APN adding settings issue

[andrewlohnes]

Hello all. I'm going to America in November and have purchased a simple mobile PAYG micro sim from the States which I will use over there instead of my Vodafone sim (for obvious reasons). The issue I'm having with my Xperia Z2 is that I need to add APN settings for simple mobile for when I get to the states, I enter all the settings then click save and boom, the settings delete and the whole thing dissapears. I've narrowed it down to the phone not accepting the American MCC (mobile country code) which is 310. I tried it on a friends S5 and it does exactly the same thing (he's also on Vodafone). I've got in touch with Sony who say it is nothing to do with them and the phone should work anywhere in the world with any sim card in the world. So, have Vodafone put a block a block on our phones to stop us using foreign sim cards? And how do I go about fixing this? I'm actually moving to America late next year and want to use this phone over there so need it sorting anyway because no way do I want to have to buy another phone.

Thanks for all your help.

Andrew.

[drey_p]

Hi there

Where did you buy the phone from?  Has it been unlocked?  You can check this by putting a UK, non Vodafone, SIM card in it.... if the phone works okay, it has been unlocked.... any error messages would indicate that it hasn't been. 

[hrym]

I'll second what drey_p said.  Check before you leave that the phone is unlocked.  If it is, you'll be able to put a US-based SIM in it and you should be able to get the relevant settings from the network.  If you know in advance which one you're going to use, you may be able to check with them whether they'll detect the SIM and send the settings automatically or whether you'll need to ask for them.

Recent versions of Android have the option in Settings|Mobile Data to pull the APNs down.   I think that option disappears when you have the relevant ones for the SIM you're using, but it ought to reappear when you need them.  You can check this at the same time as you check for whether the phone is unlocked, of course.

[andrewlohnes]

Thank you both, I had the Xperia Z and broke it so purchased my Z2 off of someone on ebay who didn't want their upgrade, they were on Vodafone so maybe it isn't unlocked. I will try and borrow a friends micro sim on a different network and give that a go. The sim card I have ordered is a company called Simple Mobile who use the T-Mobile network in the US, but you have to enter all the APN details manually.

I also found this wiki, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock what I seem to have is the MCC lock maybe? But I'll try a sim card 1st but looks like it may be a call to Vodafone either way really, I just hope I speak to someone who understands what I'm talking about!

Thanks.

Andrew

[drey_p]

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@andrewlohnes wrote:
Thank you both, I had the Xperia Z and broke it so purchased my Z2 off of someone on ebay who didn't want their upgrade, they were on Vodafone so maybe it isn't unlocked. I will try and borrow a friends micro sim on a different network and give that a go. 

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This situation could end up geting quite messy.  If the phone does turn out to be locked and was supplied on contract, only the original owner will be able to unlock it. 

[andrewlohnes]

Why is that? What if someone passes away and then their phone is sold on to someone? What if someone emigrates so sells their phone? Surely they can't actually refuse to do it??

[drey_p]

Because when you complete the unlock request form, you have to supply the details of the account against which it has been supplied. If the details in the request form don't match the account info held by Vodafone, the request will be rejected. So yes, they can refuse to unlock the phone. 

THe first thing to do is find out if the phone is locked.  If it is, you'll have to contact the person who sold it to you and see if they will be prepared to request the unlocking.

[andrewlohnes]

Ok, well thanks for your help I will update when I try another network sim card and then I'll take it from there.

Regards

Andrew

[andrewlohnes]

Ok so I just typed in *#*#7378423#*#* and then checked my sim lock status, my phone is completely unlocked! There isn't a mark next to any of the items.

I'll still try the other network simcard but I'm a bit puzzled about not being able to add APN settings with a different country code now.