I was faced with the same prob of not being able to get one outright as I had just renewed my contract 2-3 months ago so what I done is got the iphone on the 49 cap as a second plan which cost me 484 upfront and on a 12 month contract so basically ya then cancel the contract and pay half the monthly plan cost (24.50) x the months remaining to get out of the contract

so 24.50 x 12 = 294 + the 484 upfront and walked away without having to wait for outright plans from voda

Hi,

Unfortunately unlocking the phone will not enable the ability to edit the APN settings to stop it from working.

However if you've manned up and jailbroken it, my carrierbundle in Cydia under tweaks will allow you to access the GPRS settings again

Cheers,
--Matt

Just letting everyone know that I have successfully unlocked a Vodafone iPhone that was purchased outright, without a Vodafone account.
If you are not a Vodafone customer, there is obviously no account that they can add the $75 unlocking fee onto.

I purchased a $9.95 Vodafone Sim starter pack and also $70 credit to start off with. The starter pack gives you $10, and combined with the $70 worth of credit, tops the pre-paid account up to $80.
I contacted Vodafone on 1300 650 410, and told them I needed to unlock my iPhone. Give them your Vodafone pre-paid phone number and passcode (This is set up when the pre-paid sim is purchased).
$75 will be deducted from the account, and you have to give the IMEI number to the operator. This then gets sent to Apple and the unlocking process continues from there.

I rang Friday afternoon and was advised of a 3 business day wait until the phone will be unlocked. I just restored the phone this afternoon (Tuesday) and placed an Optus sim in it and it is already unlocked. This may help those of you that purchased an outright locked iPhone from Vodafone (when they were available), or if you purchase a Vodafone locked iPhone off eBay or a forum etc.

Nice one, thanks NathR32.
Pretty much what I had known all along, but I'm yet to jump on board and unlock my outright Voda iPhone (I only use one SIM and it's Voda anyway).

I just did a check of the online unlocking -- still not working.

i just tried to unlock my iphone online via the vodafone unlock page.
i page the $75 but my phone is still not unlocked.
does it matter that i tried to unlock i using a crazy johns sim (which is on the voda network)
or do i also have to wait 3 business days until it is unlocked?

Wow nice work jizztin!

The unlock page seems to be up.
Handset Unlocking - Identify Handset

It may take a while... do a full restore? I would wait the 3 business days then try a software restore if you've JUST paid. It is not instant!

does anyone know how long it should take to unlock a voda iphone?
i used the online unlock facility last friday.
so it has nearly been 5 business days.
ive emailed a voda rep, but they say it will be answered within 10 business days

I would try restoring it. I was told about 5 business days for mine to be unlocked and I would receive an email or SMS. 2 days later, I thought I would just restore and see if it had been done yet. To my surprise, the phone was unlocked
No email or SMS ever arrived.

This does not work. So warning to those who just spent a worthless 80 bucks on vodafone credit.

I rang and told them I wanted to unlock my iPhone. He asked for my number and passcode, told him then he said that it was showing a prepay account. Told him I wanted to use the prepay account balance to pay the unlocking fee. Put me on hold. Came back said that this has never been done before. You can only do it through Credit Card at either a store or online. I don't know how you got this to work.

Can you help us a little more? I just spent $80 on vodafone credit because of this.

Why don't you just pay via CC or do it online? Handset Unlocking - Identify Handset

Dont have one.

I rang twice and they said that the policy says CC only and that it takes 10 business days.

So obviously NathR32 has done this with another carrier.

Oh and wtf do I want to spend another $75? I already spent $80 on credit for Vodafone when Im not even with vodafone.

Get a VISA debit card. Does the same thing.

I'm not up for all that. I would like to just unlock the damn phone not sign up for a credit card/debit card.

I have just spent the $80 onto vodafone prepay. I don't think your understanding me. Even if I had a credit card I don't want to give vodafone another $80.

I understand what you're saying. But why did you top up with $80 credit? Did you ask them first whether it was okay to debit your account balance rather than use CC?

I think you made a mistake by topping up without requesting confirmation. From the documentation/FAQ online it specifically says CC.

Source:
Answer

I just believed that you could do it via a starter kit + $70 recharge as NathR32 said. I can't get a refund on the credit either. My last chance is to go to a Vodafone Store and ask in person what they can do.