Hi All,
Some of you know me here from Cix, and if so, you know I have tried the odd mobile or two over the years 😊
I just got a White E71 (my second, I sold the first) and had the most amazing luck, so I thought I would tell you all about it.
I wanted White as I find the keyboard much cleaner to read, I am 47 and diabetic, so my eyesight ain't improving any time soon.
You can buy em SIM Free, but they always seem to cost more than the Grey, and they are much harder to find.
I went into Town to find a SIM Free E71, and was looking to pay �299, roughly the same as most online stores.
You would not know there is a recession on in Ipswich, as none of the shops wanted my money, they did not have any in stock.
So, the local 3 store got my money, locked to 3 of course, but only �229 on PAYG. They also have the grey one for the same price BTW.
Got it home, and fired it up, all fine, I have a 3 SIM which is from a Modem Stick, which I got when 3 were doing the 5GB for �7.50 offer and calls and texts are quite cheap, only 12p each or per min, so I thought I would just use that.
I was actually able to divert all my calls and SMS messages using my old E65 and a great program from Wireless Labs (I think) called SMS Forwarder, so the setup was quite painless really, although it was bugging me that my O2 contract was sitting there with 600 mins, 500 text and truly unlimited 3G data and wireless browsing on it not being used.
One of the first thing I did was to change the Product Code using NSS and upgrade the firmware to 110, and of course, that debranded the handset, white to be fair to 3, was not heavy.
There are NO actual logo's or anything on the handset by the way.
Anyway, last night I thought I would just try to call 3 and ask for an unlock code, without any real hope to be honest, after all, the SIM card was still sealed, and it was a long shot.
Of course, I got India, and the lady asked me the details, IMEI number etc, and she said she can provide the unlock for �15 as long as the phone was registered to me, which she was looking up!!
Luckily, the 3 registration for a PAYG phone is quite quick, and I was able to get it all done before she managed to get through to the other department for the unlock, and to my amazement she came back and said "the phone is registered to you, I can go ahead and transfer you to the unlock team"
Next, I was put through to another chap, again very nice, and after a warning the all things might now work on another network (as if) and that I would still get a 3 splash screen on every start up (oh no I won't but I agreed anyway 😊, I paid the nice man �15 on my debit card, and he gave me a code.
He then provided a link via SMS to the unlock instructions, which it turns out are the same as ever, enter a +PW then the code etc.
It WORKED, I now have it setup on O2 perfectly, and all for just �244!!
Kev