[Q] Clarifyng concepts: unlock, unbrand, deband... - Trophy General

Hi, guys.
I have a Vodafone-locked HTC 7 Trophy.
My N1 is going to be repaired so I wanna use the trophy while it does. My operator is Simyo so I can't use my sim with the phone... looking for a way to use my non-vodafone sim with HTC Trophy I'm very confused...
Here, in Spain, we call "liberar" (literally "set free") to the process which lets your mobile uses any sim card, how call you this in English? Unlock? Unbrand?
Thank you!

Hi.
AFAIK unlocking means using the phone with any Sim Card - which would be "liberar" as you call it.
Unbranding is the process where you remove all the settings, or operator logos your phone came with.
Of course unlocking can also mean, jailbreak the phone, so you can sideload apps etc.
But in general I'd consider unlocking removing the Sim Lock.
Correct me if I'm wrong

Related

T-Mobile wing - does it have simlock or not

Hi I'm new user of T-Mobile Wing. I found a thread on this forum that most of T-mobile wing don't have simlock. I get my sim card from era (polish carrier) and put inside wing. Then turned on and everything is working. It has found a service. But I still have some doubts. One is that the service name is T-mobile ( which is normal in my nokia using era because of roaming policy of my carrier) but I'm not sure if I leave USA the phone will work or not. I'm not sure how sim lock work here in USA. Should the phone report problem with other sim card when I turn it on? Or maybe it will stop working when I will come back to Poland.
From the other side when I put T-mobile sim card into my old nokia which is locked, the phone reported error "device is secured, please provide code" ( <- this is free translation from my polish)
I assume the same sittuation should appear in case of wing with era sim card, but it is my first pda and I don't know if in this case my assumptions are correct.
Thanks in advance for your answers.
yes its sim locked
you can get it unlocked so it does thru some companys try search in google.
So why right now when I put sim card from different carrier I'm able to use the phone and make calls??
yep. I've got wing registered in era without any unlocking.
huh. thats really strange. it may be some weird kind of roaming. update when you receive your phone bill? If it's kind of ridiculous, you know you need to sim unlock.
I believe that if you get a tmobile sim(prepaid or borrow one?) you can ask them to give you the simlock code and they will

questions about HD2 limitations and locks

Hi
I'm wanting to buy an HTC HD2 this week but a seller told me that most of the HD2 are all locked. Not only SIM locked but that people can't install the programs they want (such as tom tom) and that they are forced to use the programs that the operator provides (in my case, i'm talking about french operators, such as orange or SFR).
Is that true that the HD2 by default is locked and that you can't install all you want on it ?
Can the phone be easilly unlocked from that ?
The shop told me that SFR is selling now an "origin" version all unlocked (even sim unlocked) and that it's a bit more expensive but worths it.
Do you have an opinion on that ? Did he tell me bull**** ?
Thanks a lot,
Regards
Elise
Look, here is Touch2 forum, not HD2 but i will say two words for you - yes, most of the phones a SIM locked and ROM (software) locked. If you buy from operator its 100 sure. You can put programs on the phone, the software is locked not to change phone software.
But in HD2 forum there is a procedure called HSPL, which can unlock your soft nd you can do whatever you want with the phone.
ooups sorry, i may have used the wrong place. Thanks for your answer anyway, that's just what i wanted to know.
well, actually...no, it is not locked by default.
it depends on where you live and where you but it.
in Belgium all HD2 are unlocked by default.
but indeed: wrong forum
In most cases they are locked by operators, i asked HTC about that and they said that after they give an HTC phone to mobile operator, this operator gets the rights on the phone

Sim Unlock Help Requested - WM6.5 & Flashed HTC

Hello, i've been searching the forums for an answer to this question but with no luck.
I have two HTCs, A Blackstone and an Elf. Both are now running WM6.5 roms. The Blackstone is running one of Stonehenges. I'm unsure which one the Elf is running.
Both phones were originally on the Orange network in the UK and today I received a giffgaff sim which runs on the O2 network.
For both phones, they turn on fine, there is no message for an unrecognised sim or a request for an unlock code. Once in WM, the phone does not connect to the mobile or mobile web connections. If I try to access the phone settings I get the "Phone not ready. Try again in 15 seconds". This is always the case so I cannot access these.
So is my phone unlocked? Or maybe I've received a dud sim? Is there anyway I can check these purely in the software? Is there a registry setting I can read to see if the phone is Sim Unlocked? Does WM6.5 have the same "Enter Unlock Code" function as WM6.0?
Thank you for your help.
Check SIM on any unlocked "stupid" phone.
Check SIM on any unlocked smartphone.
In both cases it has to connect to the O2 network.
If it does not, SIM is not working correctly.
If it does, your phone(s) is(are) Orange locked.

[Q] Unlocking phone without using another carrier's SIM Card

Hi guys
I purchased a t-mobile mytouch 4g outright last week (no contract). When I contacted t-mobile about getting the phone unlocked, they were happy to provide me with an unlock code. The only problem for me is that unlocking the phone requires using a SIM card from other phone provider, something which I dont have access to atm. Is there any way for me to unlock the phone without having to use a SIM card from another provider. Buying a SIM card isnt cheap (eg $25 for AT&T SIM card), and I would like to get the phone unlocked before I head overseas (in case the unlock code doesn't actually work, I won't be able to return the phone to t-mobile without having some difficulties.
The only way you would be able to do that, that I know of would be to root it and do the s off procedure. I think that also will do the sim unlock for you too. Read over the method that uses gfree and visionary. I think it talks a little about the sim unlock and when in the process it occurs.
Maybe you could just go to att and ask them if they have a sim card you can pop in to complete the process.
borrow one if possible, or do the root method. Worked perfectly fine for me doing that method
First of all to correct True if you go that path you van manually do it via Radio S=OFF, since you have the code why go though all of that? Just do as Osu said and barrow any GSM based carriers SIM. This is another example of Android fail as WinMo has simlock.exe as toolkit for this very reason to unlock it without SIM card.
Sent from my HTC Glacier
Is this a new process for unlocks from T-Mobile, that you need to have another provider's SIM card? If I recall correctly (dubious) from getting an unlock code for an MDA and an SDAseveral years ago they would just email you the unlock code and you would enter it into the phone.
Related question if I may: Does T-Mobile still give unlock codes to people who purchased a subsidized smartphone (in particular the MyTouch 4G)? I am considering buying three to replace aging original iPhones and a major reason for me sticking with T-Mobile over the years is their unlock policy. Just want to make sure it's not significantly different for smartphones.
Thanks ... Mike
wenglish said:
Is this a new process for unlocks from T-Mobile, that you need to have another provider's SIM card? If I recall correctly (dubious) from getting an unlock code for an MDA and an SDAseveral years ago they would just email you the unlock code and you would enter it into the phone.
Related question if I may: Does T-Mobile still give unlock codes to people who purchased a subsidized smartphone (in particular the MyTouch 4G)? I am considering buying three to replace aging original iPhones and a major reason for me sticking with T-Mobile over the years is their unlock policy. Just want to make sure it's not significantly different for smartphones.
Thanks ... Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is their unlock policy?
tmobile's unlock policy is 1 unlock code every 90 days.
If the phone is taken on a contract, I believe the unlock policy is that it can only be done after 90 days. I bought the phone without a contract outright, which is why I was able to get the unlock code within a week (although I had to call them up and argue a little).
With regards to the unlocking itself, from what I understand if the phone is not rooted (I don't wanna do it yet as I'd rather keep the warranty for the time being, at least while Im still in the US), then the only way it can be unlocked is with another carrier's SIM card because that is the only way that you get prompted to enter the code. I have a code available for my phone, it's just getting the damn card so I can actually unlock it.
btw Im currently in a country with no contacts who are with AT&T, so getting their SIM card is easier said than done. It costs 25 bucks to purchase a AT&T SIM, something I would rather not do to get the unlocking procedure done. From what I've experienced At&T is the only major provider aside from t-mobile which still uses SIM cards, and Boost mobile/Sprint cards won't work with regards to unlocking because they use a completely different type of network, so the phone can't even detect their SIM card (I tried a Boost SIM and it didn't work)
wenglish said:
Is this a new process for unlocks from T-Mobile, that you need to have another provider's SIM card? If I recall correctly (dubious) from getting an unlock code for an MDA and an SDAseveral years ago they would just email you the unlock code and you would enter it into the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just recently unlocked some of my older T-Mo phones to sell them more easily. They will provide you unlocks for a retail price phone in one week, or a contract subsidized phone in 90 days. You can even request unlocks for phones you no longer use (like my T-Mo Dash I found in a box in the garage).
To "complete" the unlock process you must insert a non-TMo SIM card and the device will prompt you for the code. After entering the code, the phone is unlocked and will remain that way. Borrow a friend's SIM, it's what I ended up doing. Alternatively, if you are just wanting to unlock to resell the phone later, the code is "always valid" for that phone's IMEI and you can just provide the next owner with the code.
Off-topic posts removed...please don't post if you have nothing helpful to say.
holdup said:
With regards to the unlocking itself, from what I understand if the phone is not rooted (I don't wanna do it yet as I'd rather keep the warranty for the time being, at least while Im still in the US), then the only way it can be unlocked is with another carrier's SIM card because that is the only way that you get prompted to enter the code. I have a code available for my phone, it's just getting the damn card so I can actually unlock it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can unlock without rooting using gfree, if getting a SIM is truly an issue just to complete the process. See the gfree thread.
gfree usage:
gfree [-h|-?|--help] [-v|--version] [-s|--secu_flag on|off]
-h | -? | --help: display this message
-v | --version: display program version
-s | --secu_flag on|off: turn secu_flag on or off
-c | --cid <CID>: set the CID to the 8-char long CID
-S | --sim_unlock: remove the SIMLOCK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just run gfree only with -S and that should do the trick and leave the phone still S-ON and unrooted.
What happens if you boot your phone without SIM card? Maybe you can unlock then?
I'm unlocked so can't check that myself
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
mr.tenuki said:
What happens if you boot your phone without SIM card? Maybe you can unlock then?
I'm unlocked so can't check that myself
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time I did this it functioned normally aside from no cell service. WiFi and everything else worked fine. No unlock prompts.
Holdup & Genocaust you are right. I found the unlock email from T-Mobile when I last did this in 2007, and yes, you do need to insert a foreign SIM.
holdup, not sure what you mean about only being able to use an AT&T SIM. I know for a fact you can use any UK-based SIM (T-Mobile, O2, Orange, Vodafone, even Tesco). You might look on fleaBay or Craigslist to see if anyone near wherever you are at has one for sale. It doesn't need to have credit on it as far as I recall.
I know that any international gsm Sim will work, but part of the problem is I won't have one until I leave the country, and if the code by some chance doesn't work getting it exchanged or refunded. The At&t sim im referring to is a US sim, not Uk (might have been some confusion there), which t mobile assured me would work. I don't want to buy a sim online right now because I don't have a fixed address for more than a few days at a time (currently doing a tour of the Us).
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
You could just go to the AT&T store, and do one of the following:
1. Flat out ask them if they could let you borrow an AT&T SIM so you can unlock the phone. BTW, the SIM they lend you does not have to be activated for this to work. It just needs to have a different network ID in it, which it will, because it will either be blank or it will be AT&T's; and in either case it wont match the TMobile network id.
2. Tell the AT&T store rep that you are wanting to bring-in your mytouch into their network (you'll buy service), but that you first want to see how it would behave in their network... And so, could they let you borrow a SIM to "test drive" it in their network... tell them you heard the phone has a radio that is compatible with their 3G frequency and that you want to verify that...
BTW, there is another way to access the unlock screen. It's just that the easiest way to trigger that software is to insert a SIM with a different network ID. Call tmobile or HTC and they may give you the other process. I have done this in the past for other handsets...
holdup said:
I know that any international gsm Sim will work, but part of the problem is I won't have one until I leave the country, and if the code by some chance doesn't work getting it exchanged or refunded. The At&t sim im referring to is a US sim, not Uk (might have been some confusion there), which t mobile assured me would work. I don't want to buy a sim online right now because I don't have a fixed address for more than a few days at a time (currently doing a tour of the Us).
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It only takes 5 minutes. You don't have any friends or coworkers with a GSM SIM you could borrow? That's how I used to do it for my old dumb phones.
i know it takes 5 mins, but if you bothered to read my post you would read that Im in a foreign country with no contacts, currently working in a hospital. Virtually all doctors I work with have an Iphone or some CDMA phone, haven't come across anyone with AT&T.
Anyway, got the phone unlocked, just went to an AT&T store n pretended to be interested in buying a SIM, then used a sim card they provided to unlock, thanks to everyone for their help

[HELP] How to Unlock Dual Sim Samsung S8 SM-G950FD?

Hi XDA,
I was wondering if there is a way to unlock/openline both sim card slot in other networks.
My Samsung s8 is lock in Smart carrier network here in Philippines.
I am aware of the flashing but i not a tech guy so I might need step by step procedure and the resources needed to do so because i do not know which firmware to use and to be sure not to kill my phone. Hehe
I searched for openline precedures for SM-G950FD variant here but no luck what i found are for other variants.
Hope you can help me.
Thanks in advance!
Have you tried contacting your network carrier to do the unlocking for you?
As a side note, I don't recommend trying to unlock this phone via unlocking codes as Dual SIM devices are usually problematic when it comes to this sort of unlocking.
RossTeagan said:
Have you tried contacting your network carrier to do the unlocking for you?
As a side note, I don't recommend trying to unlock this phone via unlocking codes as Dual SIM devices are usually problematic when it comes to this sort of unlocking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but I dont not recall that there are such services offered in our network carriers here, thats why people like me we seek help in forums and service shop that dont have 100% asurance of good result.
Thats to bad, so i will be unable to use the 2nd sim card slot anymore but can still use it as memory card slot? Anyways thats fine with me because 2nd sim card slot is also locked in the same carrier.
I dont know the point of locking both sim card slot, what would i even do with the 2 sim card with the same network? Hahahaha
up on this one. thanks
Networks lock the whole device, so they don't care if the device at hand is a single or dual SIM.
However, this becomes an issue only when trying to unlock the phone by unlocking codes. But, bear in mind that you could still unlock the phone but by other means. You could try an unlock via USB in your local phone repair shop.
You have to try.
Also, can you let me know where are you trying to use this phone (with what SIM card)?
RossTeagan said:
Networks lock the whole device, so they don't care if the device at hand is a single or dual SIM.
However, this becomes an issue only when trying to unlock the phone by unlocking codes. But, bear in mind that you could still unlock the phone but by other means. You could try an unlock via USB in your local phone repair shop.
You have to try.
Also, can you let me know where are you trying to use this phone (with what SIM card)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright! I should just unlock it as a whole.
Is there a way i could just do it myself, i dont really trust those repair shop because of bad experience.
I am new to this unlock thing but i rooted several phones way back and flash in odin, so i think i might able do it.
The phone is Smart Communications locked an i also want to use it in Globe Telecoms.
Check other forum threads, I am sure you will find information on how to do it yourself.
Smart said that the 2nd sim slot is open to all networks as long as you have sim 1 as smart or sun. I emailed their support. So it may be trustworthy. Have you tried yet?
how did you resolve this problem sir? i have the same scenario but the difference is my phone is globe locked and i want it unlocked to use smart i have the code for unlocking the sim and when i did unlocked it i can use different sims now but the problem is i cannot use the data. it is greyed out. any inputs?

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