Can we unlock Nokia N70 on Three network in Australia?

[findgeoffrey]

Hi all,

I purchased a Nokia N70 in December 2005 in Sydney and in the last couple of months it has unexpectantly come about that I will be working in South East Asia from December for a couple of years and I want to take my phone with me. I have advised Three I want to pay my 2 year contract out and get my phone unlocked, however, they simply say this can not be done. Every time I phone Three support, even when I phone the local Sydney Hutchison office, I get diverted to an Indian call centre and am only told this can not be done and to look on the Three web site for confirmation of this. When I ask for technical documentation confirming the phone can not be unlocked for technical reasons they refuse to supply me with any technical documentation and say it says so on the web site and that is enough. When I advise I have already spoken with Nokia and been told that the phone has been locked by Three and that it can therefore be unlocked I am told by the Three representative this can not be done.

I do not want to have to buy a phone when I move to Asia because of Three simply refusing to unlock my phone. I frankly can not afford to waste the N70 I have which cost me about $700. Can someone please help? All I want to do is to be able to use my phone in Asia on a local network.

[hartti]

findgeoffrey, you have done correctly in approaching the operator which sold you the device. Unfortunately there is very little anyone else can do in this situation legally.

Sorry to hear about the situation,
Hartti

[findgeoffrey]

Hi, legally? Legally I have bought the phone. At the time of purchase it was never explained to me that the phone could NEVER be unlocked from the Nokia network. I understood it was locked to the Three network only for the term of the contract. LEGALLY the phone is mine once I pay out the contract or own it for 2 years and as with anything else I own I should be able to use it when and where I like. It disappoints me greatly that anyone in Calaifornia would say that legally there is nothing that can be done. I take it you are more concerned with corporate might than individual rights as it appears most people here are from the lack of replies or even views of my request for help.

[petrib]

How it works is that the operator gets the unlocking tools from Nokia and has to set them up to generate the unlocking codes for their locked phones (phones they requested Nokia locks to their network) and their SIM cards.

After that, the operator generates the codes when they want to, and nobody else can (not Nokia nor any illegal hacker, either, as far as I know).

It seems to be possible for other operators than '3', so if they're not doing it, it is more of unwillingness or lack of skills/information. From reading a different related web discussion boards, this seems to be a common theme with this particular operator. If they lack the skills/information to either get or use the tools, they can get support for that from their Nokia contacts, I'm sure.

If '3' cannot sort it out, and according to Australian laws they should (I don't know what the contract you signed up for says, nor what Australian law or legal precendece says, either), your options are:
- resort to the legal channels available to you in Australia
- sell the phone to another '3' user and get an unlocked/retail device, instead (or one locked to an operator that knows how, or wants to unlock them, too)

Note: Reflashing the phone - legally or illegally - with some other firmware variant than the version for '3' does not impact the SIM-lock.

[hartti]

findgeoffrey, I am sorry if my reply felt insensitive to you. I did not express it clearly in my message, but when I said "there is very little anyone else can do...legally" I was pointing out that this is something which is between you and the operator.

Petrib already pointed out potential options for you and explained the situation much better than what I would have been able to express.

You could also contact the consumer ombudsman in Australia to find out what are your options from his/her point of view. Also, please read the fine print of your agreement, if you have not yet done it.

Again, I am sorry to hear of your situation, and I know that you are not the only one getting between a rock and a hard place with multi-year account agreements.

Hartti

[Nokia Ron]

Hi, legally? Legally I have bought the phone. At the time of purchase it was never explained to me that the phone could NEVER be unlocked from the Nokia network. I understood it was locked to the Three network only for the term of the contract. LEGALLY the phone is mine once I pay out the contract or own it for 2 years and as with anything else I own I should be able to use it when and where I like. It disappoints me greatly that anyone in Calaifornia would say that legally there is nothing that can be done. I take it you are more concerned with corporate might than individual rights as it appears most people here are from the lack of replies or even views of my request for help.

Geoffrey,

Forum Nokia is a developers forum and not the proper forum for End User issues. Furthermore this has nothing to do with Nokia, it is between you and your operator. You have our greatest sympathy but this is not an appropriate topic for a developers forum and I must close this thread.

Ron
Manager Forum Nokia discussion boards.