Locked vs. unlocked phones – Explained!

Have you ever wondered what it means when a cell carrier says a phone is locked or unlocked? Or maybe you’re looking to figure out if your phone is locked or not, or how to unlock your phone from your current mobile provider.

All great questions, and TextNow has answers for you:

What is a locked phone?

A phone that only works with a specific carrier. For example, a locked phone might only be able to be used on the T-Mobile or Verizon network.  

Another thing to know about locked phones is they are locked individually. So, you might have an iPhone or Android device, and your friend has the exact same model, but yours is unlocked and your friends is locked.

Why do carriers lock phones?

When expensive phones are sold at a discount, also known as subsidizing, carriers do this to lock you into a contract to make their money back (and more) over the lifetime of the contract.  

Carriers also make a lot of money from insurance plans, fees, and extra charges. In order to protect their investment (aka your monthly phone bill), carriers often lock your phone to their network when you purchase from them.

(Otherwise, people would be able to get a brand-new phone at a discounted price and then turn around and use it with another carrier.)

Are there other reasons why my phone could be locked?

Yes! Carriers will lock phones if there’s any unpaid bills or other money owed to the carrier, which usually means you will have to pay your balance with the carrier to get it unlocked.

Also, carriers may lock a phone if it’s been tampered with or modified in some way to abuse the carrier network.

How can I tell if my phone is locked or not?

If you see a carrier logo when you boot up the phone, or you see a carrier logo in the top right of your home screen, there’s a good chance it’s locked to that carrier. If you happen to have another SIM card laying around, pop it into your phone. If the logo changes, try placing a call. If it fails, or you can’t a get a cell signal at all, it is probably locked to the first SIM card’s carrier.

If you don’t have another SIM handy, you can also check your phone’s settings.

For Android:

• Go to the settings menu of your phone.
• Tap on Network & Internet (might also be listed as Mobile Network or Cellular Network)
• Tap on SIMs
• Scroll down to where it says Network.
• Tap on Automatically select Network.

If you see more than one network listed, then your phone is unlocked. If there’s only one, your phone is locked to that network.

For iPhones:

• First go to Settings and then Cellular.  
• If you see a Cellular Data option under the Cellular menu, then your iPhone is unlocked.
• If you don’t see “Cellular Data Network” as an option under Cellular, then the phone is locked.

How do I unlock my phone?

That depends on the carrier. Each carrier has their own way of unlocking. That said every carrier will need a few pieces of info from you before they unlock it:

• Account holder’s name and account number
• IMEI number of your device
• Your phone number

They may also ask for:

• Account holder’s Social Security number or password
• A completed contract and/or device payment plan
• Overseas deployment papers, for military personnel who want to unlock the phone before the contract expires

What’s an IMEI number?

IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. It’s a number that is unique to your phone, and no other phone. It’s sort of like your phone’s birth certificate. The IMEI number is how networks know if your phone is using their network.

Where can I find my IMEI number?

For Android:  Go to Settings > About Phone > Status

For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > About

How can I check to see if my phone can be used on TextNow?

We’re glad you asked! Go to our device checker and enter the IMEI of the phone you’d like to use. If your phone is unlocked, grab a TextNow SIM Card for only 99¢ and start talking and texting as much as you want on a nationwide 5G/LTE network!

Ditch your expensive phone plan and phone smarter with TextNow!