When Unlocked Are They Placed Again
Always since the Librarian of Congress decided not to renew a provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that essentially makes information technology illegal to unlock your phone without your carrier's permission, at that place's been intense interest in the consequence. But when information technology comes to unlocked cell phones, there'due south also been a lot of confusion.
Many people have been looking for ways to unlock their devices. The U.Yard. Web site Mobile Unlocked, which sells unlock codes to consumers, says sales of unlock codes are up 71 pct. But others are notwithstanding trying to figure out what the heck device-locking is all about and how and if their own smartphones can be unlocked. There's no question millions of consumers are still dislocated well-nigh jail cell phone unlocking. Aside from the legal issues, there are technical issues that may even make cell phone unlocking incommunicable for some consumers.
In this edition of Enquire Maggie, I re-examine this issue and offering some basic information about what a prison cell telephone lock is. I explicate on which wireless networks cell phones can exist unlocked. And I circumspection consumers to investigate before they buy a device they think is unlocked.
I also explain to another reader why he tin't bring just any phone to his prepaid Virgin Mobile service.
Locked versus unlocked phones: What's information technology all mean?
Dear Maggie,
Could you please explain the concept of carrier locks on cell phones? Information technology is a tremendously confusing topic. I think I know the nuts, simply there are always strange technicalities that I keep seeing that just throw me off and make me question whether I really know how the system works.
For context, I'1000 a Verizon customer with an iPhone 4S. Each summer my family unit visits Crane Lake, Minn., where Verizon has zero coverage simply AT&T has very broad coverage. We've resorted to using crappy basic phones with prepaid AT&T calling plans for simple communication (we have no Wi-Fi/Ethernet networking for our iPhones/computers). It would be great if AT&T would let usa use a prepaid program for one of our iPhones to use for the two weeks we visit each summer, only for some reason they won't.
OK, and then a lot of that info was irrelevant, but I've been scouring the Web sites of Verizon and AT&T and trying to learn more about all of this.
Here are my questions:
What are the explicit differences betwixt a locked and unlocked phone?
Why is the iPhone treated differently past carriers relative to other phones?
How do Verizon'due south and AT&T'due south lock policies relate to each other? Is a Verizon unlock the aforementioned equally an AT&T unlock?
Cheers,
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
Y'all are absolutely correct about this being a confusing topic. So let'due south come across if I can explain some of the basics for yous.
Carrier locks come with but about any cell phone yous buy from a wireless operator. Even if yous aren't buying the device direct from a particular operator merely are buying it from a retailer, such equally Amazon or Best Purchase, and information technology'southward for a specific carrier, then about probable it has a carrier lock on it. This is regardless of whether yous buy the phone with a subsidy and a two-year contract or if you buy the device at full price.
Generally, the only devices that practise not have carrier locks are ones that specifically say they are "unlocked," such every bit the Google Android Nexus make of devices, the unlocked version of the iPhone, which is sold at the Apple store, and some developer edition devices. If you want an unlocked phone, you should research in advance whether the phone you lot are purchasing is available every bit unlocked and where yous can buy it as an unlocked device. Call up: Paying full price lone doesn't guarantee that a smartphone is unlocked out of the box.
What is a phone lock?
The lock is really a software code that's put on the phone past the manufacturer equally per the requirement of the carrier that sells the device. And the lock is meant to ensure that the phone tin't be used on any other operator's network until a different software code is entered to unlock the device.
This is an issue that's most of import for devices that operate on GSM networks. This is a wireless standard that used by AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.Due south. and by most operators around the globe, peculiarly in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Africa, every bit well as parts of Latin America. The 3G technologies HSPA and HSPA+ are based on GSM, which means carriers offering HSPA or HSPA+ as well operate via GSM.
All GSM devices are designed so that service is provisioned using a SIM menu. With an unlocked device, a GSM smartphone can be reprovisioned and used on another network just by popping out the erstwhile SIM card and putting in a new one from the new carrier. The carrier doesn't necessarily need to be notified, and you don't need anyone in the store to reprovision your telephone.
This is not the instance with phones adult for CDMA networks. This is the engineering used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.Due south. Information technology's also used by some carriers in Latin America, Asia, and Canada. The standard is not equally widely used as GSM. CDMA devices do not accept SIM cards. So if you lot wanted to take your CDMA device to another CDMA carrier, because a CDMA-only device tin can't be used on a GSM network and vice versa, you'd have to get the carrier to provision the device for that other network. EV-DO is the 3G engineering science used on CDMA networks.
In general, CDMA carriers don't reprovision devices made for other networks for use on their own networks. Then this means phones made for Verizon, which are using the same basic technology equally devices fabricated for Sprint, won't work on Sprint'due south network. In other words, y'all can't reuse a Verizon device on Sprint and vice versa.
But unlocked GSM phones from AT&T and T-Mobile will piece of work on each other'south networks, which makes the utilise of GSM much more flexible than CDMA.
In summary, phone locks are non really relevant when you're talking about 2G and 3G devices that operate on CDMA or EV-DO networks. But phone locks are very important for devices that operate on a GSM or HSPA/HSPA+ network. Almost every GSM device comes "prelocked" to a item carrier. Certain phones are sold unlocked. And if you accept a device that is locked, you lot can get it unlocked from your wireless carrier if you run across certain criteria, which includes paying the total price of your device or catastrophe your contract and existence in skillful standing with your service provider.
Scout this: Top 5 tips for traveling with an offline phone
Complicating factors
So that's the basic gist of how software locks for smartphones work. But things are getting a bit more complicated because now there's a new network technology that's currently used only for data services but volition eventually be used for phonation likewise. That applied science is called LTE. And like GSM, LTE uses a SIM bill of fare.
Only unlike GSM, non all LTE services operate over the same radio frequency. For instance, to evangelize their LTE services, AT&T and Verizon Wireless employ different slivers of spectrum that have different "band plans." This means devices built for AT&T won't operate on Verizon's LTE network and vice versa.
This issue will presently modify as chip manufacturers start including multiple radios on their semiconductors. What's more than, wireless operators will also before long exist incorporating other slivers of spectrum into their LTE networks, which volition overlap with their competitors. When these things all commencement to converge, we'll probable see more interoperability among devices that include back up for the faster-speed LTE services.
Meanwhile, many of the smartphones being built today for Verizon and Sprint also include GSM adequacy on top of CDMA and LTE. If a device as well supports GSM, then it has a SIM carte, which can exist swapped out to access almost whatsoever GSM network.
Recall that in the U.S., Verizon and Dart customers use either a Verizon or Dart CDMA network. The GSM radio is included in these phones so that subscribers can roam onto networks in Europe and other parts of the earth. Verizon and Dart subscribers can choose either to sign up for international roaming plans with their U.S. carrier when they travel, or, if they can get their devices unlocked, they can bandy out the SIM, put in a SIM carte from a local provider, and become new service that way.
Verizon 4G LTE devices are unlocked out of the box
One matter to note hither in terms of software phone locks is that all Verizon 4G LTE smartphones come unlocked out of the box. The reason why is that the spectrum Verizon is using to build its 4G LTE network had restrictions put on it by the Federal Communications Commission, which required the visitor to permit "open access" to the network. So as part of this provision, Verizon has decided not to lock those devices. That said, its 3G devices are locked.
So what does this mean for the average consumer? Let's take the iPhone 5 equally an instance. It'south a 4G LTE device. A Verizon version of this phone comes unlocked out of the box. There aren't special codes that need to be entered in guild to use it on another carrier'south network. But considering of the spectrum differences I mentioned above, a Verizon iPhone 5 won't operate on AT&T'southward LTE network. It will operate on AT&T's 3G network, which is based on GSM. Then this means you can use the Verizon iPhone on AT&T, but you won't get the fastest Internet speeds on it.
The aforementioned is truthful if you take the Verizon iPhone 5 to Europe. You lot can swap out the SIM card and put in some other carrier'due south SIM carte, only the device will operate only on a GSM-based 3G network. And information technology won't operate on a faster LTE network.
And fifty-fifty though the telephone is unlocked and uses the same CDMA technology and some of the same radio frequency channels as Dart, an unlocked iPhone five won't operate on Sprint.
Answering your specific questions
What are the explicit differences between a locked and unlocked phone?
The divergence between a locked and an unlocked telephone is that a locked device has a software code on it that prevents yous from taking a GSM-based device and using it on another GSM carrier'south network. An unlocked phone either doesn't have the lock software on it or someone was able to become a code that unlocks the software. Once a device is unlocked, you lot can pop out the SIM carte du jour and put in a different SIM from another GSM operator and get service. Retrieve that this issue of locked and unlocked phones today is actually only relevant when y'all're talking nigh devices fabricated for GSM networks. It doesn't really apply to CDMA-only devices or for swapping out SIM cards for LTE networks. Every bit I explained above, most carriers use different frequencies and band plans for their LTE networks, then fifty-fifty without a software lock on the device, information technology however won't operate on these networks. That volition shortly change, but for now don't look unlocked LTE devices to perform at top speeds on whatever other carrier'south LTE network.
Why is the iPhone treated differently by carriers relative to other phones?
In the past, the iPhone was treated differently than other devices when information technology came to lock codes. For instance, AT&T was happy to unlock whatsoever other phone you lot endemic, but according to its policy, the iPhone could never exist unlocked. The reason for this was because AT&T didn't desire people ownership the popular phone and going to another carrier, whether that was T-Mobile or an overseas operator. So to control how and where the device was used, it refused to unlock it.
That's changed. Now AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint allow people unlock any smartphone so long as they've met the carrier'southward unlocking criteria. Commonly, this means the telephone is fully paid for and the customers are no longer on a contract. And they have to be customers in "good standing" for a certain period of time.
How do Verizon's and AT&T's lock policies chronicle to each other?
Is a Verizon unlock the aforementioned as an AT&T unlock? As I explained above, Verizon has a slightly different unlock policy for its newer 4G LTE phones, which was born out of an FCC requirement. The spectrum AT&T uses for its 4G LTE network and for its 3G HSPA and HSPA+ network don't have the same requirements, and so every device sold by AT&T or for use on AT&T'southward network has a software lock on it.
Also, equally I've mentioned, you lot can get a special code to unlock the software from AT&T so long every bit you come across the company's requirements. The same is true if y'all have a Verizon 3G device that supports GSM network technology. But if you take an LTE device from Verizon, you don't need an unlock lawmaking. The device is already unlocked.
The AT&T code is not the aforementioned every bit the Verizon code. So if your device is locked, you lot must get the advisable unlock code from your carrier, or if yous are getting the code elsewhere, you should specify which carrier network your device is affiliated with.
Another way to get an unlocked phone is to buy one that's specifically advertised as unlocked. For instance, Google's Nexus series of smartphones come unlocked. They're built and configured in such a way as to allow whatever GSM SIM to be used in them. The international unlocked version of the iPhone is also sold without a lock. And once more it tin can exist used on any GSM network. (This means that neither the Nexus serial phones nor the unlocked iPhone tin be used on Verizon or Sprint'south CDMA voice or information networks.)
Your vacation dilemma
Equally for what yous should do while you're on vacation in Minnesota, so long as your iPhone is unlocked and supports GSM, you should be able to use an AT&T SIM card in it. And so use the existing SIM carte du jour yous've used in the by or purchase a prepaid SIM from AT&T and popular it into your unlocked iPhone.
As I said, the iPhone 5 on Verizon is already unlocked out of the box. Then you should be able to apply whatever AT&T SIM card in that device and get service. If you want to do this on the cheap, make sure you plow off all the data functions on the iPhone, and you'll just be able to use the vox network.
The iPhone 4S is not a 4G LTE device, and so if you own this device from Verizon, you'll have to get an unlock code from Verizon in lodge to unlock it. I would telephone call a Verizon client service agent and tell her you're going out of the country on vacation and yous want to use a local SIM card. She'll tell you the requirements for getting your phone unlocked. And if you have met the advisable criteria, the agent should provide you with the code and instructions for unlocking.
I hope I answered your questions and helped you ameliorate sympathise the differences between locked and unlocked devices.
Skillful luck!
Can I bring a Samsung GS4 to Virgin Mobile?
Dear Maggie,
Virgin Mobile is not offering the Samsung Milky way S4 yet. Volition I have a problem connecting/using a GS4 if I buy it from the secondary market?
Thanks,
Mike
Dear Mike,
I'm sorry to tell you, but the reply to your question is yes. Virgin Mobile is a prepaid brand owned and operated by Dart. And Sprint is a CDMA wireless operator. As I explained as part of my above answer to the question nearly locked and unlocked phones, CDMA devices don't have the same flexibility in terms of device portability as GSM phones.
And then even if you purchase an "unlocked" GS4 on the secondary market, it will work only on a GSM network. It won't work on Virgin's CDMA network. The main reason is because that unlocked GS4 doesn't have a CDMA radio that will connect to the Virgin network.
Sadly, even if you were able to get your hands on a Sprint Samsung GS4, it still wouldn't work on Virgin's network. This is actually something that as a consumer I observe maddening. As I said above, Virgin is owned and operated by Sprint. It uses Dart's 3G wireless network that'due south based on CDMA, so technically in that location's no reason why a phone made for Dart shouldn't piece of work on Virgin's network.
Simply because of software locks and how the phones are provisioned for each network, Virgin Mobile customers are restricted from using Dart devices on a Virgin service. Sprint launched a new program in March that lets customers employ their old Dart devices on other mobile virtual network operators that employ the Sprint network, just the program does not work for Virgin Mobile customers.
There is a chance that you may find a tech specialist who may offer to unlock a Sprint so it works on Virgin, but a Dart spokeswoman cautioned the phone may non part completely on Virgin's network.
"For instance, voice services may function," she said in an email. "Although many other features and services may not and system and network updates may become problematic over time."
Boost is another prepaid make owned past Dart. Like Virgin Mobile, most of Sprint'south phones won't work on this network. Merely there are select Sprint devices that tin be activated on Boost's network. The normal reactivation fee associated with Heave used phones will apply, the spokeswoman said.
I hope this was helpful. Practiced luck.
CORRECTION August 19, 2013: A previous version of this commodity incorrectly stated that Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile participate in Dart'due south Bring Your Own Device program for MVNOs. Virgin Mobile and Heave Mobile are wholly owned subsidiaries of Sprint. Dart does not permit its used devices to be used on Virgin Mobile. Only select Sprint devices can be used on Heave Mobile. The story has been corrected
Enquire Maggie is an communication column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offer readers a double dosage of Enquire Maggie's advice. If you take a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-postal service at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And delight put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You lot can besides follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.
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Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/confused-about-locked-vs-unlocked-phones-ask-maggie-explains/
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