So, I'm going through the process of cleaning out and fooling around with a second-hand Wizard I got cheap. I go through the hard reset, all the functions seem to work out alright, etc. So now it's time for me to unlock it! I go through the process of SIM unlocking it with a coworker's SIM card. Easy as pie. Ok that's done, now to CID unlock it. This one's another G4, so unfortunately I have to fork over money to unlock it.
So I go to IMEI-CHECK.CO.UK, and pay up the 20 GBP (Which comes out to $38 USD), and get the software and the .unl file. I've done a backup, everything, etc. I go to run the program, and Windows SHUTS DOWN. Kind of annoying. But you know what? It happens, and I email them. I get a very nice reply after like 5 minutes! Impressive, considering they're off in the Chinese Never Never Land. We go through a couple emails, again quickly, and I start getting the impression that they don't know what's going on either. That's OK, I'm a software developer, I understand
So we go through some troubleshooting tips, and then mention that support for Vista is Beta. Now, on the page, it says "Note that the unlocker work only under Windows 2000/XP/VISTA. It WILL NOT run under 98, or ME." Nothing about Beta, so I mention that they should probably put up a notice or something, and that I'm still willing to help troubleshoot if they are. Well, eventually they get to a point where they say that I need to use another computer, or do a full re-install of Vista. Unfortunately, I only have one laptop that I use for both home and work, so re-installing is not an option, and I can't run unauthorized software on office-owned computers.
So I politely mention I'd like a refund, and if they ever get the software working, I will rebuy it! At this point, it's taking about a day or so to get a response from them, so I file a PayPal claim. Unfortunately, I get an instant response from PayPal:
"As stated in our User Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a refund."
So, I'm out $40, and PayPal could care less, and the folks at IMEI-CHECK could care less, because they're pretty much running a monopoly on this software.
Don't buy from them if you have Vista. I wouldn't buy from them at ALL personally, I'd wait until *eventually* a free G4 solution comes out. There are other methods of flashing ROMs.
And PayPal SuXorZ. Yeah, I had to go there.
Wow, that's a bummer. I haven't had to deal with these guys myself, but I know PayPal's "protections" are pretty bogus.
My question is why did you waste your time with those guys anyhow? You can flash any carrier/cooked ROM you want without paying anyone. Look here.
So, save your money and flash away!
Yeah...
I just figured if I could get it CID unlocked, I wouldn't have to go through the ShellTool hassle (I've actually had good luck using RUU through Vista on another Wizard). That would have been worth it, IMHO. But I got burned, and just wanted to warn others to learn from my mistakes. (IMHO, it wasn't a mistake, but then again, I was the impatient one, lol)
Lesson learned. $40 lesson. But learned.
I'm sure they will resolve this issue for you, or refund you. IMEI check have always been fairly good from what I have seen here. I have used them twice myself, and florin who I think is one of the main people behind it, has done lots for the community over the years.
Just be patient, sounds like it's paypal that's screwed you, not IMEI check, not yet anyway.
One thing you CAN do is copy the files to your storage card.. and use a friends computer without Vista to unlock.
If computer shuts down then check yr active sync version..it shd be anything but not 4.5...try and yr computer will not reboot..
Thanks for the replies
Looking throughout the forums, I've noticed that Florin's bumped up against some people, but you're correct, he does seem to eventually work things out. Given it's the weekend, I hold hold it against them for now.
I'm not worried about losing files on this one, it's a unit that I just got from someone, so I'm hard-resetting it anyhow.
Unfortunately, like I told IMEI-CHECK, I don't have another computer that I can use (other than work computers, but those are off limits).
Having Vista, I don't have ActiveSync; I've got Windows Mobile Device Manager, and it's up to date.
I appreciate everyone's help in this community, and I don't know if I made it clear enough in my first post, but I'm more anti-PayPal than anyone else
Update...
I am still in email arguments with IMEI-CHECK. I originally contacted them on the 18th, still not getting any kind of good reply. Does Florin represent them, work for them, etc? I am constantly told to use another computer, when I have, in many emails, explained that I do not have access to any other computers. This computer doubles as my personal and business computer, so re-installing a fresh copy of Vista is not an option at this point, when Vista does not seem to have any issues.
I am really hoping that IMEI-CHECK steps up and does the right thing...
*sigh*
p.s. PayPal sent me a survey on what I thought of their *cough* "customer service". I basically told them where to stick their survey.
i have use imei 4 times ... they have fix a error for me only for the price of unlocking my g4 prophet!
some guys have trouble with the ipl/spl 3.08 version and imei have fix too.
talk with they guys ... but ... here you found a lot of threads with vista problems! if you have no changes to use XP ... try vmware and emu. it!
Finally!
First email: Jun 18
Rec'd Ref.: Jul 4
Ok, so finally IMEI-CHECK proposed a deal that I send my phone out for someone else to do the upgrade. They offered GBP100, but apparently it was a bluff. I *accepted* their offer, and next thing I knew, there was a refund. I lost a dollar in the GBP<->Dollar but I don't care.
Funny thing, I actually got a email from Pay-Pal after the whole mess, saying that they completed their investigation and I've been refunded. For the record, no PayPal, you suck, you didn't investigate sh*t.
Here's my proposal to IMEI-CHECK: I have kept the .UNL file. If you release a version of the program that I can use, and that works, I'll pay you! (I haven't decided if I'll pay full price after everything, but still, I'm an honest guy, and I feel like it's worth paying for your time and effort)
For the record, if anyone can use the .UNL file, let me know. I know it can't be used to unlock your phone (unless you happen to have the same IMEI as I do o.o;; ), but it could be used for testing/development!
I like smiley's.
ChristoA1 said:
bla bla bla bla bla bla
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after reading your endless bla bla, i can just suggest you one thing:
1.) use your device with your's provider original sim card, so you don't need unlock it
or
2.) use a normal OS on your pc
Even those guys are my competitors, i have to say that they have pretty good soft and it works.
Hmmmm....
raskal said:
after reading your endless bla bla, i can just suggest you one thing:
1.) use your device with your's provider original sim card, so you don't need unlock it
or
2.) use a normal OS on your pc
Even those guys are my competitors, i have to say that they have pretty good soft and it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure you were following along the whole time... In response to your points:
1) IMEI-CHECK is not for SIM unlocking. It's for CID unlocking, which has nothing to do with my provider's card. Plus, your logic is a bit flawed if you think that people shouldn't unlock their phones and should just leave things the way they are. IMHO, that's kinda against the point of this site.
2) Vista happens to be the "current" Microsoft OS. XP is now a previous edition of Windows. Granted, it's fully supported, and probably will until the year 3045, but that's besides the point. And seeing as 1) Microsoft encompasses the majority of the OS market, and 2) IMEI-CHECK's software only runs on Windows, and not the other OS's, it's a fair assumption that this should suffice for "normal os". Also, they recommended I do a "fresh install" of Vista. Seeing as this is my only computer, which I've previously mentioned, that's not a plausible solution.
Let me make it clear: I don't necessarily have a problem with IMEI-CHECK. I think they're a smart company, that's filling a niche very nicely. I don't have a problem with their software, any more than I can have a problem with any software. I simply have a problem with how they handled the situation this time.
Please take the time to read and think about others' positions before reacting. If I wanted to write "bla bla", I would've simply written it. Takes much less time.
ChristoA1 said:
1) IMEI-CHECK is not for SIM unlocking. It's for CID unlocking, which has nothing to do with my provider's card. Plus, your logic is a bit flawed if you think that people shouldn't unlock their phones and should just leave things the way they are. IMHO, that's kinda against the point of this site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMEI-CHECK does both. If you wanted just CID, consider SIM as a bonus.
ChristoA1 said:
2) Vista happens to be the "current" Microsoft OS. XP is now a previous edition of Windows. Granted, it's fully supported, and probably will until the year 3045, but that's besides the point. And seeing as 1) Microsoft encompasses the majority of the OS market, and 2) IMEI-CHECK's software only runs on Windows, and not the other OS's, it's a fair assumption that this should suffice for "normal os". Also, they recommended I do a "fresh install" of Vista. Seeing as this is my only computer, which I've previously mentioned, that's not a plausible solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, as I see things, their software hooks between ActiveSync/Device manager and your HTC, maybe by "brutal" means.
What I want to say is that MS maybe just fixed their latest Device Manager to disallow what could be seen as an "hack", and they IMEI-CHECK just tested their software with an out of the box (outdated?) Vista, and that worked. You know how much Vista is trying to protect itself against modification.
Furthermore, as a more personal note, many people run XP, or had switched to Vista then downgraded (I had these kernel panics when I hooked an VGA monitor on my ATI VGA output, and that a shame for a laptop) and writing good vista drivers will take some time.
ChristoA1 said:
Let me make it clear: I don't necessarily have a problem with IMEI-CHECK. I think they're a smart company, that's filling a niche very nicely. I don't have a problem with their software, any more than I can have a problem with any software. I simply have a problem with how they handled the situation this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but what would have you done ? Once they mailed you the unl file, they can't prevent you from using their tool. They want to avoid the "Ok lets order a key, I use it, it work, good, now refund me I run under vista" scheme. I think a acceptable deal would have been to "ok, we'll write on our website that vista support is experimental, ship you phone (at your expense) to us and we'll send to you back with dhl free after we patch it using our computer".
BTW, 90% of computer out there run XP, you shouldn't have any problem to borrow/use one of them for 5 minutes.
thebrave said:
IMEI-CHECK does both. If you wanted just CID, consider SIM as a bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... Didn't know that. But the primary objective in using them is the CID lock. But thanks for the heads up!
thebrave said:
Well, as I see things, their software hooks between ActiveSync/Device manager and your HTC, maybe by "brutal" means.
What I want to say is that MS maybe just fixed their latest Device Manager to disallow what could be seen as an "hack", and they IMEI-CHECK just tested their software with an out of the box (outdated?) Vista, and that worked. You know how much Vista is trying to protect itself against modification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, and agree as well. I think the biggest problem was that the website said they supported vista, then they emailed saying they didn't, *then they emailed saying they did
thebrave said:
Furthermore, as a more personal note, many people run XP, or had switched to Vista then downgraded (I had these kernel panics when I hooked an VGA monitor on my ATI VGA output, and that a shame for a laptop) and writing good vista drivers will take some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard the horror stories. Hopefully *knocks on wood* I won't have any issues (that I can't fix).
thebrave said:
Yes, but what would have you done ? Once they mailed you the unl file, they can't prevent you from using their tool. They want to avoid the "Ok lets order a key, I use it, it work, good, now refund me I run under vista" scheme. I think a acceptable deal would have been to "ok, we'll write on our website that vista support is experimental, ship you phone (at your expense) to us and we'll send to you back with dhl free after we patch it using our computer".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, at the end, they actually offered to pay freight to a "public forum" to do the patch, and throw in 100GBP. It was when I actually accepted their offer that I received a refund, lol I completely agree with the logic of not wanting to "give away" tools like such, but I also told them that when the program (which can be downloaded without paying, just won't do anything without the UNL file) is fixed to work, I have no problem paying them.
thebrave said:
BTW, 90% of computer out there run XP, you shouldn't have any problem to borrow/use one of them for 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, unfortunately I live/work not only out in Bublefuck, but on the outside of Bumblefuck I've got a computer, and the office has two, and I cant use those.
But anyways, I will periodically try to tool every now and then and see if there's improvement. If so, money to IMEI-CHECK. But working product first!
It does work in vista.
Hey,
I've written a short instruction on how to make it work in Vista.
It's here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=315650
Cheers,
Xenose
if you paid through paypal using your creditcard then you could file a complaint that goods received were not as described through your visa/mc and get your money back ASAP!!!
Hi there,
A good friend of mine will be celebrating her birthday in a week's time, so a few friends and I bought a SE W880i as a birthday gift for her. It's locked to the Orange network in the UK so I was wondering if anyone here knows how to unlock it (preferably free ones). I did a google search and I cant seem to understand what they're saying. Maybe cause Im used to my Hermes, and a SE suddenly seemed very odd to me. Also, I have read somewhere that this phone cant be unlocked from home; I'll need a special cable. Is it true?
Please help! I know I shouldnt be posting this here as it has nth to do with xda phones, but Im really running out of ideas.
Thanks in advance.
http://gsmhosting.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=493507
try that ^_^
Hey there. Thanks for your reply. Really appreciated that.
Anyway, found the link earlier on thru google before i post this thread. However, I didnt understand a thing they said. Im quite ok when it comes to Hermes, but with SE, im a total n00b! lol
-What are DB2020 models?
-CID49/51/52?
-DCU-60 cable?
-xs++?
So it is true that I will need an extra cable to unlock it myself? Aww deng. That means I'll have to buy it. Then might as well as pay for it to be unlocked since I'll have to spend anyway.
But, out of curiosity, how did those guys on ebay sell unlocking services for SE phones if it needs to be done with the DCU-60 cable? I think I've heard of some unlocking code or something.
Thanks!
For SE DB2020 DON'T NEED SPECIAL CABLE FOR UNLOCK (only need if you want to flash EROM, EEPROM e.g spanish village for you). The gsmhosting link is too good for you. Use this http://rs300.rapidshare.com/files/85926001/DB2020.rar
Thanks! I'll give it a go later in the day!
Can anybody tell me if this phone is capable of being unlocked? IF possible, please post a guide? I'm a new user to the forum, so I can't drop you a link. But they have the guide on softbank's English website. I think it's the best phone stupid softbank offers.
Always wanted a rooted phone. Please, help me out with this?
:cyclops:
As for unlocking your phone their are third party sites that can help with that, usually the unlocking process is just a simple code entered after inserting a foreign sim card, which will SIM unlock your phone. As for root you can check this link in XDA fourm
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2333055
if i helped you in any way, throw a thanks my way !
Follow-up request
I got a newer model: 301F.
Listen, this gives me hope, but I'm a total beginner at this stuff. What kind of third-party site helps with that? Could you send me some sample links that might work with my phone? Because it's really my dream to unlock my phone, man, and get sudo access--root it, ideally.
This is really cool. Thanks so much for writing. But I'm really hoping for something a wintard can figure out.
About the thread: it's for the F-X02, right? It's a slightly different model. It's also a different provider. I thought: "Maybe a custom ROM or rooting method needs to be made per each phone?" I'm not sure.
Thanks, again. Please, follow-up.
abstractVoid said:
As for unlocking your phone their are third party sites that can help with that, usually the unlocking process is just a simple code entered after inserting a foreign sim card, which will SIM unlock your phone. As for root you can check this link in XDA fourm
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2333055
if i helped you in any way, throw a thanks my way !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fohsap said:
I got a newer model: 301F.
Listen, this gives me hope, but I'm a total beginner at this stuff. What kind of third-party site helps with that? Could you send me some sample links that might work with my phone? Because it's really my dream to unlock my phone, man, and get sudo access--root it, ideally.
This is really cool. Thanks so much for writing. But I'm really hoping for something a wintard can figure out.
About the thread: it's for the F-X02, right? It's a slightly different model. It's also a different provider. I thought: "Maybe a custom ROM or rooting method needs to be made per each phone?" I'm not sure.
Thanks, again. Please, follow-up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your milage may vary, but you can check Ebay for unlock codes (they go for like 2 dollars or something) really cheap, so far i have unlocked 3 phones using this method, which is a sim unlock and works perfectly fine. If they cannot find a sim unlock code for you then they refund you your 2-3 bucks whatever it costs (still cheap) i would suggest you try this with an un-activated (or activated sim card) doesn't make much of a difference. you can literally just walk into any atnt store or (whatever provider you want unlocked) and ask for a empty sim let them know you want to unlock your phone to be on their service and they will be more than happy to just give u one ! By the way the unlock instructions are emailed to you when you order a code, they will ask for the proper IMEI number and what not, all of this is in their directions. Let me know how it goes