Three Ireland soon providing Nokia Unlock Codes!

Cabaal

First I'd like to just say, I got my Nokia handset unlocked by Three! (apparently the first)

I thought this would be a very welcome bit of news to everyone here on Three, finally Three are rolling out unlock codes to people with Nokia handsets over the coming week..

While its been a frustrating experience I have to say Three have dealt with my complaint pretty well and have been pretty nice with regards to the whole thing, while I highlighted alot of mis-information alot of people here have been given I was not given any as such.

For those that don't know what I';m on about Read Commander Vimes's thread here - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055001234

Please give them a chance
Given that they still need to inform all their agents of this change please don't all going calling Three at once as its going to take them perhaps a week or more to get this info out and put processes in place for allowing agents to easily obtain these codes.

Also remember that your still limited by their Terms & Conditions, this includes the 25e unlock fee and if you haven't finished the first twelve months of your contract then afaik you also have to buy out the rest of the months....best to read their T&C's rather then trusting what I'm saying in relation to this

I know its frustrating but hang in their you'll get your code in the end

Overall I think they've provided a quick turnaround on my complaint and as such I have alot of faith in the company and I'll properly move back to them in the future as I do like their handsets, price plans and I have found the quality of service they've provided to me for the past year to be excellent (with the exception of this unlock issue)....here's the full story for those interested.



Monday 13th
Called up and asked to get my Nokia handset unlocked, was told they can't do it at present and all I can do is be put on a list and wait, at no time was I offered a replacement handset so I requested to speak to a team leader..

Spoke to Team Leader:
TL advised they don't have unlock codes and that they don't know when they'll have it, I explained that I have info that Nokia have supplied Three with these codes and I find it most concerning that this "delay" was also a issue in the UK from what I understand.

I asked did Three ever have unlock codes for Nokia's in Ireland and I as told Three have never had Nokia unlock codes since they started operating in Ireland.

I requested this in writing either letter or e-mail and was told would have to come from head office, explained I'd like to go through the escalation procedure then and want my details passed to a team manager




Tuesday 14th
TEAM MANAGER:
No sign of Team manager calling me so I thought I'd speed things up and as I had his name I called up and was nice as pie to the agent and just explained my problem and asked to speak to TM (don't see point in being a prick to them as they've been as helpful as they can be)

I was told the TM would contact me within the hour and sure enough he did,

Spoke to TMS, advised that regardless of my issue I want the Three Ireland website updated to reflect this ongoing issue (the fact Three have never provided Nokia unlock codes), as I believe customers would be reluctant to sign-up to a service where they affectively are stuck with a brick once they leave the service if they choose to go with a Nokia handset,

I explained I'm also unhappy that they are not meeting their own T&C's as layed out in "All purchases 3.6" as per (which may include replacing your Handset with an unlocked Handset, which is the same or similar specification to your Handset) as I have never been offered this and instead I've been told all I can do is wait. I explained this is once again a issue Three are not meeting customers on.

I also explained that some people like myself choose Nokia phones for reasons such as they like the interface and quality of the phones and while I think its good that Three will replace a locked Nokia phone with a Sony unlocked phone I myself want to keep my Nokia as I have alot of applications that will not work with a Sony, LG etc.

He explained they have received the codes from Nokia and that they are currently testing them, end of this week is the eta (Friday 17th), offered to replace handset, I was offered K610i if the unlock codes are not available, I explained that I'd wait and see what happens on friday.




Friday 17th
I was called by a Three employee on Friday and was asked to verify my IMEI #, verified this and was advised by the employee that I'm the first Three Ireland customer to get their nokia handset unlocked and was given the code, rebooted phone and tested with a work mates Vodafone PAYG sim and it picked up signal straight away and was able to make a outbound call to my work phone.



Monday 20th
Phoned three again on Monday and spoke to TM about my complaint, he confirmed I was indeed the first Three Ireland customer to get my Nokia handset unlocked I thanked him for being so helpful in relation to my complaint.

I also queryed when they would be rolling out the unlock codes to everyone else, he advised me they will begin rolling it out over the next few days or week and that people on "the list" will be contacted and their phones unlocked.

I thanked the TM for the help in relation to my complaint and explained I can't complain about how the agents or TL dealt with my query as I know their hands were tied but that I'm happy this issue is now being resolved and put to a end.



Open Letter to Three Ireland Ltd
Just on the off chance somebody tells you about this thread or you happen to read this....

I was pretty reluctant to post all this information in a public forum as I didn't want loads of people ringing you and complaint so I gave it a few days before I decided to post this information, while it'll be unfortunate that you will receive more calls from current and ex-Three customers wishing to get their Nokia phones unlocked, I feel its important for your company to start providing unlock codes to these people.

I wish to thank you for the great service you provided me with for a year and I can't fault it with the exception of this unlock issue.

In the end you've let the cat out of the bag so to speak and you've proved you can unlock nokia phones so there's no more fobbing customers off

Cabaal,

EIN

i rang three just now and asked about the unlocking. i was told that they dont have the codes and that management have advised that they dont have codes. i was promised a call from a team leader to explain this to me,, now lets see if i get a call back. i mentioned that someone had already got their handset unlocked and they disputed this!!

plonk

Cabaal id say its a big relief to have that off your back. Well anyway i think three are a good network aswell but fortunatly i didnt try to upgrade yet. But I will do it now as soon as the N73 is out. I was worryied about upgrading after all the hassle ye went through. Well done;)

BreadBoard

Great news

Well done Cabaal

Edit;

Where you out of your 12 month contract &/or did you have to pay €25?

rogue-entity

Well this is a good sign alright, I will try and get my handset unlocked tomorrow, before I head off to the states, if I cant, I will just have to wait till I get home. But this also answers another question, weither or not I would get my phone unlocked before I could by the N73. Chances are I will have it unlocked tomorrow and the N73 sometime in January.

Cabaal

BreadBoard wrote:

Great news

Well done Cabaal

Edit;

Where you out of your 12 month contract &/or did you have to pay €25?

Finished my 12 month contract,

I can understand why they'll be some confusion in relation to what agents are saying over the next week or so, but in the end Three have now openly admitted and provided solid evidence that they can provide working unlock codes, as such its hard for them to go back to the old story again now

Steoob

i was told that 3 sims dont fit in any phones but 3 phones....

Cabaal

Steoob wrote:

i was told that 3 sims dont fit in any phones but 3 phones....

hehe, yes because their so big and awkward! :rolleyes:

They'll work in any 3G phone, they'll prop work in a standard phone too but in the end thats just a waste as you'd loose alot of the function that Three provide

Sam Vimes

Cabaal wrote:

hehe, yes because their so big and awkward! :rolleyes:

They'll work in any 3G phone, they'll prop work in a standard phone too but in the end thats just a waste as you'd loose alot of the function that Three provide

they actually work in very few non-3g phones. if i put mine into my 3200 it says "sim rejected". it'll work in any 3g phone of course

EIN

Cabaal wrote:

Finished my 12 month contract,

I can understand why they'll be some confusion in relation to what agents are saying over the next week or so, but in the end Three have now openly admitted and provided solid evidence that they can provide working unlock codes, as such its hard for them to go back to the old story again now

got my 3 6680 phone unlocked last night at last rang three at 11 and they gave me the code!!

i used nss to change the product code, to a uk sim free one, then used nokia web updater to update the firmware to the latest version 5.04.07.

its cool cause all the 3 stuff that was on the phone is gone, and i have full control over all the phones settings. its like a new sim free one!

Cabaal

EIN, good to hear you got it unlocked,

Perhaps Three are finally filtering out this information to all their staff now

paulhardman

Turns out its not all that simple for all of us.. I'm in the same position as most of you, I eventually got a useful team leader who said that they would unlock my phone today. Got a call back to confirm my IMEI number, at which point they said "Sorry, your IMEI isn't coming up with a code, you'll have to wait until we've finished testing"!

I'm not quite sure what exactly they are "testing"... presumably Nokia have sent them a big spreadsheet of IMEIs and unlock codes, and mine (despite being bought in August 2005) isn't on that sheet...

Anyway, quite annoyed about the whole thing, and I can't see it getting any better quickly!

Wurly

For Nokia 6680's. I got my unlocked yesterday. Give them a call.

wba88

any charge? are u on contract if so is it up or nearly finished? did they give u any hassle? sry about askin a lot of q's

Cabaal

The search feature is a great feature
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055018851

Breaking news last month
In relation to a charge please read your t&c's

Sam Vimes

€25 charge. if you want to do it and you're still in contract, you have to pay off the remainder of your monthly commitment and end the contract. i'm hoping to change that policy in the next few weeks by repeatedly kicking their arse

chrislad

I got a contract with them yesterday (W850i on VideoTalk400) as I needed a non-work phone as I'm sick of calls on my days off. Coverage is a lot better than it was on launch. They explained that ridiculous requirement for unlocking a phone in contract. It's weird, because all T+Cs say the phone is not theirs.

Wurly

I kicked up a stink about the €25 charge and ended up getting it for free.

In fairness, someone in 3 told me that considering the amount of trouble ive had, I could get it for free. But when it came to the time of unlocking, that person had of course failed to put that note on my account. After a lot of insisting on my part, I got it for free in the end.

If I were any of you, I would claim the same - that someone had advised you and the notes just werent put on the account. I had numerous complaints and notes were rarely recorded - even if the person on the other end told me they had.

Its a blatant rip off to have to pay €25 to get YOUR phone unlocked. Dont let them away with it. Its bullsh*t.

To answer the other posters question, I was finished my contract, thank christ. A year of hell let me tell ya.

I think Cabaal is employed by 3 or something. They are the worst company I have come across in quite some time and the majority of their customer service reps are plain rude, unhelpful and dont have a clue whats going on, ie you are told something different by someone else every time you call. Im happy that you had such a good experience with them but you are in a minority. You only have to read the countless posts by people on here to see that. We have been more than patient with them in my opinion, having received such a crappy service from them for so long and paying them good money for the priviledge.

Cabaal

Tri wrote:

I think Cabaal is employed by 3 or something. They are the worst company I have come across in quite some time and the majority of their customer service reps are plain rude, unhelpful and dont have a clue whats going on, ie you are told something different by someone else every time you call. Im happy that you had such a good experience with them but you are in a minority.

You only have to read the countless posts by people on here to see that. We have been more than patient with them in my opinion, having received such a crappy service from them for so long and paying them good money for the priviledge.

haha, yes, yes I do :rolleyes:
No seriously, I'm just used to dealing with customers and last thing you want to do is get a employee's back up, be nice and have an actual solid argument and you'll be fine.

While some people have had loads of problems, with the exception of the unlocking issue I've found Three to be grand, both customer service wise (haven't really had to call them with exception of unlocking issue) and service wise (signal is 95=100% on 3G vast majority of the time in my area)

You can think what you want but I can guarantee you I don't work for Three, Meteor, O2, Vodafone or any mobile provider for that matter

chrislad

I have to say that Three have been decent to me so far. Granted, it's only beena week or so but my coverage is excellent, the plan I'm on suits and I love the phone.

quintron

Been with 3 for 16mts. Called to get handset unlocked. Told me it would cost me €25.. even though I've been with them this long.
They also said if I went ahead and unlocked it now.. my account would be closed....
I'm still in shock. Spoke with Team Leader at length, explained my case in great detail.. etc etc.. wouldn't budge. The best he said was he would give me a 3pay sim card for my 6680 after I upgraded to a new handset. That was when I knew I was in a "twilight zone" conversation.
This is not the way to treat customers. I cannot believe after all I said (I had all my facts to hand etc) this is the sh1t I've to put up with after being a loyal customer on a high price plan... Its ridiculous. I'm disgusted.
RIP 3 for me.

Sam Vimes

me too. i've been onto comreg about it. i was told to lodge a formal complaint and get a complaint reference number. you can do it over the phone

quintron

i'll be doing that then. Never had unlock issues with voda, or o2 for that matter.
I've paid out enough money to 3 including a premium price for the handset when it came out in aug '05.
Its insulting on principal to be asked (no told) I need to give them a further €25 for them to generate a simple code... after it took them almost a year and a half to get them in the first place.

Urban Weigl

I think it's hilarious how hard 3 try to get rid of their customers. Walled gardens with outdated Father Ted clips, charging a €25 administration fee for a simple unlock code, the list goes on.

It almost seems like they don't want any customers. The only glimmer of hope on the horizon is X-Series, though that's currently only available north of the border. Quite frankly, I've often wondered if they've been trying to fail on purpose, just so they can flog it all to China Telecom at a loss, but that doesn't make any sense...

Blaster99

If you look at what other operators charge for various things, I think you'll find that 3 is quite cheap. I couldn't care less about unlocking issues. The walled garden is a minor irritant. Their customer service is fine, never had any problems with them. Some minor issues with coverage, but what operator doesn't have that? And I'm not talking Meteor-esque complete coverage darkness here.

rogue-entity

Ever since I requested my unlocking code, I rang once every few days to see if they had it yet. I have been told that I will not get it until Janurary 4th. I explained that this was incredibly inconvenient because I was hoping to buy the N73 when it comes out for Christmas and sell my current handset. I even have a buyer. He said he would half the cost of the unlocking fee adding that he unfortuantly couldnt refund me the full cost. He was surprised when I told him that no other network charges these fees (that I know of).

On the bright side, at least I have a date for that code. If I dont get it by then, I will raise hell. Especially when I have my new phone. He admitted that some people had gotten their codes already.

I wonder, is it possible that Nokia are just refusing to give out the unlocking gear to networks for fear of it being leaked and instead insisting that the networks contact them to generate the codes? This is how its done with Sony Ericsson (O2 had to order my unlocking code which took a week).

Sam Vimes

rogue-entity wrote:

He was surprised when I told him that no other network charges these fees (that I know of).

they don't

rogue-entity wrote:

On the bright side, at least I have a date for that code. If I dont get it by then, I will raise hell. Especially when I have my new phone. He admitted that some people had gotten their codes already.

i hope you got a note on your account to that effect and his name

rogue-entity wrote:

I wonder, is it possible that Nokia are just refusing to give out the unlocking gear to networks for fear of it being leaked and instead insisting that the networks contact them to generate the codes? This is how its done with Sony Ericsson (O2 had to order my unlocking code which took a week).

no, unless they have this policy for 3 and no other network in the world.

chrislad

Why would Nokia care if their phones were unlocked? It's the network, not Nokia, who put those restrictions on.

Sam Vimes

i suppose they care because some networks wouldn't buy the phones from them if people could just go online and unlock them for free. or at least they would be forced to sell it cheaper

Random

To force you to end your contract for an unlocking code. fools.

rogue-entity

When I asked for my unlock code and was told I would have to end my contract, I declined. The next time I rang, I asked for the code. He asked I wanted to end my contract, I said no. He just said Okay, charged me the €25 and put in the request for the code. I didnt have to end my contract.

I am just waiting to buy the N73 and I will unlock and sell my 6680. If I cannot get it unlocked, I will raise hell (and I will try bribing one of the guys at the NSC to unlock it for me).