Originally Posted by
allset2travel
While scrolling through this thread, I came across your old post. I have almost the exact requirement as you - needing a cell for Germany for short term use; have a Mot V180 quad-band phone with Cingular (have unlock code but not yet unlocked). I also received unlocking instructions which reads as follow:
1 Make sure the phone is fully charged.
2 Before you start you must have a foreign (non-T Mobile) sim card entered into the handset.
3 If the phone displays, "Please wait to enter special code" or "Contact service provider," you will have to wait for it to change back. Please be aware that the phone must stay powered on to do this. If the battery is low, be sure to plug it in.
4 It could take 15 minutes to an hour to change back. If the phone does not change back, the handset will need to be replaced.
5 If the display reads "Enter Special Code", enter the unlock code xxxxxxxx (an 8 digit number). Be extremely careful when entering the code. If enter wrong code 5 times, the phone will render useless.
6 And press "OK"
Since I want to unlock my phone now, but hesitate to do so after reading what you had to do (device driver download etc...) I wonder if I should go ahead with the instruction given above? or go your route? any input would be appreciated.
I have unlocked Mot Razr V3s both ways. The first time Cingular would not give me the unlock code so I paid $25. After further reading of this post I kept calling them (4 times!) to unlock a second phone. All they gave me was the code and the instructions to turn off the phone, remove the Cingular SIM, insert the Foreign SIM, turn on the phone and enter the code provided.
It was very simple, I had an old AT&T SIM that is inactive and the phone prompted me for the code and that was it. If you have a friend on T Mobile that SIM should work as well if you want to unlock in advance of your trip. After unlocking I just put my Cingular SIM back in and my phone worked. Later on I purchased an Orange SIM card later in Paris and the phone worked fine. Hard part was getting Cingular to give me the code.