France is one of the best-regulated unlock markets in Europe: the carrier must unlock the device free of charge once six months have passed from purchase or activation, on request. SFR and Bouygues both comply, and in practice the unlock lands within days. The failure case is a device bought second-hand before those six months, where the buyer cannot make the request at all.
The activation policy is held against the IMEI by the operator. No code for an iPhone.
The six months run from purchase or activation, not from when you acquired the phone.
The phone is not damaged and it is not stolen by default: the manufacturer holds an activation policy against the IMEI that names the carrier the device may activate on. Until that record changes, every other SIM is refused at activation — Wi-Fi keeps working, which is why a locked handset can look perfectly healthy in a shop.
French consumer rules require the operator to unlock free of charge on request once six months have elapsed from purchase or activation. The device must also be paid off and not reported.
The request must come from the account holder.
The current wording is always on the carrier’s page: ARCEP (France) — consumer rules.
Devices inside the six-month window, or second-hand handsets the buyer cannot request, need a supply-side release. The French tiers target the SFR and Bouygues records specifically.
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Yes after six months, by law.
Only on a paid tier.
The operator will check the activation date on the account.
Yes.
A separate record again.
Last checked 2026-10-28. Carrier rules are summarised from the operators’ own pages; where a rule has changed since, the operator’s page wins.