Switching Off Sim Lock on the Samsung W531 Cell Phone

The Samsung W531 Cellphone is currently being marketed and sold through phone provider Telecom New Zealand. Telecom currently runs on a CDMA network, while the only other competitor Vodafone NZ runs on a GSM Network.

The Samsung W531 is marketed as a world phone. As the world leans towards abandoning CDMA for GSM (Telstra in Australia is a big roaming partner with Telecom NZ which is due to drop the CDMA network completely), Telecom have released this phone with dual CDMA and GSM capabilities. Telecom is due to change it's network topology to GSM in the future.

This dual network type connectivity allows Telecom to have roaming agreements with GSM partners overseas without the end user requiring a different handset each time they travel abroad.

Telecom engages a "Sim Lock" on the phone so that it can not be used on the Vodafone NZ GSM network. Telecom allows it only to be used for roaming with it's overseas partners.

All is not lost. I have successfully removed the Sim Lock on my Samsung W531 with ease, and I can switch between Telecom NZ CDMA and Vodafone NZ GSM without any issues.

Before You Begin

Put your GSM Sim Card into the Samsung W531

How to disable the Sim Lock

1. Press the "Menu OK" button on your handset

2. Press # (hash/pound key)

3. Press 1

4. Press 0 (number zero)

5. In the presented window, enter code 123580

6. Press OK

7. Press * (star key) to select the menu labeled "Sim Lock"

8. Change the option from "On" to "Off"

9. Your Samsung W531 will restart automatically and attempt to connect to the GSM network for the Sim Card you have inserted.

Notes: Some sources report that if you firmware upgrade your Samsung W531 at any stage, it will reset the Sim Lock settings and may change the code required to enter the service menu. You may wish to consider this as there have been firmware bugs reported on the Samsung W531.

Some sources also report that a different service code may be required and that the method of accessing the service menu differs from that described in this guide.

The service code and procedure were performed on a Samsung W531 with the following version information:

PRL: 01031
S:SCH-W531 AJ05
H:W531.04
MCL:5.1.23

REFERENCES

Sim Lock code information adapted from reader comments posted by a 12 year old (Hamish) and GreeZe at:

Sprint's SCH-W531 from Samsung in the flesh
http://tinyurl.com/2ktt9z