Technology @lemmy.world ROMMMELLL @discuss.tchncs.de 1 yr. ago

Has anyone unlocked a dumb phone (keypad phone) ?

Dear Technology

I have a 10 year old dumb phone (keypad phone).

Has anyone unlocked their dumb phone ?

If so, could you tell me how you did it please ?

Yours sincerely ROMMMELLL

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31 comments

You mean it's locked to a certain carrier? Sometimes you find unlock codes online, it depends on the model. Other times you have to buy the unlock code from the carrier and it's usually not worth it because you can get an unlocked Nokia keypad phone for less. I bought one of those for like 20 Euros at a pawn shop and it's still working with a prepaid SIM card from the supermarket.
- Dear S
  
  Thanks for your reply.
  
  Thanks for the tip re the pawn shop.
  
  Did you ever go ahead and succeed in unlocking a dumb phone ?
  
  Yours sincerely
  
  ROMMMELLL
  
  Yeah, back in the day I managed to unlock my phone using a tutorial with unlock codes I found online. But that was before smartphones existed.
  
  Dear S
  
  I think I have 2 problems.
  
  I don't know who put the lock there - phone maker ? phone seller ? provider of 1st SIM card ? provider of 2nd SIM card ? other ? I just know that ONLY my current SIM card (the 2nd) works in my phone. No other SIM card will work in it.
  
  I don't know the correct procedure to remove the lock without bricking the phone. Or, how to unbrick it, if I do.
  
  Perhaps I am being too cautious, but some of what I have seen online seems a little dubious, and I'm not sure I can trust myself to distinguish between good info and bad.
  
  You are one of the few who have actually unlocked a dumb phone in real time.
  
  Could I be so bold as to ask if you would be willing to give some of your time to find a good tutorial with unlock codes for a Samsung GT-E3210 dumb phone made about 2013 ?
  
  Yours sincerely ROMMMELLL
  
  Sorry I can't help you, I don't have any experience with Samsung phones. It could be that unlock codes don't even work with this type of phone and you would have to connect it to a PC with a cable. But I don't know. About your first question, the lock is usually put in place by the carrier, e.g. you get a "free" phone with a 2-year contract and they want to make sure you can't use it with a different SIM. When the contract expires they want you to trade in your phone for a newer model, and renew your contract. It's usually possible to have them unlock your phone at the end of the contract, sometimes for an additional fee. So it looks like you ended up with a phone that is still locked to a certain carrier and you can only use SIM cards of that carrier.
  
  Thanks S.
  
  I understand.
  
  In my case, I got the phone new in one country, where I used the 1st SIM card I put into it. I wasn't aware of any requirement to use any particular SIM card, or to use it for any particular time.
  
  Some time later I was in another country. I wanted to put my 2nd SIM card in, but the phone wouldn't accept it.
  
  I took it to a phone shop and had it unlocked.
  
  I have been using this 2nd SIM card for years. This SIM card is in no way connected to the phone seller or phone maker, and it is from a different country.
  
  BUT now I find that this 2nd SIM card is the ONLY SIM card the phone will accept.
  
  How do you interpret this data ?
  
  How would this lock be activated on an unlocked phone ?
  
  Yours sincerely ROMMMELLL

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