Unlocked Phone Asking for Unlocked Code

[mike7095sk]

Hi everyone, noob here, Last night I took advantage of the free month and sim activation at London Drugs. My unlocked phone asked for unlock code.

The phone in question is an  Unlocked S5 purchased through best buy 8 months ago. The phone was used with Lucky Mobile (Bell) and Sasktel. Now it wants an unlock code for PM.

The sim was put in another phone and is working fine there.

When i googled unlocked phone ask for code, it gave me results from public mobile.

I read few some old threads, some said Mods might have an unlock code that works ?

Should I contact Sastkel and see if they locked the unlocked phone some how by mistake?

New here, so would apreicate someone sending me in the right direction.

Thanks!

[mike7095sk]

hey, guys an update. I was able to get the correct unlock code via Samsung chat, thanks everyone for the input.

[cappaj]

If you're still stuck - what is the exact message your phone is giving you right now? Might help to identify exactly which code it should be accepting.

[computergeek541]

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@mike7095sk wrote:

well, I went to SaskTel today, they were unable to locate the IMEI, they added it to my account, but they were not able to get an unlock code for it. there is small possibility a code might be generated after a couple days.

not sure what do to now, vist a bell store and ask them to unlock it, I wonder if i wonder if this would be considered a valid complaint to the crtc about SaskTel. the guy was atleast good to deal with.

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Yes, they have to unlock the phone for you. However, the CRTC is the wrong place to complain.  Consumer complaints about wireless services are to be directed towards CCTS.  https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/

Unfortunately, the carrier cannot provide an unlock code that they do not have access to.  In the end, it will be the manufactuer who provides the code, and that's what Saktel will be waiting on.

I wouldn't waste time on going to a Bell store. Unless you think the person at Sasktel was lying to you, Bell isn't likely to have the code either.  Even if Bell does have a code, I can't see physically going to the store getting you better results than contacting customer service. 

[mike7095sk]

well, I went to SaskTel today, they were unable to locate the IMEI, they added it to my account, but they were not able to get an unlock code for it. there is small possibility a code might be generated after a couple days.

not sure what do to now, vist a bell store and ask them to unlock it, I wonder if i wonder if this would be considered a valid complaint to the crtc about SaskTel. the guy was atleast good to deal with.

[computergeek541]

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@mike7095sk wrote:

So Sasktel blaming Samsung and Samsung blaming sasktel.

Anybody have any ideas on what i should do ?

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Your phone is not unlocked, and likely never was ever since turning the phone on with a sim card inserted.  Samsung phones sometimes lock to the first carrier. Saktel and Bell have had a cosy relationship with each other for years, and I'm almost certain that Saktel sim cards work in Bell-locked devices.

It's not about blame.  Either can give you the unlock code.  However, such codes do originate from the manufactuer. All you can really do is try again.

And yes, if you enter the incorrect network unlock code too many times, you phone will no longer be able to be locked using that method, even after acquiring the corrected code.

The network PUK or whatever Samsung is calling it is a code that allow you to override the incorrect network unlock code counter.  After that is entered, the regular network unlock code will start workign again.  To my knowledge, only Samsung would be able to provide you with the network unlocking PUK code.

[muskokaoutdoors]

Sorry to hear that Mike. That is frustrating. For me, it mattered which code I entered first. I had tried so many times I got blocked out. Samsung gave me a code to unlock the first block - then I used their second number to get through the second. Did you, by chance, alternate which code you enter first? Make sense?

[mike7095sk]

I'm still a customer in good standing. Gonna go to a store and see if this BS continues or if they will help me.

[Carld123]

@lonegreyride

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@lonegreyride wrote:

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@mike7095sk wrote:

So Sasktel blaming Samsung and Samsung blaming sasktel.

Anybody have any ideas on what i should do ?

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Looks like the S5 needs an 8-digit unlock code, so first make sure your code is 8 digits. Any less, add leading zero's to fill it out to 8. If that doesn't work, personally I'd call back Sasktel and tell them what happened with Samsung. Not sure what to do if they don't recognize your IMEI though.

I actually used one of the paid online services for my old Bell phone, although that's a last resort of course. My understanding is that providers only owe you an unlock code if you're still a customer of theirs (I wasn't).

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Dont need to be a customer for an unlock code....if the phone is free and clear of previous obligations theyll do it....

[lonegreyride]

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@mike7095sk wrote:

So Sasktel blaming Samsung and Samsung blaming sasktel.

Anybody have any ideas on what i should do ?

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Looks like the S5 needs an 8-digit unlock code, so first make sure your code is 8 digits. Any less, add leading zero's to fill it out to 8. If that doesn't work, personally I'd call back Sasktel and tell them what happened with Samsung. Not sure what to do if they don't recognize your IMEI though.

I actually used one of the paid online services for my old Bell phone, although that's a last resort of course. My understanding is that providers only owe you an unlock code if you're still a customer of theirs (I wasn't).

[mike7095sk]

So Sasktel blaming Samsung and Samsung blaming sasktel.

Anybody have any ideas on what i should do ?

[BarryS]

@ShawnC13 thanks for pointing that out about Samsung.  Now I know for future reference!

[mike7095sk]

thanks for the replies, before I got to read them, I phoned SaskTel, they told me to contact Samsung. they gave me an unlock code and master code lock, tried both, never worked, maybe I should be putting something else in before one of the codes? phoned back Samsung again and this person told me that the same imei number doesn't exist.

not sure what to do at this point, i tried to unlock 3 times. does it lock permatlty after 5 or so attempts? anyone able to walk me through unlocking this?

thanks

Mike

[ShawnC13]

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@BarryS wrote:

@ShawnC13  I've always understood that an unlock code has to come from the provider where the phone originated (like Rogers, Bell, Telus, etc).  Quite easy....provide them with the IMEI code and they provide you with an unlock code.  Perhaps when a device was previously purchased direclty from a manufacturer (Samsung, Apple - prior to all mobile phones being sold unlocked) you can get the code from them.

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@BarryS  I think prior to phones having to be unlocked the manufacturers and the providers had an agreement that only the provider would unlock the phone.  That would keep the customer with them longer (they hoped)  Now with phones having to be unlocked I think you can find a few manufacturers that will unlock the phone or are required to not sure how that law works.  Either way it is great to have another avenue for getting phones unlocked.  I do hope no one in Canada is purchasing unlock codes online still lol

[Anonymous]

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@BarryS wrote:

@ShawnC13  I've always understood that an unlock code has to come from the provider where the phone originated (like Rogers, Bell, Telus, etc).  Quite easy....provide them with the IMEI code and they provide you with an unlock code.  Perhaps when a device was previously purchased direclty from a manufacturer (Samsung, Apple - prior to all mobile phones being sold unlocked) you can get the code from them.

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You're correct in your understanding...except Samsung. They do this weird thing of locking to the service of the first SIM inserted. So they have a nice unlocking service. I wish all the manufacturers did the same. (not first SIM 🙂 )

You can still go to the previous provider with a Samsung phone of course.

[BarryS]

@ShawnC13  I've always understood that an unlock code has to come from the provider where the phone originated (like Rogers, Bell, Telus, etc).  Quite easy....provide them with the IMEI code and they provide you with an unlock code.  Perhaps when a device was previously purchased direclty from a manufacturer (Samsung, Apple - prior to all mobile phones being sold unlocked) you can get the code from them.

[ShawnC13]

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@cappaj wrote:

Yeah, I found Samsung's chat support to be quick and very helpful when I needed to get my S7 unlocked. Note that there are two possible codes you might need - these are the messages/prompts I was shown and what they meant:

"SIM network PIN blocked. Enter SIM network PUK."
- This is asking for Samsung's "master code" - I got this after entering the wrong code for the message below too many times. 

"SIM network unlock PIN"
- This is asking for your previous carrier's unlock code - just contact them with your IMEI and they'll give it to you easy peasy. If you enter this incorrectly too many times, you'll get the error message above.

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I believe the PUK code has to come from PM and not Samsung

[cappaj]

Yeah, I found Samsung's chat support to be quick and very helpful when I needed to get my S7 unlocked. Note that there are two possible codes you might need - these are the messages/prompts I was shown and what they meant:

"SIM network PIN blocked. Enter SIM network PUK."
- This is asking for Samsung's "master code" - I got this after entering the wrong code for the message below too many times. 

"SIM network unlock PIN"
- This is asking for your previous carrier's unlock code - just contact them with your IMEI and they'll give it to you easy peasy. If you enter this incorrectly too many times, you'll get the error message above.

[muskokaoutdoors · Accepted solution]

I had to contact samsung to unlock my s6 despite my mobile provider saying they unlocked my phone. I just used samsungs online chat agent and they provided an unlock code. 🙂

[ShawnC13]

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@mike7095sk wrote:

Hi everyone, noob here, Last night I took advantage of the free month and sim activation at London Drugs. My unlocked phone asked for unlock code.

The phone in question is an  Unlocked S5 purchased through best buy 8 months ago. The phone was used with Lucky Mobile (Bell) and Sasktel. Now it wants an unlock code for PM.

The sim was put in another phone and is working fine there.

When i googled unlocked phone ask for code, it gave me results from public mobile.

I read few some old threads, some said Mods might have an unlock code that works ?

Should I contact Sastkel and see if they locked the unlocked phone some how by mistake?

New here, so would apreicate someone sending me in the right direction.

Thanks!

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You can actually contact Samsung and get an unlock code from them.  Samsung sells phones that are unlocked but will lock to the first network that they are used on.