Carrier Unlocking a Lumia800

[MrBacon42]

so I finally decided to switch from my palm pre to WP7. I was planning on buying the lumia 800 from TELUS for full price (I live in Canada), and using it on the Bell network. The problem is I'm not sure how exactly to unlock the phone to work on Bell. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know there are some sites that say they can unlock your phone for a price, but I'm not sure if these are legit. any help would be appreciated.

 

[Dave Blake]

Why not just buy an unlocked unit from Amazon or some place like that? As for the unlocking websites I have heard mixed results I would check the site out well before sending them any money. Check on Craigslist there are places around my area where I can walk in a store and have them unlock my phone right there in the store.

 

[ashykat]

I don't know how things are in Canada, but is the price difference in plans really enough to justify paying full price for the phone? Why not use it on TELUS? Forgive me if I'm being a stupid American.

 

[freestaterocker]

I don't know how things are in Canada, but is the price difference in plans really enough to justify paying full price for the phone? Why not use it on TELUS? Forgive me if I'm being a stupid American.

Here in Canada you have to sign a 3 year term to get a decent subsidy, and there are no "early upgrades". Not just that, but with my specific plan, (I'm on Bell also) the closest plan on TELUS to mine feature-wise is $15/month more. Multiply that by 36 months, and it's $540, which is $11 more than what TELUS is asking for the 800. So yeah, it's worth it. Especially with those awesome Apollo devices looming right around the corner!

 

[freestaterocker]

Why not just buy an unlocked unit from Amazon or some place like that? As for the unlocking websites I have heard mixed results I would check the site out well before sending them any money. Check on Craigslist there are places around my area where I can walk in a store and have them unlock my phone right there in the store.

The unlocked phones on Amazon only have one of the two bands that all 3 of the major Canadian carriers rely on to deliver their 3g signal. In case you're wondering, those would be 850/1900, same as the Death Star.

 

[gwydionjhr]

Or you could hang on for Rogers to release the 900. Bigger screen, LTE, and it looks like it's actually going to be cheaper than the 800 from Telus. During the Nokia event at MWC Elop mentioned an April release date. And, if you pre-register, Rogers is hinting at a Dark Knight inspired treat: http://www.windowscentral.com/nokia-and-rogers-tease-lumia-900-dark-knight-promotion

 

[freestaterocker]

Or you could hang on for Rogers to release the 900. Bigger screen, LTE, and it looks like it's actually going to be cheaper than the 800 from Telus. During the Nokia event at MWC Elop mentioned an April release date. And, if you pre-register, Rogers is hinting at a Dark Knight inspired treat: http://www.windowscentral.com/nokia-and-rogers-tease-lumia-900-dark-knight-promotion

Wonder if you can pre-register if you have no plans of actually USING the 900 on Rogers... If I miss out on an opportunity to get a Dark Night edition 900 because I'm sticking with Bell I will NOT be a happy camper.

 

[MrBacon42]

ya I suppose I could wait for the 900 on Rogers. I've already been waiting so long for Canada to get a decent wp7 I'm getting a little restless. I've actually been using a loaner android phone for a few months since my palm broke, it sucks. I guess if the 900 really is going to be cheaper I might as well wait. bell has been calling me though to ask for their loaner phone back

 

[freestaterocker]

so I finally decided to switch from my palm pre to WP7. I was planning on buying the lumia 800 from TELUS for full price (I live in Canada), and using it on the Bell network. The problem is I'm not sure how exactly to unlock the phone to work on Bell. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know there are some sites that say they can unlock your phone for a price, but I'm not sure if these are legit. any help would be appreciated.

I emailed TELUS about this. For $50 they will provide you with an unlock code. From there, insert a Bell micro-SIM and enter the code TELUS provided when prompted. Or you could save a few bucks by taking your chances with a site like cellunlocker.net

 

[jfmanzo]

You do NOT actually need an alien SIM card to unlock the 800, or any Nokia phone. I unlocked my 710 for $15.95 from cellunlocker- I had used cellfservices to unlock two BlackBerries but they were asking a lot more (maybe $25 versus less than $10 for the BB codes), so I went with cellunlocker. Nokia codes take MUCH longer than BB codes btw- BB took, literally, minutes (both my 9780 and 9900); it took 2 days to get my 710 code and back when I unlocked my N97 Mini a couple of years ago it took several weeks! So do be patient regardless of whom you go with.

Anyway as I say you don't need an alien SIM. You start without the SIM and then enter
#pw+yourcode+1# ("yourcode" is the unlock code you're sent), ie, if your code is 000000000000000 then enter exactly: #pw+000000000000000+1# and Bob's your uncle.

 

[jfmanzo]

btw I agree with the sentiment of waiting until next month for the 900 on Rogers. $499 vs $539 for a superior phone (vs the 800)? No contest.

 

[selfcreation]

1. TELUS , BELL , ROGERS only unlock phones if they are OFF contract!

2. they charge 50$ + to unlock

3. you can get it done by local electronic store ( looks for a sing * WE UNLOCK Phones* )

4. if you pay more then 30$ your getting ripped off.

5. once its unlock , make sure to go to BELL website to enter new APN settings.


you can always search for local KIJIJI guy that does it in your area. its ALL LEGIT! unless he has not done it after he said he did.

then i suggest local Sport store and buy a baseball bat. lol j/k.