Ditching Orange pay as you go

[Polremy]

Eventually we made it!! We now have Nrj at last.

Like many other posters, we rarely use our mobile phone, seeing as it is only for emergencies and we have been rather lucky in that department. Consequently, we always have credit left at the end of the three months (30 euro card) .We either use it or lose it.

Must have lost about 100 euros in our time.

Called at france telecom to ask them nicely if they could unblock the phone. They said no but gave us the number of client service - 3972. They asked why we wanted to unblock the phone and were quite satisfied with our reason. They then gave us a code number.(Ask for Henrique - he tries a bit of English and is very patient) I then went to our local carrefour where a charming Emmanuel did all the work for me - took out the Orange sim card, put in the new one, did all the paperwork (you need an identity card or some sort), got it all working and explained everything. The cost was 15 euros at Carrefour, nothing to Orange, and that included 6 euros Nrj credit on my phone. Not bad, eh? Apparently the phone is now permanently unlocked so, if i go to England, i can put in a Tesco sim card if i want. All a bit technical for me. All i wanted was to be able to use the phone when i need it without worrying that the credit had a three month lifespan. hope this helps someone else out there.

[Cassis]

Jolly good - well done.  Wonder if I ring O2 in the UK whether they'll help me with our locked phone in the same way?  I've tried the usual sources online but it's still locked.  I'll let you know.  Otherwise I'll have to get round to taking it to a backstreet shop (eventually - keep meaning to but you know how it is).

[YCCMB]

Is it a Motorola by any chance? They're a b***h to get unlocked!! O2, if they're anything like Orange, will charge you la peau des fesses. Orange wanted £25 to unlock my Nokia, but 'tinternet came good for me and I got the job done for just over a quid.

[Cassis]

No, a Nokia 3410.  Apparently they are normally easy to unlock but this one has decided to be awkward.  I've tried a several codes on it but none worked.

[Ecossais]

Cassis,

I see you’re still having problems with your 3410?  I doubt if O2 will give you the unlock code free.

A couple of weeks ago a friend asked me if I could unlock an Orange UK Nokia 3410.  Trycktill.com gave 2 codes but neither worked.  I’ve no idea why you get the odd stubborn phone which resists DIY unlocking!

My friend got it unlocked by a back street shop who connected it to a computer and unlocked it for £10 – I think that’s going to be your best option.

[Cassis]

Hi Ecossais

I decided to give it a go last night with my wife's 3410 - and this one unlocked first time with one of the codes!  As you say, there must be the odd reluctant phone like my first 3410.

At least we've got one of them done - that'll do fine.  Thanks to you and the others who replied on the original thread.

[Richard-R]

We purchased an Orange PAYG phone here a few years ago and it was unlocked and we got all 4 of our U.K. phones unlocked without issue. Now I just buy an unlocked phone from a French website, when I want a new phone. ANY one want to buy a sim card lol. I have about 20 of them from all over the world.

[Lollie]

In France they are obliged to unblock your phone for free after six months.   I believe nrj use the orange network therefore it would have worked blocked, as do virgin france, and Breizh.

Lollie

[Miki]

Lollie,

I think it is SFR that they use. I was with a friend last week who

changed his PAYG "allegiance" last week to NRJ and although I was there, I was

not really taking a lot of notice but something makes me think that I

heards SFR was the "server ?

Not sure about unblocking to go  elsewhere, what happens when you

sign a two year deal to gain a special price, surely you would be

legally bound to serve that period out ?  Or can you unblock the

phone, then simply continue to pay the monthly abonnement but be free

to bung in another sim card for whatever purpose and whenever?

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Cassis"]Hi Ecossais

I decided to give it a go last night with my wife's 3410 - and this one unlocked first time with one of the codes!  As you say, there must be the odd reluctant phone like my first 3410.

At least we've got one of them done - that'll do fine.  Thanks to you and the others who replied on the original thread.
[/quote]From memory I think Orange will unlock your phone when you ring them but only after a year - or something like that.  Sorry I'm a bit vague but ditched them ages ago.  The terms and conditions  for unlocking the phone were with the original instructions.

[Chancer]

I have just bought a phone and sim card from NRJ, my only slight problem is that it is sim-locked so I cannot use my UK payg sim card when I return for visits.

Can anyone confirm that they can or have to (as was quoted) unlock it after 6 months, I did read something about 6 months but I interpreted it as they make a charge for unblocking (after incorrect PIN use) after 6 months. But it could well be my mistake.

Interestingly my last (now broken) phone that I bought from the Phone-house in a bundled deal including Orange France mobicarte was not sim-locked.

[cooperlola]

There's an object lesson in all this I think.  They may seem to be more expensive on the surface, but try to buy a SIM-free phone in the first place then you can chop and change, move back and forth to the UK, change suppliers etc at the drop of a hat.  After having had a couple of apparently "cheap" phones early on which turned out to cost a packet because I was tied into specific companies, I bought a Sim-free phone and haven't looked back.  I use NRJ now but if somebody comes up with a better deal in the next few months I can change from them for just a few euros and never have to worry about unlocking the d*mned thing!

JR I'll look at the NRJ website and see if I can find the conditions about unlocking phones for you.

[benedicte]

I bought a new phone from Carphone Warehouse when last in the UK and they told me that all their mobiles are sold unlocked. They also seemed to have the best prices on PAYG phones.

[cameol]

Can someone clarify our situation please?

We have a Nokia with an orange sim card...it is NOT BLOCKED...but we do want to 'ditch' the 3 month pay as you go at 30€ a time as we too hardly use it (only for emergencies).

We have not heard of NRJ before, would that be the answer and how do we go about obtaining it.

Are they; (NRJ)

1) Pay as you go or 2) Contract?

In anticipation

C

[Deimos]

cameol asked: "We have not heard of NRJ before, would that be the answer and how do we go about obtaining it.

You can order it online, call them (0825 303 303 (0,15€ per min)) or from a number of major chain stores (see https://www.nrjmobile.fr/visiteur/engagements/ounoustrouver.html).

Full details: https://www.nrjmobile.fr/visiteur/index.html

(Sorry but if you want to check out the sites you will have to cut and paste the links).

Ian

[Deimos]

Miki commented: "I think it is SFR that they use."

They do use SFR not Orange.

cooperlola wrote: "There's an object lesson in all this I think.  They may seem to be more expensive on the surface, but try to buy a SIM-free phone in the first place then you can chop and change ..."

I agree (though it depends to an extent on the type of phone you are looking for). I also purchased outright and can now chop and change at will without worrying about networks, etc.

In practice, if you go for a PAYG or a low subscription contract you will probably be paying a lot for your telephone anyway (it tends to be the higher use/subscription contracts that give you the telephone for virtually nothing - but still blocked !!). In some cases, even though you might be an "emergencies only user" (i.e. not really using the mobile much), it can (sometimes) still be cheaper to go for a high use contract, get the low cost telephone then change the contract after your 12 months contractual time to something that you are actually looking for. When I set-up mine, had I not decided to purchase my own phone, I would have saved a hundred or so € by getting a high use contract, phone virtually thrown in for the 1st 12 months (also, in addition to the € I would have got loads of free minutes as well for the 1st 12 months). I guess it all depends on what deals, contracts, phones, etc. are around on the various networks so it is definitely not a "one size fits all"

Ian

[Lollie]

For when we travel to the uk, I bought a Virgin pay as you go deal online, thru UK, not France, phones cheaper  then they will unblock your phone for free after you have spent 35 pounds with them, they just sent me by email the unblocking code.

There is a difference between unblocking a sim that you have put in the wrong pin and unblocking a phone.  Generally for unblocking a sim after inputting wrong pin, you can find the PUK code on your original box.

Lollie,

ps  yep sorry, its Breizh and Virgin France who use Orange network.