Before buying an Android Phone, you may want to check whether the Phone is Locked to a carrier. You can find below the steps to Check if Android Phone is Unlocked or Locked to a carrier. Show
 Difference Between Unlocked and Locked PhoneIn general, Android Phones that are sold by device makers like Samsung, Nexus, Xiaomi and others are sold as Factory Unlocked Android Phones. The clear advantage of owning an Unlocked Android Phone is that it can be used with any Carrier or Network. You can use SIM card from any service provider on an unlocked Phone and it will start working. Android Phones sold by Carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint are locked to the Network of the Carrier and cannot be used on any other network. Most Locked Android phones are sold with a Cellular Plan and are generally locked for a period of 18 to 24 months. After the lock-in period ends, a locked Android Phone becomes eligible for being unlocked. The unlocking can be done by the Carrier or by other Phone unlocking services. How to Check If Android Phone is UnlockedThe easiest way to confirm whether an Android Phone is Locked or Unlocked is to remove its SIM Card and Insert a SIM Card from another Carrier into the Phone. 1. First make sure that the Phone that you are trying buy is working by making a Phone call to your current Phone Number. This will ensure that the Phone is working with the current SIM. 2. Power OFF the Android Phone > Remove its SIM card and Insert SIM card from another Carrier into the Android Phone. 3. After replacing the SIM, press the Power button to start the Phone. 4. After the Phone starts, see if you can make a Phone Call. If the Call goes through, even after changing the SIM Card, the Phone is an Unlocked Device and it can work with any Carrier. If the Call does not connect after changing the SIM Card, it confirms that the Phone that you are trying to buy is Locked to a Carrier. Check Using IMEI NumberIf you do not want to go through the process of changing SIM Cards, you can ask for the IMEI Number of the Android Phone and follow the steps below to check whether the Phone is Unlocked or Locked. 1. First, get the IMEI Number of the Android Phone from the Seller. Depending on the stage of the deal, most genuine sellers should have no problem providing the IMEI Number to you. If the Seller does not know or provide IMEI number, you can refer them to this article – How to Find IMEI Number of Your Android Phone. 2. Once the IMEI is recieved, go to imei.info website using a phone or computer. 3. On the website, enter the 15 digit IMEI Number of the Android Phone into the dialog box as shown below and click on the Check button. 4. On the next screen, you will be able to see information about the Android Phone that belongs to the IMEI Number that you had just entered. Click on SIMLOCK & WARRANTY button. 5. Once the process is complete, you will get information about the network to which the phone belongs to and whether it is an Unlocked Android Phone or a Locked Phone. After IMEI check, the website also offers unlocking service for a fee in case your Android Phone is locked. Are you buying or selling a phone? In either case, one of the most important things you’ll need to know is whether the device is unlocked or not. The good news is that there are some simple ways to find out. In this article, I’ll show you how to tell whether your iPhone or Android phone is unlocked. And if it’s not, I’ll show you how to unlock it. I personally went through the process to unlock my phone with T-Mobile, but these simple steps should also work if you have a phone you bought from AT&T or Verizon. Unlock Your Phone on These Major CarriersTable of Contents:
First, let’s start with some basics about your mobile phone and what it means to unlock it. What Is an Unlocked Phone?An unlocked phone is one in which the operation of the device is not contractually bound to a carrier such as AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. If you’re still under contract and paying monthly for your phone, the service provider “locks” the phone into its network so that it won’t work on any other carrier’s service. How Can I Tell if I Have an Unlocked Phone?If you bought your phone from your carrier and continue to make monthly payments on it, it’s likely locked into the network that sold you the device. On the other hand, if you paid for your smartphone upfront, it might be unlocked, but that’s not always the case. Here are three ways you can tell if your phone is unlocked. 1. Check Your SettingsiPhone To tell if your iPhone is unlocked, go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. If you see Cellular Data Network, then your phone is probably unlocked. While this method is the easiest, it’s not foolproof. Advertisement Android There are a lot of different Android phones out there, so there are many different Settings configurations. But in general, you can go to Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > Network Operators and tap Search Now to see if the names of other carriers come up. If multiple carrier names show up, your phone might be unlocked. This method works a lot of the time but is not always 100% accurate. 2. Contact Your CarrierCall the customer service number of your carrier to ask whether your phone is unlocked. Here are the phone numbers for some well-known wireless carriers:
3. Switch SIM CardsAnother way to determine whether your phone is unlocked is by inserting a SIM card from another carrier and seeing if you can make a call. If your call successfully connects, then your phone is unlocked and should work with other SIM cards. How To Unlock Your Phone on the Major Wireless CarriersMany carriers now sell phones advertised as unlocked. Others have simple steps you can follow to unlock your phone, including special rules for deployed military personnel. Please note that, if the phone you want to unlock has been reported lost, stolen or involved in fraudulent activity, none of the major carriers will unlock it. Before you request that your phone be unlocked, you need to have some basic information handy including:
Using that information, here’s how to unlock your phone on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint. How To Unlock Your AT&T PhoneAT&T allows you to submit an unlock request for your phone. But note that the company says on its website, “The wireless number assigned to the device must be active for at least 60 days. Wait 48 hours after you make your final payment to submit your unlock request.” Some of AT&T’s other requirements to unlock your phone include: Advertisement
Check out AT&T’s full eligibility requirements here. If your phone meets the requirements and you send an unlock request, once it’s approved you’ll get an email with information on how to unlock your device and insert the new carrier’s SIM card. How To Unlock Your T-Mobile PhoneT-Mobile has made it easier to unlock your mobile phone. However, the carrier says it will unlock only T-Mobile devices. T-Mobile allows you to request an unlock code by logging into your account and contacting Customer Care online or by calling 611 from a T-Mobile phone. There is a T-Mobile Device Unlock App for Google Pixel phones, but the app is not available for other Android phones or any Apple phones, as July 2022. On its website, the company says, “Once a device becomes eligible for unlocking, T-Mobile will automatically and remotely unlock the device within two business days if the device supports remote unlock.” The carrier goes on to say that for those devices that it can’t remotely unlock, “T-Mobile will send a notification to the device within two business days of it becoming eligible, with next steps to complete the unlock process.” For T-Mobile to unlock your phone:
Check out T-Mobile’s full eligibility requirements here. How To Unlock Your Verizon PhoneVerizon’s unlocking policy lists different rules for postpaid and prepaid devices. Unlocking Rules for Postpaid Verizon Phones: Advertisement
Unlocking Rules for Prepaid Verizon Phones:
If you purchased a 4G Phone-in-a-Box from one of Verizon’s authorized retailers, the carrier says, “You should review the back of the box to determine the lock period applicable to that device.” As for a 3G phone, Verizon no longer posts the unlocking instructions on its website. If you still have one of those older phones, here’s what those instructions were: “The simple code to program such 3G devices for use with another carrier is either 000000 or 123456.” How To Unlock Your Sprint PhoneBecause of the merger, you may be wondering if T-Mobile is able to unlock Sprint’s devices. A T-Mobile customer service representative told me in July 2022 that if you bought your phone from Sprint, you still have to contact Sprint to get your device unlocked. Contact Sprint at 888-211-4727. In most cases, Sprint will automatically unlock postpaid phones activated since 2015. Please note that, just because your Sprint phone can be unlocked, that doesn’t mean the device or all of its functionalities will work on other networks. Some key requirements for unlocking a Sprint phone include the following:
Check out the full Sprint eligibility requirements here. The company says if you can’t use SIM unlock, you may be able to get an associated MSL (Master Subsidy Lock) code, if the phone was manufactured before February 2015. All you have to do is call Sprint Customer Care at the number listed above. Final ThoughtsIf you choose to contact your carrier to request that your phone be unlocked, note that the process could take up to 72 hours. To make sure that the process is successful, you may want to reach out to your carrier to confirm (like I did). Advertisement Thinking about bringing an unlocked device to a new cell phone service provider? Make sure you avoid this mistake before you switch! More Cell Phone Resources From Clark.com:
Advertisement Can I check if my phone is unlocked?Open Settings. Tap 'General', then 'About' Tap 'Carrier lock'. If it says 'No SIM restrictions', then your phone is unlocked.
Can I check if my phone is unlocked with IMEI?An IMEI number can be used to determine the device make and model, and whether the device is locked or unlocked. If a device has been lost or stolen, the IMEI can also be used to block it from being used on most carrier networks, including T-Mobile's.
Can you tell if your phone is locked?Method #1. First go to Settings and then Cellular. If you see a Cellular Data option under the Cellular menu, then your iPhone is unlocked. If you don't see “Cellular Data Network” as an option under Cellular, then the phone is locked.
Is my phone unlocked to all carriers?Go to Settings > General and tap About. Under Carrier Lock, you should see a message that says, "No SIM restrictions." If you don't see that message, contact your carrier.
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How to check to see if my phone is unlocked
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