Unlocking a prepaid mobile phone

So my sister recently bought a cheap little Siemens A57 from the vodafone shop bundled with a CallYa SIM card to use as a backup phone. Now that she has gone back home, I figure I can have this as a backup phone to use with my australian vodafone...Easy as slotting in the sim eh? Wrong! It does not work...I try with my german vodafone sim...which also does not work...it only works with the first registered sim card.

I went down to the vodafone shop and asked them why I couldn't use other vodafone sim cards on the handset and much to my dismay the lady informed me that not only is the phone locked to the network, but to the sim card for TWO YEARS. To unlock it before that time, there is a EUR 100 charge. That's fantastic, considering the phone cost EUR 50

So my question is, where can I get the phone unlocked (and not pay EUR 100)? I know there are places that do it for a small charge (i.e. less than the above mentioned highway robbery), I just don't know where they are in Munich or Augsburg...can anyone help? And also, how great is the risk of frying my handset in the process? (this is only a secondary concern as the phone will be useless if it can't be unlocked)

type the model number and "unlock code" into google. you will get hundreds of sites that will sell you a code for about 5 euro.

Lots of the Turkish phone shops round Hbf will do it quickly and cheaply.

Ah the wonderful world of the internet, why didn't i think of that before? I'll try it after I get out of work, as I would not really want a slew of porno pop-ups and banners that sites like that are plagued with.

Firefox, Adblock, Adblock Filterset.G Updater, FlashBlock, and NoScript.

woof.

Yeah great...except work pc only has IE6 with its amazing pop-up blocker.

See also: Unlocking a mobile phone or SIM card.

Thanks Keydeck. I was looking for a previous thread on the matter (as i'm sure people before me have mentioned this) but couldn't find it, hence the new thread.

I searched for "unlocking" after "unlock" didn't provide the thread.

After briefly scanning the forums related to unlocking phones...

looks like i need to have a cable to connect phone to my pc, and need the Freia unlocking software. in this case, it might be cheaper and quicker to take it to a shop..

hi there..i am new here and so freaking glad to find an english forum in germany. well btw, i would like to ask if there's any unlocking mobile service in Essen, NRW. i just bought a mobile from eBay but i didn't realize that it was simlock to vodafone. glad if someone or anyone can help me out

Well, maybe you can tell us what model phone it is for starters...

oh ya...i forgot bout it BenQ - Siemens EF81.

Well, after 20min of looking, it would seem that there is no way to "hack unlock", this phone. There is a company
in the UK that can unlock this phone, but only if its locked to Vodefone UK. Seeing as Siemens/Benq phone dept.
is bust, and the phone is prob. off contract anyway, try going to a local outlet of the provider the phone is locked to
and get a code. If the phone is not off contract yet, then they might charge you 50-90 Eur to do it. If the phone is
off contract then most of the time it's free...

wow...that's expensive. cause i just bought this mobile from ebay for 80euro. i didn't realize it wrote there -simlock : vodafone- until i won the bid. shitty...anyway, thanks!

Thats only if it's not out of the Orig. contract yet...

Is there anyway to upload/install Java Applications i.e. Games to Imode phones? Specifically Samsung E720i?

I have this Motorola Razr which I got from a friend when I was at home. Apparently the phone comes originally from Costa Rica and it's locked (I don't know how it ended up in my friend's hands). I took it to a shop back home and they tried flashing the phone but that didn't unlock it. I have no clue whether it would be possible to actually unlock it, do any one of you know how and where I could manage?

Sorry, The unlock codes for this phone are based off the Orig. Providers SIM card.
Only they can unlock it for sure. But just to check, what model Razr do you have?

Would have to check when I get back home.

Anybody successfully unlock a Nokia 6288 yet? "Enter restriction code" kerfuffle. After googling about a bit, it appears to be a no-no.

As of now, it is not possible to unlock the new Nokia phones ((ASIC 11 and BB5 series) by entering the unlock code, unless provided by the operator.

I've come to the same conclusion, as research on the subject and response from mates who work in the sector all indicates that they're tough to crack.

Although one whose opinion I value and trust came back with this nugget.


Jury's still out on the BB5s.