Palm Pre using Vodafone UK SIM?

DamnMachine · 07/25/2010, 12:33 PM

I'm interested in buying a Pre hands-free for use with an existing Vodafone UK SIM. (I'm locked into the contract).

The Vodafone web site says that the Pre is not available on Vodafone.
But Expansys seem to be offering an 8 Gb Pre at a reasonable price, and a comment in their support forum implies it is unlocked.

Can anyone clarify? Especially cool if someone actually has a Pre working on Vodafone UK today.

Thanks

\Damn

PreGP · 07/26/2010, 10:54 AM

I'm pretty sure that the unlocked 8GB Pre you can order from Expansys is imported from Germany. If that's the case it will be unlocked but have a QUERTZ German keyboard (with the Y and Z keys swapped compared to the O2 UK version). You can certainly use a Vodafone UK SIM in one of those if you don't mind the keyboard. Alternatively you can buy a UK Pre locked to O2 and you can unlock it for £10 which will enable you to use it with any SIM. The website for unlocking is here.

DamnMachine · 07/28/2010, 02:57 PM

Thanks for the response.

Expansys are advertising two different Palm Pres. The first is, as you say, a German QWERTZ model, in stock at £429. The second is on seven day delivery, at £239, and seems to be advertised with Vodafone contracts ... but based on the picture, it's QWERTY.

Are you a customer of the unlocking site who can vouch for them from experience, or the supplier?

johncc · 07/28/2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnMachine

...
Are you a customer of the unlocking site who can vouch for them from experience, or the supplier?

Nextgen experience here ... http://discussion.treocentral.com/gs...ed-my-pre.html

Or until you get to 10 posts. See the GSM forum thread Finally unlocked my Pre!

PreGP · 07/30/2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnMachine

Are you a customer of the unlocking site who can vouch for them from experience, or the supplier?

Neither I'm afraid. From what I've read on the forums however the unlocking software works well as long as you connect your pre via USB to a PC running Windows XP or 32bit Vista. It doesn't work at all with Windows 7 or 64bit versions of Windows. Once you've unlocked it it should stay unlocked despite WebOS upgrades. NextGen support if you get into trouble is apparently pretty good. I've not used it myself as like you I'm tied in to a contract so I'm waiting for the contract to run out with O2 before I switch to Orange to get better 3G coverage.

Rustyyy · 07/31/2010, 09:51 PM

I used a Vodafone UK sim in my pre for a while, worked fine with no problems at all.

DamnMachine · 08/03/2010, 01:10 AM

Thanks Rustyyy. Did you use a Rebel Simcard, or the NextGen unlock?

Rustyyy · 08/20/2010, 07:21 PM

I used a Rebel Simcard, but thinking about doing the Nextgen unlock on it as the Rebel Simcard stopped working for me.

cmarshall · 09/29/2010, 04:52 PM

Not sure if you're still wondering about this, but if you are, I used the NextGen unlock service on my Pre that was locked to O2, it worked fine with my Talk Mobile sim (which is the Vodafone UK network underneath) and is now on T-Mobile UK with no problems.

iverieli · 09/29/2010, 08:12 PM

Hi there,

Bought Palm Pre Plus which was locked on O2 network. Unlocked it with NextGen and using now vodafone contract sim card, have no problems, tethering works great.

Siddique · 11/17/2010, 12:05 AM

he phone will be locked to Vodafone UK network, so a Vodafone SIM purchased in the Netherlands won't work in it.

Have you tried a non Vodafone SIM in the phone to ensure that it is locked?

If it doesn't you can call 191 from the phone to request an unlock code. You don't mention if it's on Pay as You Go or Pay Monthly. If it's Pay Monthly and you're still in contract there will be a charge. If it's on Pay as You Go there will be a charge too.

The other option will be to see if you have an independant retailer usually found at your local market who will unlock for a small fee.

07/25/2010, 12:33 PM	Thread Author #1 (permalink)
DamnMachine Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 12 Likes: 0 Thanks: 5 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Palm Pre using Vodafone UK SIM? I'm interested in buying a Pre hands-free for use with an existing Vodafone UK SIM. (I'm locked into the contract). The Vodafone web site says that the Pre is not available on Vodafone. But Expansys seem to be offering an 8 Gb Pre at a reasonable price, and a comment in their support forum implies it is unlocked. Can anyone clarify? Especially cool if someone actually has a Pre working on Vodafone UK today. Thanks \Damn
	Liked by

07/26/2010, 10:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
PreGP Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 100 Likes: 6 Thanks: 31 Thanked 15 Times in 14 Posts	I'm pretty sure that the unlocked 8GB Pre you can order from Expansys is imported from Germany. If that's the case it will be unlocked but have a QUERTZ German keyboard (with the Y and Z keys swapped compared to the O2 UK version). You can certainly use a Vodafone UK SIM in one of those if you don't mind the keyboard. Alternatively you can buy a UK Pre locked to O2 and you can unlock it for £10 which will enable you to use it with any SIM. The website for unlocking is here. Last edited by PreGP; 04/29/2011 at 04:06 PM.
	Liked by

07/28/2010, 02:57 PM	Thread Author #3 (permalink)
DamnMachine Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 12 Likes: 0 Thanks: 5 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the response. Expansys are advertising two different Palm Pres. The first is, as you say, a German QWERTZ model, in stock at £429. The second is on seven day delivery, at £239, and seems to be advertised with Vodafone contracts ... but based on the picture, it's QWERTY. Are you a customer of the unlocking site who can vouch for them from experience, or the supplier?
	Liked by

07/31/2010, 09:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rustyyy Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 4 Likes: 0 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I used a Vodafone UK sim in my pre for a while, worked fine with no problems at all.
	Liked by Thanked By: DamnMachine

08/03/2010, 01:10 AM	Thread Author #7 (permalink)
DamnMachine Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 12 Likes: 0 Thanks: 5 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks Rustyyy. Did you use a Rebel Simcard, or the NextGen unlock?
	Liked by

08/20/2010, 07:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Rustyyy Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 4 Likes: 0 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I used a Rebel Simcard, but thinking about doing the Nextgen unlock on it as the Rebel Simcard stopped working for me.
	Liked by

09/29/2010, 04:52 PM	#9 (permalink)
cmarshall Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: London Posts: 23 Likes: 0 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Not sure if you're still wondering about this, but if you are, I used the NextGen unlock service on my Pre that was locked to O2, it worked fine with my Talk Mobile sim (which is the Vodafone UK network underneath) and is now on T-Mobile UK with no problems.
	Liked by

09/29/2010, 08:12 PM	#10 (permalink)
iverieli Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 101 Likes: 9 Thanks: 13 Thanked 26 Times in 13 Posts	Hi there, Bought Palm Pre Plus which was locked on O2 network. Unlocked it with NextGen and using now vodafone contract sim card, have no problems, tethering works great.
	Liked by

11/17/2010, 12:05 AM	#11 (permalink)
Siddique Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 2 Likes: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	he phone will be locked to Vodafone UK network, so a Vodafone SIM purchased in the Netherlands won't work in it. Have you tried a non Vodafone SIM in the phone to ensure that it is locked? If it doesn't you can call 191 from the phone to request an unlock code. You don't mention if it's on Pay as You Go or Pay Monthly. If it's Pay Monthly and you're still in contract there will be a charge. If it's on Pay as You Go there will be a charge too. The other option will be to see if you have an independant retailer usually found at your local market who will unlock for a small fee.
	Liked by

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