How to unlock a locked phone? ++

[JDI007]

My dad has a Samsung sgh-c414w flip phone, he got it from WIND, bought it there and they locked it with a SIM card under WIND. But when I take the SIM card out it still shows WIND on loading screen. It seems to be programmed under WIND only.

My dad is thinking of getting 7 eleven's Speak Out because he doesn't use his phone often, anywho, how can I unlock his phone? do I just go to any mobile telecommunications provider, will they be able to Unlock it? or how else can I do this?
is there a cost to this?

Also, how can I be sure that a 7 eleven Speak out SIM will work on his flip phone? would a SIM card from any provider work?


Any help would be appreciated, thank you

[seakingasia]

Hi,

Screen show is not important. if you have a sim card from another phone company, put it in to see if it work.
If not then the phone is locked.
You can find unlock service on eBay.
if you think the unlock service is too expensive compare with the phone then buy a new one.
Sometime I see 7-11 offers free phone also.

[dyalect]

Go on a hunt at any flea market or local mall with a tech shop. Most have somewhere you can unlock a phone for a few bucks.

Or go back to Wind. I am pretty sure the government legislated that when a phone is purchased outright they have to unlock it for you after a period of time.

[JDI007]

An unlock service on ebay? you mean an unlock code? I don't even know what I would look for, do I have to find a specific unlocking code for my specific phone? or just any "phone unlocking code" are the codes all universal and work on unlocking all phones?

Will try WIND to see if they can unlock it, I don't even know what a reasonable price to unlock a phone is...
My dad said he paid just over $100 for the phone from WIND.
I'm sure there are online sites too that send you unlocking codes..what would be a reasonable price?
I also heard that if you screw something up you may not be able to log into your phone at all/your phone will be useless..is that possible?

[xlxo]

Thought.... if dad doesn't use his phone often. Is this a smartphone? Will it be charged when he needs it? If not charged every few days, the battery will degrade and not hold a charge when he needs it.

[lecale]

Search for the model of phone and unlock code. They will send you the code and instructions after you give them the ID's on the phone. Usually done through an automated form on a website.

A friend asked at the mall and they wanted $40 to unlock his phone...I got a code online for $2 and successfully unlocked it myself.

[JDI007]

No, it is not a smartphone, it is a flip phone, it's "Samsung SGH-C414W". He has not used it in years, if he need's to use it he need's to top up/buy a plan I'm pretty sure. It's just locked under WIND but there is no plan/it expired.

$2!? Wow, what website did you use? I would love to pay $2, we called WIND customer service and they said they charge $30 to unlock. Will check out an electronic repair place to see if they unlock phones, will any mobile company do it in person? WIND said no..am wondering about others, they should be able to.. :/

Also, in what order do I do this?
Unlock it with code first, then take out current SIM card, put in new SIM card and that's it...?
Or do I take out current SIM card first, then put in unlock code, then put in new SIM card?
do I unlock it with old SIM card in or do I take it out? or does it matter?

/hope this phone works with 7 eleven Speak Out, does Speak Out work on all phones? I think a while ago I remember hearing that it doesn't....? :/

[JDI007]

Very weird thing happened.....that makes me think it was only a scam.
1st CS lady at WIND over the phone told us they can unlock it for $30.
The next day we went to a repair place to ask them, they said $25, we said ok, they said 1hr wait, we come back they said they cannot unlock it, it doesn't work(BS) they have to use another program which will now cost $45(BS) it took them 1hr to tell us this? Here's where the scam part comes in....
Called WIND again, different lady answers phone, says they are NOW unable to unlock it, it is disconnected...............
Thank you repair guys! me thinks they did something because our phone was in their hands for 1hour! they probably did something to make it disconnected or however, so WIND wouldn't be able to unlock it so we would go to them and pay them more. I feel like that's what happened? because before that WIND told us they CAN unlock it and now after seeing repair guys they tell us they cannot unlock it anymore.......tooooooo coincidental! they completely screwed us over...they just wanted to charge us more, $45...what happened to $25 you just told me an hour ago? Ridiculous...I swear everywhere you turn someone's trying to scam you in this city I feel like..I can't even begin I've had so many experiences :/ it's very sad.
/So came back home, looked online, found a place that has unlock codes for $22 which was the cheapest we could find and I ordered one, hopefully everything will work. I can't believe this. Everyone's running a scam nowadays it's all taking money from your pockets.

[JDI007]

Website where I ordered code just emailed me to say that they are unable to unlock my phone, will issue a refund.......
I am beyond frustrated, this is definitely the work of those repair guys, they messed up my phone and what can I do about it? nothing! even if I tell them they will lie and say they did nothing and jack up their price to "fix it"..this is pure BS...I'm very upset right now. eff people like this!

[seakingasia]

Hi,

Does your Dad has to use that phone ? I see speak out also has phone in similar for less, why bother to unlock old phone with $35 or 40 ?

[JDI007]

Yes, I've also come to that conclusion. I was just really frustrated with those people that screwed us over. $30 that his mobile carrier offered would have been fine, but then after seeing those repair guys, now it's unlockable at all..thanks to them! they did that on purpose, $100 down the drain and there is no way I'm going to pay them after that./ I talked to my dad about getting a new phone and I think that's what he'll do.
so so frustrating..

[tjthemanto]

My dad has a Samsung sgh-c414w flip phone, he got it from WIND, bought it there and they locked it with a SIM card under WIND. But when I take the SIM card out it still shows WIND on loading screen. It seems to be programmed under WIND only.

My dad is thinking of getting 7 eleven's Speak Out because he doesn't use his phone often, anywho, how can I unlock his phone? do I just go to any mobile telecommunications provider, will they be able to Unlock it? or how else can I do this?
is there a cost to this?

Also, how can I be sure that a 7 eleven Speak out SIM will work on his flip phone? would a SIM card from any provider work?


Any help would be appreciated, thank you

You can get it unlocked for as cheap as 99 cents US. You just need an unlock code, which can be found on Ebay or any other unlocking guys.

The process is exactly the same and the code is exactly the same with all, just some charge more than the others. One can charge $ 1 and someone else $ 10 for the service. I have unlocked all my phones for between $ 1 to $ 3 in most cases .

You will need the 15 digit IMEI number from the phone. Usually its on the box, or under the battery on the phone after you remove the battery.

You need to give this IMEI number, the model and brand of the phone, and the carrier name like Wind, Rogers etc to the unlock guys and they will send you the unlock code.

Some small shops in malls etc do it too, but usually they charge more than the online guys. But online guys you have to pay by PayPal, Credit card, Debit card, EFT etc so some people don't like that.


Unlock Instructions ( Usually same for ALL phones and Carriers )

How to enter unlock code

1.Power off phone.

2.Insert a unaccepted SIM card into phone. So a SIM card from some other carrier than the one the phone is locked to. So in your case any NON Wind SIM card like Rogers, Fido, Speakout erc etc.

3.Make sure the SIM card is the same size like Micro SIM, Nano SIM etc. Otherwise sometimes the card gets stuck inside, and is a nightmare to remove.

4.Power on the phone.

5.At the network unlock code prompt, enter the unlock code provided.

Which unlock code do I use?

Sometimes, you may receive 2 or 4 sets of code.
If you receive two-eight digit codes like this: 50732123 41389883 use the first set of 8 digits (50732123).
If you receive two-eight digit and 2 alpha numeric codes like this: q627xu32q8 50732123 41389883 c768585c use the first set of numeric codes (50732123)

Usually the unlock code is called NCK code.

Some unlocking guys :

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/222326639305?rmvSB=true

www.mobifree.net

www.unlockingmachine.com

[tjthemanto]

Search for the model of phone and unlock code. They will send you the code and instructions after you give them the ID's on the phone. Usually done through an automated form on a website.

A friend asked at the mall and they wanted $40 to unlock his phone...I got a code online for $2 and successfully unlocked it myself.

Yes those mall guys are a rip off !

Its 2 minutes work to get an unlock code. They just have to enter the phone IMEI number in a database and use a cheapo software and the unlock number comes.

you just enter the unlock number on the phone when it prompts you, and its unlocked ! My last phone I unlocked for 99 cents US on Ebay, around $ 1.30 CAD for me.

[tjthemanto]

Yes, I've also come to that conclusion. I was just really frustrated with those people that screwed us over. $30 that his mobile carrier offered would have been fine, but then after seeing those repair guys, now it's unlockable at all..thanks to them! they did that on purpose, $100 down the drain and there is no way I'm going to pay them after that./ I talked to my dad about getting a new phone and I think that's what he'll do.
so so frustrating..

Depends some phones are extremely hard to unlock. Usually Iphones are like that. So its pretty expensive to unlock an Iphone usually $ 50.

Some old phones could fall in the same category, so its not worth unlocking them, as the price of unlocking is higher than the price of the phone !

What the unlockers usually do is enter the 15 digit IMEI number into a database, which can be connected to the carrier database like WIND, Rogers, Fido, Bell etc. Then they search for the unlock code there.

sometimes its very easy and a simple software does it. But in case of some phones ( like yours maybe ) more expensive software or more time consuming process might be needed, hence these guys jack up prices. Still $ 45 is ridiculous.

I think when WIND's database was accessed by these guys using your IMEI number for the first unsuccessful unlocking. WIND must have been alerted to that, and might have blocked or blacklisted your IMEI number, as they know you are going with someone else after unlocking and they don't want that.

Depends how far your dad bought the phone, it could have been $ 100 just for a flip phone ! But usually it comes with a prepaid plan and minutes too, for that price. So if it was just the phone for $ 100 it was a rip-off, but maybe it had some pre paid ( not post paid ) free minutes and freebies for the plan for say 90 days, 180 days or something

I know I had bought a flip phone with WIND about 6 years back for $ 60. But it came with 12 months of pre paid FREE incoming calls, Free Caller ID, Free Voice Mail, Free Incoming text and 10 cents per minute outgoing calls and 5 cents outgoing text. I mostly bought it for the plan, the phone was probably worth $ 25 ..lol. I would barely call or text anyone as there were charges, but for all incoming calls it was great

[FallenPixels]

They can be unlocked and still show wind or whatever though until you program in the details for the new carrier.
I give my Wind phones to my BF when I get a new one, only one had to be unlocked by Wind, the others I got cheap codes for. Once unlocked though, I have to go to settings and enter details for Virgin and only then does it not show Wind (I root the phone and delete all the crap they preinstall once I sure it works and doesn't need to be returned but that stuff could keep it showing Wind too)