A friend purchased a phone in Taiwan and now wants to use it here in Canada. We took it to a cell phone dealer who told us that they didn’t have the stuff to unlock this particular phone (Motorola v3688+), but that he’s heard of people finding unlock codes on the 'Net. I did a search using Google, but found any relevant site was offering to sell unlock services.
Are there such things as sites that give codes for unlocking phones? If so, where might I find said sites? I find it odd that the guy at the phone place mentioned not having the right hardware to unlock, but I might be able to find a code that can just be punched into the phone to unlock it. So, another question, do I actually need some magic box, or just a code? Thanks in advance!
The cell phone is ‘network locked’ onto the Taiwan cellular service provider. The Taiwan cellular service provider does this because it subsidises the cost of the handset in return for a lock in period with its cellular service. This is the reason you cannot use it with a sim card from another cellular service provider.
To release this lock, you need to contact the Taiwan cellular service provider and obtain a Network Unlock Code. When you type this code into the handset, it realeases the network lock and you can proceed to use any sim card with the handset. The catch is that this Network Unlock Code is usually released by the cellular service provider only on a hefty payment, which can sometimes be almost the cost of the handset itself.
The hardware method relies on reprogramming the EEPROM chip. Unlocking the phone through 3rd party measures is illegal. The reason why this thread is closed.
I cannot offer any further information on these boards, as that would be a violation of board rules.