# Potential "official" unlocking options...



## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

Rogers first to bring back post-sale iPhone unlocking | Electronista


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## Dr_AL (Apr 29, 2007)

It is confirmed. Rogers unlocked my iPhone 3GS earlier in the day. Granted the Rogers reps had to double check as I knew more than they did, but eventually then unlocked it.

It's a step in the right direction and hopefully the other carriers will join in. $50 is a bit steep for something that we should be entitled to so hopefully the fee drops or is just removed completely in the future.


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

see post #23...

http://www.ehmac.ca/all-ios-iphone-...tunes/90521-must-i-jailbreak-iphone-3g-3.html


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## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

Z06jerry said:


> see post #23...
> 
> http://www.ehmac.ca/all-ios-iphone-...tunes/90521-must-i-jailbreak-iphone-3g-3.html


Thanks for pointing to the other location. Not everyone reads every thread though. A quick scan of topics doesn't give any indication that the information is there. This thread is to the point and timely and does not require wading through 22 other comments that may or may not be relevant. Any comments directly related to this topic won't polute the other thread which, again, may or may not be relevant.


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## SnowDX (Nov 10, 2010)

Telus recently announced that come the new year, they would be unlocking phones as well. They didn't specify the terms, fees or if iPhones were included yet. I'd like to see them do better than Rogers and not charge if your term is done, maybe a charge if you want it unlocked during your term. You're already covering your contract with your monthly fee for 3 years, why the heck would it matter if your phone was unlocked.


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

This is a bunch of crap and the CRTC should step in. If I live out my end of the contract and have paid all my fees and bills, then the phone is mine and I should not have to pay to use it where I want. 

Imagine when you pay off the car, you have to go to the dealer to pay them so you can sell it or get it serviced elsewhere.


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## DempsyMac (May 24, 2007)

Joker Eh said:


> This is a bunch of crap and the CRTC should step in. If I live out my end of the contract and have paid all my fees and bills, then the phone is mine and I should not have to pay to use it where I want.
> 
> Imagine when you pay off the car, you have to go to the dealer to pay them so you can sell it or get it serviced elsewhere.


I am not defending the carrier here but this is just a bad comparison, when you buy a car you are not getting it for 50% off because you agree to buy your gas there or only drive on there roads.

A better example would be if the government owned all the towers and we could just buy our phones any place we wanted and paid $800 for them but got to use the towers for free (well out side of taxes)


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Trevor Robertson said:


> I am not defending the carrier here but this is just a bad comparison, when you buy a car you are not getting it for 50% off because you agree to buy your gas there or only drive on there roads.
> 
> A better example would be if the government owned all the towers and we could just buy our phones any place we wanted and paid $800 for them but got to use the towers for free (well out side of taxes)


Ok maybe my example is bad, but still the gov should step in.


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## DempsyMac (May 24, 2007)

Joker Eh said:


> Ok maybe my example is bad, but still the gov should step in.


personally I believe that the market will adjust to suit the needs of the consumer.

In this case you can purchase an iPhone unlocked right from the start so that option is there.

If you are a Rogers customer the only reason that you would unlock your phone (as far as I know and please correct me if I am wrong) is to leave rogers and go to another carrier so how is it in Rogers best interest to unlock that phone for you? And at the same time with the program that Rogers has outlined if you were going to a new carrier (or even staying with Rogers) and sign a new contract you will get a cheap or free phone right?

Sorry I just don't see the real issue here.


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Trevor Robertson said:


> personally I believe that the market will adjust to suit the needs of the consumer.
> 
> In this case you can purchase an iPhone unlocked right from the start so that option is there.
> 
> ...


The issue is, Rogers and I entered into an agreement for a 3 year period. And for me staying with Rogers for 3 years, I would get a discount on a purchase of the iPhone. And during that time the phone should be locked to them as during that 3 year period it is technically their phone. I have no issue with this. With me so far?

But once the 3 years are up and I have paid all my bills and in good standing, the contract is up. Meaning finished. The phone at the end of the 3 years is mine, no longer Rogers. Our agreement is complete. I should be able to go into a Rogers store and unlock MY phone. Does that not make sense?

So what they are doing is holding me hostage. Its like paying to get out of jail once you have done your time. (maybe that is a better analogy.) You know like monopoly, but with them there is no get out of jail free card, or roll 3 times.


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## DempsyMac (May 24, 2007)

Joker I hear ya, and do fully understand what you are saying.

I guess my question is why do you want your phone to be unlocked? Are you planing on going to Bell or Telus? If so would you not want to sign a new contract and get an iPhone 4? Or go the Apple store and buy an unlocked iPhone 4?


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

Trevor Robertson said:


> If you are a Rogers customer the only reason that you would unlock your phone (as far as I know and please correct me if I am wrong) is to leave rogers and go to another carrier





Trevor Robertson said:


> I guess my question is why do you want your phone to be unlocked?


I want my iPhone unlocked so I can also use it in other countries when travelling.


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Trevor Robertson said:


> Joker I hear ya, and do fully understand what you are saying.
> 
> I guess my question is why do you want your phone to be unlocked? Are you planing on going to Bell or Telus? If so would you not want to sign a new contract and get an iPhone 4? Or go the Apple store and buy an unlocked iPhone 4?


Sorry for the confusion I may have caused, I was writing that as someoe who had completed their contract and how I will be once my current contract expires that I signed for my iPhone 4.

I don't want to be tied to anyone anymore, there is really no benefit to being in a contract in the long run you are losing being in one. Look at how the cell service with rogers is right now is not that good. Now that could be because their increase in users, but thats not my fault. You can find alot of threads in here complaining about the data rates.

So the only way to tell rogers I am unhappy with their service is to cancel my service with them (calling them and complainng does no good and I am tired of calling everymonth to make corrections on my bill), but I can't do that right now. I am not saying Bell is any better and I would never go back to Bell, but there is Telus who I have never done business with, so I figure it might be time once my contracts are done to not have all my eggs in one basket.

EDIT: And what Jerry said above.


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## DempsyMac (May 24, 2007)

Jerry that makes great sense, and I can totally understand your want and need!

Thanks!


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

^^^^
I regularly travel to the USA & I just got back from being there for almost 1 month. I purchased a T-Mobile SIM and used my (Rogers) iPhone with T-Mobile's PayGo service. I could've done the same with AT&T. I see no reason for carriers to lock the devices. I still had to pay my Rogers bill when I didn't use their service. It's a lame attempt to keep you hooked even _after_ you've fulfilled your contract obligations.

... and so they charge their outrageous roaming fees!


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## MacUnited (Nov 1, 2009)

The point here, which I may have missed, and I'm interested to see if anybody DID actually read the contract, does contract indicate that upon the end of the contract term the ownership of the phone is transferred to the client? or is it a form of a lease?and upon the end of the 3 yr contact, the client continues to benefit from using the phone as long as it is with the same provider? 
on the bright side, I've been with Bell now since the first day the iPhone came to canada, End of August I believe? and I had no issues with billing, service, nor data. touch wood I suppose?


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

MacUnited said:


> The point here, which I may have missed, and I'm interested to see if anybody DID actually read the contract, does contract indicate that upon the end of the contract term the ownership of the phone is transferred to the client? or is it a form of a lease?and upon the end of the 3 yr contact, the client continues to benefit from using the phone as long as it is with the same provider?
> on the bright side, I've been with Bell now since the first day the iPhone came to canada, End of August I believe? and I had no issues with billing, service, nor data. touch wood I suppose?


[SARCASM]Let me get my lawyer to read it and I will let you know[/SARCASM]


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

Dr_AL said:


> It is confirmed. Rogers unlocked my iPhone 3GS earlier in the day. Granted the Rogers reps had to double check as I knew more than they did, but eventually then unlocked it.
> 
> It's a step in the right direction and hopefully the other carriers will join in. $50 is a bit steep for something that we should be entitled to so hopefully the fee drops or is just removed completely in the future.


I called to inquire about this and they were unaware (typical). Where did you get it done? At a retail location?


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## MacUnited (Nov 1, 2009)

[SARCASM] Maybe before you keep saying Rogers should do this and should do that, you get your lawyer to read the contract and tell you exactly what you've agreed to 3 yrs ago  [SARCASM]


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

MacUnited said:


> [SARCASM] Maybe before you keep saying Rogers should do this and should do that, you get your lawyer to read the contract and tell you exactly what you've agreed to 3 yrs ago  [SARCASM]


tptptptp


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## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

As much as I hate Rogers, I think they've got the right to run their business as they see fit. When you buy a phone from Rogers it is yours, not loaned/leased/rented. If you have a problem with the phone being locked, you should buy it from someone else. Its not like Rogers will only allow their phones on the network, it is in their best interest to let any device be used for their services, just as it is beneficial to Rogers to have devices bought through them only work with their own network. Since the phone is yours you are free to unlock it yourself but Rogers is under no obligation to help their customers switch to the competition.


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## kkritsilas (Mar 1, 2010)

Rogers only has claim to the phone while it is under contract. When off contract, it belongs to the person who bought it, free and clear. The contract terms have been met by both parties. The person who bought the phone has paid the subsidy out over the term of the contract. So Rogers, or any of the carriers for that matter, should not be able to prevent you from unlocking the phone by going to Apple//Motorola/RIM/HTC/etc. directly. Right now, they do block the unlocking of phones, and in my opinion that ability to block the unlocking of an off contract phone should be removed for all off contract phones that can be unlocked (leaves out CDMA phones). As it currently stands, they are tying you to their service even though you are not under contract, and you own your own phone. The current situation is like you being compelled to have your GM car serviced by GM only, even when any factory warranty has run out. It would not be acceptable to car owners to be told where to service their cars, and not being able to unlock off contract phones should not be acceptable to cell phone owners.

I am not saying that the phone unlocking should be free, just that it should be possible to unlock the phone by going directly to the manufacturer. The fee charged should be reasonable, but the money should go to the people doing the unlocking, not the carriers, who are only serving as middle men, nothing more. The carriers do not have the ability to unlock the phones, only the manufacturers do.

Kostas


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## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

kkritsilas said:


> I am not saying that the phone unlocking should be free, just that it should be possible to unlock the phone by going directly to the manufacturer. The fee charged should be reasonable, but the money should go to the people doing the unlocking, not the carriers, who are only serving as middle men, nothing more. The carriers do not have the ability to unlock the phones, only the manufacturers do.
> 
> Kostas


The unlocking should also be free and clear and leave the owner with the equivalent of an Apple purchased unlocked phone. No software solution. A proper firmware unlock.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Unlocking would also allow you to sell your iPhone to anyone during or after your contract so you can upgrade your phone. Now that Rogers, Bell and Telus all have the iPhone, selling one would be a quick process if it wasn't tied to a specific carrier. =)


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

BlackViper said:


> As much as I hate Rogers, I think they've got the right to run their business as they see fit. When you buy a phone from Rogers it is yours, not loaned/leased/rented. If you have a problem with the phone being locked, you should buy it from someone else. Its not like Rogers will only allow their phones on the network, it is in their best interest to let any device be used for their services, just as it is beneficial to Rogers to have devices bought through them only work with their own network. Since the phone is yours you are free to unlock it yourself but Rogers is under no obligation to help their customers switch to the competition.


You make no sense. You go back and forth.


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## Limit77 (Oct 6, 2010)

If I buy a phone outright... I OWN that phone.... Wether it's $800 or $40.
If I get a subsidized phone,... Once my contract is up... I OWN that phone.

If I'm in a contract with Rogers on an iPhone 4 and it breaks.. I should be able to use the Telus iPhone 3G sitting in the drawer because I OWN it.

Locking is an out of date practice.


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## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

I think you guys might me being a little bit hard on Rogers. They are a business after all, and I am pretty sure that this procedure is at the very least going to require a restore. That means about 15 minutes of an employees day, and a lot more if something doesn't go right. I'd assume that there are tens of thousands of out of contract iPhones in Toronto alone. If they were to offer this service for dirt cheap or for free, there employees would be doing nothing but unlocking iphones for weeks. I would assume that there will come a point when the will unlock your phone for free when you upgrade to a new one, but they just cant open the floodgates all at once.


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

andreww said:


> I think you guys might me being a little bit hard on Rogers. They are a business after all, and I am pretty sure that this procedure is at the very least going to require a restore. That means about 15 minutes of an employees day, and a lot more if something doesn't go right. I'd assume that there are tens of thousands of out of contract iPhones in Toronto alone. If they were to offer this service for dirt cheap or for free, there employees would be doing nothing but unlocking iphones for weeks. I would assume that there will come a point when the will unlock your phone for free when you upgrade to a new one, but they just cant open the floodgates all at once.


For an employee the "unlocking procedure" requires a phone call to apple (however long that takes) to relay the imei and/or serial of the phone. The restore is done by the phone owner at home. Also, I'm pretty sure from reading on O2 forums that a restore is not required. What is required, however, is a sync in iTunes (a communication with Apple's servers to verify that a device should be unlocked). Not sure why it would be different here.


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## Limit77 (Oct 6, 2010)

jawknee said:


> For an employee the "unlocking procedure" requires a phone call to apple (however long that takes) to relay the imei and/or serial of the phone. The restore is done by the phone owner at home. Also, I'm pretty sure from reading on O2 forums that a restore is not required. What is required, however, is a sync in iTunes (a communication with Apple's servers to verify that a device should be unlocked). Not sure why it would be different here.


I would hope its more like a Carrier Logon at Apple...they logon...enter the phone info. a carier password (or whatever) Next time the phone is synced to iTunes it's unlocked.
Wouldn't be hard to implement that on Apples side.


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

Limit77 said:


> I would hope its more like a Carrier Logon at Apple...they logon...enter the phone info. a carier password (or whatever) Next time the phone is synced to iTunes it's unlocked.
> Wouldn't be hard to implement that on Apples side.


Except that way would be more prone insiders abusing the system maybe (a username and password is perhaps a tad impersonal/anonymous)? I dunno... from what I've read it's always involved calling apple by a customer care agent.


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## kkritsilas (Mar 1, 2010)

I'd like to know why it even requires a call to the carrier in the first place. All it should require is connecting to the PC/Mac, and a request to go out to unlock the phone. iTunes obviously knows the IMEI, its displayed on the Summary screen of iTunes, and it knows which carrier the iPhone is on as well. Then, you send a request to unlock through iTunes, Apple's servers send the request to Rogers/Bell/Telus/whatever carrrier, the carrier comes back and verifies that the phone is no longer under contract, and your iTunes account gets billed for the (hopefully greatly reduced) unlocking fee, if there is any charge at all. This doesn't use any employee resources, and this seems easier for both the carriers and Apple. This whole business of "you must have an account in good standing" is another form of coercion by the carriers. I already completed my contract, and I have moved to a contract with another carrier, for example, does this mean that I can't have my iphone from my previous contract unlocked? 

Kostas


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## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

According to the rep I talked to, you do not need to be a current customer to have your phone unlocked; you simply need to not be tied to the contract that you used to get that particular device. I am told i can get my 3GS unlocked because I have since upgraded to the iPhone 4, and I can have the iPhone 4 unlocked when the contract expires, or I have paid the ECF(specifically I can port my number, which will cancel my service, triggering the ECF, then have my iPhone 4 unlocked). Keep in mind sometimes Rogers customer service will give conflicting information. 

Anyone know of any other North American carriers that will unlock their phones? Rogers is taking a small step in the right direction, perhaps we should encourage what little things they can do right rather that complain that their new service isn't how we would like it to be. $50 sounds like a reasonable price to unlock a phone after I saved $500 of the MSRP. My one complaint would be that there may be another charge for unlocking if your phone needs to be replaced/repaired, I understand there may be technical limitations but future unlocking of the "same" phone should be covered by the original payment. As with any new service, i'm sure it will be tweaked/improved in the future.


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## Limit77 (Oct 6, 2010)

I know there is another thread on this forum that reported that Telus was going to be unlocking their phones in the new year... But no specific devices were mentioned.
I'd assume that eventually all Canadian carriers will adopt this sooner than later.


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

Just got off the phone with rogers who say that they cannot unlock my 3GS which was purchased unsubsidized through apple (eaton centre) just over a year ago. They say that the imei doesn't show up as a device belonging to them. Off to the apple store today...


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## andreww (Nov 20, 2002)

I wonder if a Rogers unlocked phone could still be jailbroken? If my device is already jailbroken, would i have to restore it first to have it unlocked?


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

Trevor Robertson said:


> personally I believe that the market will adjust to suit the needs of the consumer.
> 
> In this case you can purchase an iPhone unlocked right from the start so that option is there.
> 
> ...


For those of us who travel frequently outside the country, an unlocked phone is absolutely neccessary. If I was in Germany on roaming, I can't even imagine the cost it would rack up. An unlocked phone allows you to pop in your orange or t-mobile sim and pay normal rates while there.


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## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

Here's something new, I just called Rogers to unlock my 3GS, they say they can only unlock handsets provided by Rogers, not the repair/replacement provided by Apple. Apparently any hardware issues are supposed to be done through Rogers. Anybody know why my Apple warrantied phone is unable to be unlocked?


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

BlackViper said:


> Here's something new, I just called Rogers to unlock my 3GS, they say they can only unlock handsets provided by Rogers, not the repair/replacement provided by Apple. Apparently any hardware issues are supposed to be done through Rogers. Anybody know why my Apple warrantied phone is unable to be unlocked?


That's bull. They told me that as well, but eventually unlocked it for me. Just be persistent. They also tried to tell me that my device (purchased outright) was still locked to a 3 year contract.


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## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

*Unlock Apple warrantied 3GS*

So your previously mentioned Applestore 3GS has been unlocked? Do you have any suggestions of what to tell the unlocking dept so they will do mine? The last guy I talked to seemed upset that I had already been told they won't unlock my phone, though other CSR's have told me they will or won't for various reasons.


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

BlackViper said:


> So your previously mentioned Applestore 3GS has been unlocked? Do you have any suggestions of what to tell the unlocking dept so they will do mine? The last guy I talked to seemed upset that I had already been told they won't unlock my phone, though other CSR's have told me they will or won't for various reasons.


They first told me that my device didn't appear in their list of devices. (whatever that meant - maybe the serial wasn't one of theirs) 
So I went to the apple store and they said "why are you coming here?"
Reactivated an old sim so that my phone would be on the network. Called them again, and then they said "this phone appears to be under contract still" i was adamant that it wasn't and they finally said ok. Your problem sounds different tho. You might need to call retentions to get it sorted if you've already taken it to the highest level. Also you bought the phone outright yourself at the applestore yeah?

And yes mine is unlocked now.


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## Principal (Nov 28, 2004)

*Same scenario*



jawknee said:


> They first told me that my device didn't appear in their list of devices. (whatever that meant - maybe the serial wasn't one of theirs)
> So I went to the apple store and they said "why are you coming here?"
> Reactivated an old sim so that my phone would be on the network. Called them again, and then they said "this phone appears to be under contract still" i was adamant that it wasn't and they finally said ok. Your problem sounds different tho. You might need to call retentions to get it sorted if you've already taken it to the highest level. Also you bought the phone outright yourself at the applestore yeah?
> 
> And yes mine is unlocked now.


My 3Gs unlock went almost verbatim to yours... my iphone is now running on a Telus sim that my son is paying for but not using, hehe


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## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

My 3GS was originally bought at Future-shop as they were the only place to have stock at the time. The problem, as I was told, is that Rogers will only unlock a phone that they (or an authorized reseller?) provided. Phones from Apple's warranty dept (mail in repair in my case) are not "Rogers" phones and therefore not eligible for unlocking. I suppose it's mostly a CSR lottery as some say that my phone can be unlocked but after transferring departments others say it can't or won't be unlocked. 
On the other hand, this experience has helped me decide to drop Rogers all together and move to Sasktel's new HSPA network.


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## Dr_AL (Apr 29, 2007)

> My 3GS was originally bought at Future-shop as they were the only place to have stock at the time. The problem, as I was told, is that Rogers will only unlock a phone that they (or an authorized reseller?) provided. Phones from Apple's warranty dept (mail in repair in my case) are not "Rogers" phones and therefore not eligible for unlocking. I suppose it's mostly a CSR lottery as some say that my phone can be unlocked but after transferring departments others say it can't or won't be unlocked.
> On the other hand, this experience has helped me decide to drop Rogers all together and move to Sasktel's new HSPA network.


That's a load of crap...

I unlocked my iPhone on the first day that Rogers started the program. The CSR's hadn't even received the memos on the program yet. With that said I'm on my 4th iPhone 3GS, and Rogers had no issues unlocking it when I called, other than dealing with the CSR's who didn't know about the program. All of my iPhone replacements went through the Apple Store and were replaced on the spot.


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## Limit77 (Oct 6, 2010)

Picasa Web Albums - stephenchartrand77 - Public

I wish Telus would get on board sooner than later


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## DS (Oct 7, 2004)

If you're good you can get your on-contract iPhone 4 unlocked as well


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## Limit77 (Oct 6, 2010)

DS said:


> If you're good you can get your on-contract iPhone 4 unlocked as well


Explain please!!


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## DS (Oct 7, 2004)

By good I mean 'good at convincing reps at doing things they shouldn't do'. lol

And to do that you have to convince them that you're on contract for some special reason (eg. the plan you're on is not offered month to month) and that the phone that you're using on that contract was not subsidized. How you do this is up to you. Chances are you did get the phone at the 169/269 subsidized price and you'll have to do a bit of 'fudging'. Rogers is quite good at 'fudging' themselves as we've seen in this very thread, so I wouldn't feel bad about this. 

The bottom line is that you're still bound by the contract, and if you decide to cancel before it's over you're still responsible for the early cancellation penalties which MORE THAN COVER the subsidized remainder of the phones price. The phone is yours regardless.


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