motorola starTAC 70 issue.

[theedge97]

Hi,
I got a motorola starTAC 70 off a friend and want to use it, just for when my samsung note 3 runs outta battery... lol.

I have a "Standard size" VodaPhone P.A.Y.G sim card and it fits perfectly into the device, the phone is even branded with "VODAPHONE" on the front near the screen.

But, when i fully insert the sim card i have an error message that says "Check Card" i cant even ring the SIMs setup number (17298).

I believe that VodaPhone and O2 still use 900mhz signals, the sort this 900GSM phone uses - someone from Vodaphone said on another forum "there's no reason why it would'nt work on the network".

I have access to the IMEI number and i'm not sure if it's unlocked. I will unlock it myself if i need to...

Thanks.

[Sukhi]

Hi thedge97

It does sound like its locked. Have you tried popping in a different SIM card?

Only the original owner can request a Network Unlock Code, see here for more info.

Thanks

Sukhi

[hrym]

The other possibility is that there's a fault with the phone.  If it's branded Vodafone, it may well be locked, but I'd also assume that it would be to this network.

[hooker1uk]

Could it be the voltage the sim is recieving is too high? Are vodafone sims 3v or 5volt sims from around 98-99 moved to 3volts and now some are 1.5 volts.

[theedge97]

Hi,
I haven't tried putting in a different sim card - (as they are all "microSIMs").
The only other way I can test the phone with a SIM is if I order an O2 sim card, but I probably wont get any signal from that network anyway.
There's a shop near me that can unlock second hand locked handsets, so i might go there soon and put my phone in to be unlocked.

Thanks for all the replies!
Connor.

[hrym]

If you want to try a different SIM and it's the wrong size, you can get adaptors - ebay is a good place to look.   I've heard reports of Vodafone shops stocking them too, but I can't confirm that.   Also, if you go into any mobile phone shop, it's possible they'll have a SIM you can try in it before you commit to anything, just to prove whether it works or not.

The StarTAC is a digital phone (GSM conpatible), isn't it, and not one of the old analogue ones?