HTC Wildfire Network Locked - Please help!

[porkpie]

Hello

I posted this on VM's own forums yesterday but it doesn't look very busy there so I thought I would try this forum - here goes


I swapped from a Pay as You Go tariff which I've had for years to a new monthly tariff with a HTC Wildfire phone. This was Saturday 25th September. The next day I put my SIM in the phone and found the network was locked. I Googled this and found it is a known problem but I thought it could be sorted quickly - how wrong I was!

On Sunday 26th September I called Virgin Mobile and a chap called Andy told me he would email tech support and they would contact me within 3 days. They didn't. I emailed customer services via my account page last Thursday but still no response. I called again on Saturday 2nd Oct and a seemingly very helpful girl called Lauren said she could get me a code but as the system was currently down she promised to call me at 12 midday on Sunday with the code. She didn't. I called again and found that the job was only emailed through to the tech support on the Sunday morning so I have been well and truly strung along......now it can take another 5 working days for them to send me a code apparently! The girl I spoke to today said it would be escalated to a team leader but will it? Whay wasn't the call logged when I first called?

I also popped into one of the Virginmedia stores for help yesterday and was told to call Customer Support. They didn't want to know or help. I was very unimpressed with them.

I'm more frustrated that anything. Why didn't I just stick with my old phone I keep asking myself? I work in a helpdesk environment myself and there is NO WAY this kind of thing would be tolerated where I work. It just wouldn't happen.

If any Virgin Media employees read this and are willing and able to pick up the case and please get me an unlock code or whatever i need I will be most grateful. Please just PM me.

I really want to be able to use my new phone. It has been 8 days since I got it.....

Cheers for listening :-)

[Kymmy]

Who was the PAYG sim with and was it on the wildfire??? Just that they are the ones who should have unlocked it for you (In other words where the wildfire was registered before you got it or transferred it tot he contract, there though might be a fee)

[porkpie]

The pay as you go was with Virgin too. I've been with them for many years. My SIM was originally PAYG but a couple of years ago I started to pay £10 monthly but they still refer to my SIM as PAYG SIM Only . I swapped to the new £20 monthly tariff and new phone at the Birmingham store on 25th September. I was told my SIM would be fine but when I got home and tried it I just got the message 'Network Locked' on the phone and that's when the hassle started.

My previous phone was a Nokia and it worked fine for years. It still does with the same SIM and I'm having to use it now.

I've been told by VM that the HTC Wildfire is locked and needs an unlock code. I've got more chance of getting my hands on the Holy Grail I think!

[haydnwalker]

Its probably not network locked then, its probably SIM locked...

[gallego1]

Hi I had the same problem in July HTC ( or the supplier) have sent these out locked and the older sim cards cannot be read by the phone

Just phone Virgin Mobile Customer Services and ask for a Wildfire unlock code if they are unable or unwilling to do this then contact the chairmans office It took about 3 days but I did get the code

This is a known issue with the wildfire

hope this is helpful

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by gallego1

Hi I had the same problem in July HTC ( or the supplier) have sent these out locked and the older sim cards cannot be read by the phone

Just phone Virgin Mobile Customer Services and ask for a Wildfire unlock code if they are unable to do this then contact the chairmans office It took about 3 days but I did get the code

hope this is helpful

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately each time I call they tell me I need an unlock code but can't actually provide it. I came closest on Saturday when the girl said she could get me a code then and there but then told me the system was down. She literally promised to call me the next day but didn't. When I called VM again it was like the previous calls hadn't happened and I was back to square one.

The phone was brand new boxed taken from the store room of the Birmingham VM store so I'm amazed it is locked.

[Kymmy]

I agree that it's probably an old sim...

Just ring up and tell them that the old sim will not work with the newer phone as telling them it's locked will only send them on the network locked/PUK needed of their Q and A sheets..

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

I agree that it's probably an old sim...

Just ring up and tell them that the old sim will not work with the newer phone as telling them it's locked will only send them on the network locked/PUK needed of their Q and A sheets..

I tried that yesterday but it only made the girl a bit stroppy that I was telling her her job (and I did it very very politely - I work in the same environment remember). Unfortunately they will go down the route of unlock code first before trying a new SIM. This could go on for weeks. That's why I'd really appreciate someone from VM pulling the case for me....

I was in one of the other VM stores on Saturday and explained the problem. The chap immediately said ' new SIM needed'. I asked if he could give me a new SIM there and then and get customer services to swap the number over. 'No we can't do that' he replied. I was so frustrated I could have cried I actually got the impression they were enjoying my frustration and my wife was livid!

[Kymmy]

Take the phone back to the store then and say it's unusable and demand your money back, They'll soon get their backsides into gear and fix it for you