We recently purchased a T-Mobile phone for a trip to Italy. It is a Motorola quad band razr type. We were told to call the customer care number, give them the IMEI number and ask for the code to unlock the phone. Customer care said that the code and instructions would be emailed to us. We then received an email saying that it would be several days and that if we did not receive the instructions in two weeks to try again. They also said that they could not guarantee that Motorola would give permission to unlock the phone. We are leaving in two weeks!!

That's too long! I went into a T-Mobile phone 2 days before I left for Europe, and was told that it takes at least 3 days to unlock a phone, so I did not get a new phone. 2 Weeks does not sound right. I bought my Motorola unlocked online, so I don't know about that, but I would hound them some more. I was also told that customer service would call to give the unlock code. hmmm...

The mobile companies are reluctant to unlock their phones, especially for new customers.

They don't want you to plop in somebody's else's SIM. They want you to pay their unreasonable rates.

Keep hounding them. The squeaky wheel thing really works.

In Holland mobile companies won't unlock a phone until you've had it for a year. It's because you get a subsidy on the phone from them and they want to get their money back. It is stated in the contract when you buy the phone.
I bought an unlocked phone.

You can often find the codes for unlocking phones on the Net if you search for them.

you dont need to go to the company to get them to unlock the phone (as naturally, they are reluctant to do so).
im assuming that this is a pre-pay phone.
go to an "independant" phone dealer or to an independant IT/electronics outlet. they will be able to unlock your phone, it might cost about 10 dollars, its not entirely above board but its completely reliable.
if they don't have the software they should be able to direct you to the right place.
or do it when you get there.

I have a T-mobile razor quad-band phone and it doesn't have to be unlocked". Since it is quad band you are set to go. I used it in Italy with no problems 2 yrs ago and again in May in Costa Rica.

I had a different phone before this one and used the instructions and NEVER could get it to work. The correct instructions depend on the customer service person you talk to!

You just need the country code. The plan you have will determine if you have" high" roaming charges or ' low" roaming charges. i have the international calling plan and it cost $1.99/min. However, it only cost .10 - .15 to text.

The OP wants the phone to be unlocked so there is no need to pay T-Mobile's roaming rates. BTW, T-Mobile's rate for Europe calls is $0.99/min, not $1.99, and there is no monthly min fee.

>Motorola quad band razr type
Illegal unlocking can be done by dismantling the phone and connecting a "testpoint" to ground (some soldering skills reqired) while powering up the phone, connecting a cable to the PC, and starting a special software on the PC.

"Professionals" do it in a few minutes, search for "Smartclip/Smartmoto".

You also need to ask your self how much you really need to use the phone. I always carry my T-Mobile which works world wide, but just use the roaming feature and pay the rate. But, and this is a big but, I only use the phone sparingly. I mainly have it along for emergencies or in case I get lost trying to find my small hotel so I can call them. Light use like that is cheap enough I do not worry about it. Now, if you are planning on using it a lot then that is a different story.