Hi
Today I got an s4 1905 after being an iOS owner for the last 5 years. As u can imagine I'm feeling a little out of my comfort zone but at the same time keen to get stuck in.
My first major hurdle is that I have an ovivo (uk Vodafone network) SIM card and the phone is an O2 handset. I get the horrible splash screen to remind me every time I turn it on!
I have tried Chavxxx method of using the service menu to unlock but it just doesn't want to work, there is one issue thou, I don't have an O2 sim to use during the process, I don't see how that would make a huge difference though.
Ok so I suppose I have 2 questions,
1 what other unlock options are there? I have seen pay codes but is there any other way, a free way? Using a different rom?
2 I am keen to get playing with different roms, can anyone give me any tips? Is there a better version of android than the one that's on my handset now?
You can flash an official unbranded rom via Odin, or ifcyou wish a vodaphone branded rom
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
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Hi Folks,
I have spent a considerable amount of time before i actually registered searching through hundreds of posts in relation to the unlocking to the HTC HD2 on T-Mobile (UK) everyone appears to give links to various different websites who charge for unlocking,some people appear to contradict what others have said and to be honest it's all very confusing!
I'm due to take delivery of a brand new HTC HD2 this coming Monday and it's locked to T-Mobile, that's doesn't present a problem as such as im on T-Mobile here but i do want to get it unlocked for when i go back to Dublin so i can put my Meteor SIM or any other SIM card in, however in all the times ive had mobiles that have been locked to 1 network ive always managed to get them unlocked usually online but im coming up short this time, my question is - is there anyway i can get this phone unlocked without having to pay to do so, also i recall someone saying you need to get it flashed first before you get it unlocked, can some clarify and any other tips would be appreciated.
Good forum this and quite helpful
flashing has got nothing to do with unlocking.
certain networks unlock for free but some charge dont know about tmobile.o2 recently started to unlock for free.
certain networks dont even lock it just wait and see.
carphone warehouse most of the time they give unbranded phones so its unlocked.
my hd2 says tmobile on box but there's no sign of tmobile customization.
on the other hand my mates phone is on tmobile and its customized .
just wait for it..
adamo86 said:
flashing has got nothing to do with unlocking.
certain networks unlock for free but some charge dont know about tmobile.o2 recently started to unlock for free.
certain networks dont even lock it just wait and see.
carphone warehouse most of the time they give unbranded phones so its unlocked.
my hd2 says tmobile on box but there's no sign of tmobile customization.
on the other hand my mates phone is on tmobile and its customized .
just wait for it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers mate..yeah ill just wait and see when i get the phone,with some luck it will be unlocked.
Hi, im new to these forums but after much searching i have been unable to answer my question.
I would like to purchase a Wildfire for my wife prefered in white. The only reasonably priced one is from Tesco mobile on pay as you go for £179.00
My wife is currently on Orange and changing providers is not an option.
I have read how it may be possible to unlock the phone using codes, but what about the braning on the phone will i be able to remove this? Also if i have to install a factory configured ROM surely this will also remove the simlock too?
I have also read that the phones from Tesco are not always sim locked and wondered if anyone had any experience of this?
The phone is also avaliable from vodaphone for £126 but i know 100% this is sim locked and branded, so the Tesco phone could work out better if no unlock or debranding is required.
Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks again!
It's possible to unlock the phone to any carrier, it'll cost about 15 pounds. To unbrand it you'll have to install the ruu from htc, there are links somewhere in the forum.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App
I bought the missus a HTC Wildfire from three today, mainly because she loved the red colour, which is exclusive to three, but she uses Tesco Mobile.
I went to one of my local town's many, many phone unlocking shops and was charged £30 for an unlock. Ten minutes later, I get told they cannot find an unlock code for the IMEI number. I tried numerous sites, but all failed.
In the end, I rooted the phone using UnrEVOked, simply because I thought flashing a new radio with clockwork mod would work. This turned out not to be the case.
Does anyone know how the ruddy hell I can unlock this thing? I'm willing to pay for a code, but I've tried lots of sources and none of them work.
Any advice would be appreciated!
I'm not sure how to either cos I never did that before but I read it around this forums in some threads , there are tutorial there. I think you need something known as a gold card.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App
Mine is originally a 3 phone (not red tho!) I got mine unlocked by mobileunlocked.co.uk after local shops couldn't do it. I think it was about £23
Sent from my wildfire using XDA App
Currently, the red wildfires cannot be unlocked. Only the gray, black and silver ones.
You could try changing the covers or painting them, and then search for an unlock solution.
Just call 3, they are quite co-operative. Just tell them u have another sim card with lots of credit left on it and u want to finish that off b4 using there sim.
They unlocked my Nokia E63 for £15 (standard charge). Although you will have to talk to a foreign call centre to do it. Just be nice to them and they will probably do it.
kennyhkw said:
Just call 3, they are quite co-operative. Just tell them u have another sim card with lots of credit left on it and u want to finish that off b4 using there sim.
They unlocked my Nokia E63 for £15 (standard charge). Although you will have to talk to a foreign call centre to do it. Just be nice to them and they will probably do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried this yesterday. Even they don't have the code for this one. In addition, they spent the whole time trying to sell me a contract!
nemuro said:
Currently, the red wildfires cannot be unlocked. Only the gray, black and silver ones.
You could try changing the covers or painting them, and then search for an unlock solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you share a tutorial link for unlocking these phones?
I know I'm going to sound like a terrible advert spammer, but I just got an unlock code from Mobile Unlocked.
I ordered the code a week ago and was told they didn't have one. However, they kept checking their database daily and came through in six days.
So, the missus now has an unlocked, unbranded red HTC Wildfire. Brilliant!
So my severe lack of patience got the better of me and I ended up buying a nexus 4 on pay from O2 today however my contract is with Three. I highly doubt it but is there any free way to sim unlock it right now, without going through one of those online unlock websites?
Thanks for any help,
Josh
It should come unlocked?
Heard this from multiple people who also bought one from O2 - apparently it is ALREADY unlocked even though you've been assured by O2 that it is locked to their network. Just try inserting a SIM from another network to verify.
I bought it today from o2 and works fine with my 3 contract
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the quick reply guys, I took it to one of the shops in town straight away to get it unlocked and after about 40 minutes of waiting, he couldn't get an unlock code for it so just out of curiosity he tried a Vodafone sim in it and it worked fine with it and he was able to make a call. From this, I too assumed that it was already unlocked but when I try my Three sim in it, it won't find the network :/ and the sim is definitely working because when I replace it in my temporary phone, it works fine. I also then found out that O2 and Vodafone have linked networks, so I assumed that's why it worked on the Vodafone sim but not my three one, pretty damn confused haha
kaiowas82 said:
I bought it today from o2 and works fine with my 3 contract
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm that's interesting, and only adds to the confusion :/
Right, so my replacement three sim has just become active (needed a micro sim instead of my normal sim) and it still wont work in my N4, but does work in my spare phone. No idea what's going on.
Never mind, it's decided to work now, thanks for the info.
Hey guys,
I think I've finally settled on the S4 after trying and comparing it to the HTC One yesterday. It just felt far better in my hand and the screen was beautiful.
Now in the UK, as I'm sure many of you guys know (correct me if I'm wrong), but the best contract deal to have for tethering is the One plan by Three.
Unlimited data + tethering, a rare jewel indeed. As to whether they throttle during peak times, well you can't have everything and I haven't found any conclusive evidence to suggest they do so, please link me if I'm wrong here.
Either way, I am limited on my options here, due to my tethering requirements.
However the only thing preventing me from getting a Three phone is the fact that places like Phones4U or Carphone Warehouse either don't stock them or only stock SIM locked versions with branded firmwares for Three phones. Apparently they use a different method of sim locking the device, I can't be too sure what though.
Anyway, so it seems that whichever way I go about it, if I want data, I'll have a sim locked phone (they unlock after 3 months). This doesn't worry me though, what worries me is any restrictions on flashing the device.
I'm coming from an SGS - i9000. A device that seemed unbrickable and flashable every which way, from radio, to kernel, recovery and general software.
I want to know, are there any restrictions on flashing custom kernels, recoveries, modems (radios) or general firmwares that anyone has encountered, or am I safe getting a phone from Three UK (HG3)?
Rant over, sorry .
I have searched the forums and I haven't been able to find definite information.
no restrictions as im on three uk I live in bradford and im running omega rom with adam 1.4 kernel I can assure you no restrictions I don't know about sim lock but in the forum somewere is a guide to sim unlock easy peasy lemin squeezy ... pm me if you need any more guidence or any questions ill be glad to help as much as I can good luck :thumbup:
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
port76 said:
no restrictions as im on three uk I live in bradford and im running omega rom with adam 1.4 kernel I can assure you no restrictions I don't know about sim lock but in the forum somewere is a guide to sim unlock easy peasy lemin squeezy ... pm me if you need any more guidence or any questions ill be glad to help as much as I can good luck :thumbup:
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'Tar very much! That's great news. I had heard rumours there were ways to bypass simlock via software hacks, however I had never really needed to use them. I doubt the sim lock will cause a problem for me. More a case of who I pass it on to!
Astridax93 said:
Hey guys,
I think I've finally settled on the S4 after trying and comparing it to the HTC One yesterday. It just felt far better in my hand and the screen was beautiful.
Now in the UK, as I'm sure many of you guys know (correct me if I'm wrong), but the best contract deal to have for tethering is the One plan by Three.
Unlimited data + tethering, a rare jewel indeed. As to whether they throttle during peak times, well you can't have everything and I haven't found any conclusive evidence to suggest they do so, please link me if I'm wrong here.
Either way, I am limited on my options here, due to my tethering requirements.
However the only thing preventing me from getting a Three phone is the fact that places like Phones4U or Carphone Warehouse either don't stock them or only stock SIM locked versions with branded firmwares for Three phones. Apparently they use a different method of sim locking the device, I can't be too sure what though.
Anyway, so it seems that whichever way I go about it, if I want data, I'll have a sim locked phone (they unlock after 3 months). This doesn't worry me though, what worries me is any restrictions on flashing the device.
I'm coming from an SGS - i9000. A device that seemed unbrickable and flashable every which way, from radio, to kernel, recovery and general software.
I want to know, are there any restrictions on flashing custom kernels, recoveries, modems (radios) or general firmwares that anyone has encountered, or am I safe getting a phone from Three UK (HG3)?
Rant over, sorry .
I have searched the forums and I haven't been able to find definite information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Car Phone Warehouse only supply factory unlocked and unbranded phones, else I wouldn't have bought one
HTH.
RubberyDuck said:
Car Phone Warehouse only supply factory unlocked and unbranded phones, else I wouldn't have bought one
HTH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is true, but not in the case of 3.
When I asked them, they said their three phones were locked to three and not from their unlocked stock.
Astridax93 said:
That is true, but not in the case of 3.
When I asked them, they said their three phones were locked to three and not from their unlocked stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was that in store or on the phone? I ordered over the phone and confirmed with them the phone would be unlocked and unbranded, for which my one is.
Maybe there policy has changed since I bought mine, give them a call Monday and ask the question.
RubberyDuck said:
Was that in store or on the phone? I ordered over the phone and confirmed with them the phone would be unlocked and unbranded, for which my one is.
Maybe there policy has changed since I bought mine, give them a call Monday and ask the question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait so are you on Three? If so, please check if your firmware is a branded one and whether your phone is sim locked. I assume the branded firmware will have some Three apps somewhere.
It's great news if they gave you a fully debranded and unlocked version!
Astridax93 said:
Wait so are you on Three? If so, please check if your firmware is a branded one and whether your phone is sim locked. I assume the branded firmware will have some Three apps somewhere.
It's great news if they gave you a fully debranded and unlocked version!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes my Three phone from CPW is debranded and fully sim unlocked, thats how it came, I havent touched it