NOTE: If you are unable to connect to service provider or unable to make outgoing calls or receive messages, this has nothing to do with your phone being locked or unlocked, you need to force the BlackJack to change to GSM mode, this can be done as follows:
How to unlock phone without carrier permission
In other words, the world's most powerful librarian finds that nobody is forcing us to buy locked phones, no matter how awesome the discounted price of a handset when you shackle yourself to a carrier for a few years. So if you want an unlocked phone, you've got to buy it that way, starting Saturday -- that's when a 90-day transition period to the new rule runs out.
So far, much of the response to the new rule taking effect has been confusion, with a number of people tweeting about the potential implications for the sales of unlocked phones on places like Amazon. Obviously, that will still continue, and international travelers will still be able to bring their unlocked phones into the U.S. without issue. The new no-no is buying a locked phone with a hefty carrier discount and then unlocking it on your own and without the carrier's permission.
Well, probably, yes. Except that "they" will probably be your carrier, if they detect you've unlocked your phone. Before this point, they could just send you stern e-mails, but now they'll be able to send even more stern e-mails with the weight of federal regulations behind them.
Many Android phones from the carrier can be unlocked through their settings menus once eligibility requirements are met. Others, such as the Google Pixel and older Samsung devices, can use Device Unlock apps from T-Mobile. However, these methods are not compatible with all phones. The iPhone, in particular, does not have an iOS version of the T-Mobile unlocking app.
Metro by T-Mobile, formerly known as Metro PCS, is one of the most popular choices when it comes to prepaid services. While it bears the T-Mobile branding, the requirements to unlock your phone vary slightly.
One method of unlocking is through the Device Unlock app, usually found in the Metro by T-Mobile folder of your phone. This can be done with most Android smartphones, and only Samsung phones have the ability to unlock through a settings menu. If you have a Samsung phone 2019 or later, head to Settings > Connections > More Connection Settings > Select Network Unlock.
Active military personnel can request an unlock with their deployment papers and an account in good standing. Moreover, family members on the same account are also eligible for SIM unlocks. Each phone number is allowed up to two unlocked devices during a 12-month period.
A specific range of popular phones from Apple and Samsung, whether prepaid or postpaid, are subject to a 120-day lock policy to deter theft and fraud. An account in good standing that meets those requirements can still request an early unlock. As is usual, deployed military personnel can also get their device unlocked earlier by presenting their deployment papers, as long as their account has no past-due balance.
There are, of course, folks who have prepaid and paid-in-full devices. Unlocking these is, for the most part, relatively straightforward. While there was already a generalized unlocking policy, the Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) put forth a set of standardized unlocking policies for cell phones and tablets. The terms require carriers to unlock a phone paid in full, or a prepaid phone in service for a year, if a subscriber requests it. Cellular providers also have to alert subscribers when their handsets are eligible for an unlock. Finally, carriers must unlock phones for U.S. military personnel upon request.
You can set your phone to help prevent others from using it if it gets reset to factory settings without your permission. For example, if your protected phone got stolen and erased, only someone with your Google Account or screen lock could use it.
In this edition of Ask Maggie, I re-examine this issue and offer some basic information about what a cell phone lock is. I explain on which wireless networks cell phones can be unlocked. And I caution consumers to investigate before they buy a device they think is unlocked.
Could you please explain the concept of carrier locks on cell phones? It is a tremendously confusing topic. I think I know the basics, but there are always strange technicalities that I keep seeing that just throw me off and make me question whether I really know how the system works.
Carrier locks come with just about any cell phone you buy from a wireless operator. Even if you aren't buying the device directly from a particular operator but are buying it from a retailer, such as Amazon or Best Buy, and it's for a specific carrier, then most likely it has a carrier lock on it. This is regardless of whether you buy the phone with a subsidy and a two-year contract or if you buy the device at full price.
Generally, the only devices that do not have carrier locks are ones that specifically say they are "unlocked," such as the Google Android Nexus brand of devices, the unlocked version of the iPhone, which is sold at the Apple store, and some developer edition devices. If you want an unlocked phone, you should research in advance whether the phone you are purchasing is available as unlocked and where you can buy it as an unlocked device. Remember: Paying full price alone doesn't guarantee that a smartphone is unlocked out of the box.
What is a phone lock? The lock is really a software code that's put on the phone by the manufacturer as per the requirement of the carrier that sells the device. And the lock is meant to ensure that the phone can't be used on any other operator's network until a different software code is entered to unlock the device.
All GSM devices are designed so that service is provisioned using a SIM card. With an unlocked device, a GSM smartphone can be reprovisioned and used on another network simply by popping out the old SIM card and putting in a new one from the new carrier. The carrier doesn't necessarily need to be notified, and you don't need anyone in the store to reprovision your phone.
This is not the case with phones developed for CDMA networks. This is the technology used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.S. It's also used by some carriers in Latin America, Asia, and Canada. The standard is not as widely used as GSM. CDMA devices do not have SIM cards. So if you wanted to take your CDMA device to another CDMA carrier, because a CDMA-only device can't be used on a GSM network and vice versa, you'd have to get the carrier to provision the device for that other network. EV-DO is the 3G technology used on CDMA networks.
In general, CDMA carriers don't reprovision devices made for other networks for use on their own networks. So this means phones made for Verizon, which are using the same basic technology as devices made for Sprint, won't work on Sprint's network. In other words, you can't reuse a Verizon device on Sprint and vice versa.
In summary, phone locks are not really relevant when you're talking about 2G and 3G devices that operate on CDMA or EV-DO networks. But phone locks are very important for devices that operate on a GSM or HSPA/HSPA+ network. Almost every GSM device comes "prelocked" to a particular carrier. Certain phones are sold unlocked. And if you have a device that is locked, you can get it unlocked from your wireless carrier if you meet certain criteria, which includes paying the full price of your device or ending your contract and being in good standing with your service provider.
Remember that in the U.S., Verizon and Sprint customers use either a Verizon or Sprint CDMA network. The GSM radio is included in these phones so that subscribers can roam onto networks in Europe and other parts of the world. Verizon and Sprint subscribers can choose either to sign up for international roaming plans with their U.S. carrier when they travel, or, if they can get their devices unlocked, they can swap out the SIM, put in a SIM card from a local provider, and get new service that way.
Verizon 4G LTE devices are unlocked out of the box One thing to note here in terms of software phone locks is that all Verizon 4G LTE smartphones come unlocked out of the box. The reason why is that the spectrum Verizon is using to build its 4G LTE network had restrictions put on it by the Federal Communications Commission, which required the company to allow "open access" to the network. So as part of this provision, Verizon has decided not to lock those devices. That said, its 3G devices are locked.
So what does this mean for the average consumer? Let's take the iPhone 5 as an example. It's a 4G LTE device. A Verizon version of this phone comes unlocked out of the box. There aren't special codes that need to be entered in order to use it on another carrier's network. But because of the spectrum differences I mentioned above, a Verizon iPhone 5 won't operate on AT&T's LTE network. It will operate on AT&T's 3G network, which is based on GSM. So this means you can use the Verizon iPhone on AT&T, but you won't get the fastest Internet speeds on it.
What are the explicit differences between a locked and unlocked phone? The difference between a locked and an unlocked phone is that a locked device has a software code on it that prevents you from taking a GSM-based device and using it on another GSM carrier's network. An unlocked phone either doesn't have the lock software on it or someone was able to get a code that unlocks the software. Once a device is unlocked, you can pop out the SIM card and put in a different SIM from another GSM operator and get service. Remember that this issue of locked and unlocked phones today is really only relevant when you're talking about devices made for GSM networks. It doesn't really apply to CDMA-only devices or for swapping out SIM cards for LTE networks. As I explained above, most carriers use different frequencies and band plans for their LTE networks, so even without a software lock on the device, it still won't operate on these networks. That will soon change, but for now don't expect unlocked LTE devices to perform at top speeds on any other carrier's LTE network. 2ff7e9595c
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