Guidelines on how to Unlock Smart Phones via IMEI (3 easy-to-follow steps)

By Victor Readdy

Anytime you purchase a cellphone via a cellular provider, it is actually locked into that company's service. If the company provide you with a free or reduced price cell phone, you normally have to consent to a one- or two-year contract as well. You can avoid this contract and freely change between providers, and also travel overseas and use domestic networks, easily by unlocking your smartphone using the IMEI number. In order to unlock your smartphone, simply follow the 3 steps below.

Step 1

Locate the 15-digit IMEI code. This is usually printed on the mobile phone beneath the battery. You can also generally find it in your cellphone's setting page or by keying in a unique code to get your phone to show the IMEI number on the screen. Most often, this code is *#06#

Step 2

After you have located the IMEI number of your smartphone, speak to your existing carrier and ask if they can give you an unlock code. Depending on your circumstances, they may grant your request. But, many service providers will likely have thier own set of guidelines that need to be fulfilled before they will give you with an unlock code, and many will probably refuse. Typically, if you've finished your contract, your mobile provider may give you instructions on how to factory unlock your smartphone, but in general they'll insist you're the original owner of the phone (the contract on thier system is in your name). In the event that you're not, for example, you purchased the cellphone pre-owned, you'll need to find an alternative unlocking strategy to permanently unlock your cellphone.

Step 3

When you are not the orginal owner of the phone, you will need to acquire an unlock service from a third party service provider. Fortunately there are lots of on-line companies selling services by simply giving them your mobile phone's IMEI code, it's model and make and the network its locked to. The cost of the service and the time it will take to IMEI unlock your phone will depend upon the aforementioned factors, and may vary quite significantly for more obscure devices or networks. Making use of a third party unlocking provider is often the fastest and the most straightforward method to factory unlock your cell phone, as it can be done remotely without your smartphone ever needing to leave your pocession. As soon as phone's been sucessfully unlocked it can then be used on any network and in any country you chose.