Database Info

So, can someone explain to me how the GSM world works with phone swapping?

Literally all I have to do is insert my SIM card in a new phone, and I can use it like normal?
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.

If the phone is unlocked yes, if not no, but its not to hard unlocking your phone.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Macktv said:
If the phone is unlocked yes, if not no, but its not to hard unlocking your phone.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how do you know if it is unlocked? Is that like a clean ESN for CDMA phones? If you buy a phone on contract, is it automatically locked until the contract is up?
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.

If you are buying a phone that is sold by a USA Carrier its got about a 95% is LOCKED. You will know when you put the sim in, if you get ERROR SIM LOCKED, Please Enter Unlock Code, it's locked. Otherwise if it lets you into the phone your golden. Locked/Unlocked is not even close to ESN being clear/bad. Just means carriers have the phone locked to them, you can buy an unlock code for almost any GSM phone for $20 or less

So the lock is just specific to a carrier and not a user?
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.

Correct. So that you have to come to them to get that specific phone

Some phones can be unlocked via tools you can find here on XDA other phones require some bigger equipment and you typically have to go on ebay or a similar site to get your unlock code based on your IMEI number

Imei

If I can change my imei will it let me unlock to other networks other than orange? I.e change my imei to my old mobile which had all networks unlocked.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire2 using xda app-developers app

willieboya said:
If I can change my imei will it let me unlock to other networks other than orange? I.e change my imei to my old mobile which had all networks unlocked.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire2 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No we cannot.
Well there is an illegal way but you need a really goot tech skills. You have to change some chip in the phone and reprogram it.

I know I can change my imei illegally to another mobile. I known where to get it done, my question is tho, if I do, will it reactivate my trys to unlock the network
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire2 using xda app-developers app

willieboya said:
if I do, will it reactivate my trys to unlock the network
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, because it's not the networks blocking the IMEI, it's the phone blocking other SIM cards; only removing the SIM lock (which takes effect regardless of what IMEI is set) will work.

jjm34 said:
No, because it's not the networks blocking the IMEI, it's the phone blocking other SIM cards; only removing the SIM lock (which takes effect regardless of what IMEI is set) will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so in other words. to now get it off orange, i will have to pay there 20 quid to get it unlocked from there networks since my status is: [0] network 0
while im here, why is it that som st21i models can get there bootloader unlocked and some cannot?

It depends on sony whether to give us unlock allowed: yes or no. I bought the phone from small phone seller here (not by network company) so I got unlock: yes phone.
Now using:
Sony Xperia tipo ST21i
stock 4.0.4
11.0.A.4.22
(rooted, locked bootloader)
Current problem:
Cant get past installing flash drivers in xp.

willieboya said:
so in other words. to now get it off orange, i will have to pay there 20 quid to get it unlocked from there networks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes; you don't necessarily have to get it unlocked by the network operator, but to my knowledge there aren't any free ways of doing it.
zzztidurvirus said:
It depends on sony whether to give us unlock allowed: yes or no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it's up to the network operator. Operators selling devices on contract usually have them locked. Retail devices aren't.
zzztidurvirus said:
Now using:
Sony Xperia tipo ST21i
stock 4.0.4
11.0.A.4.22
(rooted, locked bootloader)
Current problem:
Cant get past installing flash drivers in xp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind putting that in your signature instead of the post text?

jjm34 said:
Yes; you don't necessarily have to get it unlocked by the network operator, but to my knowledge there aren't any free ways of doing it.
Actually it's up to the network operator. Operators selling devices on contract usually have them locked. Retail devices aren't.
Would you mind putting that in your signature instead of the post text?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in theory I can ask my network operator to allow me to unlock my bootloader. And my sim lock. For a fee ofcourse
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire2 using xda app-developers app

I don't think they'd unlock the boot loader; I'm not sure, but there might not even be an easy to use method to allow a customer to unlock it. Having a customer remove the SIM lock is rather simple because it only requires the operator to supply the customer with the (device-specific) unlock code (and no, there are no "universal" codes or ones you can generate yourself).
If you're still bound by a contract getting it unlocked through the operator is probably not going to be worth it because they'll want you to pay off the remaining fee (which is going to be more expensive than the third-party services offering unlock codes).

[Q] How to unlock SIM (Network) for free?

Hi
How to unlock the phone from the network of gt-s7500 ??
If it helps i am from Portugal, locked to Vodafone.

tkdfilipe said:
Hi
How to unlock the SIM of gt-s7500 ??
If it helps i am from Portugal, locked to Vodafone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Filipe.
I don't know any way of unlocking the sim for free on the newer phones.
I'm from Portugal too and I think that every store that sells cellphones unlocks the SIM. My father took his phone to a store to unlock it and he payed 15 euros I guess. it's not to expensive
Best regards,
kaeOzZ

Are you trying to unlock the sim from the network or unlock the phone from the network ?

Jaspersdream28 said:
Are you trying to unlock the sim from the network or unlock the phone from the network ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone from the network

There is many different techniques usable through just googling and seeing whats out there however i believe the easiest/most secure way is paying the providers fee :crying:
However their are lot of websites that say you can do it but most say it still costs you would need to find the one for your phone + network etc so i cant really help that much but send in a thumbs up if i have

Help: Can not unlock SIMLOCK TMobile Z3

I have TMobile Z3 with SIMLOCK. But when insert international sim, the phone did not pop up table to insert the code.
I also have DeviceUnlock app on my phone but it did not work as showed at clip.
Please help to advise me this case.
https://youtu.be/aoPtcqob6iY

Need a t-mobile sim to permanently sim unlock it. Did you pay full price for phone? Or are you on contract still?

First of all please hide your IMEI Number from Picture by paint on it
It easy that some people can use this IMEI for their own benefits. which is not good

trungctu said:
I have TMobile Z3 with SIMLOCK. But when insert international sim, the phone did not pop up table to insert the code.
I also have DeviceUnlock app on my phone but it did not work as showed at clip.
Please help to advise me this case.
https://youtu.be/aoPtcqob6iY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-N5100 using Tapatalk

serophia said:
Need a t-mobile sim to permanently sim unlock it. Did you pay full price for phone? Or are you on contract still?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already test with TMobile sim but it dod not work. I bought phone and unlock cofe separately.

You can't, it needs to be done over the air, for me they unlocked it when I called, as the app did not work. They will only unlock it if you are a customer. That too after 40 days of service using the device. Only option for you is to give it to a TMO customer for use temporarily.

After searching on google, I found instruction as below:
- unlock bootloader
- root it
- push simunlockapp.apk to internal memory and restart, it will pop up table for unlock code.
But now I stuck at bootloader...

stupid noob question, why is my bootloader locked?

Hi guys, couldn't find an answer to my question.
why is my bootloader locked on my z5 while other people can unlock theirs?
is it to do with network branding or something??
cheers

Yup you pay monthly so you get a phone at a discount usually free. You then don't own the phone. Some networks like mine don't allow modified software on their networks so Sony lock the bootloaders as part of their contract
Sent from my Xperia™ Z5 using Tapatalk

To be clearer, everyone's bootloader comes locked out of the box. The difference is that some are unlockable and some are not. Is this what you mean? Just because yours is locked doesn't mean it can't be unlocked.

ricodredd said:
To be clearer, everyone's bootloader comes locked out of the box. The difference is that some are unlockable and some are not. Is this what you mean? Just because yours is locked doesn't mean it can't be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when testing it says it cannot be unlocked, even if i turn oem unlock on, it still says it cannot be unlocked.

daveyp187 said:
when testing it says it cannot be unlocked, even if i turn oem unlock on, it still says it cannot be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony lock the bootloader to protect drm keys which are the security keys for there media apps and software like bionz track id x-reality clearphase ect which are lost when you unlock the bootloader. A branded device (network locked) has an extra lock for the network carrier to protect the sim lock certificate that is why thpse device cannot be unlocked. FYI a quick Google search would have told you this.

gavster26 said:
Sony lock the bootloader to protect drm keys which are the security keys for there media apps and software like bionz track id x-reality clearphase ect which are lost when you unlock the bootloader. A branded device (network locked) has an extra lock for the network carrier to protect the sim lock certificate that is why thpse device cannot be unlocked. FYI a quick Google search would have told you this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why do we have XDA forums, if a "quick" google search is the versatile answer? no offence, but beginners and people who arent into programming mostly dont know all those special terms and their relations etc... im interferring here because your answer isnt pretty clear, at least to me. i bought a branded (vodafone) z5, no simlock though, and according to service menu the bootloader is locked but able to unlock.
meanwhile i unbranded it using flashtool. but when excactly is a bootloader unlockable? when it comes to branded AND simlock?

VorlonKosh said:
why do we have XDA forums, if a "quick" google search is the versatile answer? no offence, but beginners and people who arent into programming mostly dont know all those special terms and their relations etc... im interferring here because your answer isnt pretty clear, at least to me. i bought a branded (vodafone) z5, no simlock though, and according to service menu the bootloader is locked but able to unlock.
meanwhile i unbranded it using flashtool. but when excactly is a bootloader unlockable? when it comes to branded AND simlock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader unlocking has nothing to do with sim lock, unbranding or anything else. As said all Sony bootloaders are locked the ability to unlock depends on the service provider and Sony's contract with them. They want the providers to accept their phones on their network so if the service provider wants to limit the use then Sony will do that at factory level.

So if I get EE to unlock my phone, does that mean I can then unlock the bootloader? And yes I have used Google
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

mrbubba999 said:
So if I get EE to unlock my phone, does that mean I can then unlock the bootloader? And yes I have used Google
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope as I said it's nothing to do with sim lock at all its done at factory level
Sent from my Xperia™ Z5 using Tapatalk

There's not any good reason to unlock the bootloader currently tho anyway so why worry?
Sent from my Xperia Z5 using XDA Labs

Ben36 said:
There's not any good reason to unlock the bootloader currently tho anyway so why worry?
Sent from my Xperia Z5 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet I suppose. I'll wait and see if MM is any good, but can see myself going back to a nexus device
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

mrbubba999 said:
Not yet I suppose. I'll wait and see if MM is any good, but can see myself going back to a nexus device
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only they'd make a waterproof nexus with an awesome camera and the moto x force screen! That'd be soooo gooooood
Sent from my Xperia Z5 using XDA Labs

VorlonKosh said:
why do we have XDA forums, if a "quick" google search is the versatile answer? no offence, but beginners and people who arent into programming mostly dont know all those special terms and their relations etc... im interferring here because your answer isnt pretty clear, at least to me. i bought a branded (vodafone) z5, no simlock though, and according to service menu the bootloader is locked but able to unlock.
meanwhile i unbranded it using flashtool. but when excactly is a bootloader unlockable? when it comes to branded AND simlock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its in the xda rules to search before asking a question