Rogers and phone unlocking
People who live outside North America are shocked that we are shackled to our mobile service provider since phones bought through them are locked to that provider. Roaming charges with most providers are prohibitively expensive, and I’d really like to just get a local pay-as-you-go SIM card when I’m travelling so that I can use the phone cost effectively.
There’s all sorts of ways to get your phone unlocked (like those kiosks in the shopping malls), before my recent trip to Europe, I thought that I’d try the legal way: by asking Rogers to do it for me. Here’s what they said:
In your recent email, you have informed us that you would like to have your Blackberry unlocked for international use.
Unfortunately we are unable to unlock Rogers Wireless phones at any cost. If you try to unlock your phone through a third party your warranty will be voided and there is no guarantee the phone will work thereafter. Rogers offers roaming while outside of Canada to all of their wireless customers who have a compatible GSM phone with either or both the frequencies of 900/1800MHz (850/1900MHZ while within North America). You may review the charges associated with your account while roaming at www.rogers.com/roaming.
We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and thank you for choosing Rogers.
“Your warranty will be voided?” “There is no guarantee the phone will work thereafter?” As far as I know, they phone unlocking procedure consists of entering an unlock code using a standard option in my Blackberry; how could this possibly render my warranty void or my phone unworkable? Is this just another telco scam to make as much money as possible off me?
39 Comments
[...] Rogers, you have to love them (or not). I use their Blackberry service (voice and data), which has good service but I find incredibly expensive when travelling: there doesn’t seem to be a good way to add US roaming onto my voice+data plan, and let’s not even talk about international. [...]
Hi guys, just to let you know the main point of actually loosing your warranty;
1) If you use a HARD UNLOCKING service that requires a TESTPOINT or other method of unlocking your phone via a CABLE – this will void you warranty.
2) Remote Unlock with the proper SUBSIDY CODE from Rogers / Fido will not void your warranty if it’s purchased from an AUTHORIZED reseller, ie http://cellulargsm.net or http://horizonwirelessonline.com
thanks
Thanks for the tip, I’ll keep that in mind. Of course, my Blackberry is now 3 years old so I’m having upgrade feelings…
Don’t bother trying to get Rogers to release the unlocking code to you.. They’ll give you the run-around. And even if you agree to pay the $250 charge that they want, you’ll never get it.
Before my recent trip to europe, i found this website based in Vancouver that was offering remote unlocking codes for my Blackberry Curve. The cost was $25, and I got my code delivered the same day. If you plan to stay in europe for more than 1 week, unlocking your phone would be the smart thing to do. I bought a sim card for 15 euros and it lasted me the whole trip. my friend who was travelling with me didn’t unlock her phone, she kept the Rogers card and came home to a surprise of $300 in wireless roaming chargers.
i highly recommend this place to get your phone unlocked: http://www.mobile-to-go.com
They are saying that only to protect them self. You can pontentially damage your phone, if you do not get it professionally done. Basically if you take it somewhere else and they damage your phone, Rogers will not come and fix it for you. That is why I would suggest using only professional unlock solutions, like http://www.globalunlock.com
The only way to get your phone unlocked without voiding the warranty is by subsidy code. If you were to call Rogers or Fido and ask them to unlock your phone they would charge you $250+ and would give you the same code unlockers do. There are alot of websites out there selling unlock codes, but if you need a professional unlocking website with fast turnaround time I would suggest http://www.cellunlock.net
Wow David, you don’t happen to work for that unlocking company, do you?
I’ve tried about 5 companies to unlock phones
My 2 favorite were
Cellphoneunlockingonline.com – Unlocked Blackberry Storm
Cellunlcoker.net – Unlocked my BB B0LD
http://www.cellunlocker.net and http://www.cellphoneunlock.net are the two sites that are good and fast
ya,
I’ve bought a code from http://www.cellphoneunlockingonline.com too.
very useful service
I had my rogers blackberry bold unlocked at http://www.cellunlocker.net for 15 dollars and in 30 minutes they sent the code and instructions to my email address, thanks guys, hope this helps.
I bought my unlocking code from http://horizonwirelessonline.com , i used a discount code ECONOMY – and paid $7.50cad to unlock my Bold.
thanks
I used http://unlock.mobileincanada.com and i received the unlock code in only 3 hours(overnight) and followed the instructions on the tracking page (yeah, they have a tracking page!). It worked like a charm! Now I will be able to use my phone in Europe without incurring roaming charges.
Hi “alex” – considering that your email address is from mobileincanada, I assume that you work there or are a paid shill in some way. I don’t mind if vendor of phone unlocking add comments about their services here, but don’t assume that you have to hide your identity by posting a fake testimonial.
I purchased my code through here…http://www.cellfservices.com
I heard about them through Blackberry Cool and had no problems. Turnaround said 0-48 hours for my Verizon Tour but got it back in less than an hour. Maybe a lucky time? Regardless, they were professional and quick. Can’t complain.
I used unlock.mobileincanada.com as well and it worked perfectly! Codes were delivered to my inbox within 30 minutes and my phone unlocked right away!
ps: I don’t work for mobileincanada or any other tech company
Hi, i saw the top post here for cellulargsm.net – i went to it – but it sent me to http://www.worldunlocknet.com – WOW!
I ordered the samsung HYPE code at 816am, and i got my code at 822am – 6 minutes!
I think those guys are the top level of this industry.
I looked at all the sites mentioned here, and these guys have the lowest price and VERY Ultra Fast service.
Thanks You Sandy this is a good page
i just a tough call with Rogers, and those bastards think that they are kings, i had my Nokia E62 over after three years contract and requested them to give me an unlock code, or show me the black/white fine print on their document where it says they cannot, and they does not have any answer.
It is very logical to assume that after the contract is over they simply cannot have any control over that phone and had to relinquish it to back to client.. another big scam
http://www.cellunlocker.net unlocked my blackberry instantly,
I use that site for all my unlocking.
how much unlocking are you doing, is this a weekly event for you? just curious
For unlock any network go to http://www.mobile-unlock.net
It’s solutions
Does anyone know:
1. If I buy a phone from Rogers and unlock it so I can use it outside Canada, can I still uses it in Canada with Rogers once it is unlocked??
2. Or if I buy another third party phone already unlocked, use it outside Canada, can I insert my Rogers phone sim card in it and use it inside Canada on my Rogers network??
3. The Chinese clones smart phones offer very attractive prices , but are they getting better, worse, a complete waste, or worth a look??
Answers to #1 and #2: if a phone is unlocked, that means that you can use any SIM card in it. So the answers are yes and yes. As for #3, I have no idea, although possibly someone else does.
I think that most of the people posting comments on this post are companies that offer phone unlocking (or affiliates); I’ve let that continue even though it’s a bit spammy since this post gets a lot of traffic from what appear to be real people looking for ways to unlock their phones, too.
http://www.cellunlocker.net
I have found that cellunlocker.net is the cheapest place to unlock cell phones. US$8 for a Blackberry and it worked as they said. However when I tried to get my Samsung x507 unlocked the code didin’t work. I found a site which said that I could do it for free and it worked. I asked Cellunlock.net for a refund and they refused. I phoned my credit card company and they gave me a credit instantly. The agent indicated that Cellunlock.net are under investigation with respect to their business practises. So don’t know how much longer they will be able to take money via credit card. Probably pop up under another name I suppose.
My European unlocked (lock ran out after a year) triband cellphone with a European simcard (o2) does not work in Atlantic Canada where there is Rogers only covering the wireless areas. No calls incoming or outgoing are possible. Only text messages come through.
In a landline call, Rogers claimed my cellphone itself is branded to a company which it is not. The o2 branded simcard itself has so far worked everywhere in the world, just not with Rogers. Rogers claims to have contracts with o2 for international wireless calls.
As this is a freshly and fully loaded prepaid card (valid one year), I wanted to use up the units on text messages within Atlantic Canada. Switching on the phone after a few months of it being switched off, I had to discover that all my prepaid units were gone. Rogers has sucked my prepaid money out of my cellphone. For what? Switching it on?
Tourists beware, do not buy a cellphone from Rogers nor a simcard (prepaid or not) by them, you will be scammed badly. Let the tourist board get knowledge of this, too.
I have one questions… How do these companies get the blackberry unlock codes in the first place (its not a calculating program by the way!)? There seems to be many new sites popping up every day so there must be some way to get the list.
http://www.cellphoneunlock.net is the #1 place to unlock your phone.
It is the most established and well known
I am pleasantly surprised. The service http://unlock.mobileincanada.com is fully automated. It is also fast and cheap (compared to others) – I would recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a phone unlocking service.
Hi there!
It’s easy to unlock your phone.I used this site http://networkunlocker.com and they unlocked my phone in seconds.
Hope this helps!
Cheers!
http://ww.cellunlocker.net I unlocked my rogers x10 pretty quickly, the lady on the chat was able to provide the unlock code right away
DO NOT use http://www.cellunlocker.net! They promise it will take no more than 2 hours and it takes 2 days…. no way of getting your money back (don’t count on paypal because ellunlocker.net write on their site “no money back”)
Cellunlocker.net is 100% Guaranteed or your money they have always been great to work with and provide good service. Not sure why you experienced this
Hi Sandy,
Need your help. I’ve been reading the posts regarding unlocking phones and there seems to be a lot of “spammers” promoting their own companies. Who can I trust? I have a Nokia 3710 with Telus that I would like to get unlocked. Can you recommend a legitimate company?
Thanks.
Hi Mike,
The blackberry that I had at the time that I wrote this article went to my husband, and he unlocked it with blackberryfreedom.com - not an option for your Nokia phone. Since then, I bought an iPhone (locked to Fido) and suffered with that for two years, but got by because of the availability of wifi in most of the hotels and conferences that I went to outside Canada, with the addition of the Skype app for calls over wifi. I’ve just bought my second iPhone, factory-unlocked from Apple, so that I don’t have to worry about unlocking again in the future.
Obviously, I can’t vouch for any of the companies (or spammy affiliates) that posted comments here – I approved most of them because I didn’t want to censor out any legit ones, and I wasn’t in a position to decide what was legit. Unfortunately, you’re on your own with this one.
Hi Sandy.
I understand. I’ll choose one and let you know how it went.
Thanks for your feedback.
Mike.
Hi Sandy,
It’s me again.
I decided to go with MobileInCanada and I’m happy to say that they were able to unlock my phone in a relatively short period of time. Great customer support too! I highly recommend them.
Just for the record, I wish to state that I do not work for them nor am I affiliated in any way. I’m just a satisfied customer.
Regards,
Mike R.
Thanks for the update!
I tried mobileincanada.com and it worked for me too. I unlocked my HTC Legend from Virgin Mobile. One thing they didn’t really mention is that you need another SIM card to do the unlocking. I used my wife’s SIM card. Basically, if you’re unlocking your phone so you can bring it on a trip (like I did), you’re better off unlocking it while you’re still in Canada so if the code doesn’t work it’s easier to do something about it. If you can’t borrow someone else’s SIM card, you can always buy one at 7-11 for like $10… or take your chances.
Hey guys!
We are http://unlockphonenetwork.com and we can help you unlock your phone.
Its a very simple process. All you have to do is to get the unlock code, punch it in and you are good to go.
Cheers!