Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with unlock

How should I go about unlocking a Canadian phone for use in Iceland?

csjc — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:55:08 -0800

How should I go about unlocking a Canadian phone for use in Iceland? I have a compatible GSM phone but I have no idea how to go about unlocking it. I'll be in Iceland this weekend, and I'll need a functional cell phone. Roaming isn't an option. I took a look through my stash of old phones for those compatible with the Icelandic GSM bands (800/1900), and it seems like the Motorola V235 should do the job.

I'm planning on buying a prepaid starter kit on Vodafone Iceland, but of course I need the phone to be unlocked first.

I'm on Fido... how should I go about getting an unlock code? Will it cost me anything?

iPhone 3GS unlock without ultrasn0w?

archagon — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:43:19 -0800

Is it possible to unlock an iPhone 3GS without using ultrasn0w, legally or otherwise? Jailbroken apps are allowed.

Unlock iPhone with busted power button?

obiwanwasabi — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:27:43 -0800

Is there any way to jailbreak / unlock a 2G iPhone that has a busted power button? Phone was working fine with 2.something firmware, jailbroken, unlocked, happy days. Today I was greeted with Steve Jobs saying something annoying in Russian, indicating the phone was in recovery mode.

Restored in iTunes figuring I'd just do whatever the latest jailbreak / unlock thing is, only to find that the frigging power button doesn't work so I can't get the phone into DFU mode to unlock it.

I remember an older version of WinPwn (?) would try to put the phone into DFU mode automagically, only prompting you to do the 'hold power + home' thing if it failed. Does anything like this exist for what I assume is now a 3.0 phone?

I want to break free.

ignignokt — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:49:50 -0800

I need advice on unlocking my first-generation iPhone and getting a cheap T-Mobile plan. I'm hoping to lower my costs. Although I love the device itself, I think $75 a month is way too much to be paying for service, especially since I talk about an hour a month on the phone.

However, I'd like to have some details about this process. Specifically, I'm wondering:

0. If you've done this successfully, which process did you follow and which tool did you use, redsn0w or pwnage?
1. Is data service noticeably worse on T-Mobile than it is on EDGE? Does Google Maps work OK?
2. Does cell phone tower triangulation still work? Are any other apps affected?
3. Do you have to tell T-Mobile that you're using some other kind of phone with their service?
4. Which T-Mobile plan do you recommend?

Any other tips and advice would be welcome as well.

An iPhone 3G unlock around the corner for current firmware?

letitrain — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:54:07 -0800

I bought an almost new iPhone 3G to unlock to use on T-Mobile. It has the latest modem firmware (2.30.03) and bootloader, so (I believe) there is not currently an unlock available. My question: has there been any indication from the iPhone Dev Team that an unlock is forthcoming for recently sold iPhones with current firmware versions? If I understand the situation correctly, the yellowsn0w unlock only works for 3G iPhones with modem and bootloader firmware from the Fall of 2008 and older. If there have been indications of an unlock forthcoming for the latest firmwares, I'd like to hang on to the iPhone. If not, I'd probably be better off selling it on eBay.

Please do not lecture me on the legality or morality of unlocking or jailbreaking my iPhone. Thank you!

Is it safe to restore an iPhone unlocked with AnySIM?

doomtop — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:24:02 -0800

Is it safe to restore an iPhone unlocked with AnySIM? I have an original iPhone. It is jailbroken and running 1.1.1 firmware. AnySIM was used to unlock the phone. However, I don't know exactly which version of AnySIM was used.

I want to restore the phone to factory defaults and start fresh. Ultimately I hope to upgrade it to the latest firmware available.

Is it safe to do a restore through iTunes? I have heard there could possibly be issues with this due to the unlock using AnySIM. Could a restore brick the phone?

If it matters which version of AnySIM was used, is there any way to figure that out? The AnySIM app is no longer installed.

Any insight here is appreciated. Also, once I get it fully restored, I plan to upgrade and would also be interested in info on the current tools available for upgrading/jailbreaking/unlocking/etc.

Thanks!

Starting over with a new laptop, how best to stay organized?

pseudostrabismus — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:50:58 -0800

I'd like to know the best way to move a selected group of files & applications to a new laptop, and advice to help ensure that my new Mac doesn't get bunged up with duplicate & improperly deleted files like my old one did, with its inexplicably full hard drive and crammed iTunes & iPhoto folders. This is rather lengthy, geared to the slightly moronic layperson (me), and has 6 sub-questions inside. My old laptop quickly filled up & slowed down. I tried to back up & delete unused files, but later I'd find the same files still tucked away on the machine, not deleted after all. Also, when I first imported files from my old PC to my then-new G4, for some reason a lot of files showed up as "locked" on the new computer. Many of them (just word docs & jpegs, nothing important or complex) were nested into folders (from how I'd organized my old computer)- and try as I might, I could never get them all unlocked to delete them. It was such a pain in the butt.

So I have a new laptop now (thank you, Santa!), and I want to avoid all the problems from last time. Hence, I have some questions. And as you will soon discover, I'm not particularly computer-savvy. Plus I'm inexplicably intimidated by computer jargon. So simple explanations would be really appreciated here!

The potentially-relevant stats:
The old one is a 12" PowerBook G4, purchased in 2005, running OSX 10.4.11
The new one is a 2008 MacBook (aluminum body & glass screen) running OSX 10.5.5
I have a 1GB USB memory stick and a 500GB external firewire drive.

Okay, so here are some really obvious questions:

1. What's the best way to transfer many selected files from my old box to the new one?
I don't want all the files from the old machine- just the ones I'm currently using. And I particularly need to avoid accidentally moving copies of locked files to the new machine- which is tricky as they're all nested deep into folders and I can't find them all. In fact,

2. How do I ensure that I never again have any "locked" files on the new machine?!
Is there a default for this? I don't even know how they all got locked in the first place, and although I know you can select specific files & folders, then hit "Get Info" and select "Unlock", my files are nested deep into various folders, and that command doesn't unlock individual locked files nested in folders- believe me, I've tried!
And I can't just delete the locked files, either- that leaves the originals locked where they were AND adds locked & therefore undeletable duplicate files to the Trash, thereby doubling the number of locked files, aargh. I don't want to go all the way to the end of each tentacle and unlock the files one by one- there are hundreds.
Is there an easier, blanket way to unlock them all?

3. How do I transfer programs I downloaded from the web?
VisualHub is the main one I'm concerned about since it's discontinued.
But I'd also like to keep my paid copies of Net News Wire, VLC, Transmit, and Minuteur.
Also, I acquired a few other programs from friends (Final Draft, Photoshop). Is there an easy way to move those over, too?

4. How to transfer drafts of iWeb pages?

5. When I get going on the new computer, how best to keep the files streamlined on that machine?
I noticed that I was losing a lot of disk space to:
a) duplicate, "locked" files, as above
b) extra copies of photos & videos I downloaded from my digital camera- they all went into iPhoto, which was fine, but then there seemed to be other copies (?) floating around in the "Pictures" folder, and in other places.
c) iTunes songs. In the past, I would try to delete them in iTunes by selecting & dragging to trash or hitting delete, (like I used to on Windows Music). And then, after "deleting" them, I'd be annoyed to note that I didn't free up any disk space... because the files were still sitting in my Music folder. Obviously my limited PC skillz didn't transfer really well.

6. Is there an easy web tutorial that shows how you're supposed to manage iTunes?

Oh these are such dumb questions. I'm embarassed. Sorry, smart computer people. This is seriously not my forte. If you ever need help with something I'm good at, like public speaking or feng shui or crossing your eyes or something, I promise to be soooo nice when I help you! THANK YOU.

Questions about dealing with my 1st gen iPhone (1.14)

Manhasset — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:49:04 -0800

Should I upgrade my first gen jailbroken iPhone? Or can I re-jailbreak it to a later firmware? And which apps would you recommend I try out? I'm using a first gen iPhone in Canada which has been unlocked and jailbroken to 1.14.

At the moment, I really only use the iPod and phone aspects because I could not afford a data plan so I was never concerned about running other apps. However, now I can afford a data plan but I can't install anything as the firmware is at 2.2 and I'm way behind.

So... is there a way to get my first gen phone to 2.2 without bricking it? And, if so, will there then be any diff between it and the newer phones? Once it's upgraded, will I be able to run any apps on it or are there 3g only ones? Which apps would you recommend?

I'm on a Mac if that makes any diff with the jailbreaking options. Mine was unlocked with iLiberty but they don't seem to be around anymore or don't seem to have 2.2 upgrade.

iPhone 3G unlocking for any sim card problems.

spinko — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:35:12 -0800

iPhone 3G unlocking for any sim card problems. I have successfully jailbroken my iPhone 3G. Can install apps, its just I cannot use the iphone as a phone.

Is there any fixes or updates that can unlock a 3G iphone to work with any simcard. Or do I need to wait until it is released.

I successfully unlocked m 2G phone no problems, its just the 3 version.

iPhone 3G on a different country's official SIM card?

DoctorFedora — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:52:03 -0800

Can I use a non-unlocked iPhone (3G if it matters) with another country's official carrier's SIM card? I have a Japanese iPhone 3G through SoftBank, and in the unlikely circumstance that there's no clear unlock available when I leave Japan and either go back to the US or wherever else, is it possible to use it with another country's SIM cards for the official carrier?

Basically, the long and short of it is whether I could, say, take the SoftBank SIM card out and replace it with an AT&T SIM card, or, perhaps, whether I could put it into recovery mode and get it into some sort of factory-restore mode where I can use it with the official carrier of a different country.

I haven't seen this addressed anywhere, so I'm curious about this, because in theory it shouldn't entail an unlock.

Help free me from a telco dictatorship, so to speak.

Chamunks — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:41:35 -0800

Rogers Mobile Locked my Blackberry Pearl and Threw away the key, what are some ways for me to unlock my phone. Links and direct solutions are more than welcome I can provide my IMEP key if anyone knows someone with a calculator but thats the only way i can find online and i know there are other, better ways to do this. I recently switched to Fido I know its owned by rogers but they have a better plan for incoming calls which i receive rather frequently more so than i make outgoing calls. They gave me this crummy phone that after using it for a short period of time wish to do some mean things to the people who designed it. Please help me get back to using my blackberry, they dont call em crackberry's fer nothin'.

Set Me Free.

PFL — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:07:50 -0800

I want to unlock my Blackberry Curve. Any free solutions? How do sellers come up with these unlock codes anyway? I have unlocked phones before by paying a website ~$20 for a code. I know there is free software you can download that will provide unlock codes, but I don't know how reliable these are and I haven't been able to find one that unlocks Blackberrys.

Is there software out there that can do this? If not, how can I find out the unlock codes myself? Are there any tutorials out there? I haven't been able to find anything on Google aside from people selling the codes.

How do I unlock my radio?

C17H19NO3 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:45:50 -0800

Does anybody know how to "unlock" a Kenwood TK-372G radio? My employer uses Kenwood Tk-372G portable radios. A couple of the units, when trying to change channels (or actually doing anthing other than turn the thing on/off), displays "-LOCKED-". This is bad because I need to use the other channels.

I can't find the manuals for these things anywhere in our office, and can't find anything on the internet.

Is My Phone Company Trying to Crimp my Style?

foxy_hedgehog — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:50:09 -0800

Is my cell phone company lying about unlocking and SIM-carding while abroad? I'm going to be in Europe for three months. Since I didn't want to rack up a bloated bill of roaming charges, I thought I'd unlock my phone (a Blackberry Pearl) and pop in a new SIM card with minutes from a European provider.

However, my cell phone provider (AT and T) told me that if I suspend my plan during this period (for which they will charge me $10/month) the minute I put in a new SIM card and try to make a call or send an SMS, AT and T will know that I am using my phone and will immediately switch me back to my usual plan- and charge me for it- even if I am not using their bandwidth and not using my plan's minutes.

If I unlock the phone and put in a new SIM card, how would AT and T know that I am using the phone? Are they lying in order to make me feel obligated to stick to my plan and pay roaming charges?

If I just need to suck it up and rent a phone while in Europe, that's fine. I just want to make sure AT and T isn't trying to pull a fast one.

How do I fix my VW golf stereo?

ethel — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:28:04 -0800

How to unlock my VW golf car stereo? I have a 1994 VW golf III gl, and the battery was disconnected (my car alarm was going off because my door was a bit ajar on a busy street and a neighbor disconnected it to save his/her sanity).

When I tried to turn on my stereo after the battery was reconnected, there is nothing in the field that usually says the station - and when the battery is reconnected after being disconnected, it normally says "SAFE" to keep the radio from being used (by someone without the code to turn it back on). I have the code that I am supposed to input, I just can't seem to get to the "SAFE" display where there is usually a procedure to input that code (which I, uh, also can't remember).

So, my question - why is there no SAFE mode displayed? Is the battery not connecting to my stereo somehow? Am I screwed because of this? And is there another procedure to get my car stereo to work?

thanks all!

p.s. If there's a "car repair" or VW forum you recommend, where I can pose the same question, would appreciate that too..

How do I unbrand an unlocked phone?

penciltopper — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:37:46 -0800

Unlocked phone, but I want to "unbrand" it. How? So I've got an unlocked Motorola MOTORIZR Z3, which I want to use with AT&T.
It was originally a T-Mobile phone, and I think they're the only ones in the US who carry it.

It works with an AT&T SIM to make calls, and I've found instructions on setting up messaging/browser connections that look like I can follow them (knock wood) to get it working on AT&T's network.

But it still has all the T-Mobile, t-zones, etc branding & firmware all over the menus, etc.

But I'd like to get rid of all that branding. How?

I've spent hours trying to decipher posts on MotoModders, etc, but it's all alien language.

Can anyone point me at:

1) a guide to acquiring and installing generic or custom firmware/OS, that a reasonably clever layperson could follow?

2) someone who would do it for me? I'm in San Francisco, CA, USA.

Need cell phone advice for a trip to russia.

the ghost of Ken Lay — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:55:21 -0800

Need cell phone advice for a trip to russia. My gf is going to Russia on a business trip and her company is not springing for a cell phone. Ive set up Skype for her but she could really use a cell phone. As luck would have it I have an old t-mobile 7290 blackberry laying around which is quad-band and GSM, but I'm not a t-mobile customer and the phone has been long deactivated.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but can't I just use this in Russia? Supposedly you can just guy a SIM card there and slip it in. I also understand that the phone is most likely locked to t-mobile. I called them and they told me that I need to get it unlocked and I should contact RIM. Ive also seen a lot of third party websites offering to sell me unlock codes. Are these trustworthy? Is RIM cheap? Can I unlock it for free somehow?

Is this plan too crazy? Is it just easier to buy a disposable phone there? I'm not familiar with the region. Thanks.

Difficulty: She's leaving on Saturday morning.

How do I unlock a downloaded podcast?

kristymcj — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:01:01 -0800

How do I unlock a downloaded podcast? I was interviewed on my local NPR station and I'd like to send my spot to my ma without the preceding story. I uploaded it with Orbit and opened it in Audacity but it's not letting me allowed to edit it. Any idea how to unlock it?

Last Minute Phone Unlock

philad — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:54:01 -0800

How to unlock a C120 Pantech Phone on AT&T? I've left this to the last minute. I'm going to Merida, MX. tomorrow and AT&T won't unlock my phone. I've only had the phone for a month and AT&T says I need to have my account open for 90 days before they give me an unlock code and then it'll take 2 weeks. Things I've read elsewhere indicate this is not true - I've spent 90 minutes on the phone with AT&T and haven't made any progress. The phone is a pre-paid "Go Phone". Come on Big Green - I'm counting on you! I hate to waste an AskMefi question on such a mundane topic, but any help would be appreciated! Gracias! Piggyback - What to do in Merida?

How to sell cell phone on ebay

Moistener — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:40:18 -0800

I no longer need my near-new Motorola SLVR L7C from Cricket. I want to sell it on ebay, but what should(n't) I do to maximize the resale value? Should I unlock the phone via unlockitnow.com? If I do, how do I write my ebay listing? (Will it work on any CDMA network? Or will it only work on Cricket? Which are the CDMA networks?)

I'm looking for a little hand-holding here. I just want to sell this phone without pissing a) away my cash or b) off whomever buys it.

(whimpering thanks)

A Garmin newbie question about Mapsource unlock codes

flyby22 — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:12:44 -0800

I just purchased a Garmin 370. It came with two Mapsource unlock codes. My question is how do I use these codes? The device did not come with any media containing the PC version of their mapsource software. Are these only good after I purchase additional mapping software from them ?

Free My DVD

ninazer0 — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:31:29 -0800

I've had it with my Sony Vaio! Is it possible to unlock the DVD drive so that it will play any region? I want to unlock the DVD drive on my Sony Vaio. When I purchase or rent DVD's that work perfectly well on my standard DVD player, quite a few won't work on my laptop because of "region issues" - even when it is in fact the correct region. I can only assume that this is a glitch in the (unsupported) driver. Great one Sony - another fabulous effort.

According to my device manager, the drive is listing as a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242C. Searching on this brings up masses and masses of useless sites OR adverts for suspicious-sounding "unlock secrets".

Can it be done? If so, how hard is it? How dangerous? Frankly, I'm so sick of the POS machine and Sony's complete lack of support that I wouldn't be too upset it the whole machine melted into a flowing puddle of slag.

Unlocking a cell phone that doesn't allow buttons to be pressed?

Manhasset — Sun, 06 May 2007 17:31:21 -0800

I have a locked Motorola phone that I bought while on vacation 'cause I liked the phone and it was cheap. Now that I'm no longer in Mexico, I'd like to continue using the phone. I bought an unlock code based on the IMEI and was told to punch it in with a SIM from a company that the phone isn't locked to. However, whenever I put a SIM in from another company, the display reads "No Sim" and doesn't allow me to press any buttons. Any suggestions? I've talked to a few unlocking companies and they all told me the same thing--that I punch the number in with a foreign SIM. (I tried it with the native SIM as well but nothing happens.)

How do I remove the simlock of a siemens c55 phone given that I have the unlock code?

fvw — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:35:32 -0800

I have a siemens C55 telephone that is simlocked. I've also gotten the unlock code off my provider a while back. The problem is I either didn't receive or have lost the unlock instructions, i.e. what exactly I need to type into the phone along with the unlock code, and whether this should be with the original sim card, a new sim card or no sim card at all loaded. I know I can unlock it without the code if I have a data cable, but I don't have a data cable and they'd probably cost more than the entire phone is worth. Googling is made difficult by the millions of sites offering to unlock phones for low low prices.

Help me build a relay & timer electronics project please.

odinsdream — Sun, 14 May 2006 16:15:24 -0800

I'd like to trigger a relay that momentarily closes a switch based on the voltage of another wire. Maybe. I think. Please help me with this basic (I hope) electronics project. Volkswagens with a hatchback have a "safety" feature that requires the flip of a switch in the driver's door before the latch on the hatch will function. The doors must also be unlocked.

I'd like to automate this process by tapping in to the wire that signals whether the Unlock button on the remote has been pressed. When this wire signals that I've pressed the button, I'd like a relay to close the hatch switch momentarily. So, this would be the same thing as me physically unlocking the car, opening the door, and pulling the little switch.

It might be necessary to delay the relay with some kind of timer - thus the switch would be thrown a few seconds after the unlock button gets pressed.

I have this controller, which already listens to the Unlock wire to accomplish its function. I have access to +12V, if that's necessary.

How do I go about building such a device?