[zak2210]

Hi all,

When I bought my iPhone I asked the lady if I could use a different network sim in it as I am planning to switch networks in a few weeks. She told me me "of course, it's unlocked".

Now that my new sim card has arrived when I put it in the iPhone I get this error:

The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported.

Only compatible SIM cards from a supported Carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came with your iPhone or visit a support Carrier's store to receive a replacement SIM card.

Which according to the guys at the Apple store means its locked. They advised me to go to O2 and ask them to unlock the phone andO2 want to charge me £15 as an unlocking fee. - Thats bloody ridiculous, how can they charge me to unlock a phone which should have been unlocked?

What are my options or do I have to pay this fee?

Thanks!

[acoolwelshbloke]

You have to pay the fee!

[The Lord Lucan]

Why should it have been unlocked, all iPhones (like other brands/models) are locked to the carrier unless you've actually bought the phone.. ie sim free.

Yes, you have pay O2 the fee to unlock or you could pay triple for someone to bodge it.

[zak2210]

Originally Posted by The Lord Lucan

Why should it have been unlocked, all iPhones (like other brands/models) are locked to the carrier unless you've actually bought the phone.. ie sim free.

Yes, you have pay O2 the fee to unlock or you could pay triple for someone to bodge it.

I bought the phone from the Apple store for £529 - I assumed this meant it was sim free. That is the only reason I went to the apple store to buy it.

...I feel like I've been mis-sold...

[AxeVictim]

Originally Posted by zak2210

I bought the phone from the Apple store for £529 - I assumed this meant it was sim free. That is the only reason I went to the apple store to buy it.

...I feel like I've been mis-sold...

If it was bought from the Apple store it should be unlocked to all networks.Go back to the Apple store and get a new one from them.

[chenks]

Originally Posted by zak2210

I bought the phone from the Apple store for £529 - I assumed this meant it was sim free. That is the only reason I went to the apple store to buy it.

...I feel like I've been mis-sold...

if you bought it from the apple store then it most definitely IS sim-free and should be, and remain, unlocked.

are you sure it actually is locked and that it's not a sim issue you have?

what network are you trying to use with this problematic sim ?

[Everything Goes]

O2 Phone unlocking here (free on contracts):

https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help?...locking%20Form

[zak2210]

I'm on O2 pay as you go.

The new SIM which I'm trying to put in is from the OVIVO network - they run off Vodafone.

When I put the sim into the phone I get the error which I stated in the first post. - Searching online it also says that this error is because of a lock.

I went to the Apple store yesterday (before opening this thread) and they told me to go to the O2 store and they are telling me there is a fee because I am on pay as you go (contract is free).


What to do??

[AxeVictim]

Where did you get the Ovivo nano sim from they dont supply them ?

[Roush]

Since Ovivo cut larger SIM cards down to nano SIM size rather than supplying proper nano SIMs it's possible you have a damaged SIM card.
(http://ovivomobile.com/1803/blog/iph...sims-are-here/)

If you bought the iPhone at full price from an Apple store then it will be unlocked.

I would suggest reporting the SIM as faulty to Ovivo, and ask them to send a replacement. Also, try getting a free PAYG nano SIM from one of the main networks so you can verify if the issue is with the phone or the SIM.

[zak2210]

Direct from OVIVO, they cut down to nano sim.

http://ovivomobile.com/mobile/set-up-guide-for-iphone/

The person at the Apple store confirmed my iphone was locked....

[chenks]

Originally Posted by zak2210

The person at the Apple store confirmed my iphone was locked....

and what did they do to confirm it?
did they physically check anything or just look at the message and tell you?

as advised, get a nano SIM for another big network and test it.
also, make sure the sim is not pin protected.

[Roush]

Originally Posted by zak2210

The person at the Apple store confirmed my iphone was locked....

Did you tell them that you bought it SIM free from them?

If you really did buy it SIM free then take it back in with your receipt. They will be able to tell that it should have been unlocked.

My money is still on a faulty / damaged SIM from Ovivo though.

[zak2210]

Right, so I went back to the Apple store this afternoon and spoke to someone who was much more helpful.

What happened was that because I asked them to set up the phone for me when I purchased it, they sold me the phone with a pay as you go sim card causing it to lock to the network. If I had bought it without the sim card it would have been unlocked.

It was incompetence on the part of the person who I bought the iphone from. She didn't realise that the iphone would lock to O2 if she sold me the sim with the iphone.

So, what the guy done for me was have me "return my iphone and have me purchase" it again as an unlocked phone without any sim, which of course solved the problem.

Thanks for all the responses people!!

[Lidtop2013]

So you returned the locked one and they gave you another sim free one for free? Result!

[moox]

Originally Posted by Lidtop2013

So you returned the locked one and they gave you another sim free one for free? Result!

Not really a "result" because they should have been sold a unlocked phone in the first place, it's just getting what they paid for.

Plus Apple have a pretty loose returns policy within the first two weeks or so, so it's not like they could have stopped them taking the phone back anyway.

[zak2210]

Originally Posted by Lidtop2013

So you returned the locked one and they gave you another sim free one for free? Result!

I didn't physically hand them the phone back and get a new one.
It was done electronically, my phone was in my pocket the whole time.

He just put in the computer that I had returned it and purchased it again, but this time purchased it without a sim, as an unlocked phone. So that the computer puts the phone on the unlocked list and not under locked to O2.

Hope that makes sense.

It's ridiculous that they call them selves Geniuses.