In my quest to reduce, reuse and recycle I’ve got a cast off android phone, however it’s locked to a network. Do those sites that offer unlocking work and could someone recommend one that isn’t going to scam me?

Cheers.

Contact the original provider. They should unlock it for free.

Have you checked if the network will unlock it – I recall ee used to do so, for some, although I’ve not had a locked phone for a few years.

Contact the original provider

I thought the original owner had to do that. Is that not the case?

Worth a go anyway.

Many aren’t network locked now.

I thought the original owner had to do that. Is that not the case?

Ask them, then? (-:

In honesty I don’t know, I haven’t seen a carrier-locked phone in years. As you say though, it’s worth a try at least.

I bought a code off eBay recently and it worked fine. Fiver I think.

Phone was Samsung on O2.

I’ll see if I can find the seller…

Edit: was this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-Unlock-Code-S6-S7-S8-S9-S10-S20-Edge-Note-Plus-UK-Vodafone-O2-EE-3-Tesco-/323103737269?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

I also bought a code from an eBay seller last year to unlock an iPhone 3GS locked to Orange.

This one worked:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/rytamltd

The seller in the post above couldn’t unlock it (but they gave a refund).

This might be outdated or just plain wrong – later iPhones can’t be unlocked properly by anyone other than the network. Its possible to bodge it but you risk it being bricked if it ever does a software update.

Op mentions Android not IOS so should be ok.

Hang on – I had to unlock a phone recently that had been supplied via work so I had no original provider to talk to directly. I found loads of the dodgiest sites but there was one reputable one that were great, and a human even replied to the good review I posted. Let me find the name.

It was Doctor Sim.

Cheers folks, I’ll have a go tonight.

Wife found an old work android phone the other day and thought she’d give it to her dad, she just phoned Vodafone and they unlocked it for her then and there….

NB Her work didn’t want it back and just issue brand new phones every couple of years.