Iphone 3gs

[NadiSel]

I bought an Iphone 3gs 8Gb off ebay. I know its an old model that no-one in their right mind would be seen with now buts at least I won't mind it getting trashed once I get it fixed....

It came without a SIM. Seller said it was on Orange (UK) and he was using it fine with a PAYG SIM. Its not blacklisted/stolen etc. On looking at settings it says Vodafone. I want to unlock it so its OK to use with any service provider. I'm abroad in Belgium so will be putting in a Carrefour PAYG SIM. This SIM does not work currently in it cos its locked to some other network.

How do I find out which network its locked to? Is it locked to Orange or Vodafone? And anyone with practical experience of unlocking?

Any ideas

If it says Vodafone who you fire it up then Vodafone is the network it is registered to. As far as I know you can contact Vodafone to ask for the unlock code for your iPhone handset. Personally my iPhones have always been supplied unlocked from Apple but I have unlocked other handsets without a problem at local phone shops for about £10. Can you buy a sim for your chosen network to test it? (DS & DH both had Vodafone HTC phones ages ago and they were both unlocked even though the home screen was Vodafone)

BearPear thanx that's really helpful. May I ask what you mean by fire it up. You see when I switch it on, I can get to settings and that's where it says Vodafone. I can't fire it up with my Belgian SIM as it doesn't recognise that SIM - I have put the SIM in but it just comes up with a big fat red cross.

If it is locked to Vodafone any idea why it should work with an Orange PAYG as the bloke told me. And I think he was telling the truth - there's no reason he would have been untruthful.

Finally, when you did get it unlocked did you have to have a SIM of the network it was locked to, in the phone at the time? If you do, then it leaves me with the problem that I don't know whether to put in a Orange or a Vodafone SIM in it!

I've contacted Carrefour on the off chance that that network provider might be able to unlock it. But the lady was clueless. She had never heard of unlocking a phone locked to another network!

If you're using the phone abroad, it's probably picking up the strongest local network. Orange in the UK is now EE. To unlock the phone to use on another network you'll need the PUK code and ask EE to unlock it, but they'll be a fee - think it's £30ish.

When you switch on the phone (from properly "off" not just standby) the screen should say which network your phone is on, like an advert or graphic. From what you say it sounds like it is on Vodafone. Once unlocked you can chose a sim from whichever provider you like (I recently had a Vodafone mobile unlocked and it now has an EE sim in it).

Have you tried your sim? As I mentioned before sometimes you might get lucky and have an unlocked handset anyway.