Vodafone NZ locking handsets

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# 127734 1-May-2008 22:22

"to protect the customers’" I feel safer already.

Isn't good to see vodafone is proving NZ a service that the rest of the plants been doing for sometime.

Is this like a new churn fee for the customer if they want to change providers? Or an international travel fee.

Cheaper vodafone not cheap. *makes mental not to shot the messenger*

NZtechfreak

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# 127735 1-May-2008 22:25

I suppose I should be looking on the bright side here - I can unlock Nokia phones so this could be a money spinner for me!

I'll do it for $20 if anyone needs it done (or you could just look up some posts I've made that link to instructions on debranding handsets). For $20 you can have your phone unlocked, plus you'll also more than likely get a better firmware with enhanced features! This is especially true of the recent N-Series phones, where Vodafone "protecting the customer experience" means you miss out on stuff like flash support in the browser, on demand-paging, user data preservation, auto-rotation, web run time support for widgets, geotagging etc etc...

Just PM me if you need this service.

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hellonearthisman

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# 127736 1-May-2008 22:38

Could someone provide the unlocking like above at a more completive price? That's competition.

Is the legal to unlock your own phone?

BrentR

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# 127739 1-May-2008 22:42

NZtechfreak: I suppose I should be looking on the bright side here - I can unlock Nokia phones so this could be a money spinner for me!

I'll do it for $20 if anyone needs it done (or you could just look up some posts I've made that link to instructions on debranding handsets). For $20 you can have your phone unlocked, plus you'll also more than likely get a better firmware with enhanced features! This is especially true of the recent N-Series phones, where Vodafone "protecting the customer experience" means you miss out on stuff like flash support in the browser, on demand-paging, user data preservation, auto-rotation, web run time support for widgets, geotagging etc etc...

Just PM me if you need this service.

Don't count on being able to do that for too much longer ;)

And you'd be surprised just how many people want to keep their warranties intact.

I'm sure all unlockers will do a brisk trade and your reflashing of firmware may have some benefits for some customers.

amanzi

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# 127740 1-May-2008 22:42

I don't mind if the phone is locked to Vodafone's network, as long as the cost of the phone is hugely subsidised - just like it is in other countries. I'm not going to pay a high price for a phone and then have to pay a fee to unlock it.

On the other hand, why doesn't Vodafone just concentrate on providing a service that's so good that customers won't want to leave?

Just blogged about this too: http://stuart.amanzi.co.nz/2008/05/02/vodafone-nz-to-lock-handsets-to-their-network/

NZtechfreak

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# 127741 1-May-2008 22:45

Its pretty time intensive, for less than $20 its not really worth anyones time. But we'll see what price the market sets eh?

I should mention that I can completely hack the 3rd Edition S60 phones, which will allow full system access, ROM patching, and self-signing of files (which alleviates the need to use Symbian-Signed, which is tiresome to say the least). Thats included in the $20 fee, along with my proven experience in debranding over the N95-1, N95-8GB, and N82 phone models (same process for others).

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NZtechfreak

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# 127743 1-May-2008 22:48

amanzi: I don't mind if the phone is locked to Vodafone's network, as long as the cost of the phone is hugely subsidised - just like it is in other countries. I'm not going to pay a high price for a phone and then have to pay a fee to unlock it.

On the other hand, why doesn't Vodafone just concentrate on providing a service that's so good that customers won't want to leave?

Amen to both comments.

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freitasm

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# 127745 1-May-2008 22:55

amanzi: I don't mind if the phone is locked to Vodafone's network, as long as the cost of the phone is hugely subsidised - just like it is in other countries. I'm not going to pay a high price for a phone and then have to pay a fee to unlock it.

On the other hand, why doesn't Vodafone just concentrate on providing a service that's so good that customers won't want to leave?

So far there isn't any indication the handsets will be sold at discounted price because they are locked.

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NZtechfreak

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# 127748 1-May-2008 23:12

freitasm:

So far there isn't any indication the handsets will be sold at discounted price because they are locked.

Quite true, so far Vodafone have yet to demonstrate any benefit whatsoever to the consumer.

I hope Paul is noticing that nobody here believes Vodafone's party line on this, not even slightly. I mean c'mon Vodafone! Why not respond to competition by improving services, instead of detrimenting the consumer?!?!

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manhinli

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# 127750 1-May-2008 23:21

NZtechfreak:
freitasm:

So far there isn't any indication the handsets will be sold at discounted price because they are locked.

Quite true, so far Vodafone have yet to demonstrate any benefit whatsoever to the consumer.

I hope Paul is noticing that nobody here believes Vodafone's party line on this, not even slightly. I mean c'mon Vodafone! Why not respond to competition by improving services, instead of detrimenting the consumer?!?!

Exactly what I've been saying:

"Protecting" the customer's experience of the Vodafone brand may be one reason, but everyone has problems with a company one way or another. If they need to do this they should actually improve customer satisfaction from services, representation and the like. This is what it means to give an excellent customer experience.

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nzbnw

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# 127752 1-May-2008 23:23

I see this as an attempt by Vodafone to maintain the status quo, as the whole game is about to change, with Telecom launching their GSM EDGE / WCDMA network, and NZC also in the mix. What I mean by this is, you can't take a Telecom CDMA handset and use it on the Vodafone network, same as you can’t use a GSM handset (Vodafone) on the Telecom CDMA network, of course due to the technology, but with the whole game changing, Vodafone have made a pre emptive strike, to discourage customers ability to easily swap to another Telco, without buying a new phone, or paying someone or Vodafone to unlock the device.

Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

nzbnw

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# 127753 1-May-2008 23:23

Yeah, I think we're all on pretty much the same page here...

EDIT: Links to instructions on how to debrand Nokia handsets can be found in the blog post I link to in my signature below, for those too cheap to just give me $20 ;]

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manhinli

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# 127754 1-May-2008 23:25

nzbnw: Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

I hope not... that would really suck - though Vodafone said that they are "locking new handsets" to their network.

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NZtechfreak

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# 127755 1-May-2008 23:26

nzbnw:
I see this as an attempt by Vodafone to maintain the status quo, as the whole game is about to change, with Telecom launching their GSM EDGE / WCDMA network, and NZC also in the mix. What I mean by this is, you can't take a Telecom CDMA handset and use it on the Vodafone network, same as you can’t use a GSM handset (Vodafone) on the Telecom CDMA network, of course due to the technology, but with the whole game changing, Vodafone have made a pre emptive strike, to discourage customers ability to easily swap to another Telco, without buying a new phone, or paying someone or Vodafone to unlock the device.

Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

nzbnw

Of course thats what it is, everyone here sees that - I'm sure even Paul knows thats what its all about (its just that he can't exactly come out and say that, can he?).

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amanzi

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# 127757 1-May-2008 23:28

I'm assuming that if your phone is unlocked, then you have either voided the warranty or have legally obtained the unlock code from Vodafone. If the warranty is voided due to hacking then they have no right to re-lock the phone as you're paying them to do the repair. But if you've got the unlock code, and they re-lock it as part of their warranty repair, then I would assume that the same unlock code would work again. (lots of assuming there...)

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