PSA: Get Your Phone's Carrier Lock Removed Before You Are Migrated from Republic to Boost Infinite

General
25

Hi @joegolfer56,

Are the phones Apple iPhones? If so, please check the following:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Tap Cellular
  3. Tap SIM PIN
  4. Is the SIM PIN toggle off (gray) or on (green)? Do not attempt to change the toggle, just report back if off or on.

If the phones are not Apple iPhones, what are the brands, models and (if applicable generations of the involved phones?

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26

As already pointed out by @mikenoname, yes.

We need more context. What SIM kit(s) are you inquiring about? All Republic 5.0 SIMs are AT&T network SIMs.

Please don’t feel the need to apologize. We’ll help to the best of our ability.

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27

So a Motorola isn’t unlocked until I put in a different SIM ?
Didn’t know that…
Thanks!

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28

Hi @NancyM,

A Motorola phone isn’t unlocked until one enters the unlock code into the phone when prompted. In my experience, a Motorola phone won’t show the prompt until a “foreign” SIM (a SIM from a provider other than the one to which the phone is locked) is inserted into the phone.

If you have access to a non-DISH brand SIM, you would be able to temporarily move that SIM to the Motorola phone currently used by Republic long enough to unlock it. Once the phone is unlocked, restore the Republic SIM.

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31

Sim kit - Referring to the $1 SIM card purchased at big box retailer.

Want to make sure the SIM card purchased is not a Dish or Boost carrier. (Not always plainly listed :open_mouth:)

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32

Since you are using this SIM kit only to unlock your phone(s), you only need one SIM kit. You may move the inactive SIM from the single kit between phones as necessary to remove the carrier lock. When the unlock is complete, restore the phones’ current SIMs.

Any SIM that is not Republic Wireless by DISH, Boost Infinite, Boost Mobile, Gen Mobile or Ting Mobile will suffice.

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33

Thanks for the list, very helpful!

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34

The hardest part of getting my Samsung A32 5G unlocked was trying to understand why the service rep seemed convinced that he needed the exact date of my purchase of the phone from Republic. He wanted to ‘check into it’ for about 20 minutes before deciding he could just submit my request without that date. Phone was unlocked within 3 hours.

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35

I phone 13 pros and they are both off, grayed out.

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36

Hi @joegolfer56,

Thank you for confirming a SIM PIN wasn’t inadvertently set. Despite what support has suggested to you, the phones remain locked.

I’m afraid I must direct you back to support. Hopefully, you reach a better agent.

If talking to support again leads nowhere, I would suggest emailing DISH’s Executive Escalations Team at executivecustomerservice@dish.com. If it comes to that attach a screenshot of the Settings page showing “SIM Locked”

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37

Thank you Roland, I did call back and got the process started.

Very much appreciated!

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38

rolandh, kudos to you and southpaw. I was able to get unlock codes, a $1 non dish SIM card, and a few quite minutes without distractions from the kids :upside_down_face:, followed the directions provided by this great group and I now have 2 Moto g power phones that are unlocked!
Woo Hoo! We’re ready for the transfer. Thanks everyone.

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39

Just completed the unlock of my Moto G Power 2022 purchased from the RW store in May of 22.

As expected, RW support did not contact me about the support ticket that I opened a bit over 48 hours ago. They did not contact me when they received the unlock code for my phone. I had to call in and give them the ticket number. Then, after confirming my identity with my PIN, were happy to give me the unlock code.

In fact, even when logged into the RW site, my support ticket does not come up. Weird.

In any event, thanks to Roland’s suggestion, I was able to use an old RW SIM (I don’t have any other SIMs to use) to perform the unlock. IIRC it was my old MyChoice SIM. Glad that I didn’t throw it out!

So I am now ready to call Mobi and see how that works out.

Thanks once again @rolandh for your tireless support!

Mike

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44

Unlike others who reported how easy it was for them to get Republic Wireless Support to unlock their Samsung A32 phones, I had a far more exasperating experience. Until today.

This afternoon, after having spent way too much time on the phone with multiple Support techs over a period of several weeks, I finally emailed the DISH Executive Escalations Team. To my surprise, I got a callback within minutes. The person who called me told me she had unlocked my phone. I asked her to hold on for a moment so I could verify that my Network Lock Status was “unlocked”, and indeed it was!

I asked her why none of the RW Support people were able to unlock my phone (and claimed my phone had been unlocked when in fact is was not). She had no answer, but did tell me that she saw multiple Support tickets in their system that falsely said my phone had been unlocked.

Thank you, @rolandh and others, for providing so much helpful information on this forum for those of us struggling with Support. Knowledge is power and, Lord knows, we need it now with this ongoing migration to Boost Infinite. I feel comforted that, if my migration experience is not “seamless”, I can now switch service providers without having to worry about my phone being locked.

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45

Hi @JoshL,

Thank you for the kind words! :crossed_fingers: you have an uneventful migration.

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46

I had a similar experience with the telephone support at Boost Infinite concerning a different issue. I eventually posted on Reddit and an Official Support Team rep contact me and solved the issue within 24 hours.

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47

Thanks for sharing your positive experience with Boost Infinite support on Reddit. Reddit (and other social media) can be useful support resources. Among the few things I’ve used Twitter for was tweeting at Comcast to get reasonably competent support when I had the misfortune of being a Comcast customer (something I’ve since rectified by no longer being a Comcast customer).

That said, the need to work around any company’s standard methods of support (whether via executive escalations or use of social media channels) reflects poorly on the company involved.

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48

I have a question related to this – do we ever need the unlock code again?

I purchased my Moto g Power 2022 from the RW store, and I have the unlock code, and saved it just in case.
Once the phone is unlocked, is it forever unlocked? Or if I go to a new carrier down the road, do I need the unlock code again?

Thanks!

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49

Removing the carrier lock is a one-time action. Once you verify that the carrier lock is gone, you do not need the unlock code again.

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50

Hi All,
Only saw the PSA very recently, pretty much simultaneously with a text from Boost Infinite that my account there was now active.

  1. Had called the support number to see whether phone is carrier unlocked. Support said that it was unlocked, however, I have a Motorola! (Purchased in spring 2022 to work with red RW, by dish.)
  2. Looked all over to find my original, lovely, Republic Wireless phone to test this phone with its SIM, and …. Carrier Locked, just as these instructions suggested.
  3. Tried to keep breathing.
  4. Emailed executivecustomersupport@dish as recommended herein.
  5. Within 48hrs received a reply via email, and the unlock code.
  6. Created an account here just now to say THANK YOU rolandh and all of you who have shared your experience.

Had to write in even before trying to use the code, because I have to swap the SIM card again and I could not wait to say thanks first. There is just no way I could have known any of this without you all. The RW community, its heart, and its bright idea, is still around! Thanks everybody

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