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Today, most of the cell phones available for purchase in the US, including many of those purchase at a discount when a contract was signed, can be ‘unlocked.’ This means the phone can be used with carriers different than the carrier they were originally purchased from.

Some of the carriers in the US will provide a “unlock code” for your cell phone right over the phone, but some of the carriers claim that it is a violation of their TOS to unlock your phone.

Don’t be fooled. It is legal to do this providing you plan to use it for personal use and will connect it to a different wireless network.

First, note that it is important to consider what type of phone you have when you are considering unlocking it. Currently, T-Mobile and AT & T have cell phones that use a technology called Global System for Media Communication or GSM. All of the other major service providers, Alltel, Sprint and Verizon use a different type of architecture that is known as Code Division Multiple Access or CDMA.

Phones that use GSM employ a SIM card. This is basically a small memory card made of cardboard that is inserted into your cell phone when you turn it on the first time. If your cell phone does not have a SIM card, you have a CDMA cell phone.

This is important because CDMA phones cannot be unlocked, but GSM phones can. On a side note, most of the world uses GSM, so it is probably the best choice if you want international functionality.

If you buy a cell phone that is from a GSM service provider, by default the phone itself will not be unlocked. T-Mobile customers can access a free code to unlock their phones just by calling the carrier. If you explain you need to unlock your phone because of international travel and that you plan to use a SIM card that is prepaid while you travel out of the US, they should provide the code to you without any problems. If you come across a rep that is not willing to do this, it is most likely due to poor training. Call back and speak to someone else.

I actually did this on a Nokia5300. I simply called T-Mobile and got an official unlock code. They sent the code to me over a text message. There were no problems or hassles.

Unfortunately, AT & T is a different story. They seem to have a lot of trouble successfully unlocking their phones. This seems to be especially true of the iPhone.

Richard Koman from Top Tech News writes:

“The legal status of unlocking an iPhone is somewhat murky. The main law in this area is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which forbids the circumvention of copy-protection technology. Last year, however, the Copyright Office created an exemption ‘for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network.’”

Mr. Koman further goes on by telling the story of the first people to successfully unlock the iPhone. They did it by physically changing the hardware in the phone.

If you do a simple search using one of the popular search engines, you will find a few different companies that will unlock your phone for you. They do charge you a fee. You will receive an unlock code after payment has been made.

There are still other phones that must be sent in to the manufacturer or service provider in order to be unlocked. This is probably your best bet if you have an AT & T phone.

Some of the horror stories to be found about unlocking iPhone’s and include ‘Bricking” – this, in effect, makes the phone unusable.

There are two reasons you should consider unlocking your phone.

1. It is a great idea for anyone who travels internationally or outside of the home call area. This will save you from paying those ridiculous roaming fees if you just use a pre-paid card. International calls will be cheaper too. You can purchase SIM cards to connect a prepaid cell phone that has no-contract. If you have unlocked your cell phone, you just need to replace your SIM card with the prepaid one. When you return home, simply switch them back. Please note that not ever GSM phone will work overseas, so make sure to check with your carrier.
2. If you ever switch carriers, your phone will still work. By brining your phone with you, you will most likely receive a decent rate and not have to sign a long contract

As you can see, unlocking your cell phone is a good idea for many reasons and it is easy to do too, so why not do it now!

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2. Cloning your mobile phone
3. Which Cell Phone is Better?
4. Seven Great Tricks for Your Cell Phone
5. Nokia Develops the Debit Card Cell Phone