How to Unlock Your Phone

by Sam Jones Content Creator and Link Builder

If you purchased your mobile phone on a contract or even with a prepaid SIM card, then it is likely that your phone is locked. If a phone is locked, then you will be unable to use it on a different network. If you try putting a SIM card from a different provider into the phone, then you will receive an error message and you won't be able to use it. For those who want to change to a new provider or use their phone abroad with a local SIM card rather than having to pay the often extortionate roaming costs, a locked phone can be an absolute pain. Fortunately, in most cases, you should be able to unlock it, allowing you to use any SIM card you want.

Is My Phone Unlockable?

If your phone is a GSM phone, then you will very likely be able to unlock it. Most of the world's mobile phones use GSM technology. However, in the United States, CDMA phones also exist. These are not unlockable at all, but they are rapidly disappearing from common use anyway. If you are not sure which type of mobile phone you have, then determine whether or not it has a SIM card. Any phone which has a SIM card is a GSM phone.

How to Unlock the Phone

If you are travelling abroad for an extended trip, you will definitely want to unlock your phone so that you can use a local SIM card instead of racking up enormous phone bills from roaming charges. Unlocking a phone is actually quite simple in most cases and it should not require any technical knowledge. The procedure varies considerably depending on the brand and model of your phone, but a company which offers mobile phone unlocking services will normally take care of everything for you for a small fee of around ten to twenty dollars.

You may actually be able to have your phone unlocked by the service provider that it's currently locked to. However, this will normally cost significantly more than the other options. Many phones can be unlocked by visiting an online unlocking service and obtaining a special code which, when entered, will unlock your phone. Certain other phones, however, need to be physically connected to a special device. If this is the case, then you will need to take it into a shop that provides mobile phone unlocking services. You should be able to find out what you need to do by searching for your phone on the Web.

iPhones in particular require some special attention since they strictly only work with apps and devices endorsed by Apple. The only way to unlock an iPhone is by performing a procedure known as jailbreaking. This will, however, void your warranty and there is also a small risk that you could damage the phone.

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