When you buy a mobile phone from Cingular, they are going to lock their phone internally so that only calls processed through the Cingular network will be received by the unit. If you wish to change to another service provider you are going to have to perform what is called a Cingular unlock. There is no worry about the legal aspects of doing this. Unless your contract specifies that Cingular retains ownership of the phone, you are free to unlock it. It is your property. Once you unlock your Cingular phone, you are going to be able to take advantage of any special deals being offered by competing companies. It is also going increase the resale value of the unit.

When you are ready to perform the unlock, you are going to have to acquire the unlock code. There are a large number of websites that specialize in Cingular unlock codes and they can provide the code for your individual model. You need to be prepared to pay for the code, but the price is not excessive. You can take a little bit of time and shop around for the best deal. Once you are provided with the code, it is a simple matter of typing it into the mobile phone via the keypad. This is a distinct advantage of the Cingular phones. Other phones often require hooking your phone to your computer via a USB cable and downloading the unlocking software.

Once you have typed in the code, you will usually receive a message from your phone that lets you know it is now unlocked, but if this is not the case; there is an alternative way to check. Each unit has what is called a SIM card that identifies the phone and the service provider. You will need to borrow a SIM card from someone with a cell phone that is connected to a different service and install it into your phone. If it recognizes the new SIM card you will know it is unlocked.

It is a good idea to record the unlock code once you receive it, and to store it in a safe place. It is possible to relock phones via remote signals, and although this is not done often, you are not going to want to pay twice for the unlock code in the event it does occur. Once you have finished the unlock process, you are free to use whatever service you prefer, and will have a more valuable unit should you wish to sell it at a later date.

Natalie Aranda writes on technology. When you buy a mobile phone from Cingular, they are going to lock their phone internally so that only calls processed through the Cingular network will be received by the unit. If you wish to change to another service provider you are going to have to perform what is called a Cingular unlock. There is no worry about the legal aspects of doing this. Unless your contract specifies that Cingular retains ownership of the phone, you are free to unlock it. It is your property. Once you unlock your Cingular phone, you are going to be able to take advantage of any special deals being offered by competing companies. It is also going increase the resale value of the unit.

Unlocked Phone FAQ:

Question: How do I send files or get on the web with an unlocked phone?
I have an unlocked Samsung phone. I am not able to send pictures or other files or emails, I guess, because it’s not recognized by my carrier, Cinguar. Is there a way to configure it to work?

Answer: You will have to manually update your phone to try to access media net. I do suggest going to the wireless att support website and look for the samsung phone closest to yours. Click on device tutorials and look for browser settings. Or you can always call customer care and ask them to walk you through it. We do it all the time, we just can’t promise that it will work!

Question: Will an unlocked phone work on the Sprint Network?
I’m thinking about buying an unlocked phone internationally online, however I want to be sure that it will work with Sprint. Does anyone know if this is possible and if not, which networks unlocked phones work with?

Answer: Sprint just came out with the Samsung Ace, and it has a SIM Card inside for Sprint, meaning you can use Sprint as GSM

Question: Can I use my cingular sim card in an unlocked verizon phone?
My cingular phone has stopped working and I am looking into buying a used unlocked phone off ebay. If I want to buy a unlocked verizon or sprint phone, will that work with my cingular sim card?

Answer: Verizon and Sprint utilize the CDMA network. As a result, they do not use SIM cards. SIM cards are unique to only GSM carriers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile. As a result, there truly is no such thing as an unlocked Verizon phone as the phone is programmed specifically to use on the Verizon network. Likewise for Sprint.

To ensure you get a proper phone, purchase an unlocked GSM phone.

Question: How do I set up an unlocked phone?
I really want to buy this unlocked phone. When I get it what do I do. Do I just put my SIM chip in it and that’s it or is there something else.

Answer: Make sure the phone is unlocked and works on the GSM band supported by your carrier, after that all you need to do is swap the sim cards nothing else.

Question: Will All the features on an unlocked phone work?
I have a contract with t-mobile, but I am planning on buying an unlocked at&t i-phone from ebay. If I do buy the iphone, will I be able to use the features like internet, text msg, and all of the other iphone features? And also, will I just have to insert my t-mobile sim card in the iphone to get it to work?

Answer: Nobody can give you an absolute answer to that. The only thing that can be said with any certainty at all is that an unlocked device will make and receive calls. We can usually get text messaging working without too much trouble. Anything and everything data related is a crap shoot though. We may not be able to get any of it working or we may be able to get some things to work and not others. Definitely the visual voicemail will not work as this is an AT&T feature for the iPhone.

Question: Is it illegal to have an unlocked phone?
I want to buy an unlocked phone but i don’t want to get in trouble with my carrier…or the law.

Answer: No, it’s perfectly legal. But if something happens to the phone your carrier won’t help as you didn’t get it from them, so it’s not their problem.

Question: Can I receive picture messages on an unlocked phone?
I have AT&T. If I buy an unlocked phone that is originally on the T-Mobile network, will I be able to receive pic messages? I know I can send/receive txts without a problem but I am not sure about pics.

Answer: There is no promises you will receive picture messages. I know AT&T customers that used a tmobile phone on AT&T and picture messaging did not work. Most likely texting and calling features will only work.

Question: Can an unlocked phone still be used with myfaves?
I want to buy a refurbished Nokia 5300 Xpress Music Lilac that’s been unlocked. I have a t-mobile account with myfaves and wanted to know if the phone will still be compatible with myfaves even though it’s unlocked to be used on any GSM network?

Answer: Yes, it can. T-Mobile likes to claim you need to have a myfav’s phone, but the only reason for that is so you don’t mess up setting up your fav’s. Your fav’s can also be setup on the website.

Once they are setup, its strictly a billing issue (oh yeah, there’s the cute quick dialer, but its not a needed piece).

The big goal is so that you don’t think you have someone on your fav’s list, then your mad at t-mobile at the end of the month for running so many minutes because they really aren’t on your list.