Mobile phone is Bell locked

[SN257]

Hello,

I bought iPhone 14 pro max in Feb 2023 with Bell plan. I’ve come to India to visit my family and wanted to use Jio/Airtel SIM services available in India. Whenever I insert any of Jio/Airtel/Vodafone in the phone it says Updating and the next step it shows SIM not supported, either the phone is locked or the SIM not supported. I tried 3 carrier SIM in the phone and it says the same while the other device which I bought this month only on add a line from Bell works with any SIM inserted. I talked with chat service at Bell services and they say your device is unlocked from Bell. I’m not sure what the problem is. 

[dks]

The only reason Bell might lock your phone is that it is not yet fully paid for of you have charges not paid. You will have to call Bell directly at 1-866-310-2355 to determine if you have any outstanding charges. The Community Forum is a peer to peer forum and cannot access any matters of accounts and billing. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

There is little we can do to assist you on the Bell Community Forum if Bell Mobility Customer Service has indicated to you that your device is not locked to their network.

As a starting point, please check off the following:

1. Are you the original owner of the device?
2. Has the device ever been reported as lost, missing & or stolen? If this is the case, then it could be locked do to this reason.
3. When you were with Bell, did you have a SmartPay 2 yr contract agreement? Did it include the DRO option?
4. Have you verified that your account at Bell is paid in full?
5. Have you received your final bill from Bell?
6. Have you checked your MyBell account online to see if there are any outstanding charges?

If none of the items I mentioned earlier do not apply to your situation and you have received a confirmation email from Bell to port your number to Rogers, then I can only suggest that you discuss your issue with a Roger's Mobility manager.

Thank you for reaching out to the Bell Community Forum.

Take care.

[Harjot]

Same with me can you please tell me the solution

[dks]

Thank you for your concern. As we can not assist in account matters, please review the questions in @WelshTerrier 's reply, marked with a green checkmark below, and contact Bell directly, as @WelshTerrier  suggests.  

[M-A88]

I purchased my iPhone 16 Pro Max directly from Apple in November. This morning, I woke up to find it stuck in SOS mode. After trying DFU mode and every troubleshooting step I knew, I decided to visit the Apple Store. The technician there confirmed that the phone was working perfectly.

Next, I went to Bell, my current carrier, where I was told that my phone had been blacklisted on February 13 for no apparent reason. Since I had bought it directly from Apple, this made no sense. To troubleshoot, Bell had me switch from a physical SIM to an eSIM and attempted to deactivate and reactivate the SIM, but nothing worked. They ultimately informed me that they couldn’t remove the phone from the blacklist because Rogers, my previous carrier, was responsible for the block.

I then contacted Rogers technical support. After some time, they confirmed that my phone was indeed blacklisted in their system, but they had not requested the ban. They assured me that they had now submitted a request to have it removed, though it could take some time. Interestingly, they also mentioned that I wasn’t the only person experiencing this issue—apparently, they had been receiving multiple calls about iPhones purchased directly from Apple being mysteriously blacklisted without cause.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

Thank you for posting & sharing this with the community.

Once a device has been blacklisted for whatever reason, the only way to remove the device from the list is to contact the carrier that blacklisted the device. You'll need the device, ID, proof of purchase. They will get it removed from the blacklist. ONLY the carrier that placed it on the list can do so.

Take care.

[Kck88]

I purchased an iPhone 13 from Bell as a spare phone and sent it to the Philippines as a gift. I did not open or activate the phone with my active Bell number before sending it. Now, they are trying to use a SIM card from a Philippine carrier, but it does not work and displays this error:

Carrier Lock

“This device might be restricted to the original carrier and/or have certain capabilities limited. Contact your provider for more info.”

How can I unlock the iPhone so they can use it with a local SIM in the Philippines? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Your device must meet all eligibility conditions below. Bell may refuse any unlock request that appears intended to defraud Bell or its customers.

Is this for a Monthly or Pre-paid Bell mobility phone?

To see if your Apple iOS device is unlocked: Go to Settings > General > About > Carrier Lock. If No SIM Restriction is displayed, your device is unlocked.

Check if you’re eligible:

• The device is not flagged as lost or stolen.
• Your device must be locked to the Bell network. Bell can only unlock Bell devices.

To unlock your device:

Use the button below to log in to MyBell and follow the steps to unlock your device.

You'll need to have:

• A non-Bell SIM card that fits the device you want to unlock.
• Your device's IMEI number. Where can I find this?

Please select the following web link:  Unlock your device

If after completing the above steps & you are still experiencing issues, you will need to contact Bell Customer Service - Mobility Tech Support.

There is no fee for unlocking your device.

Take care

[AndrewAndrew]

I have a Galaxy S7 Edge that is carrier locked to Bell. I called and neither mobility support nor the unlock team can find the IMEI in the system, and the phone doesn't show up when they search my inactive account.

How do I get the unlock PIN?

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

As a starting point, are you the original owner of this device? Are you sure that you purchased this device previously from Bell?

Your device must meet all eligibility conditions below.

• The device is not flagged as lost or stolen.
• Your device must be locked to the Bell network. Bell can only unlock Bell devices.

You'll need to have:

• A non-Bell SIM card that fits the device you want to unlock.
• Your device's IMEI number.

There is very little we can do to assist you on the Bell Community Forum in this matter if you are unable to lock a device that Bell does not have a record of in their system.

You could visit a Bell Store as they may be able to provide you with further information.

Take care.