Help Removing SIM lock from Desire S

[sjaisie]

I have a Desire S that is SIM locked to Vodafone. I want to unlock the phone so it will take any network SIM.

Is this easy enough to do myself, or do I need to pay the

 

[El Presidente]

Look on eBay, when I wanted to unlock my One X, Orange were going to charge a fortune, the mobile repair shop in town even more. I ended up using eBay (these guys: eBay My World - rst-gsm) and it only cost

 

[sjaisie]

Many thanks for the tip.
I have ordered some Orange PAYG sim cards so when they arrive I will make sure it asks me for the unlock code. If it does then I will order a code from the site you recommended!

Cheers

 

[sjaisie]

I now have an Orange PAYG sim which I have put in the phone but it is not asking for an unlock code, it just shows no service on the signal bars at the top of the screen.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

 

[El Presidente]

Did you replace the SIM with the handset still on? Try rebooting with the Orange SIM in the phone.

 

[sjaisie]

Yes I completely shut the phone down before replacing the sim card.

 

[El Presidente]

Not sure then, sorry. I've unlocked a couple of devices and that's what worked for me.

Do the SIMs work in another phone? Do they need to be activated?

 

[sjaisie]

I think they may need activating so will try it in the wifes Orange phone and see if it activates.

In the instructions to the Orange sim it does say they when the card is first put in the phone I will receive a text with the phone number, but obviously this cant be done when the phone is locked to Vodafone.

Will keep you updated!

 

[El Presidente]

Please do, thanks!

 

[sjaisie]

It appears that the instructions included in the Orange SIM pack are wrong as they say when you insert the card for the first time you get text the number, which does not happen.

I went on the Orange website and activated the SIM, put it in the phone and it works.

So it would appear the handset I got direct from Vodafone is already unlocked as it takes both the Vodafone contract and Orange PAYG SIMs.

Thanks