Unlocking Your Cellular Phone | The Communication Blog

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Unlocking Your Cellular Phone

By James Keyes

In today' world, life without a cellular phone is almost unimaginable. It is very important to stay connected regardless of where you are in the world.

There are so many service providers that there are numerous choices to choose from. It is important to remember, however, that some service providers lock your cellular phone so that it only works with their service. This makes it impossible for a cellular phone user to change service providers. However, if you own the cellular phone you have a right to get it unlocked in order to use the service provider of your choice. By definition an unlocked cellular phone is one that can be used with any service provider.

There are two types of cellular phones. The first is Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and the second is the Global System for Mobiles (GSM). These are two different cellular phone technologies. CDMA based cellular phones are provided by service providers are locked for life. This means that you can't use them with any other service provider. Therefore CDMA phones cannot be unlocked.

GSM based phones offer you the ability to change service providers through the use of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. There are some service providers who lock GSM cellular phones through use of a software that links the phone's identity number with the SIM card, so that, it can't be used with any other GSM service provider SIM. The reason they do this is because they want you to use their service exclusively since they earn money through roaming charges when you travel into regions that are out of their service range. However, these cellular phones may also be unlocked. In fact, most GSM service providers will unlock your cellular phone upon request.

If you own a GSM cellular phone, there are ways to get it unlocked. The process of unlocking a cellular phone is dependent on the service provider and the cellular phone hand set model. The cellular phone can be unlocked by entering a specific code that can be supplied by the service provider, by the service provider, or on the air. There are some cellular phone companies that will only unlock your cellular phone after the initial contract that you signed with them has expired. Usually, after your cellular phone is unlocked it will stay unlocked. The first thing you need to do is determine if your GSM cellular phone is locked. To do this, insert the SIM card from another service provider. If the cellular phone doesn't work, then you need to contact your service provider and ask them to have it unlocked.

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