DS Forums

 
 

iPhone 5 bought second-hand, how to tell EE network lock?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 05-12-2014, 11:45
rasseru16
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Suffolk, East Anglia
Posts: 666

Hi, so my friend has bought an iPhone 5 second-hand which is locked to EE, but it works with Orange, T-Mobile and EE sim cards... now if I wanted to get it officially unlocked through EE they ask me to specify if its locked to Orange / T-mobile / EE?

Which one do I choose?
rasseru16 is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 05-12-2014, 12:17
Kingsd316
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 796
Hi, so my friend has bought an iPhone 5 second-hand which is locked to EE, but it works with Orange, T-Mobile and EE sim cards... now if I wanted to get it officially unlocked through EE they ask me to specify if its locked to Orange / T-mobile / EE?

Which one do I choose?
You may run into problems getting it unlocked as it is only the original owner who is able to request the unlock
Kingsd316 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2014, 13:59
dpwykes
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Lichfield
Posts: 362
Not sure what network you're planning to use it on if you do get it unlocked, but are you aware it won't work on 4G with O2 and Vodafone
dpwykes is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2014, 14:01
The Lord Lucan
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Scotland
Posts: 4,966
As mentioned above it doesn't have a 800Mhz 4G modem so cannot access the 4G services from o2 & Voda at all and some of the 4G coverage from Three & EE.

EE as also mentioned only allows the original customer to unlock the iPhone. It does;t matter which of the Ora-T-Mob-EE brands it is locked to.

Just so you know.
The Lord Lucan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2014, 16:31
Jack_Wilson2
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Posts: 561
Hi, so my friend has bought an iPhone 5 second-hand which is locked to EE, but it works with Orange, T-Mobile and EE sim cards... now if I wanted to get it officially unlocked through EE they ask me to specify if its locked to Orange / T-mobile / EE?

Which one do I choose?
Never buy a Second Hand locked phone. (Can cause problems getting it unlocked)

You'll have to go to a random street Phone Shop to see if they will or even can unlock it as you'll be asked for the original phone owner of the device to unlock it at the EE store...
Jack_Wilson2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2014, 17:09
d123
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,993
Hi, so my friend has bought an iPhone 5 second-hand which is locked to EE, but it works with Orange, T-Mobile and EE sim cards... now if I wanted to get it officially unlocked through EE they ask me to specify if its locked to Orange / T-mobile / EE?

Which one do I choose?
It'll cost you £1.29 to find out the specific network.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GSX-iPhone...item20e523c182

You have to have used the phone for at least 6 months on the network for the unlock to be processed.
d123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 06:22
alanwarwic
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the wild world web
Posts: 28,132
Never buy a Second Hand locked iPhone. (Can cause problems getting it unlocked)...
Corrected for you.
Android phones are usually cheap to unlock, my LG G2 costing 99p, about the same price as a Moto G unlock.
However, if you read the OPS post, you might just deduce that the iPhone in question is already 'officially unlocked'. (though it could be locked to EE, which is 'Orange/t-mobile/EE' )

It is also worth noting that, (at least from one other thread here), the use of the word 'official' is adopted by the scammers of the unlock world.
alanwarwic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 08:46
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,102
Never buy a Second Hand locked phone. (Can cause problems getting it unlocked)
I wouldn't say NEVER, it's still perfectly usable as a phone on its 'locked to' network, isn't it ? As long as you're aware of that limitation, what's the big deal ?
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 08:50
corf
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,458
Corrected for you.
Android phones are usually cheap to unlock, my LG G2 costing 99p, about the same price as a Moto G unlock.
However, if you read the OPS post, you might just deduce that the iPhone in question is already 'officially unlocked'. (though it could be locked to EE, which is 'Orange/t-mobile/EE' )

It is also worth noting that, (at least from one other thread here), the use of the word 'official' is adopted by the scammers of the unlock world.
A T-Mobile locked iPhone works with EE in my experience. I don't think you can deduce anything from the op.
corf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 08:50
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,102
As mentioned above it doesn't have a 800Mhz 4G modem so cannot access the 4G services from o2 & Voda at all and some of the 4G coverage from Three & EE.
No, but it will still be perfectly usable on 3G, not everyone wants to use their phone
every moment of their waking day (or can even afford to), to watch Holywood movies, or download tetrabytes worth of data
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 15:46
alanwarwic
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the wild world web
Posts: 28,132
A T-Mobile locked iPhone works with EE in my experience. I don't think you can deduce anything from the op.
An Orange Sim does too I have been told, yet an EE Sim or t-mobile Sim would not work in an Orange phone, Orange, now part of EE who adopted the t-mobile system for running EE.
alanwarwic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 16:17
d123
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,993
An Orange Sim does too I have been told, yet an EE Sim or t-mobile Sim would not work in an Orange phone, Orange, now part of EE who adopted the t-mobile system for running EE.
Ive used T-Mobile sims in Orange locked handsets in the past..
d123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 16:35
rasseru16
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Suffolk, East Anglia
Posts: 666
My friend isn't at all fussed about 4G as she only tops maximum of 100mb of data if that for basic e-mails and whatsapp messages.
rasseru16 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2014, 17:51
alanwarwic
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the wild world web
Posts: 28,132
Ive used T-Mobile sims in Orange locked handsets in the past..
Maybe it was a post independent Orange handset.
alanwarwic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2014, 00:12
d123
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,993
Maybe it was a post independent Orange handset.
Handsets, not handset. As in 10s of handsets...

I'll go through the old scraps box and see if I can find a really old Orange locked handset and try it as well.
d123 is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:51.