Thursday, February 12, 2015

How to Unlock Your Phone

BY SASCHA SEGAN
FEBRUARY 11, 2015 05:45PM EST  PC Magazine

Do you need to know how to unlock your phone? We have details for all the major U.S. carriers right here.


Mobile phone carriers don't want you to leave, especially if they helped pay for your phone. Most of the phones sold in the U.S. (except for Verizon phones) are "locked," meaning they can't be taken to another carrier without being unlocked. From the carriers' perspective, it's a way to stop customers from leaving before they've paid out their contract or installment plan.

Because we're a country fragmented between the GSM and CDMA technologiesand several different frequency bands, unlocking a phone doesn't mean you can use it on any other U.S. carrier. But depending on the phone, you may be able to use it on a different U.S. carrier, or with foreign carriers for lower rates than you would pay roaming on your own provider.

It also helps to unlock a used phone before you sell it on a site like eBay. That will raise the price you get, because more people will be able to buy and use your phone.

In late 2013, the U.S. wireless carrier association (CTIA) agreed to adopt standardsthat would allow subscribers to unlock their paid-off phones by February 11, 2015. That's made things easier, but there are still a lot of requirements and caveats.

Why Unlock Your Phone?
The simplest reason to unlock your phone is to use it on another GSM network. That could be AT&T, T-Mobile, one of the virtual carriers that uses those networks, or a foreign GSM carrier. AT&T and T-Mobile now give service plan discounts for bringing your own phone.

The reason to use an unlocked phone while traveling abroad is because you can use either a global SIM card or a local carrier's SIM card, which would offer much lower rates than roaming with your U.S. carrier. You'd lose your standard U.S. phone number for the duration of the trip, though.

U.S. GSM virtual carriers compatible with unlocked phones include Cricket, MetroPCS, Simple Mobile, Straight Talk, H2O Wireless, Black Wireless, Ready SIM, and many others.

Large CDMA carriers, in general, do not accept unlocked phones. That means you can't move an unlocked phone over to Verizon, Sprint, Boost, or Virgin.

However, some small virtual carriers on Sprint's network will accept unlocked Sprint phones (and only Sprint phones) - carriers like Ting, Expo Mobile, EcoMobile, and Credo Wireless. The small virtual carrier Page Plus accepts unlocked Verizon phones.

There are third-party sites that purport to sell "unlock codes," but they're generally pretty shady. Avoid them.

How To Unlock an AT&T Phone
AT&T's unlocking policy depends on what kind of customer you are.

If you aren't an AT&T customer and you're trying to unlock an AT&T phone that you bought used, the phone must be fully paid off, not attached to a contract, and not reported lost or stolen.

If you're a postpaid customer, that all has to be true, and you also have to have had service for 60 days. If you're a prepaid customer, kick that up to six months.

If you fulfill these requirements, go to AT&T's Unlocking Page to submit a request. AT&T will send you instructions on how to unlock your phone within two days.

How to Unlock a T-Mobile Phone
T-Mobile's unlocking rules require you to use your phone for a certain amount of time and pay it off before unlocking. Also, you can only request two unlock codes a year.

Phones on monthly plans must have been active for 40 days and either completely paid off if they're on a no-contract plan, or at least 18 months into a 24-month contract. Prepaid smartphones must have been active for a year or have used $100 in refills.

If you fulfill those requirements, call 1-877-746-0909 or use the online chat on TMobile.com and ask to unlock your phone. They'll send you instructions within two days.

How to Unlock a Sprint, Boost or Virgin Phone
Sprint, Boost, and Virgin (which are all parts of Sprint) now all have the same unlocking policies. You only need to bother unlocking Sprint phones if they also contain a GSM radio (like the iPhone 6 does) or if you're moving them to a Sprint-based virtual carrier like Ting or Credo Wireless.

Sprint has a complex, confusing set of unlocking policies. You can read Sprint'smain unlocking policy, prepaid unlocking policy, and unlocking FAQ for details, but here are the basics.

If you just want to use a Sprint world phone (such as an iPhone 6) with a foreign SIM card when you travel abroad, it basically just needs to be a live device on an account that's been active for 90 days. This form of unlocking won't allow it to be used on non-Sprint U.S. networks. Go to sprint.com/sww to get this unlock.

To unlock a Sprint phone, the phone must be fully paid off or out of contract, and not reported as lost or stolen. If it's prepaid, such as a Virgin or Boost phone, the phone must have been used for 12 months.

But wait! Unless you bought your phone after February 19, 2015, only iPhone 5s, 5c, 6, and 6 Plus models are truly unlockable on Sprint, Virgin, or Boost. According to Sprint, phones bought before February 19 will require a code to move to another Sprint-compatible carrier, not a true SIM unlock.

Phones bought after February 19, 2015 may be fully SIM unlockable, but remember, because of that year-long active requirement, you probably won't be able to SIM-unlock most Virgin or Boost phones until 2016. You will be able to CDMA unlock them to use on another Sprint-based carrier, or international unlock them for internation SIM use, though.

Call 844-665-6327 to unlock your Sprint phone, 888-322-1122 to unlock a Virgin phone or 866-402-7366 to unlock a Boost phone.

This Reddit thread helps decode what Sprint is doing.

How to Unlock a U.S. Cellular Phone
U.S. Cellular's unlocking policy says that it will unlock any postpaid phone that is paid off or out of contract, and any prepaid phone that was activated more than 12 months ago. 3G devices can be unlocked by calling 888-944-9400, but for LTE devices, you must stop in at a U.S. Cellular store.

How to Unlock a Verizon Phone
Verizon 4G LTE phones are sold unlocked. You can use them on any supported carrier on demand.

If you have a Verizon 3G Global Ready device, most of them are unlocked; any locked devices can be unlocked by request by calling 888-294-6804. If your phone asks for an unlocking code, try "000000" or "123456" before calling for help.

Verizon's full phone unlocking policy is online.

How to Unlock Other Carriers' Phones
Cricket will unlock GSM phones that have been in use for 6 months (either current Cricket or former Aio phones). Stop into a store, call 800-274-2538, or chat online.

MetroPCS will unlock any GSM phone that's been active for 90 days; stop into a store or call 888-863-8768.

Phones from TracFone and Straight Talk that were put on the market after January 2014 can be unlocked after 12 months of use as per the company'sunlocking policy. Call your brand's customer service number to ask.

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