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It's impossible to unlock a phone for free

fefefefe

Lurker
Nov 11, 2015
6
0
I have done research for weeks about this, and there is no one single free way to do it. Also, most of the phone carrier refuse to give you unlock codes, and the few ones that do it, make it a big ****ing hassle, pain in the ass process, of course, they don't want anyone to stop using their OS. I was not the "owner" of the phone, and such as, they won't give me a code.

I wonder how this so called "unlocking" website get their codes from, if the average person cannot get a code themselves. You pay $15-25, and they send you a code. I bet, at least 95% are nothing but scammers, and the ones that are legit, probably want more than $25, with no guaranteed that the phone will have service after being unlocked.

You can use software to unlock it, but you also need a box, such as octopus and many others, and that costs plenty of money, might as well just pay for a code.

In the end, everything costs money

Take home lesson?

Never buy a ****ing service provide phone again, only unlocked from factory
 
I have done research for weeks about this, and there is no one single free way to do it. Also, most of the phone carrier refuse to give you unlock codes

Most carriers will unlock phones for free, sometimes after a certain time period or after the phone is paid off.

AT&T phone unlock:
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock

T-Mobile unlocking policy:
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1588

Verizon doesn't lock GSM on most of their recent phones, here is their unlocking policy:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/aboutus/commitment/safety-security/device-unlocking-policy.html

US Cellular unlock policy:
http://www.uscellular.com/site/legal/mobile-wireless-device-unlocking.html

Sprint unlocking policy:
http://www.sprint.com/legal/unlocking_policy.html

Cricket will unlock a phone after 6 months of service:
https://www.cricketwireless.com/support/apps-and-services/device-unlock/customer/device-unlock.html

MetroPCS will unlock a phone after 90 days of service:
https://www.metropcs.com/terms-conditions/phone-unlock-policy.html

Boost Mobile unlocking policy (after 12 months):
http://www.boostmobile.com/unlock

Virgin Mobile unlocking policy (after 12 months):
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/unlock/
 
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So, basically all the unlock websites that charge $15-20 are scammers?

There are probably 2 or 3 that are legit, but how do I find them?
No,not all are scammers.
But,the codes are virtually worthless on any T-Mobile device that has the T-Mobile Device Unlock Tool app pre-installed.
Same for Metro PCS,they simply will not work,tried it myself on a Metro PCS phone. (same unlock app as T-Mobile,just looks different).
YMWV depending upon carrier/device.
A few questions 1st:
1) The exact model/carrier of device you wish to unlock
2) Are all the financial obligations met?
3) Any particular carrier(s) you wish to use this device with?
 
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No,not all are scammers.
But,the codes are virtually worthless on any T-Mobile device that has the T-Mobile Device Unlock Tool app pre-installed.
Same for Metro PCS,they simply will not work,tried it myself on a Metro PCS phone. (same unlock app as T-Mobile,just looks different).
YMWV depending upon carrier/device.
A few questions 1st:
1) The exact model/carrier of device you wish to unlock
2) Are all the financial obligations met?
3) Any particular carrier(s) you wish to use this device with?

my phone is LGms550 from metro, and is rooted, there is no app pre-isntalled because I removed all the crap

So, even if I buy a code, I wouldn't be able to unlock the phone?

The device is not mine, my grandma found it, and gave it to me, now before you go all moral on me, I tried to find out who owner was, and I managed to find their facebook, I sent a message, but they never replied to me, so I kept it, I'm not gonna go out of my way to return a phone, not my fault that she lost it.

It seems she never reported as lost, because I checked the IMEI and it comes out clean
 
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my phone is LGms550 from metro, and is rooted, there is no app pre-isntalled because I removed all the crap

So, even if I buy a code, I wouldn't be able to unlock the phone?

The device is not mine, my grandma found it, and gave it to me, now before you go all moral on me, I tried to find out who owner was, and I managed to find their facebook, I sent a message, but they never replied to me, so I kept it, I'm not gonna go out of my way to return a phone, not my fault that she lost it.

It seems she never reported as lost, because I checked the IMEI and it comes out clean
My guess is the original owner stopped service/paying on the account attached to the device.
Doing so will make unlocking the device difficult at best & likely a no-go.

As for deleting the Unlock app,I did the same,rooted/removed the app,no dice no-can-do on the unlock.

The unlock info has already been stated,check the links/posts above.
Outside of that,you have a WI-FI device.........
 
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My guess is the original owner stopped service/paying on the account attached to the device.
Doing so will make unlocking the device difficult at best & likely a no-go.

As for deleting the Unlock app,I did the same,rooted/removed the app,no dice no-can-do on the unlock.

The unlock info has already been stated,check the links/posts above.
Outside of that,you have a WI-FI device.........

lmao

that's what I use it for, I'm sure I could sell as is, but they wouldn't give me much, not even $30

I'm saving to buy a galaxy s6 unlocked

One question, if I buy a galaxy s6 unlocked, and then use it with t-mobile for example, can I simply stop the service, and then move to metropcs, sprint, and so on? will the device continued to be unlocked?
 
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If you buy an unlocked device you will be able to switch between carriers but that doesn't necessarily mean all carriers. Some devices have bands for both CDMA and GSM networks, but a lot of devices are one or the other. I'm not sure what bands the S6 supports.

If you have a GSM only unlocked device, you wouldn't be able to switch from T-mobile to Sprint as T-mobile is a GSM network and Sprint is a CDMA network. The device wouldn't have the proper hardware/bands to work on a CDMA network.

This is a good resource to find out what networks a specific device will work on: http://www.willmyphonework.net/
 
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lmao

that's what I use it for, I'm sure I could sell as is, but they wouldn't give me much, not even $30

I'm saving to buy a galaxy s6 unlocked

One question, if I buy a galaxy s6 unlocked, and then use it with t-mobile for example, can I simply stop the service, and then move to metropcs, sprint, and so on? will the device continued to be unlocked?
If you buy a factory SIM Unlocked device,&/or it is free & clear from any carrier (no balance on phone or plan), you are free to use it anywhere you wish,it is not bound to any carrier obligations whatsoever.
Whether it's compatible w/a specific carrier is gonna vary depending upon device.
As Brian706 stated,http://www.willmyphonework.net/ is the go-to site for compatibility.
 
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I got T-Mobile to unlock my SIM card. It was a bit annoying, because I had to call in to customer service and be put on hold, etc., but they didn't give me any extra trouble. I just had to be a customer for at least one month.

That said, I've made sure the last two phones to buy SIM-unlocked ones, and I think that's just the way to go. I got the Moto X for US$399 and the 32 GB Nexus 5x for US$430, and both were off-contract and SIM-unlocked. The Nexus 5x works with the four major US carriers and also Project Fi.

Buy unlocked. That's the least-hassle way to go.
 
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It's increasingly less of a problem but always worth checking, and will depend on which network too (e.g. T-Mobile certainly used to use an odd 3G setup that wasn't supported by most handsets, and the CDMA carriers present their own challenges). We still see people who import phones and the find they have no LTE connection, for example.
 
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I had a Note 4 purchased from T-Mobile and I decided to move from T-Mobile to Metro PCS. Getting an unlock code from T-Mobile was not a problem and I was able to activate the phone on Metro PCS. Later, however, I decided to move to Cricket and I discovered that the phone was locked again. Fortunately, I had saved the unlock code because it might have been difficult to get another since I was no longer a T-Mobile customer. Also, although I could unlock the phone, it would only work on GSM networks, no Sprint or Verizon. Finally, the phone would always be T-Mobile branded and I would have to wait for Android updates through T-Mobile.

I recently purchased a Moto X Pure Edition direct from Motorola. It is an unlocked phone that will work with all US carriers, both CDMA and GSM. Also, the phone should receive Android updates much sooner than carrier-branded phones. I expect to receive Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) within the next several weeks.

As the OP suggested, buy phones that come unlocked from the factory.
 
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The reason your unlocked Note 4 wouldn't work with CDMA networks was because it was a Note 4 rather than because of the branding/unlocking. There was a different version of the Note 4 for CDMA. Phones which work on both are more common than they used to be, but it's still something to watch - especially with imports because there are very few CDMA networks outside North America, so CDMA compatibility is not a priority in most of the world.
 
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