Is the 521 unlockable? Or has anyone managed to unlock it?

[Lundon44]

I'm trying to find a 520 or 521 that will work on WIND Mobile here in Canada. I bought the HTC 8S for my mother for mother's day and while she loves it the 1.6GB of usuable internal storage is a bit of a deal breaker.

She loves the perks of the Lumia so I'm trying to find one that can run on WIND's network. I've found some unlocked 520's on eBay but wasn't clear if they would work properly on WIND's network. All I know is that it has to be AWS compatible with bands 1700/2100. T-Mobile is usually compatible with WIND but I'm not seeing any unlocked ones around.

Anyone know if it can be unlocked?

 

[HeyCori]

Edit: Other forum members are saying it's locked but T-Mo will unlock it for you.

Here's the list of supported frequencies.

• GSM network: 1800 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1900 MHz
• GSM max data speed DL: EGPRS 236.8 kbps
• GSM max data speed UL: EGPRS 236.8 kbps
• WCDMA network: 1700 - 2100 MHz, 1900 MHz, 850 MHz
• WCDMA max data speed DL: HSDPA - 21.1 Mbps
• WCDMA max data speed UL: HSUPA - 5.76 Mbps

 

[zultar]

I called to unlock mine and Tmobile was happy to comply, but they could not find the IEMI number in the system and told me to return it because it was a bad #. If the number had worked they said it would be unlocked within 14 days since I fully owned it.

 

[Lundon44]

I called to unlock mine and Tmobile was happy to comply, but they could not find the IEMI number in the system and told me to return it because it was a bad #. If the number had worked they said it would be unlocked within 14 days since I fully owned it.

Hmm. Think they will unlock them for Canadian residents? And non-customers too? Lol

 

[peacefulberry]

I called to unlock mine and Tmobile was happy to comply, but they could not find the IEMI number in the system and told me to return it because it was a bad #. If the number had worked they said it would be unlocked within 14 days since I fully owned it.

Where did you purchase it from? If WalMart, HSN, or a Microsoft store then maybe the numbers are too new to find in their system yet, but if eBay, then maybe they have a point...

 

[blacter]

A poster in another thread said he called T-Mobile and the rep said the phone had to be active on their network for 60 days with at least $50 in charges before they would provide an unlock code. Online I found a site called cellunlocker.net that offers an unlock service for $40.

 

[peacefulberry]

A poster in another thread said he called T-Mobile and the rep said the phone had to be active on their network for 60 days with at least $50 in charges before they would provide an unlock code. Online I found a site called cellunlocker.net that offers an unlock service for $40.

Right...i read that too, but their unlocking policy is a bit confusing. One page on their site said I think $100 before they unlock. I think anyone that needs to unlock their phone should print it out before they call them because some reps are more lenient than others. I do believe they do say that it is up to their discretion regardless. All in all, at the end of the day they want to make sure they are unlocking a phone that is paid for completely and for a T-Mobile customer. So, you may have to provide proof of purchase and a good customer history...

 

[zultar]

Hmm. Think they will unlock them for Canadian residents? And non-customers too? Lol

I can't be sure of that. I got to my support guy after giving my number. I had already activated my sim card and added $9 to the account for 3 days of testing. I had heard bad things about T-mobile and wanted to test out their service before leaving my current provider.

 

[zultar]

Where did you purchase it from? If WalMart, HSN, or a Microsoft store then maybe the numbers are too new to find in their system yet, but if eBay, then maybe they have a point...

I did get it from WalMart, I thought about waiting to see if the IEMI number would work eventually, but I only had 15 days to return it to WalMart and I couldn't use it on my current carrier as is.

 

[phirefly]

I got 3 from WalMart and I am talking to T-Mobile support on their facebook page right now. The support people there said if I show a receipt they will unlock even if I am not a customer. I sent them their own documentation that says otherwise and requested documentation and instructions to back up what they say. I am waiting to here back.

https://apps.facebook.com/t-mobilesupport/

EDIT: I am not a T-Mobile customer, I am a happy AT&T customer and bought the 521's for my kids to use on WiFi only. I only wish to unlock them in case I need a backup phone or want to eventually add them to my family plan without signing a 2 year contract.

EDIT: EDIT: I had zero luck talking to customer service as they refuse to work with you if you do not meet the following criteria : http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1588

 

[peacefulberry]

I got 3 from WalMart and I am talking to T-Mobile support on their facebook page right now. The support people there said if I show a receipt they will unlock even if I am not a customer. I sent them their own documentation that says otherwise and requested documentation and instructions to back up what they say. I am waiting to here back.

https://apps.facebook.com/t-mobilesupport/

EDIT: I am not a T-Mobile customer, I am a happy AT&T customer and bought the 521's for my kids to use on WiFi only. I only wish to unlock them in case I need a backup phone or want to eventually add them to my family plan without signing a 2 year contract.

EDIT: EDIT: I had zero luck talking to customer service as they refuse to work with you if you do not meet the following criteria : http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1588

Yep...that's exactly what I read. Like I said you have to demonstrate that you are a current or former customer. Meaning, you have a prepaid plan or refilled your prepaid account at least $50 worth (one month for most ppl). They don't want to provide unlock codes to dealers and they consider it a courtesy for their customers. So, if you are not a current or former tmo customer, most likely they won't even entertain it. But it is up to the rep. You have to at least meet them half way...Have you considered activating the unlimited $50 prepaid plan for one month and then providing the receipt as proof of purchase? That should fulfill 3 of those requirements: current customer, $50 in refills, and device fully paid for...

 

[Curtieson]

EDIT: EDIT: I had zero luck talking to customer service as they refuse to work with you if you do not meet the following criteria : SIM Unlock your phone | Support

It is IMPOSSIBLE to meet ALL of those criteria, so it must certainly just mean you have to meet 1 or some?

• You are under a 24-month service contract,
• You are a former customer, your account balance is zero and you did not port out a line associated with the device during the buyer’s remorse period;

Both of those are COMPLETELY exclusive. You can not be a former customer AND be under contract.

So, I think as long as you match this bullet point you should be OK.

• You paid for your device in full;
  

If only I could find a Nokia 521 to prove myself correct, haha.

 

[phirefly]

It is IMPOSSIBLE to meet ALL of those criteria, so it must certainly just mean you have to meet 1 or some?

• You are under a 24-month service contract,

• You are a former customer, your account balance is zero and you did not port out a line associated with the device during the buyer’s remorse period;
  

Both of those are COMPLETELY exclusive. You can not be a former customer AND be under contract.

So, I think as long as you match this bullet point you should be OK.

• You paid for your device in full;
  

If only I could find a Nokia 521 to prove myself correct, haha.

Good catch. I told this to T-Mobile support on facebook and they asked for my email address. We will see what happens.

 

[anon(24109)]

I called to unlock mine and Tmobile was happy to comply, but they could not find the IEMI number in the system and told me to return it because it was a bad #. If the number had worked they said it would be unlocked within 14 days since I fully owned it.

I don't think the IEMI numbers are properly in T-Mobile's system yet. When I activated my 521 on Saturday, they were unable to find the IEMI(didn't stop anything, just changed how he provisioned the SIM) in the system and no one I've talked to has had their phone show up as a Lumia 521 on their account yet, it just shows up like some random non-TMobile BYOD phone.

 

[Dustin Hodges]

I don't think the IEMI numbers are properly in T-Mobile's system yet. When I activated my 521 on Saturday, they were unable to find the IEMI(didn't stop anything, just changed how he provisioned the SIM) in the system and no one I've talked to has had their phone show up as a Lumia 521 on their account yet, it just shows up like some random non-TMobile BYOD phone.

Well, the phone isn't released officially on T-Mobile yet (only available through HSN, Microsoft, and Walmart at the moment), so I guess we wont see it in the system till May 22nd (the official release of the 521 @ T-Mobile stores and on T-Mobile.com )

 

[phirefly]

I am making pretty good progress with the T-Force.

"With new devices, we are unable to submit the unlock within 14 days of the launch of the device. I'm assuming you purchased the device either at Wal Mart or a Microsoft store as we don't launch the device officially with us until tomorrow. With that said, we wouldn't be able to successfully submit the unlock request until the 26th. At that time we will be sure to note in the request that you've never had an account and paid full price for it so they don't attempt to look up an account."

 

[Luke Riegert]

I currently have an unlocked 521 running on the WIND network. It can be done!

 

[aszrin]

I bought one want to use on wind. Can I ask how you did it?

 

[Harry Wild]

You have to have a sim card from a competing carrier to unlock it! So if your are only with T-Mobile you are out of luck! I heard that there is another way to do it; with # sign and number code but I could not find it! Anyone know how to do it without a competing carrier's sim card?

 

[aszrin]

I meant getting the code to unlock it. That's normally considered the hard part because to make use of the "unlock" requires someone's SIM anyhow