How do I make an Unlocked cell phone work with my current provider?

Question by Dewline: How do I make an Unlocked cell phone work with my current provider?
If I purchase an "unlocked" cell phone, will it work on any network, and how is this accomplished?


Best answer:

Answer by IntricateFool
A lot of people confuse the word "unlocked" when it comes to cell phones.

Unlocked refers to a "GSM" type of cell phone that uses a sim card. An example of a GSM provider would be AT&T, T-Mobile, Rogers, or Fido. These phones can generally be unlocked but you would either need hardware or pay a service to have the phone unlocked unless you were already a paying customer with the carrier than you can call the carrier, let them know you would be traveling outside the country and they can usually unlock the phone for you by having you enter an "unlock code".

If a phone is "unlocked" it can be used on any other GSM network that uses a sim card. You can just take your sim card out of your current phone and place it in the unlocked phone.

If you are a customer of a carrier like Verizon, Alltel, Sprint, US Cellular or Cellular South the phones can not be unlocked to use with other carriers.

If you are looking to purchase a cell phone, The Blue Dot has a number of unlocked cell phones that you may be interested in. None of their phones require a contract either. I included the link to their store below.

If you would like to read more about unlocked cell phones, you can check out this ebay guide (link below)

Hope this info helps...

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