topic Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare in Get Support

Locked Bell phone nightmare

0bE — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 23:25:02 GMT

Hello everyone. I'm new to Public Mobile and i have a problem...

The story:

-Purchased a Public Mobile SIM card / joined the club.
-Canceled Bell Mobility Service and xfered phone number
-Loaded up PM SIM card and inputted an incorrect Unlock code three times (which Bell provided)
- Called Bell and asked for PUK code (which is required after 3 failed attempts at unlock). They proceeded to give me 3 different PUK codes... all incorrect! Yup. Unbelievable.
- Bell claims that "its all they can do for me' and then proceeded to pass the buck to public mobile.
- Public Mobile obviously cant help a guy with a locked phone from another carrier. But i tried their PUK code anyways. No luck

Am i completely screwed? Is Bell really this evil and pathetic and useless? Is a new phone my only option at this point?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thx

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

will13am — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:46:42 GMT

@0bE, are you referring to SIM unlock code? The SIM unlock code entry offers a certain number of retries. If that number is exceeded, then the phone is permanently SIM locked and would require manufacturer intervention. What phone are we talking about here?

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

0bE — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:49:10 GMT

Yes refering to SIM unlock code. And yes I attempted to unlock 3 times unsuccesfully 😞

Samsung S7.

Sounds like I need to ship this back to manufactorer then? Or just buy new phone.... Grrrr

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

MoreYummy — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:52:25 GMT

Ask samsung about it, there are many local repaire shops. Easier to fix if they can than other brand in this situation.

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

computergeek541 — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:08:31 GMT

There is no PUK code that gets asked for after 3 incorrect attempts to unlock a phone for use on another carrier. The PUK doesn't unlock a phone. It simply provides an override if the SIM card security PIN is entered too many times incorrectly. In any event, since you already have your Public Mobile sim card in your phone, it is impossible that Bell could give you a PUK code for a Public Mobile sim card. Sorry, but you shouldn't have asked for that. Honestly, Bell, at that point provided exactly what you had asked for, but it would have been the PUK code for your Bell sim card (which is useless). PUK isn't even what you need.

I'll agree with that Bell shouldn't given you an incorrect network unlock code. But, please stop taking guesses at what to enter in for the code and stop entering PUK codes. A PUK code does not and cannot possibly unlock a phone.

If you are wondering, the default security PIN of a Public Mobile sim card is 1234. There is no need for your sim card's PUK unless you the phone is prompting you for that and you have entered it too many times. But, keep in mind that your phone wouldn't even be asking for your sim's security PIN unlesss you enabled that feature. In a nutshell, entering the SIM PIN or PUK incorrectly, if your phone is asking for that, simply locks out your sim card - not the phone itsself. If it's the sim card itself that you've locked yourself out of, a new sim card would fix that.

However, I believe it is the network unlock code that you need. Public Mobile cannot help you with that. You will need either Bell or Samsung to provide that to you. Hopefully, your phone is still capable of being unllocked by code.

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

lstokes — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:09:13 GMT

Hi there,

This is unfortunately an issue I've dealt with before. Please call this number: +1-800-726-7864. This is Samsungs contact. They will be able to help you.

Cheers,

Liam

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

0bE — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:27:24 GMT

Than you lstokes & computergeek541 for the replies.

Admittedly, this is somewhat my fault as I am not completey schooled in this sort of stuff.

I will contact Samsung and see if they can help.

Would you guys say that I may need to order a new Public Mobile SIM card as well (if I do get my phone unlocked that is) ?

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

Luddite — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:56:10 GMT

@0bE Did you not not say that you have already activated a PM SIM card and cancelled your Bell account? If so, just get the phone umlocked and the current PM SIM card should work.

BTW: if you have cancelled your Bell account you cannot transfer your Bell number to PM. OR, did you transfer it when activating the PM SIM?

Re: Locked Bell phone nightmare

computergeek541 — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 20:51:15 GMT

@0bE wrote:
Would you guys say that I may need to order a new Public Mobile SIM card as well (if I do get my phone unlocked that is) ?

I don't believe that you will. Sim card security wouldn't just get enabled by itself. And, as I was saying, for a brand new sim card, the code would just be 1234 unless you have it changed. Also, of note: Your sim card's PIN is not your account PIN. The PUK that Public Mobile is just master sim card security code unique your specific sim card (it is a backup code). A new sim card would simply bypass the need for that code.

In a way, it would almost be better if you were being prompted for your sim card's security PIN. That would mean that you haven't used up your network unlock code attempts for unlocking your phone. Unfortunately, I do believe that it was the network unlock code that your phone was asking for.