Tips to Unlock Mobile Phones by IMEI (three straight forward steps)

Tips to Unlock Cellphones by IMEI

By Imogene Hockett

Anytime you acquire a smartphone from a mobile provider, it is locked to that network's service. If the company offers you a free or discounted phone, you normally have to agree to a one- or two-year plan as well. You can avoid this contract and freely swap between providers, and also travel abroad and roam on domestic networks, easily by unlocking your cellphone using the IMEI code. Permanently unlock your handset by following the 3 simple steps below.

Step 1

Get the 15-digit IMEI number. This is usually printed on the phone beneath the battery. You can also typically locate it on your cellphone's setting page or by keying in a unique code to get your cell phone to show the number on the screen. In many cases, the code is *#06#

Step 2

When you've located the IMEI number of your mobile phone, contact your current carrier and find out if they'll provide you with an unlock code. Depending on your circumstances, they may well grant your request. In spite of this, different network carriers often have thier own criteria that need to be met before they will give you with an unlock code, and many can refuse. Often, if you've completed your service contract, your mobile phone provider may give you instructions on how to permanently unlock your mobile phone, but typically they'll insist you are the original owner of the smartphone (the contract on thier system is in your name). In the event you are not, for example, you bought the mobile phone 2nd hand, you need to locate an alternative unlocking strategy to a permanently unlock your cell phone.

Step 3

For those who are not the orginal owner of the smartphone, you'll have to acquire an unlock code from a 3rd party service provider. Luckily there are plenty of online companies offering services merely by giving them your cellphone's IMEI number, it's make and model and the network it is locked to. The price of the service and the time it will take to IMEI unlock your cell phone depends upon the above mentioned factors, and may vary quite significantly for more obscure models or networks. Working with a third party unlocking service is frequently the fastest and most convenient option to factory unlock your phone, as it is completed remotely without your phone ever needing to leave your pocession. After your smartphone's been sucessfully unlocked it can then be used with any carrier and in any country you want.