topic Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock! in Apple Devices

iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

DonnieSparko — Fri, 12 May 2023 16:17:07 GMT

Hi, I have a 4th Gen iPad Pro that I got through EE. It is out of contract and I got a free data SIM from Virgin that I wanted to use in it. When I try it is locked to EE.

Trouble is when I put the IMEI into the EE site it tells me it’s not one of their devices which of course it is.

What can I do? I don’t want some dodgy unloving place to do it so is this a long call to Customer Services?

Thanks,

Simon

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Chris_B — Fri, 12 May 2023 20:16:28 GMT

@DonnieSparko Just call customer services it’ll not take long and there is no charge to unlock your device. If you go elsewhere they will charge you and all they’ll do is contact EE to make this request.

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

DonnieSparko — Fri, 12 May 2023 20:39:52 GMT

Thanks Chris. I actually bit the bullet and called them and it took a little time but they did actually sort it out. Apparently it’s a regular issue with iPads.

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:54:00 GMT

Sorry for reviving this one, I’m having awful problems trying to get EE to unlock an iPad Air 3rd gen I recently bought. I’ve used their IMEI tool online but it says it isn’t an EE device when the previous owner confirmed it was most definitely an EE contract device.

Spoke to EE tech support who were useless and could only confirm the same, saying it wasn’t an EE iPad.

I got the original owners to call them and she received a message back from EE’s handset unlock team saying that it was now unlocked……..but it’s still not working with my Sky Mobile SIM card.

Ive spent an hour on the phone to Apple support who confirmed that it was carrier locked to EE and that only they could unlock it. The Apple guy told me to tell EE that the lock status on Apple’s end was showing as “IPADEEP10xPOLICY”

Any ideas? - seems like no one at EE knows a thing….

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:10:34 GMT

Hi @steviejones133

I'd recommend getting back in touch with our Customer Support team who'll be able to raise a ticket for the unlocking team to take a closer look at this for you.
They may simply need to resend the unlock flag to Apple again so it updates on their server.

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:19:06 GMT

Thanks for the suggestion Ali, I have just tried calling and they won’t talk to me about it as I’m not the original owner - I’ve pestered her enough and EE will not even check the status of the lock for me, never mind raise a ticket with the unlocking team.

Going round and round in circles here and EE are of no use whatsoever.

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Fri, 22 May 2026 14:17:39 GMT

@steviejones133

Does it show the lock status when you check on our Unlock your device page?
You can also check on the iPad- Settings > General > About > Carrier Lock OR Network Provider Lock

Have you followed the steps at How do I complete the unlock process on my iPhone or iPad?

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Fri, 22 May 2026 14:42:15 GMT

Of course I have tried entering the IMEI just like the original post on this thread, says it isn’t an EE device. Also, there is no option to check “carrier lock” or “Network Provider Lock” - all that shows regarding network provider being “ipad 70.0” and “mobile Data Number “unknown” (note there isn’t a SIM installed when checking this as my Sky SIM card just loops saying “SIM not supported”

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:06:52 GMT

Thanks.

You’ll need to do a few things to fully unlock your iPhone or iPad once it’s been unlocked by EE. It will continue to say SIM not supported until you've completed those steps.

Have you already tried the steps to complete the Apple Unlock process?

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:29:40 GMT

Do tell what these “steps” are!

Ive had the original owner phone EE to request it be unlocked, the EE handset unlocking team have emailed her a few days ago with confirmation they’d unlocked my device (she forwarded said email to me) yet it remains SIM not supported.

The iPad is set up with the latest iOS 26.5, all works perfectly until I put my Sky Mobile SIM in and that’s when the fun starts with this loop of SIM not supported.

[Mod edit: Image rejected as it contained personal information]

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:26:47 GMT

@steviejones133

You can find the steps at the link I posted above- How do I complete the unlock process on my iPhone or iPad.

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:35:50 GMT

I have followed those steps 1 to 3 and the iPad checks for updates, connects to WiFi, then tries to activate my Sky SIM but keeps coming back with not supported.

I have also tried restoring network settings to no avail, tried restoring the iPad back to factory and trying again with no success - as I say, as soon as the Sky SIM is installed, the iPad just loops through the above process of checking for updates, connecting to WiFi and finally tells me the SIM isn’t supported.

I have reposted the image from my last post with sensitive info redacted.

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:00:05 GMT

That's great, thanks for confirming you've already tried those steps @steviejones133

Sounds like the unlocking may not yet be updated on Apples servers.

I appreciate it's not ideal, but at this stage the only option would be to ask the original owner to get back in touch and request the unlocking to be resubmitted to Apple.

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:17:10 GMT

This is messaging between the seller and myself - she says EE were now seeing it as unlocked on their end……and my SIM is unlimited calls & texts & 80gb data so that shouldn’t be an issue…..

Ive just done yet another factory reset and set up again and still not supported

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

Ali_A — Sat, 23 May 2026 08:06:10 GMT

@steviejones133

Thanks for the details.

If It is now showing as unlocked from our side, and the Customer Service team have checked this with the Apple Service to confirm it's "Ready for Unlock", I'd recommend getting back in touch with Apple to see if they can help further with the tablet.

Has the previous owner checked the device is not blacklisted?

Ali

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Sat, 23 May 2026 10:56:33 GMT

Looks like Apple finally removed their activation lock this morning as when I tried again this morning I was prompted to sign into the iCloud account to be used with this iPad - cellular now working and network shown as Sky. 😄.

Re: iPad not recognised by EE so can’t unlock!

steviejones133 — Sat, 23 May 2026 23:03:35 GMT

Surprised to get an email from EE’s handset.unlockin.team@ee.co.uk today as per below. Saying the iPad was never locked, but the unlock date (clearly shown as today) was the day I finally got this damn iPad unlocked from EE.

Way to go EE. Claim it was never locked, deny all responsibility about it being locked, deny that it was an EE iPad and finally when you got around to sending my “unrecognised by you” IMEI to Apple, miraculously it becomes unlocked.

Funny how the unlock date shown below was today…….

Obviously, prior to Apple removing the network lock, this was the message I was constantly seeing - to contact the network provider, which I did with constant denial it was EE locked.