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The two most popular cell phone technologies today are CDMA and GSM; a locked cell phone that uses CDMA carrier cannot be unlocked, while this is not necessarily the case for a GSM phone.

However, let’s define locked cell phone: the locked cell phone is “tied up” to a certain cell phone provider and cannot be used with a different one, unless it gets unlocked. The providers lock the phones in order to ensure their customers loyalty; the consumer will gladly buy a locked phone since they are usually much cheaper and you can even get a free phone with certain plans. As with everything else, there are pros and cons: once your phone is locked, you cannot switch providers before the end of your contract and in some cases even after that. The dissatisfaction of many consumers with the whole concept has led to a class action suit by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) in California in 2004.

A locked cell phone that uses GSM technology can become unlocked: in many instances this is only possible after the expiration of the contract. Yet again, it depends on way too many factors: the carrier, the model of the phone and the contract that you have signed. Since a locked cell phone can only be unlocked if you know a specific code, you will have to contact your carrier and ask them to reveal that code to you: some carriers will do just that, others will never give you the code and some will only do so under certain circumstances.

Unlocking your cell phone by using third party services is illegal in many countries, which is why you should do so only if you are certain that you are not breaking the law. The Internet offers a vast pool of information on how to turn a locked cell phone into unlocked, but keep in mind that attempting to do that on your own might render your cell phone useless. Unlocking calculators for certain brands of cell phones can also be found quite easily online; many websites offer such services either for free or for a small fee. Keep in mind that if you attempt to unlock your phone and enter the wrong code one too many times, it might get “hard locked” and you will have to take it to a service location.

However, even if you manage to turn your locked cell phone into an unlocked one, you might lose some services and features that you have gotten accustomed to like your GPS for example.

It is generally a pretty good idea to plan ahead and decide if you want to purchase a locked cell phone on a first place; unlocking it might be impossible, difficult or costly. Unlocked cell phones are in general quite a bit more expensive, which is why if you want to get the latest model at a very reasonable price and you don’t mind singing up a two year contract, then you might opt in for a locked cell phone.

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Most cell phones are sold by the service providers and they are “locked,” which means that the cell phone can only be used with that specific provider. This makes it impossible to switch between providers or use your phone while traveling overseas without paying for roaming services. Singing up a two year contract most certainly has its advantages since you are most likely getting a very cheap cell phone and good rates, but if another provider comes up with a much better offer, you can’t use a locked phone and simply switch to their services.

The unlocked cell phones, on the other hand, give you a great freedom of choice: you can use whichever provider you like or you can purchase a prepaid SIM card, if they are available in your country. The unlocked cell phones are usually sold by third party retailers or the phone manufacturers themselves; in fact many phone models are only sold unlocked.

You can also buy unlocked cell phones online – thousands of web sites and online shops sell unlocked cell phones and the prices can be quite good too; this is mainly due to the fact that the online shops don’t have to pay a lease in the mall or pay salaries to sales staff. Of course, when shopping online you should take a few precautions: you should purchase unlocked cell phones only from reputable and established sites, make sure that they offer at least some guarantee on your purchases and always keep in mind the posting and packaging costs before making any final decisions. If the phone is being shipped from another country, you might be liable for custom duty as well.

However, you will have to be aware that not all unlocked cell phones work with all providers; most providers use GSM technology, but they might use different frequency that is not supported by the phone that you have purchased. In most cases, though, all you have to do is purchase the unlocked phone, insert the SIM card in, and you are good to go.

Another difference between unlocked cell phones and the locked ones is that the latter usually come with a few extra services that are part of your contract and that you don’t have to pay for. If you have a locked phone, Web access and GPS might cost you nothing, but with your unlocked phone you might have to pay extra for them.

One more advantage of buying unlocked cell phones is that they are much easier to sell; in case you decide to buy the latest model that has just been released, you can easily sell your old unlocked cell phone since it is not tied up to any specific provider.

Owning an unlocked phone has certainly its advantages, which is why the regulations in many countries, especially in the EU have been changed to make switching between providers or at least unlocking the cell phones after the end of a contract much easier process.

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