How long would it take for a cell store employee to unlock a phone?

[billdz]

This may be a silly question, but I'd sure like to know the answer. I bought a Huawei phone at a T-Mobile store. The employee who sold me the phone said it was unlocked. When I got home, I tried it with SIM cards for 4 different operators, one was T-Mobile and the others were from competing providers. It only worked with the T-Mo SIM. I called and complained the device appeared to be locked to T-Mo, even though I had been assured it was unlocked. The employee said that was not possible, they only sell unlocked devices.

I went back to the store and asked for a refund because the phone was not working with the SIM of my preferred operator, Orange. The Orange SIM was in the device. The employee looked at the device and typed something into his computer. He then turned on the device and it worked with the Orange SIM. He claims he just turned it on, he didn't unlock it or do anything else. I'm glad the phone is now working with the Orange SIM, but I can't help feeling that he lied to me, that the device was locked and he typed something on his computer to unlock it. He was typing for about one minute. Is it possible that he unlocked it? I can't think of any other reason why it did not work for me at home with SIMs from 3 different T-Mo competitors.

Thanks much for any thoughts!

 

[harryjorf]

This may be a silly question, but I'd sure like to know the answer. I bought a Huawei phone at a T-Mobile store. The employee who sold me the phone said it was unlocked. When I got home, I tried it with SIM cards for 4 different operators, one was T-Mobile and the others were from competing providers. It only worked with the T-Mo SIM. I called and complained the device appeared to be locked to T-Mo, even though I had been assured it was unlocked. The employee said that was not possible, they only sell unlocked devices.

I went back to the store and asked for a refund because the phone was not working with the SIM of my preferred operator, Orange. The Orange SIM was in the device. The employee looked at the device and typed something into his computer. He then turned on the device and it worked with the Orange SIM. He claims he just turned it on, he didn't unlock it or do anything else. I'm glad the phone is now working with the Orange SIM, but I can't help feeling that he lied to me, that the device was locked and he typed something on his computer to unlock it. He was typing for about one minute. Is it possible that he unlocked it? I can't think of any other reason why it did not work for me at home with SIMs from 3 different T-Mo competitors.

Yes, it's possible that the T-Mobile employee unlocked the Huawei phone when you returned to the store. Many phones are initially locked to specific carriers, and unlocking them allows them to be used with SIM cards from other carriers. The fact that the phone started working with your Orange SIM after the employee typed something into their computer suggests that they may have performed an unlocking procedure or adjustment that wasn't disclosed initially.

If you're concerned about whether the device was indeed unlocked, you could inquire directly with T-Mobile about their unlocking policies or check the phone's settings to see if there's any indication of carrier lock status. It's good that the phone is now working as expected, but it's important to ensure clarity and transparency in such transactions.

 

[billdz]

OK, thanks for the reply