[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] cam88:
Sim Network Unlock Code

Hi Everyone! I am new here and I would like to share my experience with my Galaxy Nexus. Please bear with me as I would be sharing a long story so as not to leave any details that might be important.

Last Tuesday, May 8, I bought my Galaxy Nexus from an online store for 18700 pesos. Upon receiving the unit I checked the condition of the seal (if it has not been tampered with) and broke the seal to inspect my phone. I inserted my Sun SIM in the slot and turned on the phone, it went straight to the home screen. I wanted to check if it was unlocked so I asked the lady who gave the unit if it is indeed unlocked which she replied yes. Given that the network reception of sun is poor in the area, I stood by with what the lady said and decided to go home. Upon arriving home, I connected to the wifi and downloaded the 4.0.4 update using the software update option in the phone. I also checked if the network reception of the sun sim is ok which it was . I viewed some unboxing videos online and noticed some discrepancies with the unit that I have and the one they were unboxing. First, the seal in the box of my unit had another seal in the bottom, I checked the cut marks left on the upper seal and validated that I was the one who tore it, but the one on the bottom had a straight cut which was not the same as the upper seal that I broke. Second is that once they powered the unit on, they would see a welcome screen which I wasn't able to see when I turned on the unit for the first time. So I decided to do a factory reset so that I would be able to set some settings needed in the welcome screen like my gmail account. After the factory reset, I noticed that my sim card is not recognized by the phone anymore and it asks me to input a SIM network unlock code. I tried the PUK of my sim but I wasn't the code it was looking for. I tried another network provider SIM but it was seeking for an unlock code also. So I contacted the store and ask what might be the cause of my problem and they said that my SIM might have a PIN. I told them that my SIM has no PIN because I was transferring it from one phone to another without a need for a PIN so they said that I bring it back to them so that they can check it. I searched the internet for answers and the only thing that I saw was that if you encountered that error then your unit was carrier locked and then unlocked. There are several things that can cause your unit to be locked again to the carrier and one of them was to do factory reset.

Today, I went back to the store to have my unit checked. At first, the lady who assisted me was the one trying to tinker on the phone's settings and when she was unsuccessful, she passed it on to another lady. A man (who I think was the owner of the store) approached and ask what the problem was. So I relayed my story and he said that he couldn't exchange my phone because I have already modified it's software by downloading the upgrade. He said he wanted to help me but the only way he can help is that he can have my unit reprogrammed but to my expense (800-1500 pesos) and that I have to leave the unit for 3 weeks. He said that it was a risk I took when I decided to upgrade my version and that they are not covering it for a replacement (even though there were some questions about the seal and the welcome screen). So I asked him if I shouldn’t update my version at all and he replied that I am free to do that, its just that they wouldn't be accountable for the errors brought about by the software modification that I have done with the unit.

I decided not to handover my unit and find some answers on the internet. This is also why I decided to share my story, cause some of you might have encountered this problem and solved it already and for those who are planning to buy their units to check it extensively. After all, 18700 is not very easy to earn. So my question now is, can the error: SIM network unlock PIN/code be triggered by upgrading your version? I have read that some have already upgraded to version 4.0.4 so I think they would be aware if this problem exists or not.