Thanks for the replies to my earlier post about tri-band phones. I went ahead and bought the phone, but now I gotta figure out how to unlock it. The carrier I use won't unlock it for me... do you all have any suggestions on how to unlock a Nokia 3100? Much obliged again...

hey mimz, Nokias are famous for being easy to unlock and for free.

they are unlocked via an unlock sequence that one punches into the phone keypad. this sequence is specific to the phone IMEI number and carrier.

saludos,
jer...

I work for Cingular here in the states, and the 3100's come unlocked. Have you tried using a different SIM in your phone? All you have to do is contact your provider and say that you are travelling outside your area and a short period of time, and they should provide the code for you..
who is your carrier?

oh if it were only that simple ILUVESPANA.

while cingular provides its worldphones (tri/quad band) unlocked from the start, other coarriers are not so generous :cry:

t-mobile for example locks ALL of its phones (without exception) and often times "screws up" when it comes to providing unlock codes to their clients who are going abroad

about 7 out of every 10 of my SIM card clients who come with a t-mobile phone arrive and find that the unlock subsidiary password does not work

i have had to unlock many a phone when it would not take a spanish SIM card and also had to write letters to the affect that the unlock codes that my clients had from t-mobile did not unlock their phones so i had to do it via my tech service guys.

for the record, i have never had a problem with a cingular phone.

also, many cell carriers will not provide unlock unless the client has been with them for at least 3 months (sometimes 6) or if you are leaving the country.

my guess is that mimz got hold of a t-mobile nokia 3100 pretty inexpensively (most likely on a contract) but in line with t-mobile policy and as mimz said in the opening post on this thread "The carrier I use won't unlock it for me".

saludos,
jer...

Thanks for the replies. I swapped SIM cards with someone who has a different carrier and it turns out my phone is unlocked after all. For some reason, the guy who sold me the phone at the Cingular store insisted it was locked and couldn't be unlocked. So I guess I'm set. Yippee!

cool mimz, three cheers for cingular :cheers:

now all you need is a SPANISH SIM CARD to get talkin

saludos,
jer...

Hey Jer,

I have a Nokia 6610 (edit) from T-Mobile - are you able to unlock that?
And, I have a Vodafone SIM card from fall or 2002 (it was a pay-as-you-go one)...do those expire at all or can I still use it?

Thanks!
Ryan

hey Ryan...

1) nokia 6610 is easily unlockable.

2) vodafone SIM cards credit expires 9 months after last recharge and you lose the phone number (which is unrecoverable) 12 months after last recharge so yours expired fall of 2003, toss it! (see www.spainsim.com/siminfo/vodafone for details on all of this).

you will need a new SIM card.

if you buy one at www.spainsim.com , i unlock the nokia for free

hope this helped.

saludos,
jer....

Hey Jer,

I have a Samsung E715 through T-Mobile. Is this a phone you can unlock? Also, if so, will I need a new SIM card and do you provide those? Finally, what happens with my service plan? Do I keep the same plan or does it need to change?

Thanks,


Tony

Jer,

I know you'll like to hear this!

I called T-Mobile. They will let me cancel my plan (no fee) because I am moving out of the country. Also, they told me to call them a couple of weeks before I leave and they will unlock the phone (no charge, sorry Jer).

I checked the specs on my phone (Samsung E715) and it looks like it is 900/1900mhz GSM. I spoke with the T-Mobile rep and she said that Spain uses the 1800mhz frequency. Can you confirm this? If so, it looks like I will need a new phone for Spain. I hope not, I really like my phone.

Alright,

I did some hunting. It looks like the 3 Spanish service providers, Vodafone, Amena and Movistar all use 900/1800mhz frequencies. Apparently the 1800mhz frequency is newer so my phone having 900mhz will work fine (since it is the original freq).

For any of those interested in this information, check out this site:

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_es.shtml

Jer, I will still need a SIM. I'll check with you when I get closer to my departure date.

Thanks,

Tony

hey Modigy.

you can save yourself a lot of agravation by going to www.spainsim.com , all the info you need on the 3 cell providers here (rates, call plans, coverage, etc...) is there in one neat bundle.

quote:

I called T-Mobile. They will let me cancel my plan (no fee) because I am moving out of the country. Also, they told me to call them a couple of weeks before I leave and they will unlock the phone...

yes Tony, as stated in one one of my posts above...

quote:

also, many cell carriers will not provide unlock unless the client has been with them for at least 3 months (sometimes 6) or if you are leaving the country.

Tony, i am not sure if you even read the posts above on this thread befor posting yourself

i am referring to my post above...

quote:

t-mobile for example locks ALL of its phones (without exception) and often times "screws up" when it comes to providing unlock codes to their clients who are going abroad

about 7 out of every 10 of my SIM card clients who come with a t-mobile phone arrive and find that the unlock subsidiary password does not work

i have had to unlock many a phone when it would not take a spanish SIM card and also had to write letters to the affect that the unlock codes that my clients had from t-mobile did not unlock their phones so i had to do it via my tech service guys.

so, please understand that i do NOT enjoy unlocking phones and fixing T-mobile screw ups, just not worth it for the time invested and the little money it makes me.

you (Tony) wrote...

quote:

they will unlock the phone (no charge, sorry Jer).

no need to be sorry (although you may be after you find out T-mobile did not unlock your handset as they promised )

as i said, i simply unlock when T-mobile or another carrier that a client used back in u.s.a., uk, etc... boggles the unlocking. i do this since the client has usually already purchased a SIM from spainsim.com and then finds out that their carrier back home never unlocked the handset or gave them a bad unlock code. so, i have to unlock to be able to get the phone to take the spanish SIM.

remember, it is NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF YOUR CARRIER BACK HOME FOR YOU TO USE A SIM THAT IS NOT THEIRS, HENCE THE OBSTACLES THEY TEND TO PUT IN ONE'S WAY

saludos,
jer...

by the way, your samsung should be fine here but i recommend you get a vodafone ( www.spainsim.com/siminfo/vodafone ) or MoviStar ( www.spainsim.com/siminfo/movistar ) SIM card for best coverage on the 900 mhz frequency.

saludos,
jer...

Hey Jer,

I did read through the spainsim.com site before posting, although I appoligize for my redundant info :b:

With the number of screw-ups comming from T-Mobile unlocking their phones, would I be better of just having you handle the whole thing? That's the impression I'm getting from your earlier posts. Please let me know. I'll just wait to get a SIM from you and have you unlock it the "right" way.

Thanks,

Tony

hi Tony.

quote:

With the number of screw-ups comming from T-Mobile unlocking their phones, would I be better of just having you handle the whole thing?

no, free is always better. have them send you the unlock code and instructions. if you do it via them and then it ends up not being unlocked when you get here, you can alwasy resort to my unlock service.

i would also recommend you test it there first. basically, have them (t-mob) unlock it as they promised to do and then find a SIM card that is NOT a t-mobile SIM and try it in your phone. for example, find a friend or coleague who has a diff cell co with a SIM (eg. cingular) and try their SIM in your unlocked phone. if it accepts the SIM, it is unlocked and t-mobile has been true to it's promise, if not, t-mobile has been true to it's reputation :jeje:

so, to recap, have t-mob ulock it asap and then try a non t-mobile SIM in the handset to see if they have indeed unlocked it.

saludos,
jer...