Find out how to Unlock Smart Phones by IMEI

How you can Unlock Cellphones by IMEI (3 basic steps)

By Zelma Mowrey

If you purchase a cellphone from a cell phone provider, you'll find it locked to that company's service. If the company provide you with a free or reduced price phone, you normally have to agree to a 1- or 2-year contract as well. You can avoid this contract and freely switch between networks, and also travel overseas and roam on domestic networks, easily by unlocking your cell phone using the IMEI number. If you wish to unlock your cell phone quickly and easily, follow the three simple steps below.

Step 1

Find the 15-digit IMEI number. This is generally written on the cellphone beneath the battery. You can also generally locate it on your smartphone's setting page or by entering a special code to get your phone to display the IMEI number on the screen. Most often, this code is *#06#

Step 2

After you've located the IMEI code of your cell phone, contact your current network carrier and ask if they'll offer you an unlock code. Based on your circumstances, they may very well grant your request. In spite of this, many carriers have thier own criteria that need to be met before they'll offer you with an unlock code, and many might possibly refuse. Typically, if you have completed your service contract, your smartphone provider are likely to give you directions on how to unlock your mobile phone, but in most cases they will insist you're the original owner of the mobile phone (the contract on thier system is in your name). If you're not, for instance, you purchased the smartphone secondhand, you need to find an alternative unlocking strategy to IMEI unlock your mobile phone.

Step 3

When you're not the orginal owner of the cellphone, you'll need to acquire an unlock code from a third party provider. Thankfully there are plenty of online providers selling services by just providing them with your phone's IMEI code, it's make and model and the network it is locked to. The price of the service and the time it will take to unlock your cell phone will depend upon the above mentioned factors, and may vary quite significantly for more obscure models or networks. Using a third party unlocking provider is generally the fastest and most hassle-free technique to IMEI unlock your mobile phone, as it will be conducted remotely without your phone ever having to leave your pocession. Once your smartphone has been sucessfully unlocked it can then be used with any carrier and in any country you wish.