Previously unlocked phone, locked again after DFU restore

Question

Level 1

8 points

Previously unlocked phone, locked again after DFU restore

Hi there,

iPhone 5s, 16GB - was running iOS 10.2.1, it was purchased in September 2016 as a replacement for an old water-damaged iPhone from eBay (trusted store) - it was Unlocked at time of purchase. I have used it with two different sim-cards from separate providers, and have used another sim card (temporarily) briefly to check something for a friend, no carrier-lock or activation issues (on restore from back-up etc.).

Now, for reasons unknown to me, just last week (end of March 2017) there seemed to be an issue with cellular data (was not connecting to websites, streaming services etc.) Initially I tried:

Airplane mode on/off - no success
Turning phone on/off

After I had turned the phone off and then back on again, the cellular signal bar read 'Searching...' instead of showing any bars of reception, or my carrier. I found this a little puzzling, and continued to turn it on and off, and trying airplane mode. I figured perhaps some of the reception towers were damaged due to recent winds/storms in my area so I continued to commute to work. Still, walking throughout the city the phone continued to read 'Searching...'.

I waited for a few hours, and then tried the above steps again. Additionally, I did a restart (Sleep/Awake + Home button) and again, this did not yield any results 'Searching...' was still displayed. At this time I also performed a 'Reset Network Settings' and a 'Reset all settings' (not data, just settings). No change to status.

I also took out and re-entered the sim card a few times (both with phone off, and phone on) throughout these processes. The strange thing I noticed was that it seemed not to notice that the sim card was entered or not, it continued to display 'searching'. I tested the sim card in my old phone, and it works without issue.

Later that day, I decided I would try a few more things when I had access to iTunes.

Tried to restore phone from my latest back up - no success.
Tried to restore phone from an earlier back up - no success.
Do a full restore (Erase All Content and Settings) and restore from both above mentioned backups - no success.

Since this was quite puzzling, I decided that I will try the 'last ditch' restore - and go into recovery mode and restore from back-up. I went through this process, everything progressed well and I was happy to see that when the phone had restarted and re-installed iOS and presented me with the Activation/Setup screen, that there was cellular coverage, and that taking the sim card in and out would show 'SOS Only' and back to '4G' and so forth.

So, I proceeded to activate the phone - yet when I got to the 'It may take a few minutes to activate your iPhone...' loading message, the result yielded was 'SIM Not Valid' - the carrier lock message. I tried two other sim cards, and the same message was returned. For all intents and purposes, the phone appeared to be locked again.

I have been into the Apple store, and we ran a check on the phone's IMEI - and it does indeed appear to be locked to NTT Docomo again. Original purchase date was March 2014, first 'Activation date' seemed to be June 2015.

So, after this context - it seems that, a previously unlocked (working well!) iPhone has now become carrier locked again - and I am worried that unlocking with NTT Docomo may not be possible given that I will not have the original subscriber details to hand, despite the fact it was purchased as unlocked, and must be recorded as unlocked (at some moment in time) to the carrier?

The Docomo website itself states:

Please note in advance that a SIM lock cannot be locked again once it has been unlocked.
DOCOMO will verify that you are the subscriber by confirming your name, date of birth, etc. If applications are for lines in the name of a company or organization, the identification of the person who applies may be required. If line subscriptions for DOCOMO cannot be confirmed, the identification of the person who applies is required. Furthermore, if the identification of the person who applies is National Health Insurance Card, a utility receipt, credit card, student ID, Certificate of Residence (Juminhyo), or Certificate of Registered Matters on Alien Registration does not have to be included.

So my question is; is there any channel through which Apple can facilitate (or point me towards) resolving this with the carrier? I just fear that, even if there is an interpreter service, that it might be a little difficult to explain all of the circumstances surrounding this, when all I really want is for the carrier to acknowledge that this phone has not/is not been on their books/subscription for upwards of 1.5-2 years, and that it was previously unlocked.

Just looking to see if anyone has had similar issues, or if there is a reasonable channel to 're-unlock' my phone.

Thanks in advance!

iPhone 5s, iOS 10.2.1

Posted on Apr 3, 2017 7:38 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Drew Reece

Level 6

10,660 points

Apr 3, 2017 7:57 PM in response to GRHay

Return it to the 'trusted store', it is not in the same condition as it was sold & you don't seem to be able to unlock it correctly. Carriers are normally quite specific - only the original owner can initiate the unlock in my experience. I suspect you will need to raise an issue with Ebay & try to argue your case, good luck with that.

There are supposedly multiple ways to unlock a device one involves paying the carrier which alters the device status on their servers, another involved dubious modifications to the device that may be overwritten by restoring. Your device appears to have used the second type of unlock.

This is just a user forum - speak to Apple directly if you need their advice. support.apple.com has multiple ways to contact Apple. Also contact DOCOMO if you think they will unlock it - I doubt that will happen but you won't know unless you ask.

Reply

Answer 2

Prdmom15

Level 1

8 points

Apr 3, 2017 8:10 PM in response to GRHay

Hi!

I initially had the same problem when I had purchased my Iphone 4s. But i bought mine through Amazon previously owned (trusted users). I bought it unlocked then when to activate it and went perfect then one day i master reset my Iphone and it was locked. I did the same thing you did took it to apple, Raised a little cane and even went to amazon and tried disputing it. Turns out that all i had to do was take it to a different cellular repair store and they unlocked it for less than $250.00. They didn't re route my signal or anything how'd they do it i don't know but i know apple will give you the run around about taking it back to it's original owner. In my case i didn't know the original owner or the previous owner before me.

Hopes this helps.

Reply

Answer 3

GRHay Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 3, 2017 9:05 PM in response to deggie

Thanks to all for replies - looks like Docomo does not support unlocking of iPhone 5s any more anyhow, you'd think that the phone would continue to be unlocked, given that it would be outside contract; also that it was already unlocked.

Despite all the corrective/reparative actions I took (all official solutions/measures) it made matters worse; but I don't think there were any options left for me to take, other than DFU mode recovering it, which (true) did enable a sim card to be read, but has re-locked it.

I also fall into somewhat of a gray area, of...having purchased it from an online store; and additionally not being from the country where then phone was initially purchased/locked to carrier - and then that carrier not supporting unlocks for this model of phone (also being in a country where language would be a barrier), Apple being unable to do anything further (100% understandable). I'm outside all warranty and returns periods anyhow, so, I believe I am 'screwed'.

Thanks for the reply Prdmom15, I was a little surprised when you quoted 'less than $250' - I paid around $250 for this replacement phone, so anything more than the nominal fee that most carriers charge ($25-$50) would not really be justified tbh. I think I will just have to bear my old (home button not working) phone for the meantime, and upgrade at a later date.

Thanks again peeps.

Reply

Answer 4

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Apr 3, 2017 8:53 PM in response to Prdmom15

You paid more than $200 to unlock an iPhone?

Reply