Phones Locked And Unlocked – Why?
GSM is an acronym for Global System for Mobile Communications. This is the system with the greatest popularity worldwide for cell phones. GSM contrasts greatly from earlier models with digital call quality reception and vocal channels, making it a 2G cell phone system. GSM is considered an open standard, now being established by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project.
From the user’s point of view, the main benefit of GSM is the better digital voice quality and cheaper options for calling, for example texting. The benefit to networks is the capability of using equipment by different makers since the open standard enables simple inter-connectivity. As with different mobile standards, GSM lets networks provide roaming services so that phones can be used anywhere.
To help clarify this further, GSM merely refers to a system utilized in the communication between phones. This is a recently developed standard which is used by every new phone product and is so widespread at present that it is currently the norm in terms of phones.
Next, in response to your other inquiry, in terms of locked and unlocked phone systems. When a phone is tied to a particular network, it is considered to be locked. For instance, if you buy an AT&T phone from them directly, it will be locked into their network and won’t function with different systems like Sprint or Nextel. If you purchase an unlocked phone, it means that it isn’t locked into a certain network. Because of this, you can use it on any network.
Based on the SIM card placed in the phone, this is the network it will be locked into. For instance, by placing an AT&T SIM into an unlocked phone, it will then operate with their network. Likewise, when you place a Nextel SIM card in a phone that is unlocked, it will operate with the Nextel system. And so on.
But when a phone is locked into a given network, AT&T for instance, then switching the phone’s SIM card for one from a different network like Nextel won’t do a thing. The reason is that the phone is locked into AT&T’s system, and thus won’t operate with a different network.
It’s true that the prepaid SIM card works with the phone after it is unlocked or if it shares the network of the SIM card you plan on using. It ought to work without any problems.
Locked and Unlocked Phones FAQ
Question: Whats the deal with locked and unlocked phones?
I am in the market for a new cell phone, and im looking at the LG Voyager, which unfortunatly isnt for AT&T…so I want to know what it means when a phone is unlocked, how do i get AT&T to cooperate with me owning one?
Answer: well basically in America there are only to main GSM carriers, t mobile and att, which are the only type of unlocked phones you can buy… I believe the voyager is a Verizon phone, which is cdma… cdma phones, mainly sprint and Verizon can be flashed to work on cdma networks, and gsm phones can be unlocked to work on gsm networks. So you have to find a gsm phone that you like and you can use it on att, but the voyager won’t work, sorry.
Question: What is the diferance betwen locked and unlocked cell phones?
what does an unlocked cell phone do that a locked one doesn’t?
Are unlocked cell phones illegal? and if so were.
Answer: Locked phones are phones which only allow you to use the network sim that you were supplied with ie T-Mobile phones are locked to the T-mobile network so you can only use their sim cards, not an Orange one.
If you get your handset from Carphone Warehouse or O2 these phones come already unlocked (O2 wont tell you this).
Getting a handset unlocked so you can use any sim brand is perfectly legal. The network provider can do it and so can most mobile phone repair shops (the repair shops are cheaper).
So an unlocked phone allows you to use many different network sims.
Question: Are prepay or go cell phones unlocked or locked?
I need to know if a prepay cell phone or go phone is unlocked or locked. And if it is locked how do I unlock it?
Answer: Locked to the network you purchase it on. However, you may unlock it by going to a local phone stall; but it is very complicated, and may damage your phone’s system. DO NOT leave your phone with a dealer overnight if they say they are going to take ‘days’ to work on it. Unlocking should take no more than 30 mins. What they do is, go in to your phone and take out the good parts from the manufacturer and re-fit them with cheap, dodgy knock-off crap.
Question: What is the difference between an locked GSM phones and an unlocked one?
The new Cingular 8525 (Pocket PC) is sold in the US with certain features locked. The same phone known as HTC Hermes or HTC TyTN is sold in other countries as unlocked. What features are locked in the Cingular phone and if I get the unlocked HTC one from overseas, can I use these features in the US without paying the extra to Cingular?
Answer: What is Locked phone?
When you buy a cell phone a with some services provider such as T-mobile, Cingular, O2, Vodafone… They’ll locked these phone with their networks. It mean you can not use this phone with networks other than the networks you currently locked to.
For example : you have a NOKIA 8800 locked to t-mobile so you can only use this phone with t-mobile services, can’t use it with cingular, roger, fido or other networks
How to Unlock my phone to use with other networks provider ?
You can call customer services of your networks provider ask for unlock code if you currently on contract with them over 90days.
Most of old regular phone models ( nokia, samsung, motorola, nec, vitel, sony ericsson ) can unlock for free with a “unlock code calculator software” . You can download it at www.nokiafree.org
Some models: new, not popular or special case can’t unlock by this software and must be unlock by special unlock code or software.
Once the mobile phone is unlocked, you can start using it on any cellular network worldwide without any restrictions and save money on roaming charges. You can also use two simcards in the same phone besides the fact that the resale value of the phone is increased
Question: Unlocked vs. locked phones?
I am currently under t-mobile using a Razr and want to get a sidekick. If I take the t-mobile SIM card from my Razr, will I be able to use it in a LOCKED sidekick? It was to my understanding that I could only do this on unlocked phones, but recently it has been brought to my attention that as long as both phones are under the same carrier (in this case T-mobile) you can switch the SIM cards and the sidekick can be used. Can someone please help me with this? I am very interested in purchasing a locked sidekick from Ebay, but want to make sure my SIM card will work with the new phone.
Answer: You can switch SIM cards between any phones within the same network, regardless of whether the phone is ‘locked’ or not.
Locked means that your phone only works on one specific network: in your case, the T-Moblie network.
Unlocked means that your phone’s software has been hacked so that it can be activated and used on any network that uses the same technology as your phone.
For example, I’m sure you read in the news a while back that someone unlocked an iPhone so that it would work on T-Mobile, in addition to AT&T. That’s what locked/unlocked means. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with a SIM.
On Ebay, a locked phone means it can only be used on ____ network, whereas an unlocked phone can be used on multiple different networks.
Question: What is the difference between unlocked cellphones and locked cell phones?
1. If i was to buy a cingular samsung blackjack off the internet would it make a difference if i get it unlocked or locked. Also i have cingular
Answer: Someone already asked a similar question. Here’s the answer i gave him:
“Unlocked” means that the phone is open to all service providers. It can be used with any sim card.
“Locked” means its only for one service provider. For example the iPhone, it’s locked to cingular only and if you unlock it, it can be used with t-mobile and other service providers.
“Unlocked-Cingular” means that it’s unlocked, but branded with the cingular name. You can still any SIM card with that though. Hope that helped, if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
So no it doesn’t matter if the phone is unlocked or locked. If you had a choice i would go with the unlocked one. You get a higher price for unlocked phones if you want to resell, Good luck!
Question: What is the difference between locked and unlocked cell phones on eBay?
I want to buy a cell to replace my GF’s. She already has a plan.
Answer: “The beauty of GSM phones is the ability to change phones or service providers at will. Inside every GSM phone is a SIM card, which contains information about your subscription to your provider. Transferring that SIM card to another phone transfers your subscription to that device. Changing the SIM card in your phone lets you keep your same hardware while changing providers. This is particularly appealing when travelling abroad as prepaid SIM cards can save significantly over international roaming charges.
“Most large GSM providers (including all of those in the Americas) “lock” their phones to prevent you from using sim cards from other providers. This makes it impossible to keep your hardware when changing services. It also prevents you from using phones that are sold by other providers. Additionally, the only way to use your phone abroad is to pay high roaming charges.
“Getting your phone unlocked will eliminate this restriction, thus allowing you to use any sim card you choose, whether at home or away. You will be able to keep your phone after changing providers, use phones sold by other providers, and take advantage of low- priced prepaid sim cards when travelling.
“We offer a wide range of unlocking services, which are listed in our online shop. Find your phone from our list for the details of what is involved. We guarantee your phone will be fully unlocked and that you will be completely satisfied.”
Question: What does it mean by a cell phone being locked or unlocked?
i have gone to ebay to look for a prepaid cell phone, i see many advertised as locked or unlocked? were these phones locked by the service provider and is it legal to unlock a phone?
Answer: Your cell phone has been locked by the service provider and not the phone manufacturer. This is done to insure that you’ll be availing only the services (or SIM Cards) of the provider. If you have it unlocked, it is possible that you void whatever warranty or services that the service provider is offering.
But unlocking the phone gives you a more wider range of selections of service providers, and can also be used (if tri / quad band) in other countries (provided you use their SIM cards).