When you buy a new mobile phone, you want to use it with any Sim card you want. Phones are generally unlocked when originally manufactured. This way, they can be used with any card you want, from any available provider. Today, most phones feature GSM services in the same frequency bands, therefore clients can easily use them with any carrier they want.
In some cases, the service providers lock the device so that the client cannot use them unless he uses their service. The reasons are practical and completely commercial. Except for the fact that most clients who opt for a particular device will accept any kind of contract in order to get the device they want, the carriers also benefit from the high charges in roaming at their network.

The good news is that you can unlock the phone if you want to. With some devices you just need to enter the right unlocking code and you are done. In some other cases, if you want to unlock the phone you need to use specific codes or more complicated procedures.
- You can use the unlocking code provided by a service company. For a small fee you can get pretty much any phone unlocked easily and quickly.

- You can also buy small and affordable equipment that can unlock any type of phone. Before buying such a device though you need to do some research online, because otherwise it can be quite costly.

- Unlock the phone via your carrier. Although carriers usually don’t accept unlocking, if you call and ask the service, you can actually achieve your goal, although it takes a few weeks. Some carriers charge a fee in order to provide the necessary unlocking code, but if you plan to travel abroad or change a carrier soon, it’s probably worth trying. Some carriers require you to stay on their network for at least 12 more months in order to unlock your device.

- Go online. If you go online you can find some of the unlocking codes for every phone and network available on several sites for free, as many people with the same problem search for the codes.