Unlock Nokia 920 from Orange/EE UK

[xbilly]

Orange / EE claim that they cannot unlock my phone despite having had a contract for the past 12 months as the phone was bought PAYG and they need the SIM that came with the phone to link it to my account :shocked:

Firstly EE are ***** (self censorship !) and there is no way they are coning me into re-signing with them.

Second and more importantly, has anyone found a reliable unlock service ? Fonefunshop seem to be the cheapest, most reliable solution I can find. Anyone have an experience with them or other vendors ?

Thanks.

 

[meandu229]

Just FYI, stay away from orange/EE unlock service anyway,, I am now week 9 into my wait for my code which was "processed on the 5th september". So you may have dodged a bullet, Hope you have better luck than me, I currently have to carry around a N95 with my new sim in and just use my 920 for wifi till its sorted.

 

[dznk]

I have a 920 which was is 'locked' to EE, but I don't use EE themselves. Sorry, I can't help you on the unlocking part, I haven't had to get a phone unlocked for years, but a quick little suggestion... If you are not wanting another 12 or 24 month contract, Virgin Mobile use the EE network, so you can pop a Virgin 30 day rolling Sim in your phone without unlocking the phone (it's what I do). These 30 day rolling contracts are great as you don't need to buy a phone and you can cancel at any time (well 30 days notice basically, no penalties). They have some good deals really, see here. I'm not trying to come across as a sales person here or to push a certain network operator on you, it's just something to consider, if you weren't aware of it.

 

[xbilly]

Thanks for the warning, meandu229 !

My local phone shop quoted me ?45 to unlock. FoneFunShop is ?35 so may try them. I'll report back !

Wanted to move to Three as they have unlimited data contracts for ?15 that will move to 4G next month but I'll note Virgin deal as emergency backup.

 

[dznk]

Thanks for the warning, meandu229 !

My local phone shop quoted me ?45 to unlock. FoneFunShop is ?35 so may try them. I'll report back !

Wanted to move to Three as they have unlimited data contracts for ?15 that will move to 4G next month but I'll note Virgin deal as emergency backup.

Yep, good point, Virgin does not have any 4G contracts. That Three one sounds good to me.

 

[meandu229]

Three have a ?12.90 unlim data one too which is the one im on if you dont mind not having tethering,
Would you post back when you get your code, at this rate I might just cancel with orange and use them

 

[rockstarzzz]

Orange or EE won't unlock your phones. They will say it's Nokia who won't send codes. Nokia will say it's Orange or EE. If you got it via a dealer, it gets worse.

Local shop is best choice.

Three's ?15 SIM only looks good! And it gets better after 12 months when they call you for upgrade. Mine was dropped to ?11 after 12 months and that is going to be 4G, oh yeah!

 

[xbilly]

Orange or EE won't unlock your phones. They will say it's Nokia who won't send codes. Nokia will say it's Orange or EE. If you got it via a dealer, it gets worse.

Local shop is best choice.

EE call centre person seemed to think it should be ok after following up this morning although I'm not holding my breath. Its ?20 rather than ?35 online or ?45 at shop so going to see. My contract doesn't expire until the end of the month so have a little time to play with...

 

[sp8y]

I used cellphoneunlock.net to unlock my EE 920. Code was ?40 so a bit pricy but was sent to me in 2-3 days and worked fine.

Sent from a Windows Phone!

 

[greycounciller]

I used Fonefunshop back in August and they only charged me ?35 for the code. Got it in 24hrs.
There seems to be some complications in receiving the codes, but all works well now once it's done.
EE/Orange are really conning peolpe with there unlock request. I was told I had to use my Orange SIM the phone was registered to for 6 months, THEN pay ?20 to get it unlocked. That works out at least ?50!!

 

[Evan_ISS]

I bought the P4U 920 jobbie back in November upon release but didn't unlock it immediately as it had problems from the get go and eventually had to be replaced. Didn't need to either as I have been using it with a Virgin 30 day rolling contract from day one.

Had to go on holiday though so used FoneFunShop (?35), code(s) arrived within a week and worked like a charm.

Also swapped the software from the atrocious EE version (the cause of many of my issues incidentally) to the UK unlocked one (CV_GB).

Haven't looked back since, the best ?35 I have ever spent on a phone.

 

[xbilly]

Just got off the phone with EE technical support, who seemed to be more clued in than the regular phone centre person, who assured that my unlock code would be arriving in less than 15 days.

*crosses fingers*

 

[meandu229]

I am now on day 67 waiting for my code so I hope you have more luck than me. Tempted to cut my losses and use FoneFunShop.

 

[dznk]

I am now on day 67 waiting for my code so I hope you have more luck than me. Tempted to cut my losses and use FoneFunShop.

I wouldn't let them off with it, you've paid for something you haven't received. I would get back in touch with EE via phone or email and say this has gone on way longer than you were originally told at the start and ask them to give you a date when you will be getting the code. If they can't do this, then I would ask for a full refund as they have not provided you with what you paid for.

 

[meandu229]

Yeah I have been at them quite a bit with exec team etc,, they are basically blaming 3rd party company (nokia?) for bad communications. Going to kick off on wed if I dont get a phone call updating me.

 

[Hantuhari]

Well some of you seem to be having more luck than me. I was given a used 920 locked to ee and so far have had my money returned from 2 unlocking services as they could not generate a code for me. I cannot use the ee help as I am not an ee customer - there was no sim in the phone. Now I am thinking I might as well sell the thing on and try my luck elsewhere as I am not going to go back to T Mobile ever and the wife is an Orange customer and has to go outside to get a signal. I have a contract sim from O2 that I had hoped to use with it as it is was meant to replace a written off 820. Pity as I, and I never thought I would say this, rather like Windows 8. Thanks for letting me let off a bit of steam. :angry:

 

[dznk]

Welcome Hantuhari. Did you try Fonefunshop, not used them myself but a few on here have by the sounds of it? Or you could always sell the locked 920 and buy an unlocked one. Sometimes there isn't much of a price difference when buying Used.

 

[Hantuhari]

One of the rejects was Fonefunshop, they said it may be the age of the phone (unlikely) or that there was no code in the database. I have tried one more service just in case but no reply from them as yet so I am not hopeful. I have found a new unlocked one for a reasonable price but Phones4U were calling the ones they sold unlocked and they were not so I am a bit wary. Might have to go for a lower spec PAYG from O2 and swap the sims until upgrade time rolls round. All very frustrating.

 

[dznk]

Hmm that's a shame. It may be worth going for the Phones4U one if it's a good price. If they did sell an Unlocked one which was locked I shouldn't think you'd have much problem in getting a full refund if that was the case. They wouldn't have a leg to stand on if they sold it to you with false information.

I know it's a few steps down from a 920 but the 520 at ?89.95 all in inc the topup at Carphone Warehouse is a good deal, in fact my Dad got this phone. It's a very capable phone for the price.

 

[Hantuhari]

It was not from Phones4U but might be old stock from them was my thought, the unlocked 920 I have found is only ?40 more than a new 625 from the 02 shop so might be worth a punt. Never had this trouble unlocking a phone before though I have never tried to unlock a Nokia. Oh well thanks for your input anyway.