Due to how the industry works, there are agreements about unlocking and a phone if bought from a carrier could be locked and the IMEI check has to be done.
Remember no one will be able to tell why it got locked but you have to decide to pursue or not Samsung on this.
This out of the way, I found I had to install the SIM the carrier it was locked onto before I could unlock the phone. So in short, install old sim, unlock, power down, slip in new card and setup.
NOW WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH APNs (see google) and such but I don't discuss APN setups as those move around a lot. Your new carrier will have that information.
-> AGAIN (sorry). To unlock, I have to install the old SIM. This can result in a lost phone if the owner tossed the old SIM!
I would like to know if any else has experienced this and if you have any ideas that could help.
Last month I purchased an unlocked Galaxy A5 (2017) phone from Staples (Canada). I set this phone up on my month-to-month plan from Freedom Mobile and all worked well. Except I am no longer a fan of Freedom Mobile so last week I decided to move my phone service to Koodo. Here is the problem. When I insert the Koodo SIM card the phone displays the SIM Network unlock screen and is asking me for an unlock PIN. Even though the phone was purchased unlocked (for flexibility) it somehow became locked to the Freedom network. So this is what I have done so far:
1. Contacted Staples where I purchased the phone. They could not help since they are just the distributor and have no access to unlock codes.
2. Contacted Freedom Mobile. They said they could not unlock the phone since it was not purchased from them. They said they only have access to codes for phones purchased from them.
3. Contacted Samsung Canada. They took my IMEI and said they could get a factory code in 2 to 5 business days!!! After 3 days I heard nothing so I called them back and after awhile on hold I did get a Samsung unlock code. Problem is it did not work. The phone just kept saying "Network unlock unsuccessful". Now Samsung says they need another 2 to 5 days to either validate the code they gave me or get me a new one.
Why would the manufacturer (Samsung) have such a hard time getting an unlock code for their own device? Anyone know why the phone might have become locked in the first place? I have not had use of this phone for a week now and I don't know when I will get access! I know I could try a 3rd party service to get an unlock code but they all charge between $35 and $50 to unlock a phone from Freedom Mobile plus 2 to 5 days processing time.
Thanks.

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