Who is Participating?
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular will adopt the new standards on February 11, 2015. From then on, you’ll be able to call your carrier and say, Hey! I want to unlock my phone! And they’ll comply. The wireless provider will abide by the following standards regarding customers’ abilities. Former customers and individual owners of eligible devices unlock phones, tablets, and mobile wireless devices that are locked by or at the direction of the carrier.
Then you can take your phone, sign up for service on any other carrier. Or pop in a SIM when visiting another country. It’ll work as long as your phone is compatible with the network.
How Do I Unlock My Phone?
Sprint AT&T Verizon T-Mobile U.S. Cellular
What if I’m a Pre Paid Customer?
MetroS, Verizon Prepaid, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, Sprint Prepaid, T-Mobile Prepaid, and AT&T’s Go are all required by law to participate in this massive unlocking initiative. Their prepaid phones are sold unlocked. But are otherwise eligible for unlocking a year after the device was purchased, provided, You had an active account. The law states that requirements must be reasonable and fits within those parameters.
Why Should I Unlock My Phone?
The better question is, why wouldn’t you unlock your phone? Gartner Principal Research Analyst, Bill Menezes, agrees that there’s no good reason not to. Not only does it increase your flexibility in changing carriers. But it also allows you to more easily do things like buy a prepaid international SIM, when you’re traveling abroad. Or even switch from a postpaid to a prepaid service if that works better for you. Remember that your phone or tablet may be incompatible with particular brand carrier-specific features. Thus you may not be able to take your device to a particular network. For instance, a Verizon-exclusive phone like the Motorola Droid Turbo is incompatible with Sprint’s E-network. Like, T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi calling capabilities are built into the system of certain handsets. You purchase directly from T-Mobile. To take advantage of that feature, you’ll want to stick with a T-Mobile-sold device. In short, please Take advantage of the opportunity to unlock your device. But do your research before taking it to another carrier or country. You’ll save yourself a ton of headaches, and in the end, you’ll take full advantage of your device’s newfound freedom.
