There are two technologies used in cell phones, one is GSM and the other is CDMA. In case you have a CDMA phone, then it is not possible to unlock but you can unlock your GSM phone. Service providers normally set up software on the phone that links up the phone’s serial number with SIM card’s ID number and if they do not match, you cannot use the mobile.
How to check if phone is locked
There is a very easy method by which you can check whether the phone is locked or not. Ask any of your friends to give you their phone’s SIM and insert into your phone. Then try to make a call from your phone, if you get a error message then you know that the phone is locked.
Benefits of unlocking a mobile phone
The benefit of unlocking your phone is that you can use your phone with different service providers and if you are traveling to European or Asian countries then using a local SIM card will mean saving a lot of money in roaming fees that you will have to pay otherwise.
How to unlock a cell phone
You can unlock a mobile phone in different ways and we will look at them in the following section.
- First there are several companies which will provide you the unlock code for a price. After you receive the unlock code, just enter the new SIM card from the other service provider you want to use and when the mobile prompts, enter the code you have and the phone will be unlocked.
- In some cases you can even get the unlock code from your service provider itself upon payment of a specific fees and need not go to a third party company to get the unlock code.
- To unlock smart phones such as the iPhone 5, you will require assistance where the operating system is hacked using a technique known as jail breaking. After a successful jail breaking, the phone can be used with any service provider and you can install applications apart from those available on the Apple’s store.