I washed my iPhone 5 C (I am in a contract with 3mobile).

I've managed to get a second hand iPhone 5.

I've put the sim card into the iPhone 5 and put in the password of the internet but for some reason it's not connecting.

Can anyone help and let me know what I should do - I'm totally not technically minded. Thanks a lot in advance for any help.

I plugged it into my mac and this is the message:

The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported.
The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information.

Hi I assume you mean how do you get all your data off the 5c onto the 5? Depends if you backed up to your of using iTunes or over wifi to iCloud? If not then you have lost everything!

If you have backed up over iTunes with your pc, then it's just a case of connecting the iPhone 5 to your pc, load up iTunes and then select the backup you want, then it will put all your contacts/texts/apps back on and everything setup identical to how you had it on the 5c. With iCloud backup you'd just enter your password for it and it will automatically do the rest for you. Although I'd favour the iTunes method as its a lot quicker.

As I said if you haven't done either of the above methods then I'm afraid you've lost everything! Unless you can get the 5c working to backup what's on there?

That's telling you that the phone is NOT unlocked, it is locked to another network!

You have two choices, get a refund and buy an unlocked iPhone, or find out what network it's on and get it unlocked.
Did it not say what network it's on before you bought it?

Hi I'm not bothered about getting stuff back just want to make the phone work? I haven't backed up anything as I'm not sure how to do that.

Could you step by step what I do with iTunes please?

I got it off of my cousin it was Orange and the network I've got is 3g.


Does that mean I will have to ask her to get in touch with Orange and ask them to unlock it?

Yes, (EE) though if it's out of contract, they won't unlock it

If it is on contact, do it online here:-

http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started...ing-your-phone

Otherwise it will only ever accept an EE or Virgin SIM

No, your cousin needs to get in touch with Orange/EE.

It will cost £20.42 for the unlock to be processed, and can be requested online.

http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started...ing-your-phone

PS, I think you mean you are on Three, 3G is a technology, not a mobile company.

It's not in a contract. Did you say contact EE - do you know how to contact them please?

Yes. It'll cost £20. Orange are a right pain when it comes to unlocking as they insist the original owner does it.

Your old iPhone may have had backups turned on by default - when you activate your new phone you'll be given the choice to 'set up as a new iPhone' or 'restore from backup' and it will show you a list of available backups.

Either way, once you've got it all sorted it's always worth turning the backup on as all your pictures, settings, text messages etc will be automatically backed up via wifi when the phone is charging. It's as simple as turning the switch on from the settings menu.

There's a link in my previous post.

Yes that's the easiest way of doing it, until then you won't be able to use that phone with your Three SIM card.

To backup on iTunes:

Plug phone into computer
Open iTunes
When your computer has detected your phone click on the small phone icon under the word "store" at the top.
That will bring up all the info about your phone and under it will be backups.
Click "This computer" a full backup will be stored to this computer".
Then hit the "backup now" button.

That's it, if you get a message saying some apps are on the phone but not in iTunes, just click ok/backup

The above is based on a windows pc, but I imagine the process is very similar?

That's what I was thinking, looks like he will need to sell that one and buy one that's on Three already or unlocked. I seem to remember Orange being a pain about unlocking iPhones

Would it be possible just to buy a cheap handset and put my sim card from my iPhone in - till I get the phone unlocked. Would that work?

If the phone you buy is unlocked (or locked to 3 if that's who you are with) it should work fine. It doesn't have to be an iPhone.

But if you are with 3, the phone must support 3G, so the cheap £10 phones from carphone warehouse won't do as those phones are 2G only.

I know I sound thick here - but say I went to Tesco's and bought a pay as you go that was tied into 3 - that would work then? Even though it wouldn't be an IPHONE?

If you are with 3, there should be no problem. Bear in mind that the iPhone may take a smaller SIM than a non iPhone so you might have to get an adapter but they're widely available and very cheap.

You'd be better off getting a phone that is unlocked and supports at least 3G though, if you want to sell or pass it on it is worth a lot more. For example the Moto G

(to make it clear, 3 is the company who runs a mobile network, 3G and 4G are the types of network that they run)

Yes any phone that's either unlocked or on three will be ok.

And also the iPhone 5 and above all take the smallest possible SIM card which is called a Nano sim, if you but another cheap stop gap phone it will either be Android or windows phone most likely, in which case the SIM card will be too small, but you can buy adaptors cheap online or from a phone shop.

Sorry to say but if the phone is out of contract I very much dout they will unlock it but you could try. If they don't just sell it and buy an unlocked one(to save all the hassle in future), if the cousin doesn't mind you selling that is

EE should unlock it if the OP gets the phone's original owner to ask for it to be unlocked and there isn't any issues with their account or any money owed

Really? ok I stand corrected there! Hope they do unlock it for you because Orange are a bunch of idiots! In my experience

I'm going by the EE page. It's still a bad policy, if the phone has been sold they won't touch it if you weren't the original owner. It doesn't make any sense.

I can agree about Orange though. I asked for a unlock code about 10 years ago for a Nokia (and I wasn't the first owner) and while they did do it, it took them months to get the code. I almost gave up waiting until one day I got an email from someone at France Telecom (Orange's then owner) with the code.

And it cost £20.42. So you can see where that bit of EEs policy came fom

No, I think you are right. They won't unlock it if it's not currently on a contract.
The page Mark posted states this very clearly.
The only SIM that phone will take is an EE one.

That page only says "Your device must have been purchased when joining your contract or upgrading and actively used with your pay monthly SIM for a minimum of six months. " which doesn't really say it currently has to be on a contract, just that it had to be at one point - a phone you used for 18 or 24 months but have since upgraded would surely count

It will also take a Virgin SIM, my lad ported from EE to Virgin, using the Virgin SIM in his EE locked iphone 5