Starting February 1.All Four Major US Carriers Will Let You SIM Unlock Your Phone.Se2L8vI/U3dyhHEVy-I/AAAAAAAAAcg/9OjvWE6TuVw/s1600/Samsung+Galaxy+Note+Root+Tutorial+ss+1.jpg' alt='Verizon Galaxy Nexus Aio Root With Roms Download' title='Verizon Galaxy Nexus Aio Root With Roms Download' />If youve ever gone to a foreign country with a carrier branded phone, or tried to use that phone on a different operator in the US, youve probably encountered the problem many have its locked.While most carriers did honor unlock requests in the past, or sell their handsets unlocked like Verizon, mostly, there was no universal policy on the practice in America.As of February 1.CTIA basically, the wireless industrys special interest group is laying out a set of phone unlocking that is, SIMnetwork unlocking principles that AT T, Verizon, T Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular will abide by in the wake of the congressional un banning of phone unlocking.If youre interested in phone unlocking itself, Ive got information on that at the end of this article.This first part is just about what the CTIAs new policy will mean for the process of unlocking your phone in America.The FCC has a good guide on the CTIAs changes right here, but Ive tried to condense that down into a more digestible and practical format for you below.The latest PC gaming hardware news, plus expert, trustworthy and unbiased buying guides.If youve been a CyanogenMod fan all your life, then Lineage OS is the way to go now.Lineage OS is the new standard for all custom ROMs out there.From my experience verizon cdma phones are worth more than sprint but not more than gsm phones.Also some tmobile phones are worth more than most phones because their.What is the definition of unlocked here As far as I can tell, the CTIA means 1.SIM unlocking. Carriers like Sprint that historically had offered unlocking only for international travel but still restricting domestic usage now must fully unlock their devices for domestic use, as well.The exception is Sprint phones launched before February 1.AT T, T Mobile, Verizon, or any other domestic network.Where can I find individual carriers unlocking polices Can I unlock my phone immediately on February 1.Only if the phone is paid off or your contract term is completed and your account is in good standing.If youre currently on an installment plan to pay off your phone Next, JUMP, Edge, Easy Pay, your carrier is not obligated to unlock the phone until all installments are paid in full.If you bought your phone on a subsidized 2 year service agreement, the carrier doesnt have to unlock it until that 2 year period is up or you terminate the contract and pay an ETF.Oh, and even if you are eligible, carriers have 4.How do I know when I can unlock my phoneThe new policy requires carriers to provide you notice when the phone is eligible for unlocking, and do so in a clear way.Yes, that language is hazy, and some carriers are loathe to provide anyone obvious notice that theyre no longer obligated to be their customer anymore.The other catch is that if youre a prepaid subscriber, the carrier only has to let you know when the phone can be unlocked at the time of sale, no future notices are required.Can I somehow unlock my phone before its eligible If you ask very nicely, its always possible a carrier will give you the benefit of the doubt especially if youre a multi line or business subscriber.And even if they wont, there are services on the web offering paid unlocking services for most GSM T Mobile, AT T carrier branded smartphones.Costs range anywhere from 1.I wont recommend any, because there are so many out there.Unlocking services for Verizon or Sprint devices are harder to find and generally more expensive.Will my phone unlock automatically when it becomes eligibleOnly Sprint has gone so far as to say they will automatically unlock phones after the contract or installment plan is fulfilled fine print phone must have been sold after February 2.All other providers require you to submit a request.Again, most Verizon devices are SIM unlocked out of the box, but the few that arent will require contacting Verizon.AT T, T Mobile, and US Cellular all require requests for unlocking, but T Mobile ships an app on its newer phones specifically to unlock the device that should work at the time it becomes eligible, so its only a request in the technical sense.Can I be charged for unlocking a device Only if you are not currently a customer of the carrier which you are petitioning to unlock a phone.Then, the carrier may charge a reasonable yay vagueness fee to unlock the device.We dont have pricing for these services yet, and we dont know which carriers will charge for it.The good news is that the new rules require the carriers unlock eligible phones not a bad IMEI, payments fulfilled regardless of whether you are or were their customer, they just can charge you for the privilege.What about prepaid customersAll of the big fours prepaid brands are participating in this new policy.That means AT T Go.Phone, T Mobile Prepaid, Metro.PCS, Verizon Prepaid, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Sprint Prepaid.However, the requirements for prepaid customers are different.Prepaid phones must be unlockable after 1 year from purchase before that is fine, too, but carriers can add requirements that the phone has been used with a paid account during that time.The requirements need to be reasonable, but thats about as clear as mud.Which carrier has the best most consumer friendly unlocking policy Verizon, surprisingly.Almost all of Verizons modern phones are sold SIM unlocked out of the box, and work with GSM carriers around the world, and even on AT T and T Mobile though T Mobile HSPA coverage may be poor.Which carrier has the worst unlocking policy AT T, unsurprisingly.AT T requires consumers submit an online request to unlock a device, with their phone number, IMEI number, the account holders first and last name, the last 4 of your SSN, your AT T account password, email address, and just to insult you a bit a captcha.If you have more questions, Im happy to add them to this article and answer to the best of my abilities.As to the basics of device SIM unlocking and what it does and how it works, here are some primers.Can I used an unlocked X phone on Y network Short answer with 3.G HSPA, maybe With LTELess likely.In regard to 3. G connectivity, the answer is generally yes if youre bringing any other carriers unlocked phone to AT T or T Mobile.Even Sprint phones sold today generally have full HSPA compatibility with AT T and most of T Mobile.If youre trying to bring an off network phone to Sprint or Verizon, the answer is generally no, unless youre talking about a Nexus 6 or an i.Phone 6, though with Sprint the latter still wont work.In regards to LTE, there is extremely little cross compatibility among the big four carriers in America.The only band I know of with compatible adoption is 1.MHz PCS Band 2, which AT T, T Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon all use, but its highly geographical and theres precious little overlap yet.T Mobile and Verizon also share 1.Band 4, so theres overlap there, too.The other issue is that AT T and T Mobile phones still dont generally work on Sprint or Verizon again, i.Phone 6 and Nexus 6 aside, because Sprint and Verizon still require legacy CDMA support on their devices.What phone is the best for moving between different carriers or around the world For domestic carrier switching, its the Nexus 6, hands down.The Nexus 6 will work on all four major carriers LTE and 3.G networks right out of the box, something the i.Phone 6 cant even do.Oddly, Sprints i.Phone 6 once unlocked is the best for international travel because its the same model sold in Europe, and has tons of European, Asian, and Middle Eastern LTE support.Sprints i. Phone 6 doesnt work on AT T, Verizon, or T Mobiles LTE, though it should work on ATTT Mo 3.G, however, and the other thing to consider is that many foreign carriers dont offer prepaid LTE SIMs at this time, so youd have to actually be a post paid subscriber or roaming to take advantage of that band support.In reality, being an AT T customer is the better bet if you want true international LTE they have the roaming agreements, and no one else does at this point.OK, whats the best Android phone for international travelHonestly, theyre all pretty similar here.The first thing to know is that LTE roaming agreements between US and international carriers are basically nonexistent right now unless youre talking about AT T, who has over 2. Cv Templates Download Microsoft Word . T Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint, as far as I can tell, have a grand total of zero.However, almost any Android phone you buy today has the standard GSM HSPA compatibility that includes the worlds most popular set of frequencies.
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