What is a locked or an unlocked phone?

What is a locked or an unlocked phone?

Outdated or damaged phone? It’s probably time to upgrade to another one.

Two terms that you come across when searching for new or refurbished phones are: ‘locked’ and ‘unlocked’. Choosing between the two for your use is crucial.


Locked Phones:

These are the ones restricted to specific carriers (such as Bell, Rogers, Telus), and cannot be used with other networks. For example, a Bell-locked iPhone cannot be used with Rogers SIM cards (i.e. small storage cards that contain all the information regarding calls, texts and so on.)


Unlocked Phones:

On the contrary, these are the ones not restricted to any carrier and can be used with varied service providers. This provides an advantage to those travelling abroad to switch to the local network of that country.


Other Differences:

Locked and unlocked phones also vary in their type of antennas. Locked phones usually carry antennas that are specific to the carrier, whereas unlocked phones provide more flexibility since various networks similar antennas.


Unlocking Phones

In the event that your phone is locked and you wish to get it unlocked, do so by contacting the carrier. This might be fulfilled only after completely paying-off the phone. Attempting to unlock the phone on your own or with the aid of some third party can be risky and is better if done by experts.

Another important thing is to not confuse ‘jailbreaking’ to unlocking an iPhone. That is a term used to refer to the removal of limitations in the phone’s system to get access to the operating system, that further exposes it to the threat of security breach.

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