Sony Xperia U unlock

[bc5]

Hi people, I'd like to unlock my Xperia U to accept SIM cards from any network but not sure how this works with smartphones - is it related to rooting / bootloader unlocking etc or is network locking something entirely separate? Ideally I'd like to remove the network lock without having to flash a custom ROM like Cyanogenmod or whatever. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[DiaSin]

This is currently illegal, as the law that allowed consumers to unlock phones expired. To my knowledge they are looking to re-instate a new version of the law, but for the time being, you are stuck with the provider the phone is locked to.

 

[bc5]

In America but not in Britain.

 

[DiaSin]

In America but not in Britain.

Now you being in the UK was a rather important tidbit you left out. As this is both a US and a UK site, and it is illegal in the US, I am not sure about the rules regarding helping with this issue.

 

[bc5]

It's a lot more than just UK and US Started in Germany / Poland, benchmarking teams in France and Germany, sites for Turkey, Russia, Norway... it's a global site. And I wasn't asking about the legality anyway - businesses here will unlock it for me for a fee so I'm just wanting to know how to do whatever it is that those businesses are doing.

 

[DiaSin]

It's a lot more than just UK and US Started in Germany / Poland, benchmarking teams in France and Germany, sites for Turkey, Russia, Norway... it's a global site. And I wasn't asking about the legality anyway - businesses here will unlock it for me for a fee so I'm just wanting to know how to do whatever it is that those businesses are doing.

The legality wasn't my point, at least beyond my first post. It is illegal in one of the sites primary countries, and there are rules against posting illegal content, but as it IS legal elsewhere I am not sure how the rules apply here, whether it is even allowed to post how to unlock a phone.

 

[bc5]

Just to clarify, legality and rules aside, do you actually have the knowledge to help me out with this?

 

[DiaSin]

Just to clarify, legality and rules aside, do you actually have the knowledge to help me out with this?

Thats part of the reason I am side stepping the issue.. I cannot remember the name of the software I used the one time I did this, or if there are any extra steps required. It has been 3-4 years, so the process may have changed completely. Honestly, if I was sure it was allowed I would look up instructions to save you the trouble, but as it is, I do not remember the details.

 

[bc5]

Well you're honest at least You network unlocked it or unlocked interms of bootloader, rooting etc? Or is it the same thing with smartphones?

My situation is that I bought this Xperia U already unlocked (which again is perfectly legal here) but the phone broke after a year, so I returned it under warranty. After keeping me waiting for several weeks, Sony FINALLY sends out the replacement but it's locked to Virgin Mobile. So I emailed and asked for either unlock instructions or an unlocked replacement but they're refusing to provide it and claiming that the phone I sent them was originally Virgin-locked and that they've therefore fulfilled their obligation.

I guess the retailer I bought it from (or possibly their supplier) unlocked it, as opposed to it being unlocked straight from the factory like some handsets are. Last Sony I'll ever be buying anyway if return under warranty won't even necessarily give you a usable replacement. Plus failure after just a year is pretty bad. My girlfriend just bought an Xperia P and the light strip is broken. Not critical functionality I know but quality control at Sony is clearly lacking.