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Locked as in "locked to one network"? Except for prepaid 20EUR-phones and perhaps the iPhone, which phones in Germany come locked?

by limmeau 16y ago

StudyAnimal 16y ago
Yeah locked to one network which also means you can only get firmware updates when the network specific version is ready, which is often months later, or never. Any subsidized phone purchased with a new contract is locked, as far as I know. But I don't know of many that are hard to unlock.
thomasz 16y ago
Phones are usually "bought" for 1€ with a 24 month contract attached. At the end of the contract, the lock is lifted and you can use your phone on all networks.
- limmeau 16y ago
  I'm aware of the 1EUR contracts (I live in Germany). I was just surprised that most phones in such contracts were supposed to be netlocked. I've bought most of my mobile phones of the past on eBay to use with my prepaid card. I've seen Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile brandings on them, but I never had to contact the seller because of a netlock problem. I've also found footnotes like "this telephone can only be used on XXX network, wait 24mo or pay us 99EUR" on brochures and paper ads, but only for prepaid contracts. If there is a common practice of netlocking most German 24-month-contract phones, when did it start?
  - semanticist 16y ago
    Those phones will have been unlocked, either officially by the network or unofficially using unlocking tools. eBay isn't a reliable place to get a sense of the realities of the retail mobile phone market.
    - limmeau 16y ago
      Judging from their websites, I. Vodafone's unlocking page explicitly mentions their CallYa prepaid offers and an outdated brand of "VPA" mobile phones and an "MCC" starter pack[1]. There is no sign of a page for the millions of people with a 24-month contract. II. The T-Mobile page for old phones [2] lists several models of cellphones; those I recognize look like typical cheap prepaid phones (e.g. the Siemens C35 is there, but not the more expensive S35 of the same era). Their FAQ[3] says that SIM-locks have to be unlocked, but not which phones are locked. It does explicitly say that the iPhone is SIM-locked, which slightly contradicts the premise that all 24-month contract phones are SIM-locked. III. BASE's FAQ[4] on SIM-locks says that SIM-locks are particularly common with prepaid phones. While it may still well be the case that most contract phones come locked, it surprises me to read so little of it anywhere. 1. https://www.vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-support/hardware-entsperren.html https://www.vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-support/hardware-entspe... 2. http://www.t-mobile.de/sim-lock-entsperren/0,20638,23789-_,00.html http://www.t-mobile.de/sim-lock-entsperren/0,20638,23789-_,0... 3. http://www.t-mobile.de/faq/1,1951,18-_,00.html?vgn_form_encoding=ISO-8859-1&q=sim-lock&query=sim-lock http://www.t-mobile.de/faq/1,1951,18-_,00.html?vgn_form_enco... 4. http://www.base.de/Fuer-Kunden/Faq/SIM_Karte/ http://www.base.de/Fuer-Kunden/Faq/SIM_Karte/

Locked as in "locked to one network"? Except for prepaid 20EUR-phones and perhaps the iPhone, which phones in Germany come locked?

by limmeau 16y ago

Locked as in "locked to one network"? Except for prepaid 20EUR-phones and perhaps the iPhone, which phones in Germany come locked?

StudyAnimal 16y ago

Yeah locked to one network which also means you can only get firmware updates when the network specific version is ready, which is often months later, or never. Any subsidized phone purchased with a new contract is locked, as far as I know. But I don't know of many that are hard to unlock.

thomasz 16y ago

Phones are usually "bought" for 1€ with a 24 month contract attached. At the end of the contract, the lock is lifted and you can use your phone on all networks.

limmeau 16y ago
I'm aware of the 1EUR contracts (I live in Germany). I was just surprised that most phones in such contracts were supposed to be netlocked. I've bought most of my mobile phones of the past on eBay to use with my prepaid card. I've seen Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile brandings on them, but I never had to contact the seller because of a netlock problem. I've also found footnotes like "this telephone can only be used on XXX network, wait 24mo or pay us 99EUR" on brochures and paper ads, but only for prepaid contracts. If there is a common practice of netlocking most German 24-month-contract phones, when did it start?
- semanticist 16y ago
  Those phones will have been unlocked, either officially by the network or unofficially using unlocking tools. eBay isn't a reliable place to get a sense of the realities of the retail mobile phone market.
  - limmeau 16y ago
    Judging from their websites, I. Vodafone's unlocking page explicitly mentions their CallYa prepaid offers and an outdated brand of "VPA" mobile phones and an "MCC" starter pack[1]. There is no sign of a page for the millions of people with a 24-month contract. II. The T-Mobile page for old phones [2] lists several models of cellphones; those I recognize look like typical cheap prepaid phones (e.g. the Siemens C35 is there, but not the more expensive S35 of the same era). Their FAQ[3] says that SIM-locks have to be unlocked, but not which phones are locked. It does explicitly say that the iPhone is SIM-locked, which slightly contradicts the premise that all 24-month contract phones are SIM-locked. III. BASE's FAQ[4] on SIM-locks says that SIM-locks are particularly common with prepaid phones. While it may still well be the case that most contract phones come locked, it surprises me to read so little of it anywhere. 1. https://www.vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-support/hardware-entsperren.html https://www.vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-support/hardware-entspe... 2. http://www.t-mobile.de/sim-lock-entsperren/0,20638,23789-_,00.html http://www.t-mobile.de/sim-lock-entsperren/0,20638,23789-_,0... 3. http://www.t-mobile.de/faq/1,1951,18-_,00.html?vgn_form_encoding=ISO-8859-1&q=sim-lock&query=sim-lock http://www.t-mobile.de/faq/1,1951,18-_,00.html?vgn_form_enco... 4. http://www.base.de/Fuer-Kunden/Faq/SIM_Karte/ http://www.base.de/Fuer-Kunden/Faq/SIM_Karte/