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Locked iphone 4

I have never owned an Apple product before but have now been given an Iphone 4 to try out. The phone was originally purchased from the Apple store and connected to the Vodafone network. My father later switched to O2 in 2011 and has been using it pay as you go since then. I now wish to use it on a different network but find that the phone is now locked to O2.

Is it the case that using the O2 sim has locked the phone? I would have understood if the phone had locked to vodafone as this was the first sim ever used in this particular phone. I am thinking that maybe the locking process was carried out during an ios update when the O2 sim was in use. Would this be the case?

I am just a little confused as to why the phone is locked now but not when it was purchased and that I have to now purchase an O2 sim and load it with £15 credit before they will unlock it.

iPhone 4, iOS 7.1.2

Posted on Feb 28, 2015 6:50 AM

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Posted on Feb 28, 2015 7:44 AM

If this phone was purchased directly from the Apple store and was purchased as unlocked, then the phone should remain unlocked whatever sim card you put in the phone.


The only reason it would lock would be if the phone was not purchased from Apple in the first place and was purchased from somewhere such as CarPhoneWarehouse - if this is the case, then yes, the phone will lock to the first sim card put in the phone, but that would be Vodafone and not 02.


Could be that the phone was not unlocked when it was purchased from Apple and was not sold as such, however if the phone really is unlocked, then 02 have obviously done something with the sim card and this should not be the case and you should not have to use the phone on 02 if it is an unlocked phone and you don't want to.


Talk to 02 and see what they have to say and explain that the phone was purchased directly from Apple as unlocked, so should not be locked to their network.


The only other possibility, is if the phone was purchased as locked to Vodafone and the original owner of the phone then had to get Vodafone to unlock the phone to be able to switch to 02 - if this is the case, then the phone would automatically lock to 02.

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Question marked as Best reply

Feb 28, 2015 7:44 AM in response to gtclondon

If this phone was purchased directly from the Apple store and was purchased as unlocked, then the phone should remain unlocked whatever sim card you put in the phone.


The only reason it would lock would be if the phone was not purchased from Apple in the first place and was purchased from somewhere such as CarPhoneWarehouse - if this is the case, then yes, the phone will lock to the first sim card put in the phone, but that would be Vodafone and not 02.


Could be that the phone was not unlocked when it was purchased from Apple and was not sold as such, however if the phone really is unlocked, then 02 have obviously done something with the sim card and this should not be the case and you should not have to use the phone on 02 if it is an unlocked phone and you don't want to.


Talk to 02 and see what they have to say and explain that the phone was purchased directly from Apple as unlocked, so should not be locked to their network.


The only other possibility, is if the phone was purchased as locked to Vodafone and the original owner of the phone then had to get Vodafone to unlock the phone to be able to switch to 02 - if this is the case, then the phone would automatically lock to 02.

Feb 28, 2015 12:00 PM in response to Ethmoid

Thank you for your quick reply Ethmoid.

I have taken your suggestion and spoken to O2 again and this time they are saying that the phone must have been restored to default via itumes with an O2 sim card inserted at some point and this has now locked the phone. Their policy is to charge for unlocking whatever the circumstances are. Its not really a matter of the cost to me but more of a point of principle that they can lock an unlocked phone.

Anyway, thank you again for your help.

Locked iphone 4

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