O2 and Tesco Mobile unlock policy in 2026, for the UK shop holding the phone

O2 and Tesco Mobile share a network and, since January 2024, a renewed ten year agreement between Tesco and Virgin Media O2 (source), but they run separate unlock desks with separate rules. O2 stopped locking most phones before Ofcom made it compulsory; Tesco Mobile was one of the networks the regulator had to push. This page covers both, the Ofcom rule behind them, and what a shop can do with a locked handset and no account holder.

Last reviewed 2026-10-28. Written for shops by STACKS. Not affiliated with any carrier.

The Ofcom rule since December 2021

Ofcom's ban on selling locked handsets took effect on 17 December 2021 (source). At the October 2020 announcement, O2, Sky, Three and Virgin already sold only unlocked phones, while EE, BT, Vodafone and Tesco Mobile did not and were given a year to change; Ofcom said unlocking "usually costs around GBP 10" and that about half of people who tried had difficulties (source). Ofcom's own page could not be fetched on 2026-10-28 (403), so its statistics are cited through press reports (source). The ban is forward looking: handsets sold before it may still be locked, and each network sets its own terms for those.

O2: what is locked and what is not

O2's help page, last updated 06/01/2026, draws the lines by date (source):

• "Since 1 August 2018, Apple devices bought directly from us are no longer locked."
• "Almost all new devices shipped after January 2019 are now unlocked."
• Huawei dongles have been unlocked since April 2019.
• Alcatel and Doro devices are the exception: "they're still locked."

To test a device, insert a non-O2 SIM; "incompatible SIM", "enter subsidy PIN" or "enter network unlock code" means it is locked (source).

O2: how an older phone is unlocked

For a device bought directly from O2, "you can ask us to unlock it at any time, for free", as long as you are in the UK; a device not bought from O2 goes back to the provider that sold it (source). Pay Monthly customers call 202 and Pay As You Go customers call 4445, free from an O2 phone, with the IMEI ready (dial *#06#); Pay Monthly customers must still see out their minimum term (source). iPhone owners get a text and other devices an email; for older handsets O2 may have to contact the manufacturer, which "can take up to 10 working days" (source). O2 Business requests come only from the main account holder through the Contact us page, and if accepted O2 emails instructions "within seven days" (source).

Tesco Mobile

Tesco Mobile's help page says "we don't charge to unlock Tesco Mobile pay monthly phones or Tesco Mobile pay as you go phones", and that "all Tesco Mobile handsets are now unlocked" (source). For an older locked one, the route is the online unlock request (source); "we'll text you within 7 days with the code and a link" (source). Tesco can unlock "any phone that's locked to the Tesco Mobile network, as long as it's not barred", and cannot unlock phones locked to other networks, pay monthly phones without a Tesco Mobile SIM, or phones Tesco did not supply (source). A pay as you go request needs "a pay as you go SIM card with an active number", meaning one that has made a chargeable call (source). Older third party guides quoting a GBP 20 fee or a 12 month pay as you go wait are superseded by that page.

The trade-in case

For a shop, both desks have the same shape. O2's route is a call from the O2 phone on the account, or the business account holder; Tesco's needs a Tesco SIM with an active number in a Tesco supplied handset. Neither page describes a route for a trader holding stock, so that route is unverified at best and absent at worst. The one practical opening is Tesco's pay as you go rule, which turns on the SIM in the phone rather than on who bought it; whether Tesco accepts a request from a second owner on that basis is not stated and is unverified.

The value gap between a locked and an unlocked handset is covered on locked vs unlocked value, and the financed and blacklisted page explains the free check for a device whose original owner stopped paying, because a barred IMEI stays barred on every UK network whether or not the SIM lock is gone.

Our O2 and Tesco Mobile services are listed near the top of this page as STACKS sells them: each row states the condition it applies, the turnaround and whether it is refundable if it fails. A network unlock does nothing for Activation Lock; Apple's guidance is not to take a used iPhone that still asks for the previous owner's Apple Account (source).

If it is your own phone

O2: call 202 or 4445 with your IMEI; it is free (source). Tesco Mobile: submit the online request and wait for the text; it is free (source). Unlock STACKS serves approved businesses. See how approval works.

Questions shops ask

RELATED EE (UK) Three (UK) Vodafone (UK) All carriers Locked vs unlocked value Financed and blacklisted

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