Apple

[cranburn]

hi, 

i have recently upgraded to iphone 4s and would like to pass my 3gs onto my friend who is on a different network. can you let me know how i go about unlocking the phone so that she can use my old handset?

thank you

[Lee · Accepted solution]

Hi there cranburn,

Congratulations on your upgrade.

If you wish to unlock the 3GS then please fill out the Unlock Code Request Form.

Cheers,

Lee

[ben899]

Hi, I've just bought an iPhone 3gs off a friend who had it with a pay monthly deal with vodafone and upgraded to an iPhone 4. I'm wanting to unlock this but I'm not sure which method to use?

Would this phone be classed as a PAYG because he's not using it with his contract sim anymore or is it still classed as pay monthly?

[kids]

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ben899 wrote:

Hi, I've just bought an iPhone 3gs off a friend who had it with a pay monthly deal with vodafone and upgraded to an iPhone 4. I'm wanting to unlock this but I'm not sure which method to use?

Would this phone be classed as a PAYG because he's not using it with his contract sim anymore or is it still classed as pay monthly?

If the phone was supllied as a PAYG phone then you need to have a £20 credit on the sim and then fill in the NUC form for Vodafone to submit the unlock to Apple.

Whether or not someone uses the phone with a contract sim does not make any difference to the phone's status.

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[ben899]

Well the guy I bought it from got the phone on contract originally, does this mean he will have to unlock it using his contact sim card?

[kids]

Yes. A contract phone can only be unlocked by the original owner. So your friend must complete the unlock form using his own account details and his own emai address.

[ben899]

Ok thankyou! So just to clarify; He will need to put his sim card in this 3gs, then get the IMEI number, then fill out the form, wait the 3 working days untill he gets the email, then put his sim back in the 3gs and unlock by connecting to iTunes and using the unlock code given?

[kids]

He will need to put his sim in and use the phone so that the IMEI shows the phone on the network. Fill in the NUC form Wait up to seven working days (try it each day after 3 days) and insert a non Vodafone sim in the phone then connect to iTunes. The unlock is processed through iTunes, there is no unlock code. When the unlock is complete a pop up in iTunes will congratulate you on your phone being unlocked.

[ben899]

So will they guy have to use the phone untill it is unlocked?

Also is it not possible for me to put a PAYG sim in and top up £20 and then fill the form to unlock it?

Sorry for all the questions, I know nothing about this kind of thing though.

[kids]

When the NUC. Is submitted Vodafone check the account the phone is registered to and only that person cn request the unlock. The IMEI has to be active on the network when Vodafone check the details. Putting in a PAYG sim and sticking £20 on it will not help as you say is is a contract phone not a PAYG phone. You can certainly use it but it will not alter the unlocking requirements. I would imagine, but it would take a mod to confirm it, that once the unlock request has been accepted your friend need not continue to use the phone. Any email from Vodafone will be sent to your friends registered mail address that Vodafone hold.

[ben899]

Ok thanks, you've been a massive help! How would you go about getting a Mod to confirm?

[kids]

When a mod looks at this board they will see your query and reply.

[Simon]

Hi ben899

Thanks for your post. As kids states it would be the original owner of the iPhone who would need to request the unlock. As long as he has previously used the phone with the Vodafone SIM card in and we can prove he purchased the phone from us we'll be able to arrange for the phone to be unlocked. 

Thanks

Simon

[ben899]

Ok, just one last thing I need to ask, does the person I bought it from have to sign in to his iTunes account on the phone?

[kids]

No.

Once the unlock has been processed by Apple you can connect to any iTunes account. When you do so you will see the congratulatory message that your phone is unlocked.