How to quickly check if your phone is unlocked. The best way to quickly check whether a mobile phone is locked or not is to slip the SIM card out, and put in one from another network. If it can make calls, send texts, and connect to the internet, that means your phone is unlocked.
An IMEI number can be used to determine the device make and model, and whether the device is locked or unlocked. If a device has been lost or stolen, the IMEI can also be used to block it from being used on most carrier networks, including T-Mobile's.
Go to Settings > General and tap About. Under Carrier Lock, you should see a message that says, "No SIM restrictions." If you don't see that message, contact your carrier.
How can I tell if my phone is locked or not? If you see a carrier logo when you boot up the phone, or you see a carrier logo in the top right of your home screen, there's a good chance it's locked to that carrier.
Samsung does not lock any of its devices to any particular network. You will need to contact the original service provider or retailer to request an unlock code. Some service providers may allow you to unlock the device for a small charge or for free, whereas others may not allow the device to be unlocked at all.
Unlock The Phone On Your Own
First of all, you have to turn off your mobile phone and take out the SIM card. Then turn on the device without the SIM card and wait for it to show a message with the instruction to insert the SIM card. From that moment you will need to write the IMEI code to unlock the phone.
But in general, you can go to Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > Network Operators and tap Search Now to see if the names of other carriers come up. If multiple carrier names show up, your phone might be unlocked. This method works a lot of the time but is not always 100% accurate.
If the cell phone is locked, it means that it will only work on one specific network. Consequently, if you insert a SIM card that is from a different carrier, it will simply not work.
A carrier-imposed “lock” is a software code that prevents your phone from working on another cellular network. With an “unlocked” phone, on the other hand, you can get service with any carrier on a compatible network — and that's just one of the benefits of an unlocked phone.
Disadvantages of Unlocked Phones
You have to do a detailed check to make sure that your chosen device supports all the radio bands used by your local carriers. This can be tricky if you are trying to purchase and ship a phone from outside the US, such as buying an Android phone on Amazon.
Contact your mobile service provider and say you want to unlock your phone. Your service provider will review your account to confirm you meet all requirements to have your phone unlocked for free. You may not be eligible to unlock your phone if you owe money or have not fulfilled the service contract.
If you're buying a used phone, make sure it is unlocked first. Carriers will often only unlock phones associated with accounts in "good standing," which means the person selling you the phone needs to request the unlock before canceling their service or selling it to you.
Use an online IMEI checker
There are many of these sites available (search “online IMEI checker”) but most or all will take you to a paywall to find out the device's SIM lock status or carrier status. These are the same thing: Both tell you if your iPhone is unlocked.
Performing a factory reset on a phone returns it to its out-of-box state. All your apps and data are wiped clean and you have to go through the setup process again. If a third party reset the phone, the codes that changed the phone from locked to unlocked are removed.
If you purchase a replacement phone or upgrade to a new unlocked phone, you can take out the SIM card in your old phone and pop it in the new one. If your old SIM is not compatible (size difference) or you are changing carriers, you will need to purchase a new SIM card.
In summary, when you put your SIM card in another phone, the only data that will be transferred is your own phone number and possibly a few text messages and contacts saved on the SIM card. The rest of your data, including photos, videos, and other files, will remain on your old phone.
You can unlock most Android phones by performing a factory recovery or using the Find My Device website. Here are the top five ways to unlock your Android phone if you no longer have the passcode.
That means you can use a SIM card from any company, so long as the hardware is compatible with the network, with no restrictions. Most of the best Android phones are available unlocked, but if you're paying a monthly fee to your carrier for a phone, it's more than likely locked.
In reality, it takes to get your phone unlocked depends on your provider. But you should be mindful that you could be waiting for anything between a few days or up to 30 days for the process to be complete. To clarify your network's policy, check out our network-by-network guide below.
(Subscriber Identity Module lock) A function in GSM cellphones that restricts the phone's use to a particular cellular carrier identified by a SIM card. SIM locks are used to ensure subscribers finish their service contracts. If the contract period is over, the phone may be unlocked by entering a code from the carrier.