traveling abroad

[garrettV]

I will be traveling to Korea for a month, and I'm going to be getting a new SIM card when I land so I can contact friends and family. Is my phone locked to my current SIM card with public in Canada? If so, how can I unlock it so I wont have any issues with the new SIM card while I'm in Korea? 

[garrettV]

I originally got it from Bell, but i owned the phone before going to PM

[computergeek541]

@softech 

Samsung Canada will help to unlock any device that was intended for sale in Canada.  The end user didn't to need to buy it drectly from samsung.com or at a Samsung flagship store.  At one point, Best Buy and Costco were instructing customers to contact Samaung to unlock phones through their online stores or on the price signs at retail stores.

[softech]

@garrettV  yes, you can also try calling Samsung Canada at 1-800-726-7864,. 

But as far as I know, Samsung will only help to unlock the phone if it was bought from them directly and might not help if the phone was purchased via providers

[dust2dust]

Contact Samsung. They have a nice way to unlock phones themselves without going through any previous provider.

[softech]

@garrettV if you are unable to get an unlock code from your precious provider, another way is to bring to a local mobile shop and many can get it unlocked within 24 hours, with a cost.

AFAIK, it is very common and. cheaper to do this in Asia, you can want till you are in Korea and bring it to a mobile shop for that.  But if you want to be sure it is done before your trip, there are many in Canada that will offer this service.  Bring to those local mobile repair ships and they can do it

[softech]

@garrettV Yes, if your phone was carrier locked, only the provider you got the phone from can assist with that.   Which provider you got the phone from ??

[garrettV]

i did, i need a network unlock code. So it seems that my phone is locked. How would i go about unlocking my phone?

[computergeek541]

---

@garrettV wrote:

its a Samsung galaxy s7 edge 

---

This is an older device, and unfotunately, just by model number, there isn't any way to know if it's unlocked. You're going to have to insert another carrier's SIM card into the phone to see if the device asks for a network unlock code.

[garrettV]

its a Samsung galaxy s7 edge 

[NDesai]

@garrettV Just a tip to receive calls on your PM while you are in Korea. Download the Fongo app and sign up for a free account. You will be assigned a new Canadian number. Call forward your PM number to the Fongo number. Make sure to do it before you leave Canada. I was out to Country a few week back and Fongo worked great with data on a local sim. 

[computergeek541]

---

@CountyDownIeUk wrote:

If you know your new Korea number and have an LD that has calling to Korea.....you could call forward to your new number before taking the sim out. 

---

Unfortunatley, this isn't accurate.  Public Mobile only allows call forwarding to Canadian phone numbers.

[computergeek541]

---

@Handy1 wrote:

@garrettV  Did you buy phone from public mobile if so it’s not locked , to be certain you can ask the carrier you got it from to unlock it if it’s not already 

---

That can't be said with certainty.  Pubic Mobile did sell locked phone at one point, and if the customer never got it unlocked, it would still be locked.  I admit that's unlikely though as very few of those devices sold around 2013 would still be in use today.

[CountyDownIeUk]

If you know your new Korea number and have an LD that has calling to Korea.....you could call forward to your new number before taking the sim out. 

[BKNS27]

@garrettV 

If your phone is 2017 or newer, it should be unlocked. 
What make and model is your phone?

[pmva]

If you bought from PM it should be unlocked.  On iPhone go to settings, general, about, Carrier Lock.  If unlocked it should say No SIM restrictions.

[hTideGnow]

HI @garrettV 

if you have an iphone, you can check it by

Open Settings > General > About

Scroll down to locate the Network Provider Lock section.

If the iPhone is unlocked, it should say that there is No SIM restrictions. Should you see a different status, this means that the iPhone is locked.

[softech]

@garrettV   not sure where you got the phone from.  Best to check if your phone is locked is to ask your friend to try his/her sim card on your phone.  Get a sim card from Rogers or Bell or Freedom (don't get from Telus or Koodo)

[dabr]

@garrettV    Your PM SIM doesn't lock your phone so you should be fine using a local SIM while abroad as long as the phone is compatible with the network there.  You may also need to update APN's for the local SIM if data is included.

[imm1304 · Accepted solution]

Your phone is not locked by Public Mobile. You should have no issues using it abroad for that reason.  

[Handy1]

@garrettV  Did you buy phone from public mobile if so it’s not locked , to be certain you can ask the carrier you got it from to unlock it if it’s not already