Plus net sim in BT mini mobile broadband hub

[#1]

Hi I want to find out if a plusnet sim will work in a BT mini mobile broadband hub which I presume is currently locked (tried a Tesco mobile sim in it which didn’t seem to work). Hope someone can help.

[#2]

Welcome to the Forum

I think it will be locked to BT or EE

You can buy an unlock code from EBay for about £2.79 

I did this for a EE Osprey box and that now works on PlusNet very easy to do

[#3]

Smith7 thank you so much for your reply. That’s so helpful (if it works).

I’ve got three BT mini mobile hubs which were provided free of charge, for a while, as part of some compensation from BT for a mis sale and a lot of problems that they caused. But they’ve now decided to cut them off unless I want to start paying for them. I thought I’d be able to put a PlusNet sim in, even though they are locked, as it ‘piggybacks’ EE the same as BT does. Is that not right? Will they not be open to a PlusNet sim as it’s the same network?

I wanted to use a PAYG sim so I’m not tied to a contract, although there seems to be a good deal on offer at EE for 60gb data for £15 per month and BT business will give me 10% off for going through them, making it only £13.50 but it’s a 2 year contract.

[#4]

I thought I’d be able to put a PlusNet sim in, even though they are locked, as it ‘piggybacks’ EE the same as BT does. Is that not right?

I depends! There are two types of lock a 'network' lock and a 'provider' lock. If your device only has the network lock then it will work with any provider who uses the EE network. If it has a provider lock as well then it will only work with with BT.

Then again it MIGHT not be  locked at all, since Dec 2021 providers should not be selling locked devices.

I'm afraid the only way to find out, is to try another network sim in it.

[#5]

MIster W thank you for your reply.

I didn’t know there was network lock and provider lock. Is there any way of finding out what it might be other than buying a PlusNet sim to try in it? Or does anyone know which type of lock BT uses?

I tried a Tesco mobile sim but that didn’t work so it must be locked. I’ve had it for a few years so well before Dec 2021.

If I buy an unlocking code off eBay will that work for both types of lock? Perhaps I should just try that first as it’s only £2.79.

[#6]

I tried a Tesco mobile sim but that didn’t work so it must be locked

Yes, that confirms it has at least a network lock since Tesco use O2.

If I buy an unlocking code off eBay will that work for both types of lock?

I would hope so, but I'd tryand confirm with the unlock supplioer  first.

This https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Devices/Unlocking-BT-Mini-Hub-to-use-with-a-vodafone-sim/td-p/2070315 seems to indicate that the mini Hub is only network locked, since someone has used an EE sim, although it was 2 yrs ago...

[#7]

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@MisterW wrote:

I tried a Tesco mobile sim but that didn’t work so it must be locked

Yes, that confirms it has at least a network lock since Tesco use O2.

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Just an idle thought, you don't need to manually input the APN settings?

[#8]

The default APN settings are usually pulled from the sim.

[#9]

@MisterW 

I only mentioned it because several years ago I put a SIM (I'm not sure but think that it was a GiffGaff one) in a Huawei E5577 MiFi unit and I had to manually enter them.

[#10]

Similarly with Lebara (Vodafone network), the settings are sent via SMS, after activation, and have to be entered into the phone manually.