What are Unlocked Cell Phones? How to Unlock a Cell Phone?

In recent years, cell phones have replaced wired home phones in huge numbers. Security was as much of a concern with traditional phone systems, though it was possible to “bug” a phone line and record conversations. Restricting phone use was not much of a problem either, as the phone company was the “only game in town.”

Things are a bit different with cell phones. The technology relies on wireless signals for the most part and one of the major concerns for cell-phone companies is restricting phone use. For example, phones can be fitted with a subscriber-identification module (SIM) card or another type of identifying chip. This “locks” the phone so that it will receive signals from just one cell-phone service supplier. One explanation of this technology describes it as ensuring customer loyalty. In simple terms, this works by matching the SIM card with the serial number of a particular phone.

To Lock or Not to Lock

Competition is fierce in the cell-phone industry and companies do everything they can to protect their business. Discount cell phone companies often use SIM cards to lock phones that are provided with their plans. This keeps the customer from using the phone with another service carrier. Keeping customers in their network and paying for minutes helps the discount companies cover the cost of the no-cost or low-cost phones. While some of these companies will agree to “unlock” a phone for a fee, some customers have found that their phone doesn’t work correctly even after the company removes the card or chip.

SIM cards or chips could be used purely as an identification method. But since companies have used this technology to lock phones some customers have taken this issue to court, arguing that cell phones should not be locked at all, or if they are locked initially they should be unlocked when the first one-year or two-year contract is up.

More Money?

It’s possible to get a phone that isn’t locked, so that your use isn’t restricted to one and only one signal carrier. But you may have to purchase a new phone from a store or vendor that isn’t associated with the cell-phone service company. The problem seems to be that buying a phone in this manner is much more expensive. This has caused more than one cell-phone customer to “settle” for a locked phone from a discount service.

Some people might try to unlock their phone on their own, using “hacking” instructions specific to that phone or manufacturer. However, this doesn’t guarantee that the phone will operate correctly with any and all carriers. If you are considering getting a cell phone for the first time or if you are thinking about changing companies, you should learn all you can about SIM cards, the GSM network and the CDMA network. Some cell-phone service providers use GSM while others are part of CDMA. You may find that one network has locked phones and another doesn’t.