I'm with o2 but want to change to Vodafone as the o2 price plans are shite (£8 to call a landline phone for 2 hours, when the same from Vodafone costs 35p), phoned up o2 to unlock my phone so I can use the Vodafone SIM card I have, but I have to be with them for a year and pay £15 to get the phone unlocked.

Is there any way I can get this done for a small charge or for free? I've seen a few websites after a google search, but don't know if they are to be trusted or not.

With the right equipment you could do it yourself. The process of unlocking is simply replacing a file in your phones ROM chip. I know someone who does it locally in Inverness and charges £15 per unlock. Look up your yellow pages for any mobile phone accessory shops. They usually do this.

I don't understand why networks lock phones. I mean, I paid for the bloody phone I should be able to use which ever SIM card I want without paying more.

The majority of people now have contracts, and the company will probably have given you a phone worth a couple of hundred pounds free of charge. Of course they don't want you using another companies services with their phone.

If you are still on PAYG you are either 12 or a gypo.

Either that or you don't have a job as you have just finished studying and can't afford to pay monthly bills.

Or don't use it enough to merit such a tie-up in a contract?

Right now I get 300 free texts and 1MB free download every time I top up £10 (with o2). That £10, because of this, can last me up to two months. Are you seriously saying that I'd be paying less than £60 per year for a contract service of the same nature?

I top up £15 a month and get unlimited calls and texts to o2 numbers, and most folk i know are on o2 anyways so its much cheaper than a contract

but how much did you pay for your phone???
the feckers get there cash on both types

Sorry, the 3rd catagory should be people with few friends.

Or who actually choose to SEE their friends instead of just contact them remotely?

Nope, I definitely meant people with few friends.

only cost me a tenner for some bloke in the dundee shopping forum to do it

Did he fix the phone after?

I've got a PAYG phone, purely for the fact I never use my mobile! I have too much to pay for every month such as rent, TV, internet etc... so I just use my house phone when I need to cal anyone. I also hate texting people, what a waste of fucking time.

For the OP, if you go to any shoddy market place, there will be a mobile phone accessory place that should do it for about a tenner.

your getting done, my mate tops up a tenner and gets 10,000 free texts for the same amount and 1000 minutes to phones!

I'm on a contract with Orange, 600 mins and unlimited texts for £35 a month (includes insurance and a free i-pod for buying with Orange)

I don't use that many texts, and I hardly ever make calls (I am one of these people who mischievously calls people and hangs up before they answer so they call back ).

Well you are rather sad.

haha, oh yes

Guy in the shop next to the Black Cat Greenock did my P990 in a day

It is possible to do most phones yourself but with some of the more modern and complex phones it can all be a bit hit and miss and also time consuming

As well as unlocking he can also add latest software etc.
I was with Orange and had this ridiculous Orange menu add on which was slowing down the phone - Unlocking and and update removed this - Latest software can also result in some nice new apps available to you if you are that interested.

Dont reckon it will cost much more than what O2 are looking for

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