How are phones unlocked?

You may be wondering how a locked phone becomes an unlocked phone. If you are not even sure what these terms refer to, you might like to read our FAQ first. If you are curious about how phones are actually unlocked then read on.

Firstly, this is not supposed to be a technical article – we are not going to show you here how to unlock your new cell phone if you have already bought one. There are plenty of websites around for that purpose, and plenty of companies offering their services (at a price, of course) to unlock your phone.

Rather, we want to give you an idea of what process the new, unlocked cell phone you are thinking of buying has undergone, and to set your mind at rest if you are worried that it may in any way be damaged.

In the phone factory

A new cellphone, and this applies to the vast majority of models, is not restricted in any way at the moment it is manufactured. A new GSM cell phone fresh out of the factory could hypothetically take any SIM card and work on any GSM network in the world (subject to working on a compatible frequency, but that’s another subject).

It’s only when the cell phone manufacturer does a deal with a cell operator, who will bundle the new unit with a contract and usually subsidize the price heavily, that the phone is “locked”, using a feature of the phone’s software called “SIM-locking”. Bear in mind that this is not affected by the “firmware” of the phone, whereby the cell operator may customize the look and interface of the phone to match their network – the SIM-lock is maintained in a different part of the phone.

Now the unique ID of the cellphone (the IMEI) has been “tied” to the particular network and the handset can only be used with this network.

Unlocking

So how is the phone “unlocked”? It turns out that many cellphone manufacturers have provided a short-cut to unlocking the cellphone in the shape of an unlock code, which can be keyed into the phone via the keypad. It may seem strange – why would they provide such a code? Well, most software has “back-doors” like this – think of video games and cheat codes. Perhaps the manufacturers are also insuring themselves against any “anti-locking” legislation that might appear.

Once the code is typed in, the phone can instantly be used with any SIM card from any network, as easy as that. This method of unlocking is essentially completely safe and you need have no qualms about unlocking even a brand new cellphone in this way.

But…

But – and it’s a big “but” – you should bear in mind that this primarily applies to models from Motorola, Siemens, Samsung and Nokia - and not all of their models can be unlocked using unlock codes. And other manufacturers do NOT have this “secret back-door” for unlocking any of their cellphones at all. Such phones usually need to be unlocked by means which involve the use of some hardware. Typically, these phones are connected to a PC by use of a data-cable, and custom software on the PC does the job of changing the SIM-lock on the phone in order to unlock the phone.

This method is considerably less accessible to the average user – most of us simply do not have even the cable, never mind the software and the technical know-how. Also, it is fair to say that there is more risk associated with this method. Some cellphones can be unlocked this way with no trouble – indeed, this is merely a reversal of the way in which they were locked. For other cellphones, this can be something of a “hack” and there COULD be a risk of damaging the phone in some way. However, if you buy a new, unlocked cell phone from a reputable company, they will have done the job properly and will include a guarantee so you cannot go too far wrong.

Buy or DIY?

If you have already bought a new cell phone and want it unlocked there are plenty of companies selling unlock codes (usually for about $5, though they can be found for free with a little surfing). For those phones which cannot be unlocked with a code, many companies also provide a send-in service for your phone where you mail in your handset and it is unlocked for you and sent back, often with a 24-hour turn-a-round.

However, if you are still looking at buying a new cellphone and are not sure what to do, we are going to suggest the safest option: there is no need to go through the hassle of buying a new cell phone and then getting it unlocked – buy new, buy unlocked. If you buy from a reputable buyer via eBay you will get a new, unlocked cell phone, complete with guarantee, for a reasonable price. If you want peace of mind the choice is obvious.