|
Most Unlock Code Will Be Email Within 24 Hours!!!
FAQ: Cell Phone Unlocking
|
What is a SIM and what is unlocking?
Ordinary cell phone service works so that the unique serial number of your phone (its ESN) is used by the cell phone
service provider to identify who you are. The wireless carrier provider 'identifies' your hardware device's
serial number on their network and with a quick database lookup knows to how and where to transmit the signal to your device
whenever a caller dials your phone number. A GSM phone is not directly linked to your hardware (phone/device).
Instead, it has a removable account card, called a SIM (subscriber information module) and this SIM has a unique serial number
on it as well. This is what identifies you, the subscriber to the wireless provider. The important difference
about this is that you can put your SIM into any compatible phone (and pretty much all modern GSM phones are compatible with
all modern SIMs) and that phone will now act as your phone, because the wireless company sees your SIM inside it.
It doesn't care that you've changed phones. All it cares is where to find your SIM. And now for the really
exciting part of this; just as, in theory, you can put any SIM in any phone, the opposite is also true. Any phone can
work with any SIM. So, if you've already bought an expensive phone that you like and have learned how to use, if
you change from one GSM wireless company to another one, you don't have to change phones. You can keep the phone
you've grown to like, and all you need to do is replace the first company's SIM with your new service provider's
SIM. But, some wireless providers 'lock' their phones, meaning that their phones have been programmed to only
work with SIMs issued by their company. Reversing that programming - unlocking your phone so it can work with any SIM
on any wireless network - is what this is all about.
What
is GSM?
Is it different than normal cell phone service?
How do I know if I have GSM or not? GSM is a type of digital wireless phone service. One of the most common types
of digital wireless phone service in Canada and the US is CDMA, but just about every other country in the world uses primarily
or only GSM. For you as the user of your phone, there is no difference at all between using a phone on a CDMA system
or a phone on a GSM system. Unfortunately, the two different systems are not compatible with each other. If you
have a T-Mobile, Cingular, Rogers, Fido or recent new M-mode type service with AT&T, then you have GSM Service.
Will my existing cell phone service provider know if I unlock my mobile phone?
Most likely not. Certainly, if they physically have your phone, they can get it to display its current lock
status, but when you have the phone, we're not sure. It might be possible, in theory, for them to interrogate the
phone through the cell service control signals, and get the phone to advise of its status, but we've never heard of this
being done. And, in any case, read the next two questions/answers for further reassurance on this topic.
Will my existing service provider care if I unlock my phone?
Probably not! That
is one of the ridiculous things about unlocking which makes the whole thing so unnecessary. You have already signed
a one, two or even three year contract with your cell phone service provider, now you are committed to spending a monthly
minimum amount with them every month, whether you ever turn your phone on or not! Indeed, in a way, it is probably good
for them if you never use the free minutes included in your plan - that way, their monthly fee becomes pure profit!
So, why should they care if your phone is locked or unlocked? Apart from hoping you'll use more than your free minutes,
it is all the same to them, one way or the other.
Is it legal to
unlock my phone?
It is your phone, isn't it?
Then surely it is as legal that you unlock your phone as it is that you give it away, lose it, break it, leave it turned off,
or do just about anything else with it! Unless your phone service contract says 'this phone remains the property
of us (the service provider) and you agree not to modify or alter it in any way' then there would seem to be no reason
why you can't legally do anything you like with your phone, just so long as you're not attempting to defraud anyone.
It is illegal, in some countries, to change the phone's IMEI (serial number) - this is a type of what is called 'cloning'
and, particularly with non-GSM phones, could enable you to then pretend to be someone else and have your airtime charged to
someone else's account. We don't provide any cloning type service and don't approve of people that do.
But we do help you simply unlock a phone that belongs to you so you have freedom of choice as to which service provider you
use it with.
Can my existing service provider
re-lock my phone without telling me?
We used to think
the answer to this was 'no, of course not'! But then a reader wrote in to tell us how he bought a Treo, new
and unlocked, and after using it with T-Mobile, changed his service provider and started using it with AT&T. To
his surprise and horror, AT&T somehow then locked his Treo and now are refusing to unlock it, even though he never bought
if from AT&T and never let them touch it. Somehow they apparently sent a locking signal to the Treo that locked
it to their SIM. This understandably upset the owner of the Treo. It was 100% his Treo - he'd paid full price
for it, buying it from a regular store, not from a cell phone service provider, and then signed up for an account with AT&T
that had no special incentives associated with it. So, maybe it is indeed possible for your phone to be relocked.
So keep your unlocking codes in case you need to use them again!
How do I know
if my phone is already unlocked or not?
Easy - Borrow a SIM from a friend who has
an account with a different wireless service provider and see if it works in your phone or not. If it works, and your
phone thinks it is his (or her) phone with that phone's number, then your phone is already unlocked. But if it creates
some sort of error message and doesn't work, then your phone is locked.
How do I know if my phone can be unlocked?
As far as we are aware, all GSM phones can be unlocked. But if your phone is not a GSM phone, then it probably
can't be unlocked; indeed, the whole idea of locking/unlocking phones doesn't really apply to non GSM phones, because
your phone number and account is tied to your phone, not to the movable/replaceable SIM chip that is inside it.
Which companies have GSM in Canada and USA?
There are two main companies that offer GSM service in the USA. AT&T and Cingular are now merged into one
company, and the second company is T-Mobile. In Canada, Rogers Wireless and Fido (recently acquired by Rogers) are the
main providers of GSM service. If your service is with Sprint, Nextel, Verizon, Telus, Bell or just about any other
North American wireless company, then you do not have GSM service and your phone can't be unlocked.
Which countries will my unlocked phone work in?
(See the next question as well).
GSM service is offered in 207
countries.
Check
this website to see if the country you are interested in has GSM service, and, if it does, what frequency the GSM service(s)
operate on.
How do I know if my phone
will work internationally?
US GSM cell phones work on 1900 MHz (and sometimes also 850 MHz).
Most other countries have GSM networks on 900 or 1800 MHz.
Check on the website of your cell phone manufacturer to see which frequencies your model phone supports. Here
are sites for the most common phones.
· Nokia USA (also has toll free customer support at 888 665-4228)
· Motorola
· Ericsson
· Samsung
· LG
· Pantech
· HTC
Will my existing service still work with my unlocked phone?
Yes, your existing service will work perfectly with no change, as long as you leave your present SIM in your phone.
Will I be able to get better reception and roam more in the US with an unlocked phone?
No. Unlocking does not make any difference to how your phone works with its present wireless service provider.
It still uses the same transmitters on the same towers as before, and does everything the same. The only difference
is that you can take its SIM out and replace it with a different SIM for a different wireless company.
Will I save money with an unlocked phone?
Maybe. Your current wireless provider
will still charge you exactly the same as before for all your calls.
But because your phone is now unlocked, you can use a different SIM from
a different provider whenever this might give you better rates - for example, when traveling overseas.
Why should I unlock my phone?
There are three main reasons why you might want
to unlock your phone.
· Because
you want to change the wireless company you get service from in the US, and want to keep your present phone.
· You've
changed to a different service provider and got a new phone, but you want to unlock your old phone so you can use it in an
emergency just by swapping the SIM over if your main phone gives problems.
· Because you want to travel internationally and don't want to have to pay the very
expensive international rates your present wireless company would charge you while internationally roaming.
What is a SIM and what is unlocking?
Ordinary cell phone service works so that the unique serial number of your phone (its ESN) is used by the cell phone
service provider to identify who you are. The wireless carrier provider 'identifies' your hardware device's
serial number on their network and with a quick database lookup knows to how and where to transmit the signal to your device
whenever a caller dials your phone number. A GSM phone is not directly linked to your hardware (phone/device).
Instead, it has a removable account card, called a SIM (subscriber information module) and this SIM has a unique serial number
on it as well. This is what identifies you, the subscriber to the wireless provider. The important difference
about this is that you can put your SIM into any compatible phone (and pretty much all modern GSM phones are compatible with
all modern SIMs) and that phone will now act as your phone, because the wireless company sees your SIM inside it.
It doesn't care that you've changed phones. All it cares is where to find your SIM. And now for the really
exciting part of this; just as, in theory, you can put any SIM in any phone, the opposite is also true. Any phone can
work with any SIM. So, if you've already bought an expensive phone that you like and have learned how to use, if
you change from one GSM wireless company to another one, you don't have to change phones. You can keep the phone
you've grown to like, and all you need to do is replace the first company's SIM with your new service provider's
SIM. But, some wireless providers 'lock' their phones, meaning that their phones have been programmed to only
work with SIMs issued by their company. Reversing that programming - unlocking your phone so it can work with any SIM
on any wireless network - is what this is all about.
What
is GSM?
Is it different than normal cell phone service?
How do I know if I have GSM or not? GSM is a type of digital wireless phone service. One of the most common types
of digital wireless phone service in Canada and the US is CDMA, but just about every other country in the world uses primarily
or only GSM. For you as the user of your phone, there is no difference at all between using a phone on a CDMA system
or a phone on a GSM system. Unfortunately, the two different systems are not compatible with each other. If you
have a T-Mobile, Cingular, Rogers, Fido or recent new M-mode type service with AT&T, then you have GSM Service.
Will my existing cell phone service provider know if I unlock my mobile phone?
Most likely not. Certainly, if they physically have your phone, they can get it to display its current lock
status, but when you have the phone, we're not sure. It might be possible, in theory, for them to interrogate the
phone through the cell service control signals, and get the phone to advise of its status, but we've never heard of this
being done. And, in any case, read the next two questions/answers for further reassurance on this topic.
Will my existing service provider care if I unlock my phone?
Probably not! That
is one of the ridiculous things about unlocking which makes the whole thing so unnecessary. You have already signed
a one, two or even three year contract with your cell phone service provider, now you are committed to spending a monthly
minimum amount with them every month, whether you ever turn your phone on or not! Indeed, in a way, it is probably good
for them if you never use the free minutes included in your plan - that way, their monthly fee becomes pure profit!
So, why should they care if your phone is locked or unlocked? Apart from hoping you'll use more than your free minutes,
it is all the same to them, one way or the other.
Is it legal to
unlock my phone?
It is your phone, isn't it?
Then surely it is as legal that you unlock your phone as it is that you give it away, lose it, break it, leave it turned off,
or do just about anything else with it! Unless your phone service contract says 'this phone remains the property
of us (the service provider) and you agree not to modify or alter it in any way' then there would seem to be no reason
why you can't legally do anything you like with your phone, just so long as you're not attempting to defraud anyone.
It is illegal, in some countries, to change the phone's IMEI (serial number) - this is a type of what is called 'cloning'
and, particularly with non-GSM phones, could enable you to then pretend to be someone else and have your airtime charged to
someone else's account. We don't provide any cloning type service and don't approve of people that do.
But we do help you simply unlock a phone that belongs to you so you have freedom of choice as to which service provider you
use it with.
Can my existing service provider
re-lock my phone without telling me?
We used to think
the answer to this was 'no, of course not'! But then a reader wrote in to tell us how he bought a Treo, new
and unlocked, and after using it with T-Mobile, changed his service provider and started using it with AT&T. To
his surprise and horror, AT&T somehow then locked his Treo and now are refusing to unlock it, even though he never bought
if from AT&T and never let them touch it. Somehow they apparently sent a locking signal to the Treo that locked
it to their SIM. This understandably upset the owner of the Treo. It was 100% his Treo - he'd paid full price
for it, buying it from a regular store, not from a cell phone service provider, and then signed up for an account with AT&T
that had no special incentives associated with it. So, maybe it is indeed possible for your phone to be relocked.
So keep your unlocking codes in case you need to use them again!
How do I know
if my phone is already unlocked or not?
Easy - Borrow a SIM from a friend who has
an account with a different wireless service provider and see if it works in your phone or not. If it works, and your
phone thinks it is his (or her) phone with that phone's number, then your phone is already unlocked. But if it creates
some sort of error message and doesn't work, then your phone is locked.
How do I know if my phone can be unlocked?
As far as we are aware, all GSM phones can be unlocked. But if your phone is not a GSM phone, then it probably
can't be unlocked; indeed, the whole idea of locking/unlocking phones doesn't really apply to non GSM phones, because
your phone number and account is tied to your phone, not to the movable/replaceable SIM chip that is inside it.
Which companies have GSM in Canada and USA?
There are two main companies that offer GSM service in the USA. AT&T and Cingular are now merged into one
company, and the second company is T-Mobile. In Canada, Rogers Wireless and Fido (recently acquired by Rogers) are the
main providers of GSM service. If your service is with Sprint, Nextel, Verizon, Telus, Bell or just about any other
North American wireless company, then you do not have GSM service and your phone can't be unlocked.
Which countries will my unlocked phone work in?
(See the next question as well).
GSM service is offered in 207 countries.
Check this website to see if the country you are interested in has GSM service, and, if it does, what frequency the GSM service(s) operate on.
How do I know if my phone
will work internationally?
US GSM cell phones work on 1900 MHz (and sometimes also 850 MHz). Most other countries have GSM networks on 900 or 1800 MHz.
Check on the website of your cell phone manufacturer to see which frequencies your model phone supports. Here are sites for the most common phones.
· Nokia USA (also has toll free customer support at 888 665-4228)
· Motorola
· Ericsson
· Samsung
· LG
· Pantech
· HTC
Will my existing service still work with my unlocked phone?
Yes, your existing service will work perfectly with no change, as long as you leave your present SIM in your phone.
Will I be able to get better reception and roam more in the US with an unlocked phone?
No. Unlocking does not make any difference to how your phone works with its present wireless service provider.
It still uses the same transmitters on the same towers as before, and does everything the same. The only difference
is that you can take its SIM out and replace it with a different SIM for a different wireless company.
Will I save money with an unlocked phone?
Maybe. Your current wireless provider will still charge you exactly the same as before for all your calls.
But because your phone is now unlocked, you can use a different SIM from a different provider whenever this might give you better rates - for example, when traveling overseas.
Why should I unlock my phone?
There are three main reasons why you might want to unlock your phone.
· Because you want to change the wireless company you get service from in the US, and want to keep your present phone.
· You've changed to a different service provider and got a new phone, but you want to unlock your old phone so you can use it in an emergency just by swapping the SIM over if your main phone gives problems.
· Because you want to travel internationally and don't want to have to pay the very expensive international rates your present wireless company would charge you while internationally roaming.
|
|