Often times, people are given a cell phone as a present, but they don’t have any way of using it because it is locked. What it means to have a locked cell phone is a phone that is electronically connected to only one service provider. For example, one of the most widely known locked cell phones is the Apple iPhone because it is locked to AT&T. Therefore, if a person doesn’t sign up for AT&T, they are unable to get the Apple iPhone. Naturally, this poses frustrations of people who want that phone.

There are numerous ways to unlock your phone and some are easier than others. The method that you implement all depends on your phone; however, there are some bits of information that are absolutely necessary so that you can get that phone unlocked. When getting ready, gather these four chunks of information:

• Your phone number. This is an obvious one.

• What network you are currently a part of as well as the country it is in.

• The manufacturer of the phone and the model.

• The IMEI number. To access this, you need to type *#06# on your keypad. What you will get is a fifteen digit serial number.

Now that you have all the information necessary to unlock your phone, you can start to get the phone unlocked. There are four different ways that you can get your phone unlocked. The method in which you pick is entirely up to you, though. Here they are:

• Using an unlocking service company: There are companies around the world that specialize in unlocking your phone effectively and efficiently for a small cost.

• Using unlocking equipment: One of the ways that companies try and make extra money is they offer you a phone unlock piece of equipment specific to your phone. They sell it to you for a costly amount, but then you get the unlocked phone. You both benefit.

• Get help from the provider: You can contact your phone provider to get the phone unlocked. Typically, they will do it, but they might charge you an unlocking fee. They may also make you finish up your contract before you can unlock the phone. Finally, once you’ve been unlocked, they’ll give you a code to make it so you can change plans.

• Don’t use the provider: The same codes that you can use to try and unlock the phone can also be found on forums. If you access one of these, you’ll be able to find the right code. There are also pieces of software that go in and figure out the code and unlock the phone. There have been a considerable number of Apple iPhone sites all selling this recently because so many people want it.

Once you have finally unlocked your cell phone, you’re going to have to implement some changes to it. First, you’ll have to reprogram it so that your new service provider is the one giving you a data plan, not the old one. That would have been a waste of money. Secondly, you’ll have to make sure that everything still works. Some companies provide certain perks that only work on their data plans.