what does it mean by a phone is factory locked?

Answer 1

When you buy a phone from a service provider under contract for a certain period of time, the phone is often 'locked' and therefore only be used via the service provider. If you get a SIM card from another service provider and put itr in your phone, the phone will not work.

The good news is that once the contract period has expired, you can have the phone 'unlocked' by contacting the original service provider. This is usually at no cost.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

A phone that has its price heavily reduced by the service provider (T-mobile, Cingular) is locked to only that service provider. It is to ensure that the provider will recoup the actual cost of the phone. Even if you break your contract and jump to another provider, you still can't use it which deters such activities.

I've read that a phone can be unlocked by your providers' customer service as soon as you've been a customer for 90 days or more. A good excuse is that you need to use your phone internationally.

Answer 4

More than factory locked is NETEWORK Locked,meaning it works only on 1 network(t-mobile,cingular,etc..)that's what happens when you buy a phone from a service provider.