UK EE network unlocking related query

[chen23]

I got an iphone 6 plus on contract with EE from my local EE store on the day of release (19th September). I'm going away to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks in a couple of weeks so called 150 last night asking to unlock my phone (want to use a local sim when I'm there, data roaming charges in Asia are insanely high) as it was now 6 months from when I signed my contract.

The guy on the phone was pretty helpful until the end of the call when he said "Oh, it's just told me this phone can't be unlocked" He couldn't tell me why and said he'd ask for someone to get in touch me with me to explain why but that in all honesty he couldn't tell me how long that would take.

He checked EE's records and it says my contract is past the 6 month period but still won't let me unlock my phone. I've heard stories about EE taking a long time to resolve issues like this and I go away in 2 weeks so ideally want this sorted before I leave. Not off to a great start though.

Anyone had a similiar experience or could hazard a guess as to why my phone could be barred from unlocking?

 

[markhort]

Have you tried here - http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started/joining-ee/unlocking-your-phone

You will be charged £8.99 (incl VAT) for unlocking your device, this will be charged to your account.

The IMEI of the device to be unlocked must be registered on the account and not blacklisted.

The amount of time it takes to unlock your phone depends on the device type and is as follows:

Apple iPhone / iPad: up to seven days
Any other device type up to ten days
We may need to contact your device manufacturer for your unlock code, which could delay things slightly. If that’s the case we’ll let you know by text on the contact number that you provide with us.

 

[TigerFist]

Do you have a pending balance on your account? Is it under a financing program? Have you checked their requirements for unlocking to make sure you have met all prerequisites?

 

[Tallmrplym]

Check out explore.ee.co.uk/unlock can request it through there.

As long as the handset was supplied by ee directly and the contract is longer then 6 months old with no overdue balance, it will be fine. Costs £8.99 which is charged to your bill once the unlock has been done and iPhones take up to 5 working days to get actioned. You'll get a sms to confirm it once done.

EE are actually very good when it comes to unlocking, very straightforward.

Hope this helps!

 

[MagicBoy]

Makes a change, under the previous guise of Orange they were bloody awful. Took me repeated calls for 4 weeks before they unlocked my iPhone 4. Unlock finally occurred the day before I got to refer them to the ombusdman.

Cheeky blighters were blaming Apple when it was their terrible back office system that was the issue.