I bought an Alcatel Goflip 4 from T-Mobile almost 2 years ago. I want to use it with a sim card from a Canadian carrier when I am in Canada. I have had multiple contacts with T-Mobile tech support and have been given four different unlock codes, none of which have worked. Has anyone been able to unlock one of these devices to use with other carriers?
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If your device meets the requirements in the link below, Tmobile will automatically unlock the phone so no need for a code.
https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy
I meet all the requirements - I bought the device at a T-Mobile store more than a year ago. Are you saying that the device will be unlocked automatically when it becomes eligible? Or do I have to request the unlock? Also, are you sure this automatic unlock works on the Alcatel Goflip4? Some of the information that I read implied that this sis not work for all devices?
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It worked for my Pixel 6 and I was still making payments on it.
When asking about unlock codes don't go through phone support and contact Tmobile on one of their social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter using messenger.
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Hopefully that Canadian carrier isn't Telus. They will label it as, "a grey market device", not allow it to use VoLTE, VoNR, or WiFi Calling and it won't be allowed to to.either.
Thanks for the warning syaoran. In fact I did want to use Telus!
Gramps28 - the fact that your Pixel 6 could be unlocked automatically unfortunately doesn’t mean it will work for my Alcatel Goflip4. I’ve just been looking at a bunch of online phone unlocking services. For each one that I have tried, when I get to the step of selecting the phone model, Alcatel Goflip is not listed as an option. At this point I am feeling ripped off. I was in the US and needed a phone that would work there. The T-Mobile sales person assured me that the phone could be unlocked after one year. I would not have bought it otherwise. Since then I have called T-Mobile support multiple times and have been given four different unlock codes, none of which has worked. I even mailed a detailed letter to T-Mobile customer support which was never even acknowledged. How can a supposedly reputable company behave so badly?
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Thanks for the warning syaoran. In fact I did want to use Telus!
Gramps28 - the fact that your pixel 28 could be unlocked automatically unfortunately doesn’t mean it will work for my Alcatel Goflip4. I’ve just been looking at a bunch of online phone unlocking services. For each one that I have tried, when I get to the step of selecting the phone model, Alcatel Goflip is not listed as an option. At this point I am feeling ripped off. I was in the US and needed a phone that would work there. The T-Mobile sales person assured me that the phone could be unlocked after one year. I would not have bought it otherwise. Since then I have called T-Mobile support multiple times and have been given four different unlock codes, none of which has worked. I even mailed a detailed letter to T-Mobile customer support which was never even acknowledged. How can a supposedly reputable company behave so badly?
Rigers, Freedom, Videotron, and Bell should all be fine. This was a change that hit me back when In had my OnePlis 8T+ 5G from T-Mobile. When I bought the s23 Ultra from T-Mobike and had the same issues. I had one of their senior network engineers tell me that because the device wasn't purchased from Telus or a Canadian model sold by Bell, Telus, or Rogers, it would be labed as a grey market device and basically limited to 3G for calls. I had to move my Canadian number to Rogers as a result.
Hey there
When you bought the phone did you have a prepaid or postpaid T-Mobile account? Did you have the phone on a payment plan? Did you use it on a T-Mobile phone number for at least 40 days? Prepaid accounts require usage and then a minimum of $100 in refills.
I really want to help you find out why the codes are not working and figure out what we can do to get it straightened out. Thanks for sharing a little more information so we can work towards a fix.
HeavenM - thanks for the reply.
To bring you up to date, three days ago 2024-04-15 11:05 I called tech support again at 800-866-2453. Same story as before “your phone will be unlocked within 72 hours”. So waited 72 hours, put a Rogers (Canadian) SIM card in the phone and powered up. The phone requests an NCK code and reminds me “just one more attempt remaining”. So I powered down. Then phoned tech support one more time at 800-866-2453, just now 2024-04-18 16:20. Got the same story from the phone agent. I told him that was not good enough and I’d been made the same promise at least twice before. He then promised to escalate the problem. I gave him the IMEI and phone number of the Alcatel device and told him tech support could message me using it. Also gave him my email address though I believe he already had it.
To answer your questions: I bought the phone in May 2022, almost two years ago. I paid for the phone in full at time of purchase. I got a prepaid account at that time and have kept it up ever since. I have used the phone off and on when I visit the USA. Total refills when I last added them up were more than $130 - since them have spent more.
Right now the phone is on. Even though I am in Canada and the prepaid plan does not support roaming in Canada, I am able to receive calls and texts because I have “Wifi calling” enabled, though the account balance is very low right now.
It may be that the codes I was sent were PUK codes, not NCK codes. The support people I talked to seemed to be pretty clueless and probably don’t know the difference. As a result I may have wasted 9 of the allowed 10 attempts to unlock.
Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
By the way, there seems to be another T-Mobile customer who has posted to the community about similar problems, also with the Goflip:
Since you only have one try left, I would highly suggest reaching our T-force team by sending us a direct message on Facebook or X. You can use one of the icons at the bottom of the page to get to the right accounts. That team is amazing at all things, but our best team when it comes to unlock requests (in my opinion). They should be able to review what the others have been giving you and figure out the missing link.
Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately I am not a Facebook or X user so there will be a learning curve to deal with. I will try. I just wish I could connect on the telephone with someone more technically knowledgeable than your front-line telephone agents. If someone could call on my landline I could have the Goflip with me.
Can you be more specific? If I search Facebook for “T-mobile support” I get a bunch of groups but they all appear to be groups of users, no actual T-mobile employed tech support people.
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Can you be more specific? If I search Facebook for “T-mobile support” I get a bunch of groups but they all appear to be groups of users, no actual T-mobile employed tech support people.
You are not looking for T-Mobile Support. You are looking for T-Mobile to DM for support.
This link should take you to the Facebook page for T-Mobile. https://www.facebook.com/TMobile
You would have to create an account to send them a message.
I just bought a cell phone from the US locked to TMobile. In Canada you can literally just unlock phones yourself with a little internet search or by calling the carrier. But WOW T Mobile literally has the worst customer service I've ever seen. The lady literally told me I can do it myself.....
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+14
I just bought a cell phone from the US locked to TMobile. In Canada you can literally just unlock phones yourself with a little internet search or by calling the carrier. But WOW T Mobile literally has the worst customer service I've ever seen. The lady literally told me I can do it myself.....
Tmobile can only unlock phones for their customers.
Userlevel 7
+15
I just bought a cell phone from the US locked to TMobile. In Canada you can literally just unlock phones yourself with a little internet search or by calling the carrier. But WOW T Mobile literally has the worst customer service I've ever seen. The lady literally told me I can do it myself.....
The US is not Canada! When purchasing devices for use in a foreign country, make sure you understand how things differ in the place you are purchasing it from.
If you purchased.an Android device, there are tons of cellphone repair shops and online third party services that will be able to SIM unlock it for a fee. If it's an iPhone, you are better off picking up a T-Mobile USA prepaid SIM, adding $100 on funds, and then requesting the SIM unlock, which can take up to a few weeks.
https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy
Hi Canadiandyva,
I originated this thread and like you, experienced considerable frustration - see my post on this thread 3 months ago starting “HeavenM - thanks for the reply”. The support agents accessible by telephone are not trained on this issue and gave me nothing but misinformation. A million thanks to HeavenM who steered me to the support group at https://www.facebook.com/TMobile (as you can read above). They were able to solve the problem immediately.
You may be told that T-Mobile can do a “remote unlock” so that you do not need an unlock code. This is not true for all devices, e.g. not for my GoFlip4. You may also be given the wrong kind of unlock code. I learned to always specify that I needed a “NETWORK unlock code” (NCK). There’s another kind, the PUK, which is not what you want.
Your biggest problem may be that you did not purchase the phone from T-Mobile so they may not be willing to help.
Good luck.
Userlevel 7
+14
Hi Canadiandyva,
I originated this thread and like you, experienced considerable frustration - see my post on this thread 3 months ago starting “HeavenM - thanks for the reply”. The support agents accessible by telephone are not trained on this issue and gave me nothing but misinformation. A million thanks to HeavenM who steered me to the support group at https://www.facebook.com/TMobile (as you can read above). They were able to solve the problem immediately.
You may be told that T-Mobile can do a “remote unlock” so that you do not need an unlock code. This is not true for all devices, e.g. not for my GoFlip4. You may also be given the wrong kind of unlock code. I learned to always specify that I needed a “NETWORK unlock code” (NCK). There’s another kind, the PUK, which is not what you want.
Your biggest problem may be that you did not purchase the phone from T-Mobile so they may not be willing to help.
Good luck.
And they're not a Tmobile customer is another problem.
Canadiandyva,
Also wanted to warn you that many of the online sites that claim to provide unlock codes are scammers. One of them (which had all kinds of positive online reviews) advertised a price of about $40 then when I paid it, told me that was their price to “assess” my phone and that they could provide the unlock code for an additional $100. I disputed the charge with the card issuer who fortunately provided a refund. If you decide to try to have a third party unlock the phone, suggest you go to a bricks-and-mortar independent cell phone shop.
We in Canada are fortunate that our law requires carriers to unlock phones. The US regulators seem to be mesmerized by the FUD about the supposed inability of carriers to enforce their contracts without network locks. Funny, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for other types of businesses that sell on credit.
Userlevel 7
+15
Canadiandyva,
Also wanted to warn you that many of the online sites that claim to provide unlock codes are scammers. One of them (which had all kinds of positive online reviews) advertised a price of about $40 then when I paid it, told me that was their price to “assess” my phone and that they could provide the unlock code for an additional $100. I disputed the charge with the card issuer who fortunately provided a refund. If you decide to try to have a third party unlock the phone, suggest you go to a bricks-and-mortar independent cell phone shop.
We in Canada are fortunate that our law requires carriers to unlock phones. The US regulators seem to be mesmerized by the FUD about the supposed inability of carriers to enforce their contracts without network locks. Funny, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for other types of businesses that sell on credit.
As a born Canadian that still deals with Canadian carriers for my Canadian number and for family and friends. I disagree. There is a lot more theft here of devices that are sold overseas where North American carriers blacklisted devices are not enforced. This is also why phone theft in Canada has exploded over the past few years. Carrier locks do somewhat discourage theft. The CRTC in Canada would not have had to pass a law to force carriers to SIM unlock devices if Canadian carriers weren't refusing to SIM unlock devices long after contracts ended for the customer. In some cases, even charging fees of $100+ for an unlock after all contractual obligations were met. The law was passed in Canada because the carriers were beyond greedy and unreasonable.
If you are in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Pacific Mall at Kennedy and Steeles will more than likely have a place or few that can SIM unlock it for a fee.
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