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taymur_ Author

Level 1

1 points

Iphone unlocked but showing no signal on all networks apart from original carrier!

Hi,

I have an Iphone 5s 16gb. It is currently on the latest iOS and the carrier is Three.

I purchased this second hand PAYG phone and was told that the phone was already unlocked to all networks. The current carrier was Three and was working perfectly with full signal. I tried to insert a registered GiffGaff sim however it would either show 'No service' Or it would show 'GG' but with only 1 signal strength. This would switch from time to time. I waited 2 weeks to see if this would change but it did not. I then visited a phone shop. I told the guy about the issue & he made me try different sim cards apart from Three, as I already knew that this works fine. EVERY single sim card i inserted showed 'No Service' apart from the giff gaff sim which had the same impact as when i tried it myself. Even the guy at the store had no idea what to do. So i just left it & was wondering if i should just get rid of it.

I then assumed that the previous owner might have attempted to unlock the phone but probably had trouble doing so. Which left the phone in this current state. (my own little theory). So i decided to ring Three customer advisers and ask for a PAC code, hoping that when i insert a new sim it would ask me for the code but it didn't, still the same thing. This issue has gone on for 2 months, simply because i can't use all of my time on this, due to university and work commitments. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO AND THIS IS STRESSING ME OUT! PLEASE HELP!

Like i said, i have the PAC Code in hand, it is valid for the next 30 days. I just thought it might be important to note this, even though i feel as if it won't make much of a difference

Sorry this was so long and complicated, Thanks

iPhone 5s, iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Nov 4, 2015 7:23 AM

Top-ranking reply

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

231,914 points

Posted on Nov 4, 2015 7:26 AM

It sounds as if the device is not unlocked. What other troubleshooting have you tried? If you restore the device as new in iTunes with the Three SIM installed do you receive the Congratulations, your phone is unlocked message? If not, then the device is still locked.

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17 replies

Nov 4, 2015 11:09 AM in response to taymur_

It's the next thing to try. Or call GiffGaff and see what their technicians say. If you have a SIM in the phone and have the ICCID number of it they can see if it is showing up on their network.

taymur_ Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 4, 2015 11:28 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

I've activated the sim, added £10 credit because that was part of the activation process and still, no signal. It says 'activation can take up to 24 hours' which happens to be very inconvenient. I guess im going to have to wait, but I have tried this before when i first purchased the phone, I waited 2 weeks and there was no change, however back then I did not go through the process of ITunes restore so fingers crossed it works this time. Also, they don't have a support team that i can call, they have 'agents' where you have to communicate with them just like this.

Iphone unlocked but showing no signal on all networks apart from original carrier!