Thread: Unlocked my Desire - Sim card error

Sorry in advance if this is a typical question but I'm slightly panicking that I've got a very expensive brick in my hands.

I've just purchased a HTC Desire that was an unwanted upgrade by somebody on T-Mobile. As I'm an O2 customer I did a bit of research and found a website offering unlocking codes that seemed to have a good reputation.

I gave them the IMEI number, the network it was locked to and paid. Minutes later I received the unlock code/pin and followed the instructions to the letter, I.E Insert O2 sim, wait for the phone to request unlock pin, and enter it.

I did this and the phone went to the main screen. However in the top left hand corner there is a triangle with an exclamation mark in it and if I try and manually use the O2 network I get "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network".

Have I made a basic mistake or is the phone still locked?

why not try it with the tmobile sim and see what happens if you get network then yes its still blocked ...

You think that would be easy wouldn't you however I don't know anyone on T-Mobile and when I popped into my local T-Mobile shop they said, and I quote, "We don't have any sims here available".. I'm sure they did but they couldn't be bothered to help.

Hmph, Try calling the people that you baught the unlock code off of and tell them

If the device were still locked you will get a message to that affect & the device will request the unlock code. If it is not asking for an unlock code, then it has been SIM unlocked successfully. Do you have another SIM that you can try? Check the phone's frequency settings & ensure that it is set to "Auto".

It sounds more like a problem with your SIM card or service. Have you tryied contacting O2 to see if there is an issue with the account? Some carriers require special services for Droid & Windows devices. If your service is not setup for a Droid, then that may be your issue. I believe some carriers even require specific SIM cards for Droids & WinMos. Since your device says "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network", then I would lean toward this explanation moreso then an error in the unlocking code.

Originally Posted by HumbleHippie

If the device were still locked you will get a message to that affect & the device will request the unlock code. If it is not asking for an unlock code, then it has been SIM unlocked successfully. Do you have another SIM that you can try? Check the phone's frequency settings & ensure that it is set to "Auto".

It sounds more like a problem with your SIM card or service. Have you tryied contacting O2 to see if there is an issue with the account? Some carriers require special services for Droid & Windows devices. If your service is not setup for a Droid, then that may be your issue. I believe some carriers even require specific SIM cards for Droids & WinMos. Since your device says "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network", then I would lean toward this explanation moreso then an error in the unlocking code.

Since I created this thread I paid another company for an unlock code. That matched the unlock code I was given yesterday so that suggests the code was correct.

I've tried my O2 sim card, a Vodafone sim card, a 3mobile sim card and a Virgin sim card. All give the same message - "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network".

I contacted O2 who initially said it could be the sim card but then insisted it was fine and should work in an Android device.

Do you have a friend with O2 that has an Android device working? If so, see if you can test their SIM in your Droid. If it gets a signal, then it is a problem with your SIM. In which case you'll probably have to argue with O2 to get them to send you another. If it doesn't work, then it is something with the device itself. In this case, it's out of my area; I use Windows & am not familiar enough with Droids to walk you thru a fix {Sorry}.

Have you checked the settings for the phone?
If not, Menu> Settings > Wireless & Networks> Mobile Networks> Network Operators
and just make sure network selection is automatic.

I hope this helps.

Did you try to enter the code a second time? Here in Canada the Telus model requires you to enter the code twice before it works.

I get the same error.
Seems as though this is happening to a few people, not just on the desire, but on Android.
In have a HTC Desire that was originally on T Mobile UK, but I unblocked it and it worked on O2 UK for about a month. Now I get the message "Your sim card does not allow a connection to this network".
I have tried with SIM cards on different networks (orange and vodafone), but it now will only work on T mobile (its original provider). So from what I can see it is an unlocking fault but now I am not being asked for an unlock code so I'm struggling to see how I will be able to fix this!

If anyone has a fix or a bit of software that will sort this it would be appreciated!