There are many benefits to having a phone unlocked, including the flexibility of changing carriers to take advantage of better deals as well as being able to trade or sell the device for a much better price.ĭo you need to learn how to unlock your phone or are you interested in trading in your cell phone? Check out those links, we’ve got great unlocking guides per carrier and price comparison for cell phone trade-ins.Submit Build Help/Ready post Submit Troubleshooting post Submit other post New Here? BuildAPC Beginner's Guide Live Chat on Discord Daily Simple Questions threads FAQs About GSM Unlocked Phones 1.1 What Does GSM Unlocked Mean So, what does it actually mean when a phone is GSM unlocked GSM (Global System for Mobiles) is a type of network used by phone carriers the alternative type of network is CDMA, which we’ll briefly discuss later. It is usually not much of a problem to switch from one carrier to another if they both use GSM technology, but this decision may still trigger an early termination fee. However, some phones have additional firmware that may make them incompatible with some carriers or features that will only work with the intended carrier.įor these more truculent phones, there may be certain technical workarounds that can resolve these potential problems. even foreign SIMs when you are travelling, it is up to the individual network and their policy if they will try and deactivate phone SIMs being used in a tablet, LTE bit just means it can connect to LTE (4G) if you have it in range (and in the case of some networks you pay for it). Some locked devices are able to become unlocked by discarding the current SIM card in the slot and replacing it with a new card provided by your new carrier. No, unlocked means you can put a SIM in from any network and it will work, so 3, EE, O2 ect. The vast majority of commercial smartphones are GSM devices that are equipped with SIM card slots. If you’ve got a phone that you want to unlock, we’ve got a guide on how to do this on all carriers here
In order to purchase an unlocked phone that may be used in any carrier network, the phone must normally be purchased at the full retail price. This is usually enforced with an early termination fee (ETF) that serves to ensure that they will get the money back if the customer doesn’t honour the contract. With the binding contract being signed in return for the subsidized price, providers are able to protect their investment by recouping the cost of the subsidy gradually over the life of the contract. This can shave hundreds of dollars off the price of the purchase, which makes the contract more attractive for new customers. (Unlocked means you can use any carrier’s SIM card.) Furthermore, What is the difference between international and US version cell phones, Only the international versions are carrier unlocked.
The providers subsidize the purchase or even provide the phone free of charge with a mandatory monthly contract usually with a duration of about two years. What does it mean if a phone is an international version, International Version usually means that it has all the frequencies used by all countries. High-end smartphones are often prohibitively expensive to purchase for many consumers, so in order to enable their adoption and make more money off their monthly contract fees, carriers have come to a mutually beneficial agreement with manufacturers. So why do providers use SIM lock on their smartphones? To understand this we have to take a look at the economics of the cell phone sales business.