subject: Unlock Your Phone For New Opportunities [print this page] Unfortunately, many service providers program their GSM phones so that they won't work with SIM cards from another carrier. Unlocking your GSM phone means overwriting that programming so that it will work with any SIM card, work with any carrier. Now when thinking of cellular accessories, images of carrying cases and belt clips probably come first to mind. Some things are probably from the Didn't Know You Need It Department.
But the most amazing accessory of all is likely to have been overlooked, as it's from the Didn't Even Know It Was An Accessory Department! That's because it isn't an object that goes with a phone but a service that's performed on one. But think about what it means to accessorize anything. Doesn't it mean to help you use something better, somehow, and/or enhance your overall experience? Well, unlocking your phone, while not an accessory per se, will certainly enhance your cellular experience! More than carrying cases or belt clips, unlocking your GSM cell phone is the ultimate in cellular accessories. It is, in a sense, the one true must-have.
But wouldn't your carrier mind? In all probability, no. Unless there is some stipulation in your service contract that obliges you to never alter your phone in any way whatsoever, it's your phone, you own it. And even given such a clause you can still actually unlock your phone. Your carrier just wants you to use the service, making money whether the phone is locked phone or unlocked. Besides, you probably wouldn't unlock your phone anyway unless you switch to another carrier, in which case it doesn't matter what the old one thinks!
Just be sure to keep any unlocking codes for future reference, because there has been a report of a carrier relocking a phone - even though it wasn't issued by that carrier in the first place! You can determine whether your phone is already unlocked by trying to use another SIM card in it.
Entering secret codes yourself is just one way to unlock a GSM phone. Though Nokia phones are generally unlocked through codes that can be very cheaply purchased, many a Motorola, BenQ-Siemens, or Sony Ericsson model requires a firmware rewrite, also known as reflashing the firmware. In these cases, the phone must be serviced by a company that has the special hardware needed. Not all companies can reflash all makes and models of cell phones, so make sure to first check that your particular phone can be serviced by the company.
