unlocks.co.uk blog

New Mobile Phone Unlocking Service

2006-02-26T09:19:00.000Z

My blog is centered around unlocking Nokia mobile phones. Nokia is undoubtedly the most popular of the mobile phone manufacturers, and the fact that Nokia phones can be unlocked simply with a code is a huge bonus. But what about the others? Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, Panasonic, Sagem........the list goes on and on. Then there are the Nokia phones that have been subject to the entry of five or more incorrect codes - how do you unlock them?

I would like to introduce you to 'Postal Unlocking' provided by PhoneGoods! This service was introduced for two reasons:

Most phones can be unlocked only with a 'Cable Solution'. This means connecting the phone to specific service equipment in order to remove the network restriction.

Nokia phones that have been subject to the entry of five or more incorrect unlock codes can be unlocked only with a cable solution. Again this means connecting the phone to specific service equipment in order to remove the network restriction.

PhoneGoods run a very professional service. You simply send your phone to them, they unlock the phone and return t to you the very same day. An example of this would be as follows:

You send your phone to PhoneGoods via 'Royal Mail Special Delivery' on Monday and they receive the phone on Tuesday. The phone is unlocked and sent back to you via 'Royal Mail Special Delivery' the same day and you receive your unlocked phone on Wednesday.

If you live in the West Yorkshire area, why not simply call in to the PhoneGoods store (Morley, Leeds) to get your phone unlocked - they can unlock your mobile phone while-u-wait!

Full details of the PhoneGoods mobile phone unlocking service can be located on the PhoneGoods website at http://www.phonegoods.co.uk.

Blocked, Barred or Blacklisted Nokia Phones

2005-11-26T13:34:00.000Z

When a person reports a mobile phone lost, stolen or otherwise unsuitable for use, the phones imei/serial number is included in a 'blacklist database'. When you switch on a mobile phone, the phones imei/serial number is passed through the blacklist database to check if the phone has been blacklisted. If your phones imei/serial number exists in the database, connection to the network (any network) will be refused!
There are two main reasons the networks blacklist Nokia mobile phones:

Prevention Of Mobile Phone Theft

Prevention Of Insurance Fraud

Prevention Of Mobile Phone Theft!
Mobile phone theft in the UK has risen quite substantially over the past few years. The Government, the mobile phone manufacturers and the networks have been working together to combat mobile phone theft. The introduction of a 'blacklist database' essentially makes mobile phone theft pointless because the phone will be immediately rendered useless once it has been reported stolen.
Prevention Of Insurance Fraud!
Insurance fraud is a major problem in the UK, however if a person informs their insurance company that their mobile phone has been lost, stolen or otherwise unsuitable for use, the insurance company will not pay out on a policy unless the phone has been reported lost, stolen or otherwise unsuitable for use to the network service provider and/or the police. Obviously, the phone is then blacklisted making insurance fraud a pointless task.

Many people seem to think that purchasing 'unlock codes' or 'restriction codes' will remove the restriction on blacklisted phones - IT WILL NOT! Although the unlock codes supplied by unlocks.co.uk will remove the phones network restriction, the phone will remain blacklisted and will not operate on any network! Unlocks.co.uk will not knowingly entertain any Nokia mobile phone that is blacklisted, and we reserve the right to pass onto the police the details of any customer who attempts to use our service to unlock a blacklisted mobile phone!

Buy One Get One Free

2005-11-15T10:09:00.000Z

Due to the overwhelming success of my 'Buy One Get One Free' promotion, I have decided to extend this promotion until the end of 2005. Customers purchasing one set of Nokia unlock codes (restriction codes) for £4.50 will automatically be entitled to one set of Nokia unlock codes (restriction codes) absolutely free (applies only to Nokia phones as displayed on my Supported Phones list! You will have up to four calendar months to redeem your entitlement to free Nokia unlock codes (restriction codes), so you don't have to request them straight away if they are not yet required!

So, if you have two Nokia mobile phones you need to unlock, visit my website at http://www.unlocks.co.uk for more details!

Network Frequencies

2005-11-11T09:00:00.000Z

One thing to consider before deciding to purchase unlock codes for a Nokia mobile phone is the network frequency on which the phone operates. There are currently four types of Nokia GSM phone - single-band, dual-band, tri-band and quad-band. There are also four GSM network frequencies - GSM 850Mhz, GSM 900Mhz, GSM 1800Mhz and GSM 1900Mhz. Single-band handsets will operate only on one specific GSM network frequency, dual-band handsets will operate on two specific GSM network frequencies, tri-band handsets will operate on three specific GSM network frequencies and quad-band handsets will operate on any GSM network in the world.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not really because you will need to know the network frequency your handset uses to ensure it will operate on the network you intend to use after unlocking your phone. Although not concrete, this is the general rule:

Single-band GSM handsets purchased in the Americas will usually operate on GSM 850Mhz or GSM 1900Mhz (either of the two, not both).

Single-band GSM handsets purchased in Europe, Africa, Asia, Asia-Pacific etc. will usually operate on GSM 900Mhz or GSM 1800Mhz (either of the two, not both).

Dual-band GSM handsets purchased in the Americas will usually operate on GSM 850Mhz and GSM 1900Mhz.

Dual-band GSM handsets purchased in Europe, Africa, Asia, Asia-Pacific etc. will usually operate on GSM 900Mhz and GSM 1800Mhz.

Tri-band GSM handsets purchased in the Americas will usually operate on GSM 850Mhz, GSM 1800Mhz and GSM 1900Mhz.

Tri-band GSM handsets purchased in Europe, Africa, Asia, Asia-Pacific etc. will usually operate on GSM 900Mhz, GSM 1800Mhz and GSM 1900Mhz.

Quad-band GSM handsets purchased anywhere in the world will operate on GSM 850Mhz, GSM 900Mhz, GSM 1800Mhz and GSM 1900Mhz. (any worldwide GSM network)

The above rule obviously applies only to handsets purchased new and does not apply to used handsets that may have originated from another country. I am currently working on a 'Compatibility Calculator' which I should be adding to my site at www.unlocks.co.uk within the next few weeks. This calculator will enable customers to select their phone model, the network from which the phone originated and the network they intend to use after unlocking. The calculator will then inform the customer whether or not the phone will operate on the network they intend to use after unlocking.

Remember, unlocking your Nokia phone will not change the operating frequency of the handset!

The Benefits Of Unlocking Your Nokia

2005-11-05T11:32:00.000Z

Over the past few years, many people have contacted me asking why they should unlock their Nokia phone. Every individual will have their own reasons for wanting to unlock their Nokia phone, but some people really don't see the point. I have detailed below some of benefits associated with unlocking your Nokia mobile phone:

Choice - With your Nokia phone unlocked, you will be able to choose which network you want to use. It can be financially beneficial to swap and change network Sim cards at various times of the day and week. As an example, one network may offer cheaper daytime calls, so you would use a Sim card from this network during the day. Another network may offer cheaper evening and weekend calls, so you would use a Sim card from this network during the evenings and at weekends.
Avoid Roaming Charges - As you will know, your network service provider imposes 'Roaming Charges' when you use your Nokia phone in another country. These roaming charges can be quite high, specifically when you consider that you can be charged when someone calls you! However, if your Nokia phone is unlocked, you can avoid these roaming charges by purchasing and using a prepaid Sim card from the country you are visiting (this obviously only applies if your Nokia phone is capable of operating on the network frequencies used in the country you are visiting. We will be discussing this in another post at a later date). The obvious benefit here is that you will no longer be charged when people call you, and in certain circumstances outbound calls will be cheaper too!
Re-sale Value - Although there is no guarantee, Nokia phones that have been unlocked can have a greater re-sale value than phones which are still locked to one specific network. The obvious attraction to a potential buyer is that they will be buying a phone for which they will not have to spend more money getting unlocked!

Some people will have their phone unlocked 'just in case'. You may be completely happy with your network service provider at the moment, but with your Nokia phone unlocked, you will always know that you have the option to change networks and keep your existing Nokia phone should you wish to do so!

Secret Nokia Codes

2005-11-03T12:13:00.000Z

Did you know that there are certain 'Secret Codes' you can use to access hidden features and information on your Nokia mobile phone? Most people are oblivious to the existence of these secret codes because they do not appear in the user guide or phone manual (hence the 'secret' part), yet some of these secret codes can be very useful indeed.

I have a section on my site dedicated to these 'Secret Codes' - it can be accessed at http://www.unlocks.co.uk/secret-codes.php where you will find a list of Nokia phones that have been, or are currently available. Selecting any of these Nokia phones will take you to a page on which the secret codes for that specific phone will be displayed.

Please exercise caution if you decide to use any of the secret codes displayed on my site - these secret codes have not been tested, I cannot guarantee their validity or correctness and therefore cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience, loss, damage or harm caused to you or your phone as a result of using the secret codes displayed on my site.

The Bad Side Of Unlocking

2005-10-30T18:08:00.000Z

We all like getting something for nothing. If one service online charges for their service and the next site offers the service free, you're going to use the free service, right? In certain circumstances this may be true, however in the world of unlocking a free ride may cost you more than you think!

Before I continue with this post I need to make something clear - all Nokia phones will allow only 5 attempts at code entry. In simple terms, once 5 codes have been entered into a Nokia phone, the phone cannot be unlocked by code. This would mean you taking the phone to a phone shop to be unlocked, and this could cost you anything between £10-£20. There are a number of sites and forums online that offer free unlock codes for Nokia phones, and I explain for each below why you should not use these free services:

FREE UNLOCKING SITES - Take a close look at the list of supported phones and networks on most of these free sites, you will notice that the majority haven't updated these lists in a long time. This usually indicates that the code calculation methods used by these sites is not up-to-date either. The people running these free services really don't care if the codes they supply work or not, at the end of the day you can't really ask for a refund can you? Recently I obtained codes for a Nokia phone from one of these free sites as a test. The Nokia phone in question is quite a new model, and I had a feeling I would be supplied incorrect codes. I was right, the codes supplied were calculated using a very old method which does not work with newer handsets. I contacted the site explaining that the codes did not work and asking if they could help. Two days later I received a response 'You get what you pay for' - I couldn't have said it better myself!
FREE UNLOCKING FORUMS - These in my opinion are the worst offenders because many of them are using people as the proverbial 'Guinea Pig'. You will find many of the people supplying free codes on these forums are actually people who have sites selling unlocking codes. But look closely at the posts on these forums - people post their phone information requesting unlock codes, someone replies with two codes, the phone owner responds with 'sorry, these codes didn't work', someone then replies with another two codes, the phone owner then responds again with 'sorry, these codes didn't work either', someone then responds with yet another two codes, the phone owner then responds with 'sorry, these codes didn't work either' - problem here is that the phone owner has now entered more than 5 codes meaning the phone can no longer be unlocked by code! Some of the people on these forums are posting unlock codes calculated using different methods in the hope of finding the correct solution for a specific phone!

Many of the people who use these free services end up contacting me asking if I can supply the correct codes. In the majority of cases I have to say no simply because they have already tried more than 5 codes. If these people had come to a service like mine in the first place, it would have cost them £4.50 and their phone would be unlocked. Because they wanted something for nothing, it's ended up costing them £10-£20 at a phone shop!

These free services cause people like me serious headaches - not because they are stealing business from me, that couldn't be further from the truth, but simply because many of the people using my service are people who have already tried 5 or more codes from a free service. They order codes from me and they obviously don't work.

Now I will explain the benefits of buying codes from a service like mine in the first place:

I will not supply codes for any phone unless I am 100% sure that the codes I am supplying will work.
Phone are not added to my supported phones list until I am 100% sure that I can supply the correct codes for any specific phone.
I spend 7 days a week improving my service to ensure that I can offer codes for the latest phones and networks.
I spend 7 days a week ensuring the codes I supply are calculated using the correct method (some phones require a different code calculation method to others).
If I ever come across a situation where the codes I supply are incorrect, the customer is refunded and I will remove the phone in question from my supported phones list until I know why the codes I supplied failed.
I have supplied codes for over 17,000 Nokia phones in the two years I have been running - out of 17,000 I have had to refund only 36 customers!
I am very prompt in responding to customer support requests. I will usually respond to customer support requests immediately. There are times when this is not possible, however I will always respond within 24 hours!
Many customers have praised my service and customer service skills - you can read some of my customers comments in my Guestbook.

In summary, the choice is yours. This post may look like an attempt to get people to stop using free services so I can make financial gain, that couldn't be further from the truth. The simple fact is that using these free services may end up costing you more than you thought, I'm simply trying to prevent you making that mistake in the first place!

Confusion Dispelled

2005-10-29T11:31:00.000+01:00

I just received an email from a potential customer (I'll call her Ann for the sake of this post) and this particular email echoes the thoughts of many people. The email went a little something like this - 'I want to use my O2 Sim card in my Vodafone Nokia 6230i, however when I put my O2 Sim card in the phone I get a Phone Restricted message. I searched online and found your web site. I would like to purchase unlock codes for my phone, however I'm a little concerned that I will be breaking the law if I unlock my phone, can you please clarify the situation?'

Ann is not alone, there is still a lot of confusion surrounding the subject of mobile phone unlocking, and many people believe that it is illegal. As an unlocker, I face a constant battle to convince people that unlocking a mobile phone is not illegal. However, there are certain things you need to take into consideration before deciding to unlock your mobile phone:

Does the phone actually belong to you? This may sound like a stupid question, but if you obtained your mobile phone on contract, the phone remains the property of the network until you have completed the said contract (usually 12 months). It may be worth while reading through your contract to see if unlocking is prohibited while under contract.
Will unlocking affect your warranty? Unlocking your mobile phone may void your warranty. Removing the network restriction could be construed as a modification to the original design of the phone, thus voiding your warranty.

Ann wanted to know if she would be breaking the law by unlocking her phone - the simple answer is no, Ann would not be breaking the law, nor would unlocks.co.uk be breaking the law for supplying Ann with the codes to unlock her phone.

So why do people automatically think unlocking is illegal? It's simply a matter of confusion between unlocking and unblocking. Unlocking is a legal procedure whereby the network restriction is removed via cable or with codes. Removal of this restriction allows for the use of alternative network Sim cards. Unblocking on the other hand is a procedure which is extremely illegal. For legal reasons I will not go into too much detail, however phones that have been reported lost, stolen or otherwise unsuitable for use are blacklisted. Unblocking effectively changes the phones identity so that it will no longer be blacklisted. Unlocks.co.uk would like to make it very clear that we have never and will never accept requests for phone unblocking!

I replied to Ann with the above information and within the hour she had ordered codes for her phone. She also sent me a small email saying that the codes worked fine and thanks for the help.

In summary, unlocking your mobile phone is not illegal, however it may be prohibited in your contract and you may void your warranty.

Welcome To My New Blog

2005-10-28T11:31:00.000+01:00

Well, here it is. I have finally created my own blog. I have created this blog to keep people informed of the latest developments in Nokia mobile phone unlocking, and believe me when I say, things are heating up in this industry right now!

First of all let me introduce myself - My name is Derek and I am the owner of unlocks.co.uk which is a service supplying unlock codes (aka restriction codes) for Nokia mobile phones. My initial reasons for creating unlocks.co.uk back in early 2003 was to earn a little extra income. I never expected it to take off in the way it did, however by the end of 2003 I was financially able leave my employment and dedicate all of my spare time to unlocks.co.uk.

A lot has changed since 2003 - I started out with a simple device which generated unlocking codes for Nokia phones. When I received an order, I had to type the imei number of the phone into the device along with other information including the phone model and network etc. The codes generated by the device then had to be typed out into an email which was sent to the customer along with code entry instructions. This was very time consuming, specifically when I started to obtain good listings in the search engines and the orders started to flow. I spent many months and many sleepless nights developing a new automated system. Now customers simply complete an order form, make a £4.50 payment and their unlock codes are displayed on-screen instantly along with easy-to-understand code entry instructions!

Unlocks.co.uk has become arguably one of the best and most trusted unlocking services on the internet. Many of my competitors have an unlocking service as a 'Sideline' to their main business. This can result in poor customer service or even incorrect unlocking codes being supplied. My main business is unlocking and that is all I do. I dedicate my time to ensuring the service is completely up-to-date and that my customers get the correct codes first time, every time! I constantly research this industry to ensure that we can provide a service for all the latest handsets and networks, and my service remains one of the most competitively prices unlocking services on the internet!