[Defy Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dischri:
Strange situation

So about 3 weeks ago I go to a local T-mob shop and ask to buy a Defy contract free. Guy says he's got one in stock. He brings out the box and I glance at it. It appears to have been opened and resealed. I ask the guy if the phone is used or refurbished. He looks me straight in the eye and tells me, "Oh no. We only sell new phones here."

I'm thinking maybe the phone was sent back for factory 'upgrade' to fix the speaker or screen crack problems before being sold. I tell the guy "Hey I don't really care if the phone has been reworked at the factory. In fact I'd rather have one that's already serviced than have to send it back broken myself".

Guy says again, "We only sell new phones here". Oookay....

So I buy a hundred bucks' credit and take the phone home. I let it sit on the shelf a while as I'm busy with other stuff. Finally I get around to testing it out.

I notice that it is already loaded with about 200 contacts from the T-Mob "NAB" account. Hmmm...

I look the phone over. It's got Android 2.1, though at this point the update has been out for a while. I notice a blue dot near the serial and manufacture numbers. Hmmm...

A few days later I take the phone back and ask the guy "Where did these contacts come from a and how can I get rid of all them?" The guy futzes around for a few minutes and announces I can delete them individually, or he can do a factory reset. I tell him I'll do the reset at home after I save my list of loaded apps and data. So I take it home, do the reset and can't get past the Motoblur spyware screen. I call back to store and get some hemming and hawing and I'm told I can't restart the phone because I'm prepaid and don't have access to data so the Motoblur can finish connecting. I say "Huh?" because I've been using the phone for weeks. I hang up and eventually figure out how to start Wifi from the Motoblur splash screen so it can finish connecting it's spyware. OK, phone is working again and the ghost contacts are gone. I go to the "My T-Mob' site and load a contact of my own.

So...now I need to unlock the bugger for an upcoming trip.

1. I requested an unlock code from T-Mobile USA.

2. They replied NO! and say I need to have an account for at least 60 days before they will unlock.

3. I order a code from Swiftunlock.

4. Took out the original, U.S. SIM card, put in a German T-Mobile card (while here in America).

5. Powered up phone, screen appeared requesting SIM unlock code. Looking good.

6. I entered the unlock code. Message appeared something like "sending request to unlock phone". Looking even better.

7. Phone powers up normally, everything looks good with the German card inside. I didn't look at the settings or signal. Looking really good now.

8. I power down the phone and insert the U.S. SIM. Phone powers up normally. Everything looking perfect.

9. I decide I should have checked the status of the phone with the German SIM card inside better. I power down and reinsert the German card.

10. Phone begins to boot normally. Goes through the Motorola "Motoblur" spyware boot cycle. Begins the T-Mobile carrier boot up.

11. Phone stays stuck in T-mobile boot. Forever.

12. I freak out. Like super freak. Like James Brown on a bad acid trip.

13. After trying everything I can think of, (including checking my Motoblur spyware online account, which now states that the "phone number is invalid") I take the phone to the T-Mobile shop where I got it. They are perplexed for an hour. Finally they tell me I must mail the phone to Motorola for repair. They generously give me a shipping label. The guy who sold me the phone seems to be avoiding me...

14. I go home and read my sales contract. It says I have 30 days to return the phone to the store for replacement if it's defective.

15. I take the phone back to the store. They give me a new phone. I try to activate it in the store and can't get Motoblur to accept my logon (Says 'Motoblur not available')

16. I take the phone home, set up a new Motoblur account, and log on. Everything is peachy. Looks like a new phone, comes loaded with Android 2.2

Questions:

1. Was the Swiftunlock code invalid? I think it was OK.

2. Was the 1st phone just totally jacked?

3. Did T-Mob or Motorola punish me by locking me out of my account because I violated some kind of usage agreement by unlocking the phone myself?

4. Did putting in the German SIM in the U.S. somehow screw things up?

5. Should In push my luck and buy another code from Swiftunlock?

Thank you for the help and for reading my novella.