You may have heard the term "unlocked cell phone." What is it though?
When a manufacturer produces a cell phone they negotiate contracts with various service providers. Sometimes with several, other times with one exclusively. For example, the iPhone in the USA is contracted to be an exclusive AT&T product. T-Mobile contracted with Google for exclusive rights to the G1.
The phones are "locked" to each carrier, which means they will only work with that service provider's SIM card. Try to use another SIM card, say a Sprint card in an iPhone, and you will receive an error. This is known as a "Subsidy Lock."
There are companies and programs that will disable the Subsidy Lock for a fee. In order to do this, you must provide the IMEI number (each phone has a unique IMEI) to the company or program and it will generate a code which is then entered into a phone to complete the process. Unlocking a phone is useful if you want to use a phone with a service provider other than the one it was made for.
You don't have to pay to unlock your phone if you know a few things. First, if you have completed your agreement with your provider or if you purchased the phone at full price with no discount for an agreement, they are obligated to give you the code upon request. Still under the contract agreement? No problem, simply call your provider and tell them you are going on a trip over seas and want to use a local SIM card. The provider will give you the code and instructions on how to enter it. Please note that AT&T will NOT provide the unlock code for the iPhone under ANY circumstances. T-Mobile however will provide the code for the G1.
Unlocking a phone can save you money if you go to another carrier. However, keep in mind that it may or may not work with the new provider. This is especially true with the data features.
Friday, May 15, 2009
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2 comments:
Ya..Nokia E63..Series Model Mobile.Now recently my father was Bought the Mobile.It was Locked To the T-MOBILE Us.I was Used the site http://www.mobile-unlocker.com/For the Unlocking Code Purchasing My Father now in Verizon Network USA.
Hi,
The most part about mobile phone unlocking is that is simple to access! Amazingly, there are cell phone unlock codes you can employ to do this procedure. Many websites online present such codes that usually are quite affordable. However, some phones may need more than an unlock cell phone code.
For instance, if you have a certain phone model, a data plug may have to be used to join to a programming unit. This will reprogram your phone and allow you to choose another service.
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