I recently moved from the UK and brought with me an old phone handset which I bought for Orange pay as you go ages ago. I thought I would pop into an Orange shop over here, buy an Orange sim card, pop it in this old phone and hey presto - I can communicate with people in Switzerland using the cheaper, domestic Swiss orange sim card.

I now find that my Orange phone does not accept my Orange CH sim card. I called Orange in the UK about this, expecting them to do some jiggery pokery, thank me for my loyalty and unblock my phone for the Orange CH sim card. I was semi-correct, they will unlock my phone - for 20 pounds!

This seems a bit rich considering I'm attempting to stay with the same network. Has anyone encountered a similar problem? I'm thinking of trying the Orange shop over here direct, to see if they can either unlock the phone, or do it cheaper than the UK.

I have no interest in buying a new phone or going through some kind of dodgy code unlocking website. With that in mind does anyone have any advice, or similar experience? All I wanted was an inexpensive solution to staying in touch with my wife whilst we're over here!

You can unlock the phone yourself. I use a Vodafone cell with a Sunrise PAYG. I unlocked it using a code sourced online.

Would this be an option for you?

I wanted to avoid this option if possible, as there are MANY different websites claiming to offer this and I don't really want to give away my e-mail address details (i.e. open myself up for loads of spam) or end up on some less reputable website. I just don't like the idea of coughing up 20 quid and would prefer some other method.

Orange UK and Orange CH are 2 seperate companies, I think they may be loosely joined at the top, or they're franchises of the Orange Brand. Either way they don't offer any cross network deals, though you'd think it would be a good idea.

No, I wouldn't divulge any contact details. Mine was unlocked by punching in a code, I did not have to give any details for this. There are hundreds of sources out there.

Pay the £20, safest option.

While unlocking your phone is a good idea,
there are many cheaper networks for mobile phones rather than Orange CH.

But for cheap calls to the UK I use Skype,

Set up a separate email address, to allay the concerns about spam. Go online to find an unlocking code and use it. Put any SIM card in afterwards. Or, alternatively, go buy a european SIM card by post, this will work anywhere. Call Rates are published by each supplier.

Been using one for over a year. Purchased a 2nd hand phone from fleabay, SIM card goes straight in, because it's already unlocked. Online top-ups and a Manx telephone number!

£20 is a cheek.

It looks like an unlocking website is my only option. In this case, can anyone recommend a free unlocking website which will give the codes for Sony Ericsson phones? I've searched everywhere but it seems I can only find Nokia unlock websites!

What's the make and model?

It's a Sony Ericsson T610 (quite an old one), but I also have a Sony Ericsson K700i (another old one) which I may unlock too.

20 quid is not so bad - I unblocked an Orange Sony Ericsson handset ages ago and can now use those pay as you go cards when I've spent a long time in a few countries. It's a one-time payment and the handset still works fine.


15-20 quid is about the going rate along the Kilburn High Road where I used to live in London for phone unblocking.

If you want a cheap pay-as-you-go here, Orange Click is reasonably cheap.

Telecoms companies (like lots of other companies) have no concept of brand loyalty unfortunately. They've probably got completely different infrastructures as well from place to place so would find it hard to transfer your details.

I found an alternative solution to this problem - Orange currently have a deal on a Sagem my220x handset which is 19CHF with a prepay card included with 20CHF onto it. So you're getting more credit than the price of the phone.

It's not a bad handset actually, quite light and very slim. It can't do pictures, MP3 ringtones or anything like that though. But as a back-up handset for whilst I'm in Switzerland it's pretty good.

And there are semi-decent call rates to the UK too.

It can be useful to loan it out when you have guests visit. Sometimes they get lost, or are running late, etc....