It will request a key, but its just not true at all. If you try, youll notice theres a "w" in the code, which cannot be entered at all.

Me and the other guy buying the N9 and the manager at the store stood there for an hour working on this before I just went "okay, lets try popping in my microsim from netcom and see what up". And it worked flawlessly.

Could be an "early devices" thing where some fresh models arent locked even if theyre supposed to be, then the lock comes into place later on in subsequent deliveries, that happens a LOT in the business, as Im sure you know .