当您从运营商处购买手机时，您可能会被一个很好的合同(contract deal)交易所吸引，但很有可能该交易有一些细则，将您的手机锁定在您购买它 的网络提供商。(network provider)
这意味着如果您尝试切换到其他网络提供商(network provider)，您的手机将无法拨打电话或使用数据服务。好消息是，您通常只需使用解锁电话代码(unlock phone code)即可解锁这些手机。我们将介绍这些解锁代码、如何免费获得您的代码以及如何解锁手机。但首先有一些重要的事情你应该知道。
解锁手机合法吗？(Is Unlocking Your Phone Legal?)
与往常一样，当涉及法律问题时，由您来确定您居住的地方是否合法。每个国家/地区都有自己的消费者法来管理诸如解锁手机之类的事情。
在美国(United) ，(States)只要您的手机已全额还清或您已支付合同终止费(termination fee)，您就有权解锁。换句话说，如果您完全拥有您的手机，那么您解锁手机是合法的。
这就是解锁代码进入图片的地方。好吧(Well)，也许不是马上。
您可能不需要代码(You Might Not Need a Code)
与其尝试自己获取代码并独立解锁手机，不如先让运营商上线并要求他们为您解锁手机或指导您完成整个过程。这是一个好方法，因为他们可以确认您是否有合法的解锁资格。
如果您符合条件，至少在美国，运营商有义务免费解锁您的手机。(USA)所以继续给他们打电话。
为了让您更轻松，以下是美国四大运营商解锁资格检查的直接链接：
这些应该是您解锁手机自由(phone freedom)之旅的第一站。
Unlock Codes Usually Cost Money, But Free Codes Exist!
如果由于某种原因无法直接从运营商(carrier isn)处获得帮助，您将需要一个解锁码。(unlock code.This)这可能是因为您购买了使用过的手机，或者可能已经搬到另一个国家。
无论(Regardless)您为什么需要解锁手机，大多数在线代码提供商都希望您从您那里获得一点钱来获得特权。再一次，在美国(USA)，运营商有义务解锁符合条件的手机的手机，所以请先与他们交谈。
一个受欢迎的网站是FreeUnlocks，它通过与TrialPay合作提供第一个免费代码。可悲的是，我们看到的所有其他选项都只提供付费服务或所谓的免费选项，结果证明是诈骗或垃圾邮件。因此，就目前而言，FreeUnlocks和询问您的运营商似乎是唯一不错的免费选择。
但是，如果您愿意花一点钱，UnlockRadar、Unlock Arena和Dr SIM等网站确实提供了无风险服务。
解锁的局限性
当涉及到诸如“解锁”、“生根”、“越狱”等术语以及与修改手机相关的其他术语时，一些用户会感到有些困惑，以便它可以完成开箱即用无法完成的事情。
“解锁”您的手机仅意味着它现在可以与兼容网络上的任何运营商合作。这并不意味着它将与任何网络上的任何运营商合作。如果您的手机没有(phone doesn)与特定网络通信的硬件，那么再多的软件设置和调整都无法改变这一点。
“root”你的手机意味着获得对该手机的root访问权限，这样你就可以用它做几乎任何你想做的事情。例如在其上加载您自己的Android版本并摆脱运营商的臃肿软件(carrier bloatware)。“生根”一词仅用于Android手机。您可以在我们关于该主题的文章中阅读更多关于植根的信息。
“越狱”是用于Apple设备的术语，与生根有所不同。当您在Android中获得 root 访问权限时，您将打开设备的全部原生功能。当您越狱 iOS 设备时，您将删除本不该被取消的限制。这允许用户以Apple(Apple)肯定不赞成的方式运行软件或修改iOS 体验。(iOS experience)
换句话说，当您解锁手机时，您不会获得任何生根或越狱的好处。如果出现问题，这些是单独的过程，会给安全甚至您的设备带来严重风险。
如何使用代码解锁手机
拥有解锁码后，没有通用的方法可以输入解锁码(unlock code)。确切的过程将根据您拥有的手机的品牌和型号而有所不同。(make and model)这意味着，如果您没有收到包含代码的说明，您应该谷歌您的手机型号(phone model)和解锁代码过程(code procedure)。
例如，让我们看看Apple 和 Samsung 设备(Apple and Samsung devices)。Apple设备由您的运营商远程解锁，并且没有代码。因此，您所要做的就是等待确认您的手机已解锁的电子邮件或其他消息。然后，插入新SIM后，您将完成iCloud 和您的Apple ID的正常(Apple ID)Apple 设置(Apple setup)过程。
在三星设备(Samsung device)上，您只需要代码本身。当您从手机锁定的运营商之外的运营商插入SIM 卡(SIM)时，系统会提示您输入解锁码。只需输入(Just type)它就可以了。
考虑购买解锁手机
虽然大多数购买锁定手机的人都有很多动机（或者根本不知道更好），但您应该认真考虑在下次购买新手机时立即购买解锁手机。这确实意味着必须预先支付手机(handset upfront)的全部价格，但它确实让您可以自由地立即更改您的运营商或与不同的运营商同时制定计划。
例如，如果您还购买了双 SIM 卡电话，则可以将一张SIM 卡(SIM)专用于具有高语音资费的运营商和另一张具有廉价数据的 SIM 卡。这也意味着如果您经常旅行，您可以更轻松地适应不同级别的覆盖范围。如果您在海外旅行，您甚至可以暂时使用您所访问国家/地区兼容网络提供商的(network provider)SIM 卡，而无需向当地运营商支付天文数字的漫游费。(SIM card)
与合同相比，这似乎是一笔更糟糕的交易，而且可能是！但是，将运营商合同(carrier contract)的总成本与直接购买手机(handset outright)然后使用预付费语音和数据计划(voice and data plan)的总成本进行比较。在许多情况下，您可能会发现，在合同期限内，您可以通过解锁路线来省钱。
How To Unlock a Phone With Free Unlock Phone Codes
When you buy a phone frоm a cаrrier, you might be tempted by a great contract deal, but there’s a good chance the deаl has some fine print that locks your handset to the network provider yоu bought it from.
That means if you try to switch to a different network provider, your phone simply can’t make calls or use data services. The good news is that you can usually unlock these phones by simply using an unlock phone code. We’ll be covering these unlock codes, how you can get yours for free, and how to unlock a phone. But first there are some important things you should know.
Is Unlocking Your Phone Legal?
As always, when it comes to legal issues, it’s up to you to determine if something is legal where you live. Each country will have its own consumer laws that govern things like unlocking your phone.
In the United States, you are entitled to an unlock, as long as your handset has been paid off completely or you’ve paid the termination fee on your contract. In other words, if you own your handset outright, it’s legal for you to unlock your phone.
Which is where unlock codes come into the picture. Well, perhaps not immediately.
You Might Not Need a Code
Instead of trying to get a code yourself and unlocking your phone independently, it’s a good idea to first get the carrier on the line and ask them to unlock the handset for you or guide you through the process. This is a good method, because they can confirm whether you are legally eligible for an unlock.
If you are eligible, in the USA at least, carriers are obliged to unlock your handset for free. So go ahead and give them a call.
To make things a little easier for you, here are the direct links for unlock eligibility checks for the four major US carriers:
These should be your first stop on the journey to unlocked phone freedom.
Unlock Codes Usually Cost Money, But Free Codes Exist!
If, for some reason, getting help directly from the carrier isn’t possible, you’ll need an unlock code.This could be because you’ve bought the handset used or perhaps have moved to another country.
Regardless of why you need to unlock a phone, most of the online providers of codes want a little money from you for the privilege. Once again, in the USA carriers are obligated to unlock the phones of eligible handsets, so please do speak to them first.
One popular site is FreeUnlocks, which offers the first code free through a partnership with TrialPay. Sadly, all of the other options we looked at only offer a paid service or so-called free options turned out to be scams or spam. So, for now, FreeUnlocks and asking your carrier seem to be the only good free options.
However, if you are willing to pay a bit of money, sites like UnlockRadar, Unlock Arena and Dr SIM do offer a risk-free service.
The Limitations Of Unlocking
There’s some confusion among some users when it comes to terms such as “unlocking”, “rooting”, “jailbreaking” and other terms that relate to modifying a phone so that it does things it can’t do out of the box.
“Unlocking” your phone simply means it can now work with any carrier on a compatible network. It does not mean that it will work with any carrier on any network. If your phone doesn’t have the hardware to communicate with a specific network, no amount of software settings and tweaks will change that.
“Rooting” your phone means getting root access to that phone, so that you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. Such as loading your own version of Android on it and getting rid of carrier bloatware. The term “rooting” is only used in relation to Android phones. You can read more about rooting in our article on the subject.
“Jailbreaking” is a term used for Apple devices and differs somewhat from rooting. When you get root access in Android, you are opening up the full native powers of the device. When you jailbreak an iOS device, you remove restrictions that were never meant to be taken away. This lets users run software or modify the iOS experience in ways that Apple certainly does not approve of.
In other words, when you unlock your phone, you aren’t going to get any of the benefits of rooting or jailbreaking. These are separate processes with serious risks to security or even your device, if things go wrong.
How To Unlock a Phone With a Code
There is no universal method to enter an unlock code once you have it. The exact process will differ depending on the make and model of the phone you have. Which means that, if you don’t receive instructions with your code, you should Google your phone model and the unlock code procedure.
As an example, let’s look at Apple and Samsung devices. Apple devices are unlocked remotely by your carrier and there’s no code. So all you have to do is wait for the email or other message confirming that your handset has been unlocked. Then, after inserting a new SIM, you’ll go through the normal Apple setup process for iCloud and your Apple ID.
On a Samsung device, you only need the code itself. When you insert a SIM from a carrier outside the one your phone is locked to, you’ll be prompted for an unlock code. Just type it in and off you go.
Consider Buying Unlocked Handsets
While most people who buy locked handsets are motivated by a great deal (or simply don’t know any better) you should seriously consider buying an unlocked handset right off the bat the next time you get a new phone. This does mean having to pay the entire price of the handset upfront, but it does give you the freedom to change your carrier immediately or have concurrent plans with different carriers.
If you also buy a dual-sim phone, you can have one SIM dedicated to a carrier with great voice tariffs and another with cheap data, as one example. It also means you can more easily adapt to varying levels of coverage if you travel often. If you’re travelling overseas, you can even temporarily use the SIM card of a compatible network provider in the country you’re visiting, without paying astronomical roaming fees to your local carrier.
It might seem like a worse deal compared to a contract, and it might be! However, compare the total cost of the carrier contract against the total cost of buying a handset outright and then using a prepaid voice and data plan. In many cases you might find over the course of a contract’s length you could save money by going the unlocked route.
