Grandad's photos

This is the saga of a Nokia E71 that I bought in eBay on 21st June 2011 from a seller in Perth. I had no messages from him until 27th June, then again on July 8th when he said he had sent it via my daughter in Bendigo. It arrived loose in a box on July 8th, with a charger and no padding. She tested it turned on, removed the battery because Australia Post will only send phone batteries by road, repacked it and airmailed it to me in NZ.

The E71 comes in 4 flavours, E71-1, E71-2, E71-3 and E71x for the US market. Each one has slightly different 3G frequencies. E71-1 and E71-3 work in NZ.

When it arrived, I found it would not accept any SIM card as it was locked to Three Hutchinson network, Australia. On 17th July I sent the following via eBay:

Hi Corey,
I have the phone in NZ now, but it won't run my SIM card because it is locked the Three network. I have tried mobiunlockers.com but they say they can't unlock it. Three should give you the unlock code free, can you please contact them? Phone model is E71-3 (RM-407). IMEI code is 35682002091xxxx

He replied:

No problem Doug, I am sorry I didn't know it was locked, I will call the phone company ASAP
Sent from my iPhone

Nothing happened until 24th July when I tried to get the unlock code myself from three.com.au and received this stock answer.

Hi Sir/Madam,

It looks like you're asking about mobile locking. All mobiles sold by 3 are locked to our network. Simply put, this means you can’t use a SIM from another company in your mobile.

Some of these mobiles that can be unlocked, this information can be found on our website (www.three.com.au) or by simply calling us on 13 33 20 (or 13 19 21 if you're a 3 Prepaid customer). When you call us, we can supply you with an unlock code to release your handset.

These codes are provided free of charge for all 3 postpaid customers. (If you receive a bill, you're a postpaid customer).

If you are a 3 Prepaid customer and wish to unlock your handset within the first 12 months of joining 3, a $199.00 fee applies.

If your mobile is permanently locked (and some are) then we won’t have an unlock code available. These mobiles can only be used on 3 Australia.

If you have any further questions, or would like to enquire about having your mobile unlocked, call us on 13 33 20 (or 13 19 21 if you're a 3 Prepaid customer). To enable us to handle your enquiry you'll need the following information when you call:

3 mobile number, 3 account PIN, mobile type and IMEI.

You can find your IMEI on the back of the handset under the battery or by entering *#06# into your mobile from the default screen. Write this down, as customer care will ask for it before giving you the unlock code.

If the above information didn't answer your enquiry, if you require more information or if you'd like me to pass your enquiry on to a live agent. Please send an email to customercare@three.com.au or call 3 Care on 13 33 20.

Regards
3 Care

I had another attempt on July 25th, asked them to call Corey and get his approval to release the code, and received this reply:

Dear Doug,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding your 3 service.

We attempted to contact Corey 0425 892xxx, but not able to get him on the phone.

Doug, we would request you to contact him and ask him to give us a call at 133320 to get the unlocking code and the procedure. We will not be able to provide this information without his consent.

If we can assist you further, please contact us again via email or call 3 Care on 133320

When replying to this email, please ensure you include your 3 mobile number and four-digit account PIN.

Regards,
Yeshu,
3 Care
www.three.com.au
It's good to be 3.

I then bought one of these SIM unlockers for $7 off TradeMe and tried it.



It did get past the first simlock and gave menus, but even though it displayed all three services as available (2 Degrees, Vodafone, Telecom) it would not connect.

I continue to text and email Corey to call the 3-Care free number and get my unlock code, but no response.

I contacted several phone unlockers. They can plug in a cable and run software that unlocks the phone.

Omni Tech say: If its on high security then it will take 2-3 days otherwise it can be done with in an hour. Price could vary from $60-$100.

UnlockIt in Papakura say: We can unlock your Nokia E71 for $65 (incl GST) - This process will permanently remove the network/sim lock; allowing your phone to be used here in New Zealand and anywhere else in the world.
Please note approximately 1% of this model that were manufactured have the new SL3 security and a different procedure is needed to unlock the phone. If this has the new security unlocking can take around 2-5 days to unlock and will cost $119.95 - If it does have the new security we can let you know, and you can choose weather or not you want to go ahead with the unlocking.

Giga Computers say they can't unlock it.

MobiUnlockers.com took my money $AU 5.99 and said "Sorry I have been unable to generate the correct unlock code for your mobile. There are so many mobile out there sometimes the firmware on certain versions mean I can't generate the code." They refunded it.

The saga continues, 6 weeks gone by ......

2 August. Now I have 3 quotes from firms that say they can unlock the E71-3, or no charge. $57.50, $60 and $80. And I have raised a dispute with paypal to try and force Corey to supply the free unlock code.

3 August. Yay, he sent me the unlock code and it works!.