PURCHASED PHONE

[honrie]

i JUST BOUGHT A REFURBISHED PHONE FROM HERE, IT IS A GIFT SI WILL THE PHONE BE UNLOCKED?

[LurganIeUk]

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@JK8 wrote:

@LurganIeUk 

Thank you for your  post. In the end I was able to get a hold of the seller and he called Bell to have it unlocked. The seller got the phone as part of going on a 2 year phone plan with them. The phone was brand new in a box still. He had a different phone and wanted to make some money. This was very recent. Bell was just trying to screw me over and doing a very good job at it.

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I bought a contract with Bell years ago at Costco and sold the phone to a guy and arranged to transfer the contract to him as well. Bell allows contracts to be transferred. It took a month to accomplish with all kinds of hurdles thrown at me and to the guy taking it over. They must have a wheel of 200 hurdles to spin while you are on the phone to throw at you. So one evening my call continued to go no where. No progress made. I slept  on it and since I was trained at work on how to negotiate I got my strategy in line and planned to move up the ladder. The next day I am on the phone with both guns loaded and the Bell CSR says let me check......then says your account was transferred  last night! So much for trained employees, poor systems, and poor management. Identify your issues Bell....you can only benefit if you do. 

So my previous Bell ExpressVu.....all poorly communicated from Bell. I had an “old programming” package no longer supported unless I paid a premium. WOW they still have the channels...I am on a contract....and they figured a way to squeeze more money out of me. If I changed my programming I would pay the same for less. Now does that surprise you? So I have an option to make the change online or call. So I do the online option. The TV goes all black, every channel. So I now call and the response is....it will be like that until tomorrow and if you had called me to start with...that  would have not happened. End of call. 

 No more Bell for me!

[JK8]

@LurganIeUk 

Thank you for your  post. In the end I was able to get a hold of the seller and he called Bell to have it unlocked. The seller got the phone as part of going on a 2 year phone plan with them. The phone was brand new in a box still. He had a different phone and wanted to make some money. This was very recent. Bell was just trying to screw me over and doing a very good job at it.

[LurganIeUk]

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@JK8 wrote:

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@cellphoneuser1 wrote:

@JK8 Bell doesn't sell lock phones any more. They wanted to lock them to prevent them getting stolen. When you buy in store, they must unlock the phone before you leave.

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I had bought a brand new iphone 11 from a buy and sell site. I posted my problem in another thread. I had talked to 5 different people at Bell and they would not unlock it for me. It had to be the owner. The only reason they locked it was the customer had bought the phone on contract on one of their plans.

"So I took a guess on the carrier and called Bell’s toll free line to see if the phone was locked to their network. They said it was. I said why is that when all phones sold are suppose to be unlocked. They said the phone was purchased on contract so they locked it. I asked them to unlock it because the seller has a different phone and it does not make a difference since they are still getting their monthly payments from him. They said only the seller can call in to have that done. I told them about the CRTC rules that all requests to have their phone unlocked must be honoured. They said they have their own rules to follow. I called the seller and he phoned the store where he purchase it from and it became unlocked in a couple of hours. Thank goodness my PM sim works now and Bell really sucks."

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But if the phone was purchased after the 2017 CRTC ruling date then they had no right for no reason to lock it!!  And there is a web site that will tell you when the phone was produced. 

I can say over the years I have had Rogers, Telus and Bell mobile as a carrier. I also had Bell ExpressVu as well. And with no hesitation I can say that Bell has a crappy reputation, crappy customer service, and if the above is correct then they are dreaming up ways to be that much more unfriendly. I would verify the manufacture date of the phone from the IMEI and ask for Bell Manager and then off to CRTC. But I do believe another way around it is to put the phone on a plan...maybe prepaid....for 90 days...on Bell. ..and then ask to have it unlocked...not because you are leaving but because you need it unlocked to use it in Europe. Also I there is a bit of doubt.....as I find it hard to believe that Apple would have accepted the request from Bell to lock it. 

Is the phone black listed? Was the previous contract paid out or is there money owing on it? Maybe a Bell store that is not too busy can help you out?

[tangolima]

hi, from experience it’s easier deal with the carrier if you go directly to one of there shop. Everytime I called to get a phone unlock it has been a hassle everytime. When you go to a actual shop there’s no hassle and no questions are asked, they just unlock the phone that’s it. 

[JK8]

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@cellphoneuser1 wrote:

@JK8 Bell doesn't sell lock phones any more. They wanted to lock them to prevent them getting stolen. When you buy in store, they must unlock the phone before you leave.

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I had bought a brand new iphone 11 from a buy and sell site. I posted my problem in another thread. I had talked to 5 different people at Bell and they would not unlock it for me. It had to be the owner. The only reason they locked it was the customer had bought the phone on contract on one of their plans.

"So I took a guess on the carrier and called Bell’s toll free line to see if the phone was locked to their network. They said it was. I said why is that when all phones sold are suppose to be unlocked. They said the phone was purchased on contract so they locked it. I asked them to unlock it because the seller has a different phone and it does not make a difference since they are still getting their monthly payments from him. They said only the seller can call in to have that done. I told them about the CRTC rules that all requests to have their phone unlocked must be honoured. They said they have their own rules to follow. I called the seller and he phoned the store where he purchase it from and it became unlocked in a couple of hours. Thank goodness my PM sim works now and Bell really sucks."

[LurganIeUk]

There may be some ambiguity about this as the PM phones are being sold as a previously used phone while there have some reports that some phones were brand new but old stock of which may have been carrier locked to Telus. And does the CRTC ruling cover previously owned phones? Never the less if a locked one was sold I would also assume PM will unlock it.  I  would assume that most previously used phones  being resold were ex Telus but as I type..maybe not.  I also assumed they are to be purchased to use for PM and the phone offers here would not be used as a store vs Craigslist etc. But good idea by OP for a lower cost phone with a guarantee. 

[computergeek541]

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:There isn't a carrier in the country who is allowed to sell a carrier locked device. If by chance the device is locked to the carrier (either accident or because it's old inventory), the device must be unlocked immediately.

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@computergeek541 I'm curious if they are allowed to lock the phone if/while you are under contract to them? Only unlocking it upon request after the commitment is done or any early termination fees paid? Or is it a case of no more locking devices period?

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No, they're not allowed. Contract/tab or not, the carrier must unlock upon request the phone immediately if it is locked (it's not supposed to be locked to begin with).

[kb_mv]

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@computergeek541 wrote:There isn't a carrier in the country who is allowed to sell a carrier locked device. If by chance the device is locked to the carrier (either accident or because it's old inventory), the device must be unlocked immediately.

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@computergeek541 I'm curious if they are allowed to lock the phone if/while you are under contract to them? Only unlocking it upon request after the commitment is done or any early termination fees paid? Or is it a case of no more locking devices period?

[computergeek541]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

There seems to be some good discussion surrounding whether Public Mobile phones are being sold as locked or unlocked to a carrier.

This is a good question which deserves a definitive response.

Let's ask Public Mobile to confirm this by tagging moderators online.

Can one of you who knows this definitively, please kindly reply, @Alexia_H   @Eddy_G  @Gerardo_C  @Jose_F  @Marius_F  @Monica_M   @Oana_S 

Thank you.

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There isn't a carrier in the country who is allowed to sell a carrier locked device. If by chance the device is locked to the carrier (either accident or because it's old inventory), the device must be unlocked immediately.

[HALIMACS]

There seems to be some good discussion surrounding whether Public Mobile phones are being sold as locked or unlocked to a carrier.

This is a good question which deserves a definitive response.

Let's ask Public Mobile to confirm this by tagging moderators online.

Can one of you who knows this definitively, please kindly reply, @Alexia_H   @Eddy_G  @Gerardo_C  @Jose_F  @Marius_F  @Monica_M   @Oana_S 

Thank you.

[computergeek541]

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@Pawprints1986 wrote:

@tangolima ohh ok, so even if we  bought a used one from public and happened to come to us locked, we dont need to worry about how to talk to public in person, but instead figure out what the previous carrier was ?

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If Public Mobile happens to send you you a carrier-locked device, Public Mobile will arrange to have it unlocked if it's locked to Telus. If it's locked to a different carrier, I would suggest to arrange for an exchange or a return/repurchase.

[Pawprints1986]

@tangolima ohh ok, so even if we  bought a used one from public and happened to come to us locked, we dont need to worry about how to talk to public in person, but instead figure out what the previous carrier was ?

[tangolima]

Your correct , phones aren’t suppose to be carrier locked anymore unless you buy a used phone  that was made prior to 2017 when locking phones was a thing !

And if the phone is indeed locked, you must figure out to which carrier it’s locked and then ask this carrier to unlock the phone. 

[computergeek541]

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@Pawprints1986 wrote:

I know Samsung has a form of data stealing prevention. If you add a different Sim card, in some cases it'll actually factory reset. So even if you lost your physical device, your data is safe. 

I didn't have issue switching between koodo and public, but I wonder if I were to switch to say bell if it would factory reset again as it's not the same carrier/network? Not willing to find out lol but I do wonder 🤔

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Samsung phones are never suppoaed to fsctory reset after switching SIM cards. This was never intended as a security feature. I do know rhat there have been sporadic reports of this.

Samung devices that factory reset themselves are only suoposed to do this after installing the first SIM card, but never again.  This is to personalize the softwware to a carrier's liking.  It's not supposed to do this after switching SiM cards.

[Pawprints1986]

I know Samsung has a form of data stealing prevention. If you add a different Sim card, in some cases it'll actually factory reset. So even if you lost your physical device, your data is safe. 

I didn't have issue switching between koodo and public, but I wonder if I were to switch to say bell if it would factory reset again as it's not the same carrier/network? Not willing to find out lol but I do wonder 🤔

[cellphoneuser1]

@JK8 Bell doesn't sell lock phones any more. They wanted to lock them to prevent them getting stolen. When you buy in store, they must unlock the phone before you leave.

[JK8]

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@Pawprints1986 wrote:

Are phones even locked anymore? I haven't gotten one from my carrier since my Samsung evergreen days... But it seems silly to lock them anymore, just creates more work for carriers to unlock them.

That said, if one were to be locked, you can't physically go into public... So what would we do? Would telus or koodo help? 

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I know that with Bell when you get a phone with a contract plan they lock the phone to their network and only the account holder can ask for the phone to be unlocked.

[Pawprints1986]

Are phones even locked anymore? I haven't gotten one from my carrier since my Samsung evergreen days... But it seems silly to lock them anymore, just creates more work for carriers to unlock them.

That said, if one were to be locked, you can't physically go into public... So what would we do? Would telus or koodo help? 

[tangolima]

Just to add to this !

if your phone is indeed locked, all you need to do is to ask your current provider to unlock it and they should provide this service free of charge. I’ve done it numerous times with refurbished phones and never had any issues.

cheers !

[HALIMACS · Accepted solution]

In June 2017, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) updated the Wireless Code of Conduct to address a number of common consumer complaints. One of them was the cost to unlock a phone, even after a customer has fully paid for the device. The government agency established that all wireless carriers must follow these rules:

• All wireless devices sold after December 1, 2017, must be unlocked or sold with instructions on how to unlock the device at no additional cost.
• All wireless devices that are locked to a carrier must be unlocked upon request at no cost to the consumer.
• Unlocking must be completed even if the consumer is still on contract or device has not been paid in full.

[geopublic]

@honrie  All phones that Public Mobile sells come unlocked so you have nothing too worry about.

[LurganIeUk]

I've done some searches in the documentation and fail to see the word unlocked. 

Logically they should not be locked and should fall under the CRTC regulations from 2017. But I would be testing it with a few SIMS. 

PM might want to clearly say unlocked somewhere. 

[HALIMACS]

You're welcome,  @honrie 

More info on link below:

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-help/articles/certified-pre-owned-phones

[honrie]

TY

[HALIMACS]

Hi @honrie 

Yes, it'll be unlocked.