Getting phones unlocked

[Little-Miss]

Cus im so sick of my omnia ive been looking at some PAYG's to tide me over till i can upgrade. Found one i like but its on Orange and im on Voda, my fella then pointed out the Orange were notorious to unlock, but this was 2 years ago and things change fast.

 

Is it still the case? Dont wanna buy a phone i cant use!

[kmount]

Getting the unlock code from your provider may be harder if it's orange (for whatever reason) but from what I've heard from people who've done it with bloke on market or whatever that it's fairly unimportant who the provider is.

[laserblazer]

You can unlock a lot of phones for nothing but it tends to be older models. Take a look here.

 

Nokiafree unlock phone codes calculator software

 

There are a lot of other sites that do the same, so googling the model with free unlock might do the trick.

 

When I got my Nokia phone from Carphone Warehouse they told me all of their phones are supplied unlocked. Mine was, because I bought a T-Mobile PAYG and put my contract Orange SIM card in and it was fine.

[Haptic]

personally i would stay well clear of unlock websites as these are a great place for scammers to get your details from, find a local mobile phone dealer , second hand ones are usually a good bet for unlocking mobile phones, or like Kmount suggested get down to your local market as many mobile phone stalls have the ability to unlock most models on most networks,

 

hope that helps hun;)

[Little-Miss]

Yeah, carphonewarehouse supply theres unlocked, ive used them in the past. Just dont think they have the phone i want.

 

Thats ok then, was going to visit a market guy but just wanted to make sure one provider isnt harder then another...

[Haptic]

Yeah, carphonewarehouse supply theres unlocked, ive used them in the past. Just dont think they have the phone i want.

 

Thats ok then, was going to visit a market guy but just wanted to make sure one provider isnt harder then another...

 

whats the phone your after then Little Miss ?

[Arthur]

Yeah, CarPhoneWarehouse supply theirs unlocked, I've used them in the past. Just don't think they have the phone I want.

Does that mean if I get an iPhone from CPW rather than directly from O2 it will be unlocked?

[Little-Miss]

Oh nothing amazing, just something cheap and cheerful..Samsung C3050...Orange have it in Purple....ahem...

 

Everything else just seems a little too expensive for something i may only use for about 6 months...

[Little-Miss]

Ooh good queston Arthur, maybe there is an exception to the rule...

[mb2k01]

Does that mean if I get an iPhone from CPW rather than directly from O2 it will be unlocked?

 

No, a new iPhone purchased in the UK will currently only be supplied on O2 as they signed the exclusive contract. They are easy to unlock and jailbreak though, although this is potentially illegal and will invalidate warranties etc.

 

I've heard that Orange will be selling iPhones as well as O2 soon, but not sure if it's definately true or not.

[linkazoid]

Little Miss:

 

Have you tried upgrading your omnia??

 

I love my omnia, but have upgraded it to an unreleased Windows Mobile 6.5 custom rom.

 

Can point you in the right direction if you want to try it?

 

Michael

[Little-Miss]

I uprgraded it a few months back to stop it from answering itself (!). Havent tried since...dunno if i can be bothered. Point the way anyway

[john]

No, a new iPhone purchased in the UK will currently only be supplied on O2 as they signed the exclusive contract. They are easy to unlock and jailbreak though, although this is potentially illegal and will invalidate warranties etc.

 

I've heard that Orange will be selling iPhones as well as O2 soon, but not sure if it's definately true or not.

No I've heard that from a few sources, O2 breached the contract or something they had with Apple and thus Apple have put it out for others now I was told.

[fiendishlyclever]

I've heard that Orange will be selling iPhones as well as O2 soon, but not sure if it's definately true or not.

 

O2 have iphone exclusivity for 18 months. The original 3g is nearly 18 months old so you might be seeing it soon on other networks. I doubt you will see the 3gs on another network for a while.

[linkazoid]

Right:

 

I'm currently on 23034 (Lite) - Released on 23/08/2009 - Version Athena with Original Titanium v1 - 8mb pagepool size, as V2 was a bit buggy for me but should be ok, but i was trying at 2am. lol

 

Download can be found Here

 

You may want to install PIM Backup Manager on to your phone before upgrading PIM Download to backup your text messages and phone book contacts and notes.

 

Follow this to make sure that updating goes ok! CAUTION: Only works on XP

 

# Install Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 (once)

# Install the Samsung Modem Driver for XP (once)

# Reboot the PC.

# After the first 2 steps try to disconnect your Omnia from USB and connect it back on. Repeat it 1-2 times so the PC can recognize the phone.

It is advised to reboot your PC also.

# Make sure that have backup all your important stuff (contacts, pictures etc).

# Switch OFF the phone by holding the Power button for ~5 seconds.

# Run the updater. (Works the same way for Original or Cooked ROMs)

# Switch ON the phone again by holding the Power button.

# Press START and happy flashing. Do not move your phone or the USB wire as it might fail during flashing.

# Wait until the updater shows JOB DONE! DO NOT DISCONNECT BEFORE.

# Disconnect your phone.

# Leave the phone to reboot 2 times, calibrate screen and finish the start-up procedure.

 

Any questions just ask, or read the forum thread where the rom download link is, it is over 250 pages tho

 

 

Michael

[Jamman960]

I also got bored with the default omnia interface and have now upgraded to a custom windows mobile 6.5 rom with Manilla2D installed(the usual HTC interface), its so much easier to use, the HTC interface pretty much completly replaces the windows mobile one(which is still pretty bad even with wm6.5!)

 

Checkout i900 / General Omnia ROM Discussion - WinMo @ MoDaCo

 

You should have taken advantage of the whole orange changing their terms thing - I got out of my orange contract and moved onto a T-Mobile Sim only deal and kept the omnia(after unlocking it ) My wife refuses to let me get a new phone just yet lol