Unlocked Mobile Phones

When most cell phones are created, they are made to use a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card.  What the SIM card does is it stores the data of the people who use that particular phone.  Typically, a SIM card is given out by a cell phone carrier which is used to give a particular phone service.  A locked cell phone is a phone that can only use the SIM cards from a designated carrier.  For example, a SIM card from an AT&T cell phone would not be able to be used in a locked T-Mobile phone.  If someone manages to unlock a cell phone they would be able to use their phone with any carrier.  A mobile phone can be unlocked by changing the software settings on a locked phone.

Locked mobile phones are very popular in the United States due to the fact that most cell phones are given out at extraordinarily large discounts (often free).  Carriers lock their phones to prevent people from defecting over to their competitors.  Most carriers claim that they “lock their phones” because it lowers their cost which makes it a better value for the consumer.  Some cell phone carriers will unlock a cell phone after some time has passed since beginning of ownership (most times with a fee).

Many people feel that locked cells phones are a violation of consumer rights and some groups have even filed law suits to have carrier policies changed.  These groups believe that mobile phones should be unlocked or allowed to be unlocked after the contract expires.  Carriers should change the software of the phones to allow the process of unlocking a phone as seamless as possible.  A customer, if they desire, should be able to switch to any phone, any carrier, at any time with their SIM card.  Until such policies exist with carriers, many  people will choose to buy a new unlocked cell phone or try to unlock their cell phone themselves.

If you’re interested in getting an unlocked mobile phone, you can either buy them from a third party source in its unlocked, factory sealed state, pay someone to unlock a locked phone, or try to unlock your cell phone yourself.  Ideally, if you want to prevent any damage, you will want to buy a new phone in its unlocked state for optimum quality and performance.  One unfortunate thing with buying a mobile phone this way it’s very costly (usually hundreds of dollars).   Second choice, is paying a company to unlock a locked phone for you.  While this is much cheaper than buying a new phone, sometimes having a third party unlock your phone can still cause the phone to malfunction with other carrier’s networks.  Finally, you can attempt to unlock your mobile phone yourself.  This is the riskiest way to unlock your mobile phone because if you mess up, you can permanently damage the phone.