There’s been a recent surge in the unlocked GSM mobile phone market. But, for the most part, you would have to pay your carrier or a third party retailer to get you some unlocking codes or to actually unlock the handset for you. Another possibility would be to buy a whole new phone outright. But that can be prohibitively expensive, as there is no carrier subsidy.
It is a lesser known idea that you can simply unlock a phone all by yourself (depending on your particular handset model and manufacturer)! Wikipedia says that Cingular and Tmobile offers free unlock codes to customers who have been subscribed for 3, or more, months. Some phones will require direct unlocking through the use of a special cable or a special machine, we will talk more about that later. But many phones can be unlocked by keying in a simple little code into your phone. Let’s take a look at how this works….
First lets gather some information on your phone:
Phone make and model –
Who made your phone? Which model is it? Don’t know?
IMEI number –
This number can usually be found under your battery cover, sometimes under the battery itself. This number is essentially the serial number for the phone and can be easily retrieved from the phone itself by dialing in the appropriate code – *#06#.
Provider code –
This is a code that identifies the particular carrier that you are currently using. Find your US carrier code here. UK users can check this list. And everyone else can go here.
(Additional phones will be added as we compile information on other phones)
For Nokia phones:
DCT4: 1100, 1101, 1110, 1600, 2100, 2300, 2600, 2650, 2652, 3100, 3120, 3200, 3220, 3210, 3230, 3300, 3310, 3330, 3410, 3510, 3510i, 3650, 3660, 5100, 5110, 5130, 5140, 5146, 5210, 5510, 6020, 6021, 6030, 6100, 6101, 6110, 6111, 6130, 6150, 6170, 6210, 6220, 6230, 6230i, 6250, 6260, 6310, 6310i, 6510, 6600, 6610, 6610i, 6650, 6670, 6800, 6810, 6820, 6822, 7110, 7200, 7210, 7250, 7250i, 7260, 7270, 7280 7600, 7610, 7650, 7700, 7710, 8210, 8310, 8800, 8810, 8850, 8890, 8910, 8910i, 9110, 9110i, 9210, 9210i, 9300, 9300i, 9500, and N-Gage, N-Gage QD
If you see your phone on this list, you can unlock your phone.
Download this unlock code calculator. Unizip the file to wherever you want (preferably your Desktop).
Step 1-
Run the "DCT4 Calculator 1.4.exe" program by double-clicking it. ,
Step 2 –
Enter your IMEI number in the appropriate field. In the MCC+MNC field you will enter your provider code. Then select your country and provider using the drop down boxes. Select a lock type (choose "Type 2" unless you are unlocking a Nokia 7650 or 3650 in which case, choose "Type 5"). Make sure that the check box for "v2 codes" is checked. You will get 7 unlock codes.
Step 3 –
Remove the SIM card from your phone!
Step 4 –
Start by keying in the last (7#) code. Again, make sure you have removed the SIM card. If this code fails, try the first code in the list (1#). Any one of the codes should work to unlock the phone, but sometimes it takes a couple tries. But you only get five tries, so be extra careful (see warning below).
Step 5 –
Enjoy your new unlocked phone on any GSM network in the world! Of course you will need a SIM card for that network, but now your phone will work with that SIM card.
WARNING: YOU ONLY GET FIVE (5) CODE ENTRIES BEFORE YOU CAN NO LONGER UNLOCK YOUR PHONE. If you enter the incorrect code 5 times, you will recieve an error message and will no longer be able to unlock by simply entering codes. For this reason, it is IMPORTANT that you correctly enter you IMEI number (as well as your Provider information).
For Nokia phones:
DCT3: 2100, 3210, ,3310, 3330, 3410, 402, 5110, 5210, 5510, 6110, 6150, 6210, 6250, 7110, 8210, 8250, 8850, 8890 (and US variants)
If you see your phone on this list, you can unlock your phone.
Download this unlock code calculator. Unizip the file to wherever you want (preferrably your Desktop).
Step 1-
Run the "DCT3 codes client " program by double-clicking it.
Step 2 –
Enter your IMEI number in the appropriate field.
Step 3 –
Enter your provider code in the "Network" box
Step 4 –
Click on "Lock 1" button.
Step 5 –
Jot down or take note of the code that you are given.
Step 6 –
Remove the SIM card from your phone!
Step 7 –
Start by keying in entire code. Again, make sure you have removed the SIM card. But you only get five tries, so be extra careful (see warning below).
Step 8 –
Enjoy your new unlocked phone on any GSM network in the world! Of course you will need a SIM card for that network, but now your phone will work with that SIM card.
WARNING: YOU ONLY GET FIVE (5) CODE ENTRIES BEFORE YOU CAN NO LONGER UNLOCK YOUR PHONE. If you enter the incorrect code 5 times, you will recieve an error message and will no longer be able to unlock by simply entering codes. For this reason, it is IMPORTANT that you correctly enter you IMEI number (as well as your Provider information).
For Motorola P2K Phones:
So far only the following models can be unlocked using this software:
v80, v220, e380, c450, c550, c650
Make sure you remove your SIM card prior to entering flash mode on the phone. There is no need to gather any data from these phones, the software will take care of that
Step 1 –
First remove your SIM card.
Step 2 –
Turn your phone off
Step 3 –
Plug in the data cable and connect your phone to your computer.
Step 4 –
Enter the flash mode of the phone by pressing the following buttons simultaneously: *, #, "Power button". You should be pressing three buttons simultaneously, no more, no less.
Step 5 –
Open the Motorola Unlocker Software.
Step 6 –
Click "Connect Rfone"
Step 7 –
Click "Yes’
Step 8 –
You will see a "Done!" prompt indicating a successful unlock. If you dont see this, make sure you have all the drivers for your p2k phone. Once all drivers are installed, repeat this process.
If you can’t see your phone or you get a message saying that your Rfone cannot be detected, again, make sure you have the appropriate drivers. Also its important to be in flash mode, Step 3 must be done correctly.