Nokia 6233 delayed SIM lock

[93tid]

I have been on a pay monthly contract with O2 UK for 3 years now, the main attraction of this particular network being the fact that their phones are not restricted.

Two months ago I upgraded to a new Nokia 6233, it was unrestricted as usual and have used it since on various networks across Europe without any problems. Last night I turned it off with a T-mobile SIM in it and when I switched it on this morning the dreaded "Phone restricted" came up on the screen. I put in the original O2 SIM card, the phone asked me for the security code (which has never happened before) and then happily registered on the O2 network.

Has this happened to anyone else ? How is it possible - was the phone pre-programmed to lock after a certain period of time ? It couldn't have been a signal from the network, since I hadn't used the phone on O2 probably since I got it and there was a different SIM in it at the time.

I called O2 and they told me they can only give me the unlock code after my 12-month contract runs out and that will still cost me 15 pounds. Never mind whether this is fair or not, I would appreciate any advice on what story to present to them in order to get the code, even if I have to pay the 15 pounds. Anyone here had any experience with O2 ? Would it make sense to buy a PAYG SIM card only and ask them again ?

Thanks for all the feedback.

[93tid]

I have been on a pay monthly contract with O2 UK for 3 years now, the main attraction of this particular network being the fact that their phones are not restricted.

Two months ago I upgraded to a new Nokia 6233, it was unrestricted as usual and have used it since on various networks across Europe without any problems. Last night I turned it off with a T-mobile SIM in it and when I switched it on this morning the dreaded "Phone restricted" came up on the screen. I put in the original O2 SIM card, the phone asked me for the security code (which has never happened before) and then happily registered on the O2 network. I tried again the T-mobile SIM and got the "Phone restricted" acreen again.

Has this happened to anyone else ? How is it possible - was the phone pre-programmed to lock after a certain period of time ?

Thanks for all the feedback.

Further to my above slightly frantic message, I decided to try again my Nokia 6233 with a few different SIM cards later this evening. They all worked fine, no "Phone restricted", nothing. I have no clue what happened and would appreciate some sort of explanation.

Moderators, if you feel I have wasted space on the forum with these postings, please delete the thread. Or send me a PM and I will do it myself.