So will o2 unlock under ANY circumstances?

Question

So will o2 unlock under ANY circumstances?

So my work contract ends here in London and I'm heading back to Australia to study in January 2010, the same time as my 18 month o2 contract ends.

Anyone aware of any circumstances under which o2 or apple will unlock the iPhone?

what if I submit proof such as a one-way ticket back home and a letter from the Uni in sydney showing I'll be a student?

It just seems dumb to have to sell the phone and buy an exact same phone when I'm back in Australia. The other option of course is to go down the naughty jailbreak path to unlock the phone, but I don't want to have to do that.

Surely there are extenuating circumstances under which the phone can be unlocked?

My other option of course is to lodge a complaint with Ofcom and have them deal with it.

Thoughts?

iPhone, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Aug 20, 2009 6:41 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 20, 2009 7:02 AM in response to nickster__9999

I'm fairly certain Apple won't, so this is a question would be better directed at O2.

My other option of course is to lodge a complaint with Ofcom and have them deal with it.

In the U.S., it is not against the law to sell a phone as carrier locked. AT&T will unlock some carrier locked phones when requested by a subscriber during the contract period or after the contract has expired, but AT&T is not obligated to do so by law. The same may apply in the UK and if so, best of luck with Ofcom being able to do anything about it.

Dumb as it may seem, it is my understanding the iPhone is sold in Australia as officially unlocked in addition to being sold as carrier locked. You can sell your iPhone and use the proceeds to purchase an officially unlocked iPhone in Australia where you will continue to have support from Apple and not have to wait to install a firmware update until the hack used to unlock the iPhone is updated for the new firmware update, and having to redo the hack when restoring the iPhone with iTunes if wanted or needed, which will re-lock the iPhone to O2.

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Answer 2

Aug 20, 2009 8:46 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Yes, an option is to sell the phone in the UK and buy one outright back home.

I can either buy it unlocked direct from the Apple store, or from one of the carriers who, after paying a small fee, will unlock, even within the contract period.

However, I will still be a few hundred dollars worse off, ie the difference between buying the phone outright in Australia minus the sale price I get in the UK will leave me short a few hundred dollars. It just seems DUMB to sell the phone here and buy something absolutely IDENTICAL in Australia.

I'll keep trying with o2 although each time I email them I get an email back from someone in India who doesn't read my question and just repeats their usual response back. One requirement of lodging an Ofcom complaint is that I exhaust the telco's own ADR first. I've asked in several emails to o2 that their response of "sorry no unlock" be referred to o2's internal ADR for review, but each time they reply to my email they just say "I understand you have requested your iPhone be unlocked. I'm sorry but the iPhone is locked to the o2 network" and I write back saying I'm not happy with that response please confirm it has been reviewed by o2's internal ADR department but I then just get the exact same response back without any reference to whether it's been reviewed by o2's ADR department (or whatever name they give it).

It just doesn't make sense why it is permanently and forever locked to o2 even after I finish the contract ie I own the phone. It's as if o2 is still claiming some type of ownership of the phone in not letting it be unlocked. I should take the phone back to o2 and ask for a refund if they still want to have some sort of control or ownership of it.

I can understand it being locked to the network during the contract period, but once that's ended it is entirely strange that it continues to be locked forever and ever amen.

Message was edited by: nickster__9999

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Answer 3

Aug 20, 2009 8:52 AM in response to nickster__9999

If there is no law in the UK that requires O2 to unlock a phone sold as carrier locked with O2, you can't force O2 to unlock it.

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Answer 4

Aug 20, 2009 8:54 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Yes, I appreciate that, but wanted to see if anyone had heard of o2 unlocking under exceptional circumstances eg me (ie leaving the country permanently to go back to Australia). I suspect they may not want me to go through Ofcom because if there was a favourable decision for me, that would be a precedent for others to do the same.

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Answer 5

Aug 20, 2009 9:07 AM in response to nickster__9999

I suspect they may not want me to go through Ofcom because if there was a favourable decision for me, that would be a precedent for others to do the same.

You can go through Ofcom, but as already provided, if there is no law in the UK that requires O2 to unlock a phone sold as carrier locked with O2 regardless the circumstances, doubtful it will make any difference.

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Answer 6

Sep 24, 2009 11:09 PM in response to Allan Sampson

Hello,

I'm in a similar situation to this - I've recently moved to HK but still have 12 mths of my iphone contract in the UK withg O2. Speaking to O2, they tell me they won't unlock my iphone even if I pay the termination fee. To me this seems pointless and short-sighted on the part of O2 - my iphone is effectively redundant abroad due to roaming call and data costs, so it would make much more sense for Apple to be able to unlock a UK iphone once the contract is terminated.

Any way at all of Apple helping to introduce this?

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Answer 7

raidet

Level 1

8 points

Oct 6, 2009 11:58 AM in response to stubradley

I agree it's short sighted on the part of O2 to attempt to corral and bully their customer base into doing business with them. In fact, I'd say it's a little more than short sighted - it's moronic. Nobody affected by this will ever do business with O2 again - obviously. This kind of infantile, malevolent stupidity richly deserves the comeuppance it'll receive.

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Answer 8

Jul 14, 2018 1:02 AM in response to nickster__9999

You already have your answer, you just don't like it. Take the not approved route and move on.

It is an easy, free option.

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Answer 9

wegras

Level 6

15,311 points

Oct 6, 2009 12:35 PM in response to raidet

It's called Capitalism.
O2 are protecting their shareholders not their customers .
If they unlock the iPhone they lose revenue if they don't thats one more revenue generating iPhone
...........

until some does the unmentionable to it, if ever

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Answer 10

Denis247

Level 1

85 points

Oct 6, 2009 12:36 PM in response to nickster__9999

Look on Ofcom's site for history on unlocking cases, there is an interesting one concernng T Mobile (I think). Although it wasn't in relation to an iPhone, the principles the same.

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Answer 11

Oct 6, 2009 12:44 PM in response to stubradley

Apple has a contract with O2 that includes the iPhone being sold in the UK as carrier locked with O2. This will change soon with the iPhone also being made available with 2 other carriers in the UK. More than likely the iPhone will be sold as carrier locked with the 2 additional carriers in the UK.

Long story short, this is not up to Apple in regards to an iPhone sold as carrier locked with O2. This is up to O2 and O2 only.

O2 may end up doing this, but is a wait and see at this point.

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Answer 12

musicvan

Level 1

140 points

Oct 6, 2009 1:17 PM in response to nickster__9999

nickster__9999 wrote:
So my work contract ends here in London and I'm heading back to Australia to study in January 2010, the same time as my 18 month o2 contract ends.

I would wait and see what happens when Orange (pre Christmas) and Vodafone (early 2010) launch their products, O2 have refused to unlock as they state its an exclusive deal at the moment but give it a month or 2 and see what happens. It would not be in O2s interest to see people binning expensive iphones to move to another network, the environmental outcry at such a waste would be loud. As far as I can see these are the 2 terms in your contract, first is for the original 2G/3G upgrade, the second for current/first time 3G customers:

2G
5.8 YOUR MOBILE PHONE IS RESTRICTED TO USE ON OUR NETWORK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. IF YOU TERMINATE YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US, OR DO NOT REMAIN ON ONE OF OUR DEDICATED TARIFFS FOR IPHONE, ONLY THE IPOD FUNCTION ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE WILL WORK. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO UNLOCK YOUR MOBILE PHONE AND USE ON ANOTHER NETWORK, IT MAY BECOME PERMANENTLY UNUSABLE.

3G
5.8 Where a Handset is restricted to use on the Network we reserve the right to apply a charge for releasing or unlocking the Handset. Details of the charge are available by calling Customer Services.

Speak to O2 and see where you stand, there is always some way out of these things! Mention the environmental aspect of dumping an out of contract phone because the network refuses to unlock and mention Ofcom, although they are as much use as a chocolate fire guard for consumers!

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Answer 13

Oct 6, 2009 1:30 PM in response to musicvan

No one has to bin anything.

O2 isn't going away - there will be some existing iPhone owners in the UK who are happy with O2 and will remain with O2. There will likely be an exodus of those iPhone owners who aren't happy with O2 for whatever reason, but those leaving for Orange or Vodafone - with an iPhone likely sold as carrier locked with Orange and Vodafone, can sell their existing O2 carrier locked iPhone to someone who prefers O2 as their carrier. This doesn't have to mean the existing iPhone will or must be binned if O2 doesn't end up unlocking the iPhones if requested.

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Answer 14

Oct 6, 2009 2:36 PM in response to Allan Sampson

There are 'early indications' too that O2 might open up moving 'locked' iPhones to other networks after other networks are able to support them officially - avoiding little problems like the UK's 'Competition Commission! 😉

This is similar to getting previous O2 2G handsets opened to moving to other networks, so SHOULD be no 'biggie'....

In the UK we can only 'hope'....

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Answer 15

Oct 28, 2009 3:20 AM in response to wegras

If they unlock the iPhone they lose revenue

Why?

If you unlock within the contract period, you still legally have to pay the contract = no lost revenue. O2 have still recouped the subsidised cost of the phone.

After the contract period you are free to stop using O2 anyway.

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