Unlock a phone

[Royal65]

I recently upgraded my phone on EE no problem. I now want to donate my old A53 for use by a local charity that I work for. I have done a factory reset and put in a giffgaff SIM for them to use and activated it. The message is ' Enter network unlock code. Your phone isn't allowed to use this SIM card '. I understand that and I have been into EE with the IMEI number which says that the phone is unlocked. But obviously not! I have tried a different (O2) SIM with same result. How do I get around this now please? How can I get an unlock code?

[Chris_S]

Hi @Royal65 It's very generous of you to donate your mobile phone to a charity 🙂

We have a great page which gives an outline of how to get your phone unlocked and how to check if the phone is currently locked, just click this link here 

[Royal65]

I have tried all of the advised with EE which says that the phone is unlocked so just 'pop' in any SIM to go. But it doesn't work! Phone still says locked. Have also tried another SIM which is just the same.

[Peter_W]

Thanks for giving that a try @Royal65.

If you're still being asked for an unlock code, then I'd definitely recommend giving our customer care team a shout.

They'll be able to get this raised with our dedicated unlocking team so we can makes sure you get the code for using this with other network SIMs.

Peter

[Royal65]

Do I need to have the original SIM in the phone when I check for unlock?

[Royal65]

Thanks for the reply. Although EE say that the phone is unlocked - it doesn't appear to be with a new SIM in. I put the old SIM back and tried again with the unlock but now the message is that that 'there appears to be an error at our end please try again later'. I am getting more frustrated by the minute!

[Peter_W]

I'm disappointed to hear that this still isn't working for you @Royal65.

Did you get a chance to speak with our team to check this out?

Also is it when you're starting the phone up with the GiffGaff SIM that you're now getting this error?

Peter

[Royal65]

Haven't spoken with the team yet, but I will tomorrow. Yes it is when I have the new SIM in and behaves just the same if I try a different SIM. Phone behaves perfectly normally if I put the old SIM back in but obviously I have that in my new phone now! Thank you so much for your help - much appreciated. Derek

[Peter_W]

Thanks for confirming that @Royal65 

We have a dedicated team for queries linked to unlocking requests, so fingers crossed they should be able to help you get this sorted 🤞

Let us know how you get on!

Peter

[XRaySpeX]

No. The check for unlock is done online from any device.