your phone. PhoneBox can unlock almost any handset, including Blackberry and iPhone, in under an hour. In rare cases it may take up to a few days if we need to order special codes from a third party.
Is unlocking illegal?
No, it is a common misconception that unlocking your phone is illegal. In fact quite the opposite, it is your consumer right to have your handset unlocked. The networks have to provide you with an unlock code if you request it – but they normally charge you for the privilege and may insist you pay for all monthly rental in advance for the remainder of your contract.
Is your phone locked?
The simplest way to check if your phone is locked is to insert a SIM card from another network and see if the phone will accept it. If your phone is locked you will often see an error message of some kind. These messages vary depending on your handset manufacturer. Here are some examples:
Nokia = ‘Enter restriction code’ or ‘SIM card rejected’
Motorola = ‘Enter special code’ or ‘Enter Subsidy Code’
Sony Ericsson = ‘Incorrect SIM’ or ‘Enter Correct SIM’
Samsung = ‘Invalid Network SIM…Enter Code’
Why unlock your phone?
1 ) You may own more than one SIM card running on different networks; if you want to swap the SIM cards from time to time your phone must be unlocked.
2 ) You may find your network is not as competitively priced as another and you would then need to use a different SIM card in the phone.
3 ) If you are travelling overseas you may want to use your phone with a SIM card from that country to save yourself money.
4 ) You may be looking to sell your old handset, in which case you will be able to sell it at a higher price and not have to worry if your potential buyer’s SIM card will be accepted by your handset.
UNLOCKING USER LOCKED PHONES
Have you forgotten your security code and can’t get back in to your phone? Security codes are a feature designed to prevent unauthorised access to the phones’ data and therefore are extremely difficult to crack. In most cases if your phone becomes locked and you haven’t previously backed up your data such as contacts, images or messages saved to the phones memory, not the memory card, it is unlikely it will be recovered.
PhoneBox can unlock almost any handset, including Blackberry and iPhone, in under an hour. In rare cases it may take up to a few days if we need to order special codes from a third party. Unfortunately to reset the security lock code in phones it may require using a special flash cable and unlock tool to reload the software and or firmware which may cause the removal of all data in the phone.
Just before you send us your phone you may like to try 0000 or 12345 as they are the default security codes used in most phones. If you have not changed the code from the default you may be lucky and unlock the phone yourself.
NETWORK BARRED PHONES
With the Blacklist Checking service you can check whether your phone is reported to the operator as blacklisted. This happens when your phone is reported as lost or stolen. In this case, the phone does not log on to the network in the specific country. Unlocking your phone in such case will be difficult or even impossible.
Before you buy any phones please let us check the listing for it to be sure the phone you are about to buy is not blacklisted.
This service only costs £2 and all you have to do email us the IMEI number of the phone.
How to get the IMEI no.?
Please type on your keypad *#06#
Simple is that!