He Bought an iPhone 17 Pro from Virgin Plus and Flew to Portugal. His Travel eSIM Didn't Work.

A customer from Ontario purchased an iPhone 17 Pro from Virgin Plus in April 2026 and travelled to Portugal shortly after. He had done everything right -- purchased a travel eSIM from Cellulo before departure, turned his Canadian line off completely, and boarded the plane ready to stay connected without paying $16/day in carrier roaming fees.

When he landed in Lisbon, the eSIM wouldn't activate. His phone was locked to the Virgin Plus network.

He contacted Virgin Plus to request an unlock. As of the time of writing, the device remains locked and he has received no resolution.

What the CRTC Said -- and When

This didn't happen in a vacuum. On November 28, 2025, the CRTC's Secretary General issued a formal letter to Bell Canada -- which owns Virgin Plus -- ordering the company to immediately stop selling locked devices. The directive was unambiguous: the Wireless Code requires that devices be provided to customers unlocked at or before the time of sale, and Bell had been violating that rule since April 2025.

Bell's justification was a rise in retail theft and fraud. The CRTC rejected it. The Commission found that Bell had not demonstrated the 60-day lock was effective at preventing crime, nor that it had considered alternatives that would keep it in compliance with the Wireless Code. Bell was directed to stop immediately, unlock any device still locked to its network at no charge, and notify affected customers.

That letter was dated November 28, 2025. This customer bought his iPhone 17 Pro in April 2026 -- five months later. The device was still locked at the point of sale.

What a Locked Phone Means for Travellers

A locked phone is tied to a specific carrier's network. It will not accept a SIM card -- physical or eSIM -- from any other provider. For a traveller, this is a complete block. A travel eSIM cannot be activated, cannot connect to a local network, and is essentially useless until the device is unlocked.

The practical consequence for this customer: his choice was to either pay Virgin Plus's international roaming rate of $16/day for the duration of his Portugal trip -- a 10-day trip would cost $160 in roaming charges alone -- or find Wi-Fi wherever possible and go without mobile data the rest of the time. He had purchased a travel eSIM specifically to avoid this situation.

This is not a niche edge case. Any Canadian who buys a new device from Bell or Virgin Plus and travels internationally before the device is unlocked faces exactly this scenario.

Your Rights Under the Wireless Code

The rules are clear. The Wireless Code has required devices to be sold unlocked at or before the time of sale since December 2017. There are no exceptions for fraud prevention. There is no provision allowing a temporary lock period. When the CRTC was informed of Bell's practice in April 2025, it flagged it as an apparent non-compliance immediately.

If you purchased a device from Bell or Virgin Plus and it is still locked, you are entitled to have it unlocked free of charge. Here is how to pursue it:

Step 1 -- Contact Virgin Plus or Bell directly. Call customer service and request an immediate unlock, referencing the CRTC's November 28, 2025 directive (file number 1011-NOC2016-0293). They are legally required to comply.

Step 2 -- Escalate to a supervisor. If the first agent cannot resolve it, ask for a supervisor and repeat the reference to the CRTC directive. Document the date, time, and name of the representative you spoke with.

Step 3 -- File a complaint with the CCTS. If Bell or Virgin Plus refuses to unlock the device or fails to respond within a reasonable timeframe, file a complaint with the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom-television Services at ccts-cprst.ca. The CCTS handles disputes between Canadian consumers and carriers at no cost. A CRTC directive ordering Bell to unlock devices is strong grounds for a complaint.

How to Avoid This Entirely

The cleanest solution is to not buy your device from a carrier in the first place. Apple sells the iPhone 17 Pro directly -- unlocked, from day one, with 0% financing over 24 months. You bring your own unlocked device to whichever carrier has the best plan, and your travel eSIM works the moment you land anywhere in the world.

Buying from Apple directly also removes the device financing cancellation fee risk entirely. Under the CRTC's June 12, 2026 fee ban, activation and cancellation fees disappear for plan switching -- but device financing cancellation fees are explicitly exempt. If you finance a phone through a carrier and want to leave, you still owe the remaining device balance. Buying from Apple on 0% APR keeps your phone separate from your plan, and your plan portable.

The Cellulo View

This customer did everything right. He compared plans, bought a travel eSIM, followed the setup instructions, and prepared before his flight. The problem wasn't his preparation -- it was a carrier practice that the CRTC ordered stopped five months before he walked into a Virgin Plus store.

If you are travelling internationally and recently purchased a device from Bell or Virgin Plus, check whether your phone is locked before you fly. Go to Settings -> General -> About and look for "Carrier Lock" or "SIM Lock" -- if it says anything other than "No SIM restrictions," your phone is locked and you need to request an unlock before departure.

Browse travel eSIM plans for Portugal and 200+ destinations at cellulo.ca/travel/portugal -- and make sure your device is unlocked before you board.