[Help] Help needed - unlock old Nokia phone

[PeterOut]

Help please.
Any recommendations (ideally based on personal experience) to get the keypad unlocked on an old Nokia, preferably in or near Brighton?
Note that this is not to unlock the phone from a previous network provider - it is simply to get past the keyboard lock.

The background is that my 90 year old mother-in-law is in hospital after a serious fall. She would like to use her phone, but is confused as to what the code is to unlock the keypad. When asked, she gave two wrong answers - the phone is now saying that a third wrong number will lock the phone completely. I am not interested in a factory reset, as I would not want to wipe her contacts (I have no idea if they are saved to the phone or the SIM - I would guess that is likely to be a mixture of both).

She has given me the phone, and asked if it can be 'repaired'. I am happy to travel if needs be, but I would imagine that there must be a decent phone repair shop somewhere between Hove and Eastbourne, that one of the many people here have used for a similar problem. The phone is a Nokia 6303i, I believe. Happy to remove the keyboard lock, or set it to '0000' or similar, once I can get past the keyboard code lock.

Thanks in advance for any helpful assistance - and I'm sure that someone will be able to plaice a fish pun somewhere along the line, even if they know nothing about phones

 

[METALMICKY]

With total respect to your mum and avoiding hassle for you, there are far easier phones out there for not much money. Does a phone that old still work OK on today's networks?

 

[Zeberdi]

Sorry can’t help with where to take the phone but given your Mum’s age (don’t take this the wrong way), is it worth asking her if she wrote the password down anywhere? - I knew an elderly woman who wrote every password down in a little notebook and carried it around in her handbag with her (until I read her the riot act) . My elderly Mum also writes her p/ws down in case she forgets them - must be an age thing

As for fish puns, there’s not much you can really say about lochs but do let us know when you have flounder solution.

 

[The Clamp]

With total respect to your mum and avoiding hassle for you, there are far easier phones out there for not much money. Does a phone that old still work OK on today's networks?

Agree. You can get a full set up for less than 20 quid.

 

[HeaviestTed]

In the old days if you put in the wrong code you could call up the network operator and they would unlock it, I’d give whoever’s network it is a call

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

With total respect to your mum and avoiding hassle for you, there are far easier phones out there for not much money. Does a phone that old still work OK on today's networks?

He doesn't want to lose what is on the phone.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Help please.
Any recommendations (ideally based on personal experience) to get the keypad unlocked on an old Nokia, preferably in or near Brighton?
Note that this is not to unlock the phone from a previous network provider - it is simply to get past the keyboard lock.

The background is that my 90 year old mother-in-law is in hospital after a serious fall. She would like to use her phone, but is confused as to what the code is to unlock the keypad. When asked, she gave two wrong answers - the phone is now saying that a third wrong number will lock the phone completely. I am not interested in a factory reset, as I would not want to wipe her contacts (I have no idea if they are saved to the phone or the SIM - I would guess that is likely to be a mixture of both).

She has given me the phone, and asked if it can be 'repaired'. I am happy to travel if needs be, but I would imagine that there must be a decent phone repair shop somewhere between Hove and Eastbourne, that one of the many people here have used for a similar problem. The phone is a Nokia 6303i, I believe. Happy to remove the keyboard lock, or set it to '0000' or similar, once I can get past the keyboard code lock.

Thanks in advance for any helpful assistance - and I'm sure that someone will be able to plaice a fish pun somewhere along the line, even if they know nothing about phones

This is why the 'buy a £20 phone' is not the solution folks. Read the OP message before piling in, why not?

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Apparently the default passcode on all Nokia phones is 12345.

If that doesn’t work, I think you’ll need to contact Nokia customer support. However, their site seems to suggest they can’t help with forgotten passcodes.

Nokia 3310 User Guide: Keys and parts

User Guide for Nokia 3310. How to insert SIM and personalise your phone.

www.hmd.com

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Agree. You can get a full set up for less than 20 (S)quid.

Corrected for you

 

[Exilegull]

BB5 phone dont think you can unlock it yourself

 

[The Clamp]

This is why the 'buy a £20 phone' is not the solution folks. Read the OP message before piling in, why not?

Ah! Good spot, though I don’t think anyone was “piling on”. Just making suggestions.

I guess maybe the family have a look through their own phones and see if they can gather up the important contacts?

 

[PeterOut]

With total respect to your mum and avoiding hassle for you, there are far easier phones out there for not much money. Does a phone that old still work OK on today's networks?

The phone works fine (for her needs) - when she can remember the code to unlock the number pad, that is. As others have said, a new phone is not much use to her if she is having problems with her memory, but wants to phone her friends.

 

[PeterOut]

Sorry can’t help with where to take the phone but given your Mum’s age (don’t take this the wrong way), is it worth asking her if she wrote the password down anywhere? - I knew an elderly woman who wrote every password down in a little notebook and carried it around in her handbag with her (until I read her the riot act) . My elderly Mum also writes her p/ws down in case she forgets them - must be an age thing

As for fish puns, there’s not much you can really say about lochs but do let us know when you have flounder solution.

Thanks for the suggestion, and we did try 12345 (the default password for those phones). Oh, and guess what, it was the number she had written down in her notebook (we thought the same as you, she must have written it down). Sadly, it is the wrong number. We know that, because we tried it twice! My best guess is that she has changed it since she first used the default number.

 

[PeterOut]

In the old days if you put in the wrong code you could call up the network operator and they would unlock it, I’d give whoever’s network it is a call

Thanks, that might be worth a try - I hope that they do not insist on speaking to the original contract holder, because that will not be easy (at either end of the conversation!).

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Sounds silly but would she know if you gave her the phone and asked her to unlock it (without thinking about it) ?

Maybe worth researching the 3 incorrect pin criteria as well, think it’s a time out rather than a permanent lock maybe, check obviously

 

[kevsbha]

Try calling the phone then see if you can get into the settings when you answer it and see if you can unlock the keypad that way

 

[PeterOut]

Sounds silly but would she know if you gave her the phone and asked her to unlock it (without thinking about it) ?

Maybe worth researching the 3 incorrect pin criteria as well, think it’s a time out rather than a permanent lock maybe, check obviously

Thanks for the suggestion, and it is one that crossed my mind - however, it is she who gave it to me and asked how she can call her friend. Apparently, just before we arrived, she had been staring at it blankly and just could not remember the code. It might be worth trying again in a few days time, of course - but this '3 strikes and you are out' is the big concern, if she punches in the wrong number herself.
From what I have read so far, the phone goes into a permanent lock rather than a timed lockout - advice is to contact a Nokia call centre to get it unlocked(!)

 

[PeterOut]

Try calling the phone then see if you can get into the settings when you answer it and see if you can unlock the keypad that way

Excellent suggestion- thank you I had not thought of that.
I still have the concern, for example, what if I need to enter the old unlock code before it will accept the new one - but I will dive even deeper into the Nokia manuals to see if that might work.
My fear is still entering the wong code for the 3rd time, hence the original question regarding if anyone has successfully used a phone repair shop to access past the keypad lock, but thanks again for the suggestion.

 

[Justice]

It’s easy done I just couldn’t remember for the life of me my business card pin one day, I had used it 100’s of times before. I now have a coding system written down if it ever happens again.

 

[PeterOut]

Try calling the phone then see if you can get into the settings when you answer it and see if you can unlock the keypad that way

Looking at the user manual, on P11 it says -
"Unlock the keypad Select Unlock, and press * within 1.5 seconds. If requested, enter the lock code."

What are the odds that it will not ask for a lock code