How do I know if my phone is unlocked?

Where did you buy it, and how?

First and foremost, mobile carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon want to keep you paying monthly for their service. To do this, they offer discounts for those willing to stay for a couple of years. It's not unusual for a carrier to lock a phone until you pay it off to dissuade you from taking advantage of a discount and changing carriers.

You can't use another carrier's service when a carrier locks a phone. But, if enough time has passed, the carrier will automatically unlock the phone. The unlocking process might last longer than you'd like, but you can enjoy your new phone and service once it's over. You should be able to complete the process quickly.

If you purchased the phone from a carrier, you must also ensure you fully paid for it. If you see a deduction offset by a bill credit for a phone purchase, this is also a sign that the carrier locked the phone. You can also contact customer support to ask how much you still owe for the phone.

Remember that some carriers use buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deals with monthly bill credits to lock customers into a cycle of paying off the phone for the entire term. If you've partaken in one of these promotions, you still have to pay for the phones, and switching to a new carrier could invalidate the bill credits that lowered the phone's price.

After fully paying for your phone, you can unlock it in two ways. First, the carrier unlocks it automatically. But if this doesn't happen, you can always contact your carrier and ask them to unlock it. The carrier can unlock your phone later, but the longer you wait, the greater the chance of you misplacing your information.

If you bought your phone from Amazon or another online retailer, it would list it as unlocked or carrier-specific. Ensure you choose the unlocked version, but you can easily tell which is unlocked since Amazon displays that information in the description. International models will more often than not work with U.S. carriers, but you may not have access to all carrier bands, and 5G support may be weaker than that of U.S. models.

If you buy the phone directly from Samsung, OnePlus, or Asus, it's definitely unlocked. When you buy a phone directly from a manufacturer, you can switch carriers without worrying if your phone is locked. When you buy the phone from an online retailer such as Amazon, ensure that you choose the unlocked version before heading out to checkout.

There's only one foolproof way to check for the rest of the phones: Try it.

How to check if your phone is unlocked

You can use online services to find out if your phone is unlocked by giving them the IMEI. We've got you covered if you're unsure how to find the IMEI. But the downside to these services is that you have to pay for them and they are often wrong. You should skip this method since it puts your phone's security at risk, as hackers could create a duplicate version of your phone, among other things.

Rather, you can call your carrier or the carrier/MVNO you're considering switching. Companies keep a database of IMEI numbers indicating which phones are compatible, unlocked, or blocked. 

You might not have any luck here, though, because the person answering the phone might not be able to give you that information—they either don't have access to it or aren't allowed to tell you over the phone. Nevertheless, it's worth a try if you can't access a SIM card from another carrier.

Inserting a SIM card from another carrier is the easiest way to see if your phone is unlocked. It doesn't have to be a SIM card connected to an active account—the phone will try to initiate a connection with any SIM card in place. For example, a Google Fi SIM card with no active plan displays a "No service" message on an unlocked phone.

If you don't want to buy one or your friend won't let you use theirs, you can also try one from Mint Mobile's free trial offer and get a SIM card.

The process is as follows:

• Call using your current SIM card to check that the phone is working correctly, if possible. (Call your parents to say "hello"; they'll appreciate it.)
  
• Turn off the phone and extract the SIM card. If you're unsure how to do this, look in the manual or online. If you need a SIM card removal tool, there's usually one stuck to the paperwork in your phone's box. A small paper clip may also work if you can't find the tool. You may also want to give it a SIM PIN code first so no one can steal and use your old SIM card.
  
• Put the new SIM card in your phone and power it back on.
  
• If you're greeted with a dialog box telling you to enter a SIM unlock code, your phone is SIM-locked to the carrier from which it was initially purchased.
  
• If you don't see an unlock code prompt, check that it says you have service if you used a valid SIM card. If you do, your phone is probably unlocked. Sometimes, the phone takes a few minutes to configure for a new network, so be patient. Try making another phone call. (Your parents won't mind two calls on the same day.)

If you can't call using the new SIM card, you'll probably get a recorded message with an error code. You can write down the code and Google it to know why you can't call, whether because of a SIM lock or incompatible hardware. A wholly incompatible phone with another network is unlikely nowadays, but it's worth checking.

If you don't have access to another SIM card, you can also take your phone to a carrier store and tell them you want to switch and see if the phone is unlocked. Don't feel bad about telling them you want to switch; they're probably used to it by now. They can help you insert the SIM card and check if the phone is unlocked.

If your phone is SIM-locked, don't worry. Carriers will SIM unlock your phone provided you've paid the total amount of your phone, and your account is in good standing. Each carrier has quirks about how long you need to have the phone and account.

You may request an unlock directly from your phone's settings. T-Mobile has a help page dedicated to showing customers how to do this. If your phone doesn't have this option, you can also download the T-Mobile Device Unlocker app for Pixel users. 

AT&T also has an unlocker app and a website to request unlocks. Depending on your device, the unlocking process might take a little time, so be patient if it doesn't unlock immediately.

In many cases, you may need to do nothing at all. Verizon, for example, states that it will automatically unlock phones 60 days after the purchase. If your Verizon phone hasn't been unlocked automatically after 60 days, you can call customer service to have them submit the unlock request.

If you've paid the phone off and it hasn't, no one reports it lost or stolen; you should have no trouble getting it unlocked.

Do you need an unlocked phone?

Most people want to know if their phone is unlocked because they plan to switch carriers. You've probably seen some ads for prepaid MVNO carriers offering cheaper service than the Big Three. And since they use the same networks as the Big Three, they'll usually work with just about any unlocked phone.

We think that's awesome because the more choices you have, the better. Even if you go with one of the prominent carriers such as Verizon, having the ability to switch whenever you want to one of the best cell phone plans puts the power in your hands.

But no matter your chosen carrier, you must first ensure you have a SIM-unlocked phone. That means you can use a SIM card from any company without restrictions, so long as the hardware is compatible with the network.

Most of the best Android phones are available unlocked, but if you're paying a monthly fee to your carrier for a phone, it's likely locked. Just be careful not to get trapped into a buy one lease one free agreement, with monthly bill credits that keep you on the carrier for 24 or 36 months. If you can't pay for the phone outright, you can often set up payment plans with the manufacturer, like Samsung, without getting locked into a carrier.

Switching to an MVNO

Now that your phone is unlocked, you might wonder what to do with it. When switching to an MNVO, several important considerations should be made, including checking if your phone works with MNVOs.

If you've already decided your path forward, your next step is choosing an MNVO. Since your phone may be limited to a single provider, we have round-ups on the best Verizon prepaid carriers, best T-Mobile prepaid carriers, and all AT&T prepaid carriers to help you decide.