Need further assistance? Please call Member Services at By Bree Fowler. Last updated: July 19, Sharing is Nice Yes, send me a copy of this email. Send We respect your privacy. Oops, we messed up. Try again later. When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. Learn more. Unlocking your cell phone lets you switch carriers without buying a new device.
Many smartphones can work with any U. More on wireless plans and services. More From Consumer Reports. Offset the cost by combining your purchase with the latest deal from your mobile carrier — the good news is that you can shop around with no strings. Retailers such as Amazon and Walmart also sell unlocked phones, but often with high upfront costs. When all is said and done, the best option for most people is usually purchasing an unlocked phone rather than figuring out how to unlock one.
First of all, it saves you the hassle of getting it unlocked. If not, pay off your plan early and wait 48 hours before making a request. It must not have been reported lost or stolen or involved in fraud. Unlocking a T-Mobile phone T-Mobile may well be the Un-carrier, but it has some very similar criteria for unlocking to other carriers. It must not have been reported lost, stolen, or blocked via IMEI. If the device is on a service contract, at least 18 consecutive monthly payments must have been made.
On Demand, all payments must be made and the device must be fully paid for. T-Mobile may request to see proof of purchase. Unlocking a Sprint phone Note: Sprint has recently merged with T-Mobile and will operate under that brand. It must not have been reported lost, stolen or blocked, or associated with other fraudulent activity.
There must be no outstanding or pending payments or fees. While it bears the T-Mobile branding, the requirements to unlock your phone do vary slightly: It must be from Metro. It must have had active service for a minimum of consecutive days about six months. If you have a warranty exchanged handset, then the days is based on the activation date of the original phone. It must not be reported lost, stolen, or flagged as unlockable. The device has been active for at least 12 months on the account.
The device in question must not have been lost, stolen, or obtained fraudulently. The device in question must have been fully paid for. Third-party services Third-party unlocking services, by and large, differ only in name. Editors' Recommendations How to make video calls using smart displays The most common Echo Show problems and how to fix them How to block email trackers in iOS 15 Should you factory reset before updating your iPhone?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons ordinances guide. Amazon is letting subscribers easily share clips from its Prime Video shows. The best inch laptops for A rare, original Apple-1 computer just sold for an unbelievable price. Cell phone unlocking can be as easy as entering an unlocking code, or may involve some more complicated maneuvers involving external equipment. Still others require that the phone be sent in to their facilities for cell phone unlocking.
An unlocked cell phone provides the user with much more flexibility as to where and how they would like to use their phone. Improper cell phone unlocking may also result in permanently locking the phone to a carrier, loss of personal data, or causing future incompatibilities with manufacturer-provided software upgrades.
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