Sony Ericsson T230

Damage_Plan · **Sony Ericsson T230 -** 02-22-2013, 02:04 | posts: 184

I just bought this old phone (my first cellphone when I was in highschool lol) from an ebay listing in Europe... they guy said it was unlocked and in great condition...... well the phone is almost in mint brand new condition and had all the box/leaflets and manuals it came with! the only problem is that it wasn't fully unlocked.... I bought the phone fo nostalgic reasons and wish to get it onto a prepaid network.... its a tmobile phone so its possible and I even contacted tmo and they said it would most definitely work but I just need it to be unlocked. can someone lead me in the right direction as to how to unlock this awesome little cellphone from 2003-04? it would mean a lot to me!

scoutingwraith · 02-22-2013, 03:45 | posts: 9,228 | Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Have you tried t-Mobile to help you with unlocking. I have done this before with previous phones even though i was not with them on contract. However the policy might have changed so be careful.

BTW I loved my old Sony Ericsson W810i

Damage_Plan · 02-22-2013, 06:09 | posts: 184

sadly tmo told me to contact sony, and sony told me to contact sony.uk (I don't have intenatl. calling so im screwed in that dept.) meanwhile I found a website called Cellunlocker.net and they said theyd be able to do it after I selected this phone from its drop down menus, but they want 39.99 usd in order for them to send the code to me via email.... however I just don't know if I can trust them....I might just do it because im that desperate to get this phone unlocked!

d_mouse · 02-22-2013, 08:01 | posts: 847 | Location: Land Down Under

try this
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/...s/phone/en_GB/

Sony UK contact page

dcx_badass · 02-22-2013, 09:23 | posts: 9,547 | Location: Leeds [UK]

You can unlock yourself for free, just need a cheap serial cable from eBay.

Damage_Plan · 02-22-2013, 10:19 | posts: 184

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcx_badass

You can unlock yourself for free, just need a cheap serial cable from eBay.

what software do I use? and what serial cable do you have in mind?

Damage_Plan · 02-22-2013, 10:21 | posts: 184

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_mouse

try this
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/...s/phone/en_GB/

Sony UK contact page

I will try this me thinks!

dcx_badass · 02-22-2013, 23:57 | posts: 9,547 | Location: Leeds [UK]

Sony won't do it, only the network can request it.

You need a T28 serial cable, seem to be pricey on ebay now, the software is semc tool.

I've done three T230's, two T68i, T68m, T610, T630 with mine, doesn't take long, just old now so might be hard to track down. Any phone shop/market that does them should be able to do it really cheap now.

deltatux · 02-23-2013, 01:08 | posts: 18,782 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Guys, due to recent US law changes, if the OP is from the US, we can not have this discussion on Guru3D since cell phone unlocking is considered illegal without carrier consent in the US and we have a "no warez" policy.

deltatux

Damage_Plan · 02-23-2013, 03:33 | posts: 184

uhhh tmobile said the phone is allowed to be unlocked and used on their network, they were the ones that told me so.... also the phone im trying to unlock is a Tmobile UK phone, and planning to use it on a Tmobile US network. but whatever, if you still think im breaking rules, just get rid of this thread... sorry wasn't trying to cause any harm.

deltatux · 02-23-2013, 03:37 | posts: 18,782 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damage_Plan

uhhh tmobile said the phone is allowed to be unlocked and used on their network, they were the ones that told me so.... also the phone im trying to unlock is a Tmobile UK phone, and planning to use it on a Tmobile US network. no rules being broken here dude!

ok, when stating T-Mobile I wasn't sure if it's T-Mobile USA or other T-Mobile networks. If the device was purchased in the States, you have to have the carrier unlock it to be considered a legal unlock.

deltatux

Damage_Plan · 02-23-2013, 03:39 | posts: 184

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

ok, when stating T-Mobile I wasn't sure if it's T-Mobile USA or other T-Mobile networks. If the device was purchased in the States, you have to have the carrier unlock it to be considered a legal unlock.

deltatux

I bought it on ebay(while in the US) , from someone in the UK.

deltatux · 02-23-2013, 03:43 | posts: 18,782 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damage_Plan

I bought it on ebay(while in the US) , from someone in the UK.

Not sure how US law would cover such a purchase lol.

deltatux

Damage_Plan · 02-23-2013, 03:49 | posts: 184

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

Not sure how US law would cover such a purchase lol.

deltatux

edit:

im not gonna even bother with trying to get this phone working again... its just a hassle and its gonna be a keepsake now i guess.

dcx_badass · 02-23-2013, 13:13 | posts: 9,547 | Location: Leeds [UK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

Guys, due to recent US law changes, if the OP is from the US, we can not have this discussion on Guru3D since cell phone unlocking is considered illegal without carrier consent in the US and we have a "no warez" policy.

deltatux

Only applies to phones sold after the law came into place as far as I know. Besides it's not a US phone.

Op, T-Mobile UK should do it if you pay, but like I said a shop should be able to do it easily.

deltatux · 02-23-2013, 16:49 | posts: 18,782 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcx_badass

Only applies to phones sold after the law came into place as far as I know. Besides it's not a US phone.

Op, T-Mobile UK should do it if you pay, but like I said a shop should be able to do it easily.

Which the OP did buy it after the law came into place based on his wording in the OP lol. Even though the phone didn't come from the States, he bought it in the States, not sure how the law works there lol, oh well.

deltatux

Damage_Plan · 02-23-2013, 21:13 | posts: 184

to clarify:

its a TMobile Sony Ericsson T230 (UK model) that I bought from someone who is from the UK and ultimately sent me the phone from the UK. Im trying to get it to work the the same Network (Tmobile) in the USA... I don't see how there is ANYTHING wrong with that

Im sure ebay would have blocked me from such a purchase if there was something about it that broke our laws in the US.

deltatux · *Last edited by deltatux; 02-23-2013 at 21:28.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damage_Plan

to clarify:

its a TMobile Sony Ericsson T230 (UK model) that I bought from someone who is from the UK and ultimately sent me the phone from the UK. Im trying to get it to work the the same Network (Tmobile) in the USA... I don't see how there is ANYTHING wrong with that

T-Mobile USA does not operate the same network as T-Mobile UK, they're on different bands. You'll need a quad-band GSM phone to get it working on T-Mobile USA or a quad or penta band (depending on city) to get HSPA+ to work on T-Mobile USA's network.

As for the legality, the Library of Congress in the States rescinded the ability to unlock cell phones in January 2013, any phones sold after that date must be unlocked by the carriers to be considered legal. Guru3D does not allow discussions that are considered illegal activities. Thus the discussion here.

EDIT: According to GSMArena, the T230 only has dual band capabilities 900/1800. These two bands are incompatible with any Canadian/US networks. You needed to get the Sony Ericsson T226 (850/1900 MHz) which contains the proper radio that works with Canadian/US GSM networks.

deltatux

dcx_badass · 02-23-2013, 23:38 | posts: 9,547 | Location: Leeds [UK]

I presume by sold they mean new at retail though, as there is no way to track the ownership of a 8 year old phone to check if it's the original owner or pre-owned.

If the OP had one years ago that worked, then surely this one will?

Speed Weed · 02-24-2013, 12:41 | posts: 638 | Location: Somewhere in Scotland

But can it run Crysis 3?