Understanding unlocking (traveling to England)

I have a Motorola v551 and will be traveling to England. I called
Cingular and the customer service rep said I would receive an unlocking
code in 5 days.

She implied that the code must be entered for any SIM that is used in
the phone that is not in the Cingular system. Reading the myriads of
posts about unlocking, it seems that software programs that unlock
programs (i.e., sending off a phone to have it unlocked) are not
specific to a SIM and that once a phone is unlocked, any SIM can be used
in it.

Is there such a difference between the effect of what Cingular is
sending me in the form of a code, i.e., that the code must be entered
for any non-Cingular SIM, or is the code an unlocking code that will
only need to be used once?

Thanks
Ken K
P.S. Any tips about purchase and use of local SIM cards in England
would be helpful.

---

› See More: Understanding unlocking (traveling to England)

Ken <[email protected]> wrote:
> She implied that the code must be entered for any SIM that is used in
> the phone that is not in the Cingular system.

If you have the code, you can't enter it while the Cingular SIM is
installed, because it won't offer the prompt, since it doesn't need it.

When you first install a foreign SIM, it will ask for the code. After
that, the phone will be unlocked, and you should be able to put any SIM in
it, including the original Cingular SIM, and never see the request for the
code again.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

[email protected] wrote:

> Ken <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>She implied that the code must be entered for any SIM that is used in
>>the phone that is not in the Cingular system.
>
>
> If you have the code, you can't enter it while the Cingular SIM is
> installed, because it won't offer the prompt, since it doesn't need it.
>
> When you first install a foreign SIM, it will ask for the code. After
> that, the phone will be unlocked, and you should be able to put any SIM in
> it, including the original Cingular SIM, and never see the request for the
> code again.
>
Got it. Thanks.

KenK

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
....
> P.S. Any tips about purchase and use of local SIM cards in England would
> be helpful.

My suggestion is to wait until you arrive in the U.K., then go to one of the
ubiquitous Virgin Music stores, where you will find a section of the store
that sells Virgin Mobile products. There you will find a Virgin Mobile SIM
for [18 months ago] £10 that includes [if I remember correctly] £5 of
prepaid airtime. You can recharge this SIM at Virgin Mobile, and perhaps
also by calling V.Mobile and using a credit card.

-- John

In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Ken <[email protected]> wrote:
>> She implied that the code must be entered for any SIM that is used in
>> the phone that is not in the Cingular system.
>
>If you have the code, you can't enter it while the Cingular SIM is
>installed, because it won't offer the prompt, since it doesn't need it.

From the T-Mobile sunsidy password entry instructions for Motorola phones:

If the display does not read "Enter Special code":
1. Press and hold the * key until an entry box is displayed, then let go
2. Enter *, #, 3, 2, # and press "OK"
3. Enter the unlock code and press "OK." The display should read
"Completed" or "Deleted"

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> JH wrote:
>> "Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> ...
>>
>>>P.S. Any tips about purchase and use of local SIM cards in England would
>>>be helpful.
>>
>>
>> My suggestion is to wait until you arrive in the U.K., then go to one of
>> the ubiquitous Virgin Music stores, where you will find a section of the
>> store that sells Virgin Mobile products. There you will find a Virgin
>> Mobile SIM for [18 months ago] £10 that includes [if I remember
>> correctly] £5 of prepaid airtime. You can recharge this SIM at Virgin
>> Mobile, and perhaps also by calling V.Mobile and using a credit card.
>>
>> -- John
> Thanks for responding, John.
>
> I am a little lost by this sentence:
>
> >There you will find a Virgin Mobile SIM
> > for [18 months ago] £10 that includes [if I remember correctly] £5 of
> > prepaid airtime.
>
> I take it that only 5 pounds goes to airtime, so the other 5 goes to....
> the service? And that the service charge is just a one-time charge for
> the card and service, then I just re-charge the card as needed? Not bad.
> What happens if I run out of time in the midst of a call? Also, how can I
> tell how much time is left on one of these cards?
>
> Thanks
> Ken

Ken,
DO NOT try to unlock the phone without a non Cingular sim. You only get so
many tries (not sure how many) when you go over that magic number, the phone
is toast.
...
bamp

Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
> From the T-Mobile sunsidy password entry instructions for Motorola phones:

> If the display does not read "Enter Special code":

No workie for me, on a Cingular V551.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

>
> I take it that only 5 pounds goes to airtime, so the other 5 goes to....
> the service? And that the service charge is just a one-time charge for
> the card and service, then I just re-charge the card as needed? Not bad.
> What happens if I run out of time in the midst of a call? Also, how can I
> tell how much time is left on one of these cards?
>
> Thanks
> Ken

Once the phone is unlocked you can buy a pre-paid SIM in the UK. You can buy
a Virgin pre-paid SIM in most mobile phone store, supermarkets etc. You pay
10 Pounds for the kit, of which 5 Pounds is
airtime(http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/s...ning_pack.html). You
can top up your account at lots of shops, including news agents, corner
shops, supermarkets, gas stations. In other words, lots of places. Unless
you have a UK credit card and address you will not be able to sign up to top
up your account online. One fringe benefit is that the Virgin SIM will roam
in the USA.

>
> Once the phone is unlocked you can buy a pre-paid SIM in the UK. You can
> buy a Virgin pre-paid SIM in most mobile phone store, supermarkets etc.
> You pay 10 Pounds for the kit, of which 5 Pounds is
> airtime(http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/s...ning_pack.html). You
> can top up your account at lots of shops, including news agents, corner
> shops, supermarkets, gas stations. In other words, lots of places. Unless
> you have a UK credit card and address you will not be able to sign up to
> top up your account online. One fringe benefit is that the Virgin SIM will
> roam in the USA.
>
One other pre-paid service you might chack on is one offered by Tesco's
supermarket. I am not sure how it compares to other services, but I hear it
is good value (http://www.tescomobile.com/simCards.aspx).