What are unlocked android phones

What is an ‘unlocked’ phone? (And why do I care?)

Unlocked. It’s a word you’ll see used a lot on websites about mobile technology, and most people writing about it will be sure to let you know that it is a good thing™. And it is (See? told ‘ya). But unlocked can mean different things — that are all good things — depending on what, exactly, we’re talking about.

Maybe you’re wondering about being able to unlock the bootloader on the phone you want to buy next. Or maybe you’ll need to SIM unlock your phone so you can take that trip abroad and not pay AT&T ten-cents a minute and a handful of dollars each time you check your email. Both are important, and we’re going to talk about the differences.

The bootloader

To many of us, the words «unlocked bootloader» bring images of wonderful far-away lands where unicorns play Half-Life 3 and flash ROMs at night around the campfire. Or something like that — maybe that’s just me. An unlockable bootloader is important to those of us who want to modify the software that came installed on our phone.

A bootloader is a program that loads an operating system when a computer is powered on. Usually, it does its thing in the background and loads things to the normal user state, but a bootloader can also bring up other interfaces, like recovery or fastboot. It’s what runs first every time you turn your phone on, and is usually set up so that only «official» software can be installed and will run.

The bootloader on your phone came locked from the factory. This is a good thing, because having a bootloader that’s not locked will allow modification to the software, and is not secure at all. But the ability to modify the software on our phones is precisely why many of us want an unlocked bootloader.

Here’s where things get a little dicey. We’ve seen that most manufacturers are OK with allowing you to unlock the bootloader (using a token or key they supply) as long as you’re OK with potentially voiding your warranty. This is a good thing. This is what freedom smells like and all that. Seriously, once we’ve paid for a phone it should be ours to break as we like.

Seriously, once we’ve paid for a phone it should be ours to break as we like

The people who own and operate the network that your phone runs on (this is mostly a U.S. thing) feel differently. They want to decide exactly what software is running on the phones and tablets that use their network. And that’s their right. Besides potential issues custom software could create on the network itself, they have customer service and warranty concerns to manage. It’s their network, and they get to try and decide (for the most part) what can be running on it. The way they (try) to make this happen is by offering their own version of a phone that can’t be easily bootloader unlocked.

Remember, if your phone has a carrier name or logo printed on it, they are the ones it was built for. They sold it to you, not HTC or Samsung or Motorola or anyone else. While they may be more than happy to pass you off to the manufacturer if you have issues, it’s still their product.

The easy solution to make sure you have a phone with an unlockable bootloader is to find out before you buy. Depending on the crafty guys and gals who are able to defeat encryption schemes with workarounds and find a method to unlock the bootloader on a phone that someone doesn’t want you to unlock is always possible, but never certain.

For most people out there (some of us are waayyyy out there) this isn’t a big issue. But it might be an issue for you.

SIM unlocked

SIM unlocking, or network unlocking, has nothing to do with a bootloader or custom ROMs. It’s just a way to allow your phone to use a different network than the one whose name is on the door where you bought it. This is mostly a North America thing, where carriers sell phones that won’t operate on other carrier networks.

Usually, support for other networks is built into your phone, and you can unlock the SIM to use them. You can do this a couple of different ways.

The first, and easiest, is to call the people who sold you your phone and tell them you need it SIM unlocked. They can give you a code you enter when you insert a different carrier’s SIM card that will allow you to use the phone on other networks. Usually, if your account is in good standing and you have a need to get your phone SIM unlocked, they will help you out. But not always — each carrier has different qualifications for when it will give you an unlock code.

The good news is that some carriers are moving away from this practice, at least in part.

Another method is to use an unlocking service. You’ll find them online, and once you tell them what model of phone you want SIM unlocked and pay them a bit of cash (usually around $20) they’ll send you a code — just like the carrier would — to SIM unlock the phone. This is usually a code directly from the network provider, who sells them in bulk for folks to resell. This works great as long as you’re using a trustworthy company. Use the forums to help find a trustworthy company.

Another method is via root or custom ROM. You might need an unlocked bootloader (read all that above), too. Essentially, you’re installing software or modifying existing software so that the phone is SIM unlocked. This is legal, but not nearly as easy as getting a code to enter when you pop in a new SIM.

The good news is that some carriers are moving away from this practice, at least in part. Once we have nationwide, cross-carrier voice over LTE calling and CDMA networks are repurposed as pure data channels, any phone with the right radio frequency bands can run on the Verizon network. The others will follow, because commercials with lightning bolts and shiny people will tell you how great it is, and they will want to be great, too. Sprint also sells most new phones as SIM unlocked. AT&T and T-Mobile, who use SIM cards for both voice and data, still love to network lock their phones. Canadian carriers also love to lock you in.

You might never need to worry about network unlocking your phone. Once you’ve found a network provider that works best for you, you’ll be buying phones compatible with their network, and using them on their network. Unless you’re traveling outside your home country, you don’t need to SIM unlock your phone. And even then, most carriers offer service while you’re abroad if you’re willing to pay for it. The important thing is that you understand what your options are, and how to do it if you need to do it.

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What Is an Unlocked Phone?

Everyone talks about unlocked phones but what are they?

When dealing with an unlocked or locked phone, the question is whether or not the device can work on a specific wireless network that’s different than the network the phone was designed to work on.

What is an Unlocked Phone?

An unlocked smartphone is a phone that can work with any cell phone carrier. Some phones are not unlocked and so they can only be used on one provider like Verizon, or with just AT&T, or T-Mobile, etc. An unlocked phone doesn’t have that limitation.

However, a phone’s compatibility with a network is only relevant for cell phone carriers, not wireless networks like Wi-Fi; any phone, as long as Wi-Fi is working, can connect to a Wi-Fi network regardless of whether or not the phone is unlocked or locked.

What It Means to Have an Unlocked Phone

Most cell phones and smartphones are tied, or locked, to a certain cellular carrier, such as Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint. Even if you don’t actually buy the phone from the carrier, the phone is still tied to a carrier. For example, you could purchase an iPhone from Best Buy, but it still might require that you sign up for service from AT&T or your respective carrier.

For many people, purchasing a locked phone makes sense: The carrier offers a discount on the handset in exchange for you signing a service contract with them. In addition to the discount, you also get the voice and data service that you need to use the phone.

However, not everyone wants to be tied to a certain carrier’s network, for a variety of reasons. For example, if you frequently travel overseas, it may not make sense to be tied to a phone that won’t work internationally (or one that will cost you an arm and a leg to use in foreign countries).

Other people are unwilling to sign the lengthy service contracts (two years, typically) that many carriers require. That’s why purchasing an unlocked phone can be a desirable alternative; they can purchase the phone unlocked and then activate it with any company.

Or, maybe you don’t get very good service where you live and you want to switch to a network that has better coverage, but you don’t want to leave your phone behind. Unlocking the phone, in this case, would let you keep your device but get the better coverage you desire.

Moreover, nowadays, companies like OnePlus tend to sell only SIM-free unlocked devices. This way, they have control over software upgrades; they don’t need to get the update tested from a network provider every time they want to roll out an update.

Why Phones Are Locked

Phones do not inherently need to be locked to any carrier. All phones could, in theory, be released as unlocked so that you could activate them with any mobile carrier. However, for a carrier to maintain business, they might lock their phone to their network so that if you want the phone, you have to pay for a plan with them.

For example, if the iPhone were locked to the Verizon Wireless network and only worked with Verizon service, then you’d have to switch over to Verizon in order to use the iPhone. However, if you were to unlock the iPhone so that it could work with other carriers, you could unsubscribe to Verizon’s service and use your iPhone with AT&T, Sprint, etc.

How to Unlock Your Phone

There are often very specific rules that you have to follow before you can unlock a phone. For example, the phone can’t be reported stolen or missing, needs to have been paid for in full, and might need to have been active on the carrier’s network for so-many days.

Not every phone needs to be unlocked in order to take it with you to another carrier. However, if you do need to unlock your phone, you have to contact the carrier that the phone was last used with.

For instance, to unlock an AT&T phone, you need to fill out AT&T’s device unlock procedure so that they can remove the lock and let you use it with another carrier. However, Verizon is a company that doesn’t lock most of their phones, so no special code is needed in order to use a Verizon phone with another carrier.

T-Mobile has its own set of eligibility requirements and rules, too. Your carrier will be able to tell you exactly what to do if your phone is eligible for unlocking.

How to Find an Unlocked Phone

If you’re ready to buy a new phone and want one that’s already unlocked for use on the mobile carrier you already use, you can usually find one online.

For example, Amazon has an entire section for unlocked cell phones where you can filter the results by brand like Apple or Huawei, by operating system like iOS and Windows, and by other criteria like storage, screen size, features, price, color, etc.

You can also buy unlocked phones virtually anywhere you can buy locked smartphones, like Best Buy, Walmart, Gazelle, etc.

More Information on Unlocked Phones

A locked phone is locked even if you pay full price for the phone. It might make sense that a phone is carrier-locked only if and when you’re making payments, and then it will be unlocked when it’s fully yours (when you make the last payment), but that’s not the case.

While an unlocked cell phone can work on any mobile carrier’s network, unlocking a phone does not switch it between radio communication technologies like GSM or CDMA. For example, you can’t unlock a GSM phone and expect it to be CDMA compatible.

The term «locked phone» also refers to the simple act of password protecting your phone or putting it into lockscreen mode where you can no longer see the homescreen icons. In this case, to «unlock the phone» just means to enter the password or to reach the homescreen where you can launch apps.

If you have a SIM card from another carrier lying around, try putting it in the phone and see if it works. If you see a message asking for a SIM unlock code, your phone is locked. You can also try contacting your carrier and asking them whether or not your particular phone model is unlocked.

Yes, any SIM card should work in an unlocked phone, provided the phone’s wireless technology (usually GSM) is compatible with the network. If the SIM you’re trying to use is the wrong size, you can get an adapter or request a new SIM from the carrier.

Activating an unlocked phone should work the same way as activating a locked one. First, make sure the phone is powered off, then insert the SIM card. Next, turn the phone back on and follow the on-screen directions to activate it and set it up.

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