Unlock my iPhone

[Mcfc4life]

I have an old IPhone 5 that is on O2 and have tried unlocking it for another network to give to my son. When I try unlocking it through myO2 I get an email stating my iPhone isn’t an O2 iPhone.
The phone hasn’t had a SIM card in for years but it is definitely O2.

[MI5]

@Mcfc4life 

You need an O2 sim in it to register it on the network, then follow this Guide: Unlocking an O2 phone to use a different SIM card 

edit for spelling

[O2Sophie]

Hi, Mcfc4life There is a possibility that you may have got the o2 phone through a company that uses the o2 network but is not on our database. Give o2 customer service a call on 0344 809 0202, and give them the IMEI so they can check it for you. Hope they can sort this out for you.

[MI5]

@Mcfc4life 

As in the guide, have you actually tried a different sim card?

Depending on where it was bought from, it may not even be locked.

[Mcfc4life]

I have tried different SIM cards and they don’t work, the only one that does is O2.
It was bought from O2 years ago but hasn’t been used in a while. I was told by O2 customer service to replace a O2 SIM card and keep it in for 24hrs then try again but I’ve had no luck with it.
I know it’s definitely locked and can’t understand why they make it so difficult to unlock them.

[O2Sophie]

Have you reset the phone and then put in the new sim? As in Settings -General - Reset - erase all contacts and settings. Then put in sim and set it up again. Did you get an email from o2 telling you the unlocking instructions?

[O2Sophie]

This is the process on the link https://www.o2.co.uk/help/phones-sims-and-devices/unlocking-an-o2-mobile-to-use-on-a-different-netwo...

[MI5]

@Mcfc4life 

You'll need to use an o2 sim in the phone a few days to register it on the system again. As explained in the link I gave you above.