How to Unlock a Carrier-Locked Phone

Does your carrier prevent you from inserting a SIM card from one of its rivals? If so, it's carrier-locked. You'll first need to unlock your phone to swap out your SIM. Here's what you need to know about a carrier-locked phone.

What Does a Carrier-Locked Phone Mean?

In this context, unlocking your phone does not mean entering a PIN to swipe away your lock screen. Nor is it related to unlocking your phone's bootloader, a step you take when rooting your device or flashing a custom ROM.

Simply put, a carrier-locked phone can only access one carrier's network. If you purchased your phone directly from a carrier store, there's a good chance it's locked to that carrier.

If you got your phone from a site like Amazon or Best Buy that listed it as an unlocked version, you can use it on any supported network. There's no artificial restriction or lock from a carrier in place.

To know for certain whether you can swap out your SIM, here's how to check if your phone is carrier-locked.

How to Unlock a Carrier-Locked Phone

Carriers in the US are required to give you the option to unlock your device for free. You can review device unlock policies on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon's official sites.

In general, this is the information you'll need to provide before you can proceed with a request to unlock your device:

• Your name (and, if you're contacting your carrier, your phone or account number).
• Your device's IMEI number. You can typically find this information in your phone's Settings app. Learn how to find any phone's IMEI number.
• Any telephone account management password you have set up.
• Your phone should not have been lost, stolen, blocked, or associated with any fraudulent actions.
• Any papers that confirm an overseas posting, whether this is military or corporate.

Unlocking your phone has been legal in the US since 2014. However, laws vary by country, so confirm the legality where you live.

If your phone meets the necessary conditions and you've gathered the information you need, here's how to unlock your device:

• AT&T: You can submit a request directly from AT&T's website.
• T-Mobile: There are instructions on the T-Mobile website detailing how to unlock your device on your end. If that doesn't work, or your phone model isn't listed, you'll need to head to T-Mobile's contact page for support.
• Verizon: Verizon automatically removes the lock 60 days after activation. If you are a deployed member of the military, you can remove the lock even during the 60-day lock period by contacting Verizon support.

If you can't unlock your device through your carrier, consider trying out third-party unlock codes instead.

Whether you're speaking to your carrier directly or using a third-party approach, know that unlocking your smartphone can take a while.

Consider Buying an Unlocked Phone Next Time

Your carrier won't sell you an unlocked phone, but you can easily find one online or at big-box retailers. They may seem more expensive, but that's because you're viewing the actual cost of the phone rather than the monthly installments that carriers typically charge. Occasionally, carriers offer a genuinely enticing discount, but they make their money selling you costly service plans.

With unlocked phones, you can often save far more than you spend by switching to a lower-cost MVNO. You can also finance an unlocked phone in other ways if it's the monthly payment plan you're after, without having to deal with unlocking your phone later. There are many reasons to prefer buying an unlocked phone.

However you go about it, once unlocked, your phone is yours to do what you want. The great thing about network unlocking your smartphone is that it can't be re-locked to a different network. You can use any compatible SIM card, and as long as you have an account and credit with that network, you can make calls, send SMS, and connect to the internet.

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