doctorSIM's Ethics, Transparency and Good Practice
Offering an outstanding service at the best price and highest standards of integrity
Why the need for this page?
The internet is full of shady sites offering unlock services but returning nothing more than a scammy experience.
And it’s the same with some online top-up or gift cards sites and apps... Do you really think you’ll be able to top-up your phone 'for free' or at a much lower price than the one offered by your company, without hidden costs and in a legal way? Do you think you're going to get 50 euros to spend on Amazon just like that? Do you really think it is a good idea to give your bank details to people in charge of this kind of service?
But separating the "good guys" from the "bad guys" is not always as simple as it seems at first glance... That's why we’ve created this 10-point checklist with things that will alert you to potential problems.
If you end up buying elsewhere at least you'll be wiser and probably safer!
Essential checklist for safe online shopping
Every purchase on doctorSIM, whether it is a recharge, a gift card, an unlocking or a phone check, is covered by our Minimum Price Guarantee, as long as we are comparing apples to apples. We will honor the difference and make sure your experience is worthwhile.
Sometimes simply going for the cheapest is a fast recipe for frustration and money loss. Check the site credentials before buying.
If you still find a better offer, simply drop us a note, and we'll get on it.
The world of unlocking, gift cards and top-ups. Today we can unlock more than 90% of devices and send your top-ups to the vast majority of network carriers and countries in the world, but in some (very rare) cases we simply can’t do it because of events beyond our control. Something similar happens with gift cards: sometimes we don't have all the availability we'd like to offer you due to stock shortages, and although it happens very rarely, it's possible that delivery may be slightly delayed.
If your unlocking doesn’t work, even after placing the correct order and following the unlocking instructions, your money will be refunded immediately. And if for any reason we can not send your top-up or your gift-card, rest assured that we will refund your money instantly.
Never trust unlock companies that curate and embed their own reviews with no external independent audit present.
Run a Google search on the company and check out the reviews on trusted independent sites.
Trust review companies such as TrustPilot, Facebook or simply Google that have an established presence and track history.
(This is a list of approved customer satisfaction Google partners. If the company you're reading your reviews from is not there, tread carefully.)
We try to be as transparent and fair with our pricing, as well as accurate with our delivery times, but sometimes we get it wrong… and you definitely let us know when we underperform.
A 9.2 / 10 satisfaction rating is only that good if we also learn from our 1 and 2 star reviews.
Not proud, but nothing to hide here.
This is a common scam technique to get your money for a seemingly low price. With cell phones, it never works that way.
It’s a little bit more complex. Just as the price of top-ups will always vary depending on the network carrier, country or package you’re buying, it’s simply not the same to unlock an old Blackberry phone ($2,95 USD) as an iPhone X from AT&T ($39,95 USD), or to buy a Spotify gift card compared to an Amazon one, and that's why they don't cost the same.
If your phone is locked to an iCloud account you do not have access to, your best chances are to try to get the original invoice and have an Apple store specialist unlock it or talk to the prior owner of the phone.
Any other option that involves purchasing a 'guaranteed' iCloud unlock service online from a third party is most probably a scam.
If you buy iCloud unlock from these sites, you will probably lose your money and might be feeding the mafias that are dedicated to online identity theft.
Heads Up! Not to be confused with unlocking by IMEI, which is perfectly legal and covered by multiple service warranties.
Would you spend valuable money at an unknown physical store where you can't see the clerk's face? Why do the same online?
Most sites with nothing more than an email form, no real address and a sketchy generic 'about us', are probably hiding something and certainly not offering any guarantees.
You can read about why we do this, and check out our social proof.
doctorSIM is a Limited Liability company with principal address in Madrid, Spain and fiscal ID ES84987056B.
We have commercial partnerships with payment platforms (Stripe, PayPal, DLocal, RedSys) that enable us to operate globally while providing a seamless experience for our users.
When deciding where to buy, don't expect an easy refund from companies 'established' in fiscal paradises with little or no fiscal control.
Staying current and up to date with all legal requirements is a pain, but a very necessary one to gain your trust.
Make sure you know where you are inputting your data.
Nowadays simply having an 'SSL' lock is not enough.
When you pay through Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Chrome Pay or any Cryptocurrency, your buying experience is fully protected.
doctorSIM is PCI DSS Compliant for a fully user-friendly and safe buying experience.
We only send legal top-ups validated by the phone company that manages your phone's network.
We only use official databases and 100% reliable sources to extract the information for our IMEI checks.
We only work with legal unlocking procedures that can be performed via IMEI, code generation, cable or SIM card.
We always recommend you check to see whether your phone might already be unlocked and/or if your carrier will be willing to unlock it for you.
If they won't, we're here to help.
The Right to Repair movement and the 2013 Library of Congress declaration on cell phone unlocking are two great initiatives we deeply applaud.
doctorSIM is happy to embrace these movements and do its part in the fight to gain better control of our rightfully purchased devices.
Regardless of where you get your phone unlocked, at least now you know what to look out for. Give us a shout if you still have questions. Happy to help even if you don't buy.