What Type Of Phone Locking?
There is a lot of confusion surrounding a phone locked - When people describe their phone as ‘locked’ it could mean a number of different things. Here are the main ways your phone can be locked and what you can do about it:
Sim Locked and locked to a particular Network. Please see below on what can be done to release yours from its network lock.
Passcode Locked - iOS devices its either a 4/6 digit or Samsung typically a pattern. Both of these can be overidden if this happens to you. Please call us 01228 597486 where we can help you on this.
Network Blocked, The carrier has blocked the device as its been reported lost/stolen and in this case there is no resolution to this. The only solution you have is to speak to your carrier and ask them to release the phone from this.
iCloud Locked. f you have an iPhone and it is locked to a particular iCloud account only the iCloud account holder can unlock the device. This is the only way to unlock an iCloud locked iPhone. The iCloud account holder needs to login to the iCloud account and remove it from the device. To find out if an iPhone is iCloud locked and for instructions about how to remove the iCloud Activation Lock from a device go to
https://www.icloud.com/activationlock
Phone unlocking, There are a number of benefits for you to unblock a phone from a network. Typically these could be cheaper tariffs from another provider, Or being able to use a foreign simcard during a visit to another country. Or the value of your phone will be more unlocked to any network if you choose to sell it at the end of your present contract.
Why unlock ?
Cheaper sim only tariffs are available to you
When you travel abroad you will be able to swap your sim to a local service provider and take advantage of cheaper international calls and data.
Unlocked handsets are worth more when you come to selling them and the difference is usually more than the cost involved in having them unlocked
You may just want to have a handset that you can swap sim cards with. Having a spare phone available to you and your family maybe advantageous if one is lost/stolen/damaged.
To unlock yours we need to know
Four pieces of information are required in order to unlock your handset:
- Make
- Model
- IMEI
- Network
Your IMEI number is a unique 15 digit number which identifies your phone. You can find out what your IMEI number is by typing *#06# into your phones keypad. If this doesn’t work, then you might find it on the box it came in or on the back of your phone. or by having a look in the about section and usually found within the settings of your device.
How to unlock ?
Firstly, if you haven't already we recommend speaking to your network provider first (e.g. 02, Vodafone, EE etc). They often offer the cheapest unlocking prices and sometimes it might even be free of charge!
We can if you cant unlock your phone but it takes both longer and more expensive than the networks can do it for.
