Text 31934, 150 rader
Skriven 2009-05-01 09:13:08 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 31909 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
Ärende: Unlocking services (was: Message prices)
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Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Thursday April 30 2009 at 12:23:

RB>> Although it's true that most phones can be "unlocked", the procedure
RB>> is often difficult and requires special equipment and programs.

RW> For $10, you can get it unlocked thru an unlocking facility, right
RW> over the air. Takes less than an hour from the time your payment is
RW> credited to his account via PayPal. All he needs is the IMEI number of
RW> your phone.

I know the procedure, but unfortunately it doesn't work on current Nokia phones
(but did up to a couple of years ago), and never did on Motorola or - as far as
I know - the other manufacturers. In such cases, you have to hook up the phone
to a "programming box" and use special software to "flash" the EEPROM.

For details see:

http://unlockme.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

RB>> If you have someone near you who can do the job and you can bring the
RB>> phone over to them, this can be simple. But if you have to send it
RB>> off somewhere, the job can become more expensive than it's worth to
RB>> remove the lock.

RW> Old school, Bob.

New school, Roy. Nowadays (and with anything but Nokia), you need fairly
expensive hardware (around EUR 200) to unlock most phones - I've only seen an
unlock code calculator for a few isolated Nokia BB5 models, not the newer
stuff. And the unlocker needs to physically possess the phone - no more
Internet unlocking by code.

Too bad, but it was too good to last...

RB>> I might add that privately "unlocking" a phone is illegal in some
RB>> countries, such as Germany...

RW> It's not illegal to do so in the states. In fact, I've taken a new
RW> phone aquired from other than provider and had them burn and install a
RW> new SIM.

Since when are SIMs "burned"? We _are_ talking about GMS phones, aren't we?

By the way, nothing says that a phone acquired from another provider _must_ be
SIM-locked, although it _can_ be.

RW> One doesn't even need to do that, if they already have a registered
RW> SIM. Just put it in the phone and you're ready to go.

If there's no SIM lock on the phone or the SIM you want to install comes from
the same provider as the one you bought with the phone, no problem. I've done
this too.

RW>>> The pay-as-you-go (PAYG) Motorola I bought didn't get a chance to be
RW>>> used as a PAYG phone. It was put into service on my existing account
RW>>> SIM card.

RB>> No problem as long as the phone has no SIM lock.

RW> I've never seen or heard of a phone like that.

Possibly this is something that does not exist in the States, but at least in
Germany, the "bare-bones" mobile phones are often sold in packages with a SIM
of a provider at cutrate prices (provider subsidy) and are SIM-locked to the
provider. The provider makes it's money through the relatively high phone rate
you have to pay. Two years after the purchase, you can ask the provider for an
unlock code (DON'T CONFUSE THIS with the codes you can get for Nokia DEC-3 and
DEC-4 phones from various sources including the one I cited above, as nobody
but the provider can supply unlock codes for newer Nokia models), which you get
free. Any time before that, you have to pay (generally) EUR 100 for the code.
After you enter it, you can use any SIM you like.

RW> They call it 'Pay as you Go' calling. AFAIK, no SIM card is locked.
RW> I've taken a prepaid phone's SIM out of the pay as you go phone and
RW> have used it in one of my non-payg phones.

Sure, no problem there. The SIM lock isn't in the SIM, but in the phone. Yopu
can use the SIM you got with a locked phone in any unlocked phone.

RB>> In Germany, you buy a prepaid SIM card either on the Internet or in a
RB>> shop, and must provide your personal data (name, address, birthdate
RB>> and in a shop your personal ID number) to do this - a legal
RB>> requirement intended to make "anonymous" cellphone calls difficult.
RB>> The purpose is to reduce criminal use of cellphones.

RW> Your phones don't have the feature that allows ID number blocking?
RW> i.e. all of my phones can be set to not show the number I'm calling
RW> from.

You can do that for an individual call (menu entry), but I'm not sure whether
you can shut off the feature completely or not. However, the point of the law
(which also applies to phone contracts) is to make sure a call can be traced
(by the police) back to a specific SIM owned by a known person.

Naturally, this isn't airtight. A criminal can buy "pre-owned" SIMs with
practically no balance on them, load a few Euro, and use the phone with a SIM
registered to another person. He/she then throws the SIM away and uses another
one for the next call. In theory, you can't buy a SIM in Germany without
registering your personal data. In practice that's no real problem, as such
"pre-owned" SIMS are easily found at Ebay and even a local flea market.

RW> There's also another feature to defeat that, which disallows blocked
RW> phone numbers from ringing your phone.

But you have to know the numbers in in advance ;-)

And at any rate, that has nothing to do with the German law requiring
registration of SIMs.

RB>> At any rate, your new prepaid SIM (bought with a certain starting
RB>> balance generally ranging from EUR 5 to EUR 10) is activated as
RB>> bought, or by making one call to the provider's computer (I've had
RB>> both kinds) without any need for entering anything - just the call
RB>> activates the SIM.

RW> Similar to unlocking it.

Not quite. Dialing a phone number and entering an unlock code (in an older
Nokia) are two completely different things. The phone number is simple. The
code entry is not - and yes, I've done this kind of thing in the past. Not only
do you have to generate a valid code (which is easier said than done), but the
entry is time-dependent. If you hesitate for more than a second or so between
digits, the entry is void. And if you make mistakes in the entry, the phone
will lock completely (can then only be unlocked with hardware and software)
after 3-5 failed tries, depending on the phone's firmware.

RB>> You can also buy "packages" of a (usually simple, cheap) SIM-locked
RB>> phone with the SIM of some provider. These are relatively cheap
RB>> (subsidized), but lock you into an expensive rate for two years.

RW> Man...they've got you coming and going.

All depends on how much you phone. If you only phone rarely, such packages are
a good deal because of the subsidized phone. If you're a frequent phoner,
you're better off with an unlocked phone and a SIM from a discount provider -
or a contract (two years minimum, but prices lower than with the prepaid SIMs).

RB>> Apparently the situation in the Netherlands is different, as Michiel
RB>> has noted that no identification is required to buy a prepaid SIM
RB>> there.

RW> Nor here.

;-) The Germans are thorough. But the registration system here only catches
dumb criminals, as I explained above.

Cheers, Bob

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