Unlock eSIM capabilities locked by Vodacom

[Da Gmonsta]

Quick question.
so Vodacom supplied a phone, that shows main SIM and IMEI, and because it is network locked by Vodacom, the second “eSIM” with its own IMEI number, shows greyed out.
If u root the phone, will you be able to activate the eSIM?
How else can one go about unlocking what should be available? Vodacom playing silly bugs again.
It is like buying a car that has aircon, but the distributor says “Nope! You can’t use that aircon even though you own it”.

 

[CranialBlaze]

Quick question.
so Vodacom supplied a phone, that shows main SIM and IMEI, and because it is network locked by Vodacom, the second “eSIM” with its own IMEI number, shows greyed out.
If u root the phone, will you be able to activate the eSIM?
How else can one go about unlocking what should be available? Vodacom playing silly bugs again.
It is like buying a car that has aircon, but the distributor says “Nope! You can’t use that aircon even though you own it”.

Root cannot get around that, it’s a core system level thing so either you get Vodacom to unpick it or you install a custom firmware and void your warranty.

Legally they allowed to do it, but normally only do it on lower priced, prepaid or cost subsidized devices.

So they apply a usage estimation on the device with their network and subsidize the hardware cost under the expectation of covering that subsidy through your usage of their network via data, messaging and calls.

That way you don’t buy it from them because it’s cheaper than Telekom, but then go toss in a Telekom sim for cheaper calls and data, so your aircon analogy is not even remotely applicable

 

[Sayf777]

No point in buying a device on contract from vodacom(unless you really need them for coverage) not only for this reason but also because many contracts are cheaper on other networks

 

[CranialBlaze]

No point in buying a device on contract from vodacom(unless you really need them for coverage) not only for this reason but also because many contracts are cheaper on other networks

Personally I buy cash for 2 reasons.

1. They are always way way way more expensive, over the 2 years your easily looking at paying 50% more.
2. They are completely wasted on me, I’m the guy that uses maybe 1gb a month and like R200 airtime a year.

Even if a contract were cost effective over the term, I would not take advantage of it.
If you have a decent rate, the interest on your credit card over the same timeframe would work out way cheaper than the contract if your not going to actually take advantage of the package.

Besides, prepaid you can chop and change providers as things change.

 

[Da Gmonsta]

Root cannot get around that, it’s a core system level thing so either you get Vodacom to unpick it or you install a custom firmware and void your warranty.

Legally they allowed to do it, but normally only do it on lower priced, prepaid or cost subsidized devices.

So they apply a usage estimation on the device with their network and subsidize the hardware cost under the expectation of covering that subsidy through your usage of their network via data, messaging and calls.

That way you don’t buy it from them because it’s cheaper than Telekom, but then go toss in a Telekom sim for cheaper calls and data, so your aircon analogy is not even remotely applicable

Thanks for the info. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is hardly and entry level phone, but either way, the Aircon analogy stands. Irrespective the phone should have all its features, since you pay monthly for the device either way. It is not subsidised. The Vodacom network has tried to retain me over the years, and I have slowly scaled down and moved several contracts over to other networks, but decided to give them a shot on the one contract. Disappointed to say the least. When you spend the GDP of a small country monthly with a provider, to realise at the end of the day, unless you have thousands of contracts with them, you are ignored.
Any idea who one contacts to get this unlocked?

 

[Da Gmonsta]

No point in buying a device on contract from vodacom(unless you really need them for coverage) not only for this reason but also because many contracts are cheaper on other networks

It used to work out cheaper when I travel abroad, and still fielding calls on the move in other countries. Not sure how prepaid has become from a cost perspective for International travels. So I need my primary numbers on the contracts for the International travel side of things.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Dual sim phone and since you on contract, get a sim only contract, and if you really want to be smart, use that sim in the second slot of your phone.

 

[CranialBlaze]

Thanks for the info. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is hardly and entry level phone, but either way, the Aircon analogy stands. Irrespective the phone should have all its features, since you pay monthly for the device either way. It is not subsidised. The Vodacom network has tried to retain me over the years, and I have slowly scaled down and moved several contracts over to other networks, but decided to give them a shot on the one contract. Disappointed to say the least. When you spend the GDP of a small country monthly with a provider, to realise at the end of the day, unless you have thousands of contracts with them, you are ignored.
Any idea who one contacts to get this unlocked?

Contract phones are all subsidized. They do this all over the world. They network lock them until your contact is over and at least some providers offer the option to pay to unlock it during the contact period.

I suppose it is also possible that it’s locked as they do not support eSIM on that device as a friend on a Vodacom contract has a Telekom eSIM on his contract iphone.

 

[Da Gmonsta]

Dual sim phone and since you on contract, get a sim only contract, and if you really want to be smart, use that sim in the second slot of your phone.

The exact problem, is that I cannot load the eSIM QR code into the Z Flip 3, as it is blocked by Vodacom, hence this thread. If they just unblock it, then all would be OK, and I could use dual sim (Physical Vodacom SIM in phones sim slot, and Telkom eSIM on the eSIM module).

 

[Da Gmonsta]

Contract phones are all subsidized. They do this all over the world. They network lock them until your contact is over and at least some providers offer the option to pay to unlock it during the contact period.

I suppose it is also possible that it’s locked as they do not support eSIM on that device as a friend on a Vodacom contract has a Telekom eSIM on his contract iphone.

Any ideas on how, or who I can contact (even if I have to pay), to get them to unblock the eSIM from Vodacom. So if they are "Subsidising" the phone, and they want money they are scared of losing, then at least advertise how to go about it. I don't mind paying the subsidised difference at all if that is the issue.

 

[Thor]

Contract phones are all subsidized. They do this all over the world. They network lock them until your contact is over and at least some providers offer the option to pay to unlock it during the contact period.

I suppose it is also possible that it’s locked as they do not support eSIM on that device as a friend on a Vodacom contract has a Telekom eSIM on his contract iphone.

It's illegal in South Africa.

There's no operator I know of that network locks anymore.

 

[Da Gmonsta]

It's illegal in South Africa.

There's no operator I know of that network locks anymore.

Wish Vodacom knew it's Illegal then...

 

[Sayf777]

Wish Vodacom knew it's Illegal then...

Why can't you use vodacom as an esim and telkom as a physical sim?

 

[Da Gmonsta]

Why can't you use vodacom as an esim and telkom as a physical sim?

As above in the thread, Vodacom have "Blocked" the eSIM on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 I got from them. It shows with an IMEI number (that is different to the IMEI number of the PHYSICAL sim slot). So I need them to "ALLOW" the eSIM slot, which according to Samsung South Africa, is blocked by Vodacom.

 

[CranialBlaze]

It's illegal in South Africa.

There's no operator I know of that network locks anymore.

It was only ever proposed, it was never actually brought into law, it’s perfectly legal to network lock phones.

[mention]Da Gmonsta [/mention] I would suggest sending a mail to [email protected] or .com, I forget, that gets you directly to level 4 support, the only people who’d actually know what you are talking about.

 

[DA-LION-619]

As above in the thread, Vodacom have "Blocked" the eSIM on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 I got from them. It shows with an IMEI number (that is different to the IMEI number of the PHYSICAL sim slot). So I need them to "ALLOW" the eSIM slot, which according to Samsung South Africa, is blocked by Vodacom.

They don’t support it and you don’t own the device yet.

 

[Thugscub]

Op trundle over to the XDA Forum and look up your phone.
Proper information is available about rooting etc etc.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is a 6.7" phone with a 1080x2640 foldable display and a 1.9" 260x512 external display. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128/256GB of storage. The main camera is 12+12MP and the selfie camera is 10MP. The battery has a 3300mAh capacity.

forum.xda-developers.com

 

[The_Librarian]

Besides, prepaid you can chop and change providers as things change.

Gotta love that.

 

[Da Gmonsta]

It was only ever proposed, it was never actually brought into law, it’s perfectly legal to network lock phones.

[mention]Da Gmonsta [/mention] I would suggest sending a mail to [email protected] or .com, I forget, that gets you directly to level 4 support, the only people who’d actually know what you are talking about.

Hi CranialBlaze. Any other suggestions? Seems the people from this department at Vodacom, are equally as inept as the rest of their organisation. After being a client since the 90's, It truly dumbfounds me how useless they are to loyal clients. I need to talk to someone that ACTUALLY understands tech, and not just some call centre lackie that has no common sense. PS. I Tried this suggested route, met with more call centre like mentality....

 

[CranialBlaze]

Hi CranialBlaze. Any other suggestions? Seems the people from this department at Vodacom, are equally as inept as the rest of their organisation. After being a client since the 90's, It truly dumbfounds me how useless they are to loyal clients. I need to talk to someone that ACTUALLY understands tech, and not just some call centre lackie that has no common sense. PS. I Tried this suggested route, met with more call centre like mentality....

Nothing that won’t result in you getting arrested.
You could try visiting Cellucity, at least the staff at my one know their ****.

That ceo email address was given to me by them as the silver bullet for when all else fails, well they fail then we’ll fiddlesticks.

Hello Peter may be an avenue that could yield better results.

If you get hold of a male consultant I have found emasculating them can work too, although only tried that once and I was royally in my moer and the AH had the balls to threaten to hang up if I was not more polite, problem was very quickly resolved once I compared him to a crying 5 year old girl.