I just bought a 2nd hand EE iPhone 5s and £1 PAYG EE sim off eBay expecting to pay £8.99 to get it unlocked and was told by customer service that unlocking is now FREE to all PAYG customers as long as the phone is not reported stolen.
Only downside for me is that i already topped it up £10 :disappointed:
Hope this helps others.
From EE website:
Pay as you go
If you’re on pay as you go, you can unlock your phone as soon as you get it, as long as it’s locked to EE, Orange or T-Mobile. Your pay as you go account must be registered with your details for us to unlock a pay as you go device. Register or manage your account >
You must also ensure the device has not been reported as lost or stolen.
There are no charges for unlocking for pay as you go devices bought from EE and our indirect partners. We’ll need to check other devices to confirm where and when they were bought. Pay monthly devices used on pay as you go will be subject to pay monthly rules and checks.
Top comments
amour3k
22 Oct 163#6
GOOOOOOOOOD!!!, about ruddy time too?!. :-(
Ended up giving half my custom to The Link, The Phone Shop, Phones 4 U, AND CarPhoneWarehouse from back in the day, JUST so that I could avoid the dreaded mandatory of evil of the Networks 'Locking' nonsense ..... :-(
Hmmmmmmmm (instead of me being more than happy/confident to go via my respective Network's 'direct' instead?!).
Such is I guess?. :-)
All comments (40)
amanda_mcd
22 Oct 16#1
Takes around 7-10 days but great it's now free. Just used this service for my step dad.
GurneyFlap
22 Oct 16#2
About time they made it free. Paid £8.99 each for three phones unlocking six weeks ago. Wish I'd waited now as only one was urgent. Heat from me.
rejector1
22 Oct 16#3
Great news ! Thanks Op :smiley:
bottle123
22 Oct 161#4
What about us pay monthly customers!!!
Babbler to bottle123
22 Oct 161#5
Soon... Becoming illegal to lock in 2017
bryan1979 to bottle123
23 Oct 16#15
Free when you are out of contract, until then the phone is still part owned by the network/service provider in the vast majority of cases
amour3k
22 Oct 163#6
GOOOOOOOOOD!!!, about ruddy time too?!. :-(
Ended up giving half my custom to The Link, The Phone Shop, Phones 4 U, AND CarPhoneWarehouse from back in the day, JUST so that I could avoid the dreaded mandatory of evil of the Networks 'Locking' nonsense ..... :-(
Hmmmmmmmm (instead of me being more than happy/confident to go via my respective Network's 'direct' instead?!).
Such is I guess?. :-)
Joeseppe
22 Oct 161#7
It is actually also free now if you are at the end of your contract other wise you can unlock it 6 months in for £8.99
mommarto6
22 Oct 16#8
I got my phone on contract about 4 years ago the phone was replaced by apple 2 years ago under warranty by this time my phone was out of contract so I changed the sim only as I couldn't see the point in paying for a contract as my replacement was brand new I have just upgraded on Monday just gone & was wondering will I be able to get mY old phone unlocked
Mad71
22 Oct 16#9
Once I've put all my sons details in so that he can unlock his old paygo phone with EE WHICH SAYS ITS FREE NOW ITS SAYING IM STILL GETTING CHARGED 8.99 ??
mutley1 to Mad71
23 Oct 16#10
Not sure how you can unlock payg phone without buying a payg sim and topping it up. Anyone done this for free?
bryan1979 to Mad71
23 Oct 16#17
I believe they are only obliged to unlock any device for free if you were the one the device was originally sold to as that's who the "sale contract" is applicable to.
Maybe you got some details slightly wrong? Did you originally buy it in your name but give it to him?
mommarto6
23 Oct 16#11
Follow posts
CharlesCalthrop
23 Oct 16#12
The Link? I remember buying a pager from there and thinking that those oversized mobile phone things would never take off...
ameenbassam
23 Oct 16#13
I have tried now to do it but it still says that it will cost £8.99
bryan1979 to ameenbassam
23 Oct 16#16
Are you in contract still?
surnjit
23 Oct 16#14
It's always. Even free unlock for pay as you go
Pay monthly is still £8.99
:man:
Aman
23 Oct 16#18
Finally the network has offered this benefit as a customer.
TwistedNerve
23 Oct 16#19
the OP isn't correct about a 2nd hand phone being unlocked free, you will pay £8.99
if the phone belonged to someone on contract and they have sold it on, you pay - it would be better to get the original owner to submit the unlock request
it is only free when it is "paired" to you and your contract has expired, either by upgrading or the 24 month term coming to an end, or if you have bought the device outright as a PAYG phone for which we may ask for proof of purchase
MRR_ltd
23 Oct 16#20
Just rang 150, and gone through the options to reach technical support, who put this request in for me now :smile:
Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Everyone just call! Don't bother going through the site. It's a breeze over the phone, took 2 seconds, have IMEI number on hand.
Said can take up to 10 working days. And they'd email me an unlock link. Confirmed FREE!!! TYVM OP!
ameenbassam
23 Oct 16#21
My contract finished and I am now on pay as you go
ameenbassam
23 Oct 16#22
It asks for cost even for PAYG customers !!!!
ashman33
23 Oct 16#23
The deal is to escape EE.
mutley1
23 Oct 16#24
did you have old payg mobile locked to EE?
huusshh
23 Oct 16#25
i will do this tomorrow
but i bought my phone second hand iphone 4 from ebay about 3-4 years ago.
bigbak
23 Oct 16#26
Only in the EEA.
Post brexit, this won't be the case as it's a regulation rather than a directive.
bottle123
23 Oct 16#27
So am I right in saying, once I give notice to cancel contract (finishes this time next month) once they turn my sim into a payg, put in request for unlock and it should be free?!
DinkyDi30
24 Oct 16#28
Gutted, I paid £8.99 just last month for this
cigbunt
24 Oct 16#29
If on contract do you still have to wait 6 months?
TrollForce
24 Oct 16#30
Not able to unlock as sim needs to be activated which in turn needs to be topped up...
So basically I can't unlock my phone until I top this SIM.. :disappointed:
gavin1
24 Oct 16#31
I though tit was heavily touted the government may do this, then the networks backed down and as a result its been left out of the bill.
Locked phones were still be permitted, the change was you would have the right to unlock them at the end of the minimum term for free.
FrootLoop
24 Oct 16#32
Does this mean if you buy a phone locked on EE from say Cash Generator or a shop of that type EE will unlock it for £8.99?
BrianM to FrootLoop
25 Oct 16#35
It should be for free! You do need to have an EE SIM which is registered to you in "MyEE" (for the online form anyway)
suecoo1966
25 Oct 16#33
I had a contract with EE some time ago and they refused to unlock my phone when I was near the end of my contract because I'd already had another one unlocked, whixh was several months before even though I'd paid £20 for it to be unlocked and was prepared to pay again
Toonah
25 Oct 16#34
Drat. I have an old Orange phone... will they unlock that free since EE took over it?
MRR_ltd to Toonah
25 Oct 161#39
Yes, it states on their website to the link the op provides that it covers all three (EE, T-Mobile, Orange)
mikepaterson
25 Oct 16#36
I just tried this with a secondhand phone I bought a while back. I tried selecting PAYG and Sim only, both provide the following:
Thank you for your request to unlock your phone.
You'll get an email in the next three hours to confirm we've received your request. If the email doesn't arrive in your in-box, please check your junk folder.
A few things to remember:
it takes up to 10 days to unlock a phone
it costs £8.99, including VAT
if you pay monthly, this will be added to your next bill
if you pay as you go, please make sure you have enough credit for the next 10 days to cover the unlock cost
Why not print out this page or email it to yourself for future reference?
BrianM to mikepaterson
25 Oct 16#37
Obviously some (many??) web-pages still refer to the old fee!
"There are no charges for unlocking for pay as you go devices bought from EE and our indirect partners. We’ll need to check other devices to confirm where and when they were bought".
gavin1
25 Oct 16#38
Note also the wording - devices bought from EE and our indirect partners.
Part of the "tough on crime" rhetoric of a few years ago was to only allow the original customer to unlock the phone at the end of the term, as an anti crime measure, if the networks would only unlock for the original owner then it reduced some of the attraction of stealing a mobile. Most smartphone makers did this for them (ie Apples activation lock) so it never made it into any form or law, but it would not surprise me if it reappeared.
Toonah
25 Oct 16#40
You are my new hero.... I'll try in a few days when I got time. Been planning to pay for weeks but been feeling skint
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Opening post
I just bought a 2nd hand EE iPhone 5s and £1 PAYG EE sim off eBay expecting to pay £8.99 to get it unlocked and was told by customer service that unlocking is now FREE to all PAYG customers as long as the phone is not reported stolen.
Only downside for me is that i already topped it up £10 :disappointed:
Hope this helps others.
From EE website:
Pay as you go
If you’re on pay as you go, you can unlock your phone as soon as you get it, as long as it’s locked to EE, Orange or T-Mobile. Your pay as you go account must be registered with your details for us to unlock a pay as you go device. Register or manage your account >
You must also ensure the device has not been reported as lost or stolen.
There are no charges for unlocking for pay as you go devices bought from EE and our indirect partners. We’ll need to check other devices to confirm where and when they were bought. Pay monthly devices used on pay as you go will be subject to pay monthly rules and checks.
Top comments
Ended up giving half my custom to The Link, The Phone Shop, Phones 4 U, AND CarPhoneWarehouse from back in the day, JUST so that I could avoid the dreaded mandatory of evil of the Networks 'Locking' nonsense ..... :-(
Hmmmmmmmm (instead of me being more than happy/confident to go via my respective Network's 'direct' instead?!).
Such is I guess?. :-)
All comments (40)
Ended up giving half my custom to The Link, The Phone Shop, Phones 4 U, AND CarPhoneWarehouse from back in the day, JUST so that I could avoid the dreaded mandatory of evil of the Networks 'Locking' nonsense ..... :-(
Hmmmmmmmm (instead of me being more than happy/confident to go via my respective Network's 'direct' instead?!).
Such is I guess?. :-)
Maybe you got some details slightly wrong? Did you originally buy it in your name but give it to him?
Pay monthly is still £8.99
:man:
if the phone belonged to someone on contract and they have sold it on, you pay - it would be better to get the original owner to submit the unlock request
it is only free when it is "paired" to you and your contract has expired, either by upgrading or the 24 month term coming to an end, or if you have bought the device outright as a PAYG phone for which we may ask for proof of purchase
Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Everyone just call! Don't bother going through the site. It's a breeze over the phone, took 2 seconds, have IMEI number on hand.
Said can take up to 10 working days. And they'd email me an unlock link. Confirmed FREE!!! TYVM OP!
but i bought my phone second hand iphone 4 from ebay about 3-4 years ago.
Post brexit, this won't be the case as it's a regulation rather than a directive.
So basically I can't unlock my phone until I top this SIM.. :disappointed:
Locked phones were still be permitted, the change was you would have the right to unlock them at the end of the minimum term for free.
Thank you for your request to unlock your phone.
You'll get an email in the next three hours to confirm we've received your request. If the email doesn't arrive in your in-box, please check your junk folder.
A few things to remember:
it takes up to 10 days to unlock a phone
it costs £8.99, including VAT
if you pay monthly, this will be added to your next bill
if you pay as you go, please make sure you have enough credit for the next 10 days to cover the unlock cost
Why not print out this page or email it to yourself for future reference?
In other places - here http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started/joining-ee/unlocking-your-device for example it says
"There are no charges for unlocking for pay as you go devices bought from EE and our indirect partners. We’ll need to check other devices to confirm where and when they were bought".
Part of the "tough on crime" rhetoric of a few years ago was to only allow the original customer to unlock the phone at the end of the term, as an anti crime measure, if the networks would only unlock for the original owner then it reduced some of the attraction of stealing a mobile. Most smartphone makers did this for them (ie Apples activation lock) so it never made it into any form or law, but it would not surprise me if it reappeared.