What is an "unlocked" phone?

Check out our huge inventory of unlocked cell phones HERE

What is an "unlocked" cell phone?

To understand what an unlocked cell phone is, it is important to first understand what a locked cell phone is. A locked cell phone is a cell phone that can only be used with one cellular service provider. In contrast, an unlocked cell phone can be used with any cellular service provider.

When a cell phone is locked, it will only recognize a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card that is issued by the cellular service provider which the cell phone is locked to (a SIM card is a microchip that stores data and provides cellular service once inserted into a cell phone). In regards to locked cell phones, a SIM card can only be transferred between cell phones that are issued by the same cellular service provider.

If a cell phone is unlocked, it can recognize any SIM card, regardless of which cellular service provider it was issued by. Using the previous example of the Apple iPhone, a locked iPhone will only work with an AT&T SIM card. However, if an iPhone is unlocked, it can be used with a SIM card from any cellular service provider (such as T-Mobile).

Advantages of Unlocked Cell Phones

The most popular reason that people want an unlocked cell phone is that it increases their options for choosing a new cell phone. Continuing with the example of the Apple iPhone, when this phone was released, it was obviously in very high demand. However, there were many consumers who wanted to purchase the Apple iPhone but because they were already tied into a contract with a cellular service provider other than AY&T they did not want to pay an early termination fee for breaking their current contract or become locked into a new contract with AT&T.

For consumers who wanted an Apple iPhone but did not want to be forced to take either of the actions described above, their best option was to purchase an unlocked Apple iPhone. By doing this, they could take the SIM card out of their existing cell phone, put it into the Apple iPhone and keep their existing cellular service provider while still getting the new cell phone that they desired.

The other reason that people want an unlocked cell phone is to keep their existing cell phone when they switch to a new cellular service provider. Because you can have your existing cell phone unlocked, if you have to switch to a new cellular service provider for any reason (such as your employer choosing to switch the cellular service provider of all the employees in your company), you can replace your old SIM card with the SIM card issued by your new cellular service provider and maintain your existing cell phone instead of settling for a phone that you don't like as much.

Check out our huge inventory of unlocked cell phones HERE