O2 locked my UNLOCKED iPhone which I purchased by myself in apple store

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I still cannot believe but O2 locked my UNLOCKED iPhone which I purchased by myself in apple store. 

Story looks like that: I had Pay as You go sim card which I used with my lenovo phone for months, recently I bought iPhone SE and inserted this old O2 card to it. One week ago, I decided to move from O2 to EE and I realized that O2 locked my phone to their network and now they ask to pay 15£ for unlocking.

I cannot understand how it is possible in XXI century, for me it is like a scam and I feel like a hostile. I have never had any contract with O2 and I have never bought any phone from O2.

I have confirmed in apple that I purchased from their store unlocked device and it was locked by O2.

How it can be accepted by other customers? I travel quite often and I`m going to use different sim card so how any network can lock my phone?

I made official claim but it will take several days at least to sort it out and within this time I cannot use my phone.

I`m trapped

[MI5]

Only phones sold with specific firmware will lock to first sim.
Sounds like Apple sold you a pup.

What message do you get when you put EE sim in it and have you connected to iTunes with the EE sim in the phone?

[Anonymous]

apple confirmed that this was fully unlocked so what i can do?

from my side it looks like O2 locked my unlocked phone and now wants to charge me for unlocking it 

they did an action so they are responsible for it

[jonsie · Accepted solution]

Usually only phones bought through a third party lock to the first sim inserted in which case you have to contact the network.

However if you bought direct from Apple as unlocked sim free then you need to take it up with Apple presuming you still have the receipt. If not then it looks like you have to pay the unlock fee. 

To be honest, whilst it's the principle involved and I do understand that, it will be a lot easier to just pay the £15 and then try to claim the money from either Apple or O2. 

[MI5]

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@Anonymous wrote:

apple confirmed that this was fully unlocked so what i can do?

from my side it looks like O2 locked my unlocked phone and now wants to charge me for unlocking it 

they did an action so they are responsible for it

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Apple know full well that their phones cannot possibly lock to a network, so if they have confirmed it's locked, they need to fix it.

[jonsie]

Just to add, O2 would have been unaware your phone locked to the sim. As said, specific firmware locks to a network. 

[Anonymous]

Off course it is about principles not 15£, I doubt I`m the only one who needs to pay it. I believe they (apple or o2) now that it is hassle to fight for it but if paid for unlocked phone I want this phone to remain unlocked all the time.

[Anonymous]

I spoke with apple and they claim that this phone was sold as unlocked and not as a phone to be locked to the first network. Basically smb lies

[MI5]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I spoke with apple and they claim that this phone was sold as unlocked and not as a phone to be locked to the first network. Basically smb lies

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So how do you think this is O2 that has locked it then?

Did you try iTunes as I asked originally?

[Anonymous]

yes msg is the same in itunes and on the phone:

"The sim card that you currently have installed in this phone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server…Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier."

I don`t mean that smb personally locked my phone, but I mean that sth went wrong. As only O2 can unlock it, they need to clarify and prove that they had rights to do it and charge me 15£.