unlocking iPhones that have been bought used from other Fido customers?

[cjl]

I'm planning on buying a friend's Fido iPhone 3GS when he changes phones soon.

Will Fido unlock this phone for me (for the $50 charge) if I add it to my account after I buy it used, even though I wasn't the one who purchased it directly? Or would my friend have to get Fido to unlock it on his account before he sells it to me?

Thanks!

***Edited to add labels***

[Amanda1 · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone! 

I came across this thread and I thought I'd update it in case anyone else comes across it.

If you have purchased a Fido device from a third party, it must be registered in your account for more than 90 days in order to be eligible for unlocking. After the 90 days delay, you can reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter to request the unlocking of your device.

Hope this helps!

[lee12345]

They need to verify the account eligibility..active account in good standing, no term associated with the phone, etc.. for this they would need to go into the friends account and charge the fee to him with his consent as the account holder

[Anonymous]

if this was my phone that i sold to you, I would be very disappointed if fido would go snooping around in my account if the guy wants his phone unlocked.  Once I sell it to  somebody, I have no association with the piece of hardware, nor should fido go snooping around in my account and try to charge my account an unlock fee. The phone is HIS, he simply needs to pay fido to unlock it or whoever, This is a MAJOR Privacy issue I hope you guys can clue in on.  You would not want it happening to you, so think about that first.

[Anonymous]

by the way, account eligibility should not have anything to do with someone who bought or obtained a phone from a friend, otherwise its considered an invasion of privacy.

[vesper8]

I just spent an hour on the line with Fido and was basically told they can't help me.

My company is offering us an incredible corporate plan with a competitor.. so I called in to have my fido phone unlocked so I could switch carriers.

I bought this iPhone 4 from a guy I don't even talk to anymore. At the time, he had gotten it by signing a contract with Fido. He then sold me the Iphone 4 and bought a 32gb one from the Apple store which he paid full price for. He's now enjoying his contract on that 32gb phone.

But.. the contract is not tied to the phone he's using now.. it's tied to the phone that I bought from him for 550$! As a result of this, they refuse to unlock me phone for 50$ (I'm on prepaid). They claim the only way to resolve this is to have the seller cancel the contract and pay the cancellation fee.. which is ridiculous! He's never going to do that! Why the hell would he?

It seems like Fido has just found a way to keep me as a customer.. but all they did in fact is make me angry at them.. which I wasn't before. Now I have to sell my phone or trade it for an unlocked one.. and even though I've been a customer of Fido's for over 5 years in total.. now I'm just pissed off and want to be done from them because of their inability to be flexible in this situation where I obviously should not be penalized for having paid 550$ for a used phone from a guy I don't talk to anymore.

If anyone has a solution to offer, that would be appreciated

[Anonymous]

I KNEW IT! no body listened to me that this would pose a problem, but you just confirmed it was.  You should not have to make the previous seller CANCEL his friggin contract because YOU want it unlocked, heck you will never ever see this guy ever again, wtf is wrong with fido? This whole refusing to offer unlock cus the phone is under a contract is JUST REDICULOUS, IT CAUSES more problems than ever.  no one needs this frustration

The guy bought the phone privately, he does not need to know about the sellers existing contract, and fido should keep their mouth shut and not ask him to make the original owner pay cancellation fee, thats rediculous and a breach of privacy. fido should not disclose this to you.

[10yearfido]

I believe their policy is that they will unlock it for either of you as long as it is not covered by a current subsidy. So, if your fiend called to have it unlocked, the would say no if he bought it under contract and still has remaining time left on the contract. If, however, he upgraded to another phone under contract/subsidy, then the contract on this phone is considered to be fulfilled and they would unlock it for him. Same goes if you called to unlock it, as the would look up how it was purchased. It would probably be easier if your friend called, gave them the IMEI and asked them to unlock it.