I bought a phone brand new and "unlocked" from ebay a few months ago, and I just sold it to another ebayer as used. She said she took it to her provider and they said it was now "locked". I never took it to any cell phone place after I bought it to have it locked. I just took my old SIM card and put it in the new phone. I assumed she could do the same becuase my husband put his SIM card in my phone and it worked, so if she had a good SIM card it should have worked right??
2006-11-28 08:09:14 · 8 answers · asked by jj867_5309 1 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Cell Phones & Plans
1st, you really need to find out from the person you sold it to what they mean "its now locked"
Locked and unlocked is normally used in reference to the sim card. Unlocked being that it can be used with any GSM sevice providers sim card. A couple of questions for you. When you purchased the phone as new and unlocked. Was the phone provider branded? eg - Cingular, T-Mobile? What providers sim card did you and your husband use in the phone? Was your sim car from the same provider as the phone is branded too? If thats the case, it could be the phone was not unlocked when you purchased it from ebay.You would have never known it if you never tried a different providers sim in the phone
2006-11-28 08:33:59 · answer #1 · answered by jrott_2003 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a cell phone is locked, it means that it can only stay with a particular carrier. For example, if you bought a locked Verizon phone, then sold it to somebody. They would have to use it on Verizon carrier too. An unlocked phone means that they can use the phone on any carrier. It is a way for carriers to prevent people roaming from carrier to carrier to get the best plan deal.
Any phone can be unlocked. Up until last week, it was illegal to unlock phones. Last week, there was a list of exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act releasd. One of them is to be able to unlock the phones.
It is not unlocked at the SIM card level though. If you have a locked phone and try to use a different carrier's SIM card, it will not work. It is at the firmware or software level. The method to unlock the phone varies from each manufacturer. It is usually a set of entered numbers or code.
Some carrier stores will do it for you. Some carriers like Verizon will not do it. Know the right codes and anyone can do it.
2006-11-28 08:37:04 · answer #2 · answered by techman2000 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The others are wrong.
In this case, an "unlocked" phone means you are able to put a SIM card from any service provider into the phone and it will work. I don't know if a phone will lock after being used awhile or not. The person you sold it to should contact customer service for her provider. They should help her unlock it again.
2006-11-28 08:21:00 · answer #3 · answered by Uther Aurelianus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normally locked means that the keypad functions are password protected, but in this case it almosts sounds like the phone is "frozen." All a cell phone is is a little computer, so just like computers can lock up, so can a phone, but it is very rare.
2006-11-28 08:14:37 · answer #4 · answered by Sixdayclay.com 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard US cell carrier has a way to "lock" an unlocked phone now, so be careful
2006-11-29 20:04:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well locked is meaning not having certain features or internet or something and unlocked means you have all those features or it could mean that it was a different sim card and that sim card was locked, and/or she has a different service carrier
2006-11-28 08:16:18 · answer #6 · answered by bert 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I work for Sprint and from what I heard Sprint sells there phone locked. And what that does is any phone that comes from sprint and a person tries to take it to another company it won't work because sprint locks there phones and it cannot be programmed with another company
2006-11-28 14:57:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
in spite of the indisputable fact that in case you do not have it activated charge the battery then turn it on in case you may pull up the contact list enter each and every of the numerous internet sites its likely not locked. even if that's attempt to you'll keep in mind the phone quantity if became that if no one else positioned it yet another 4 digit bypass ought to free up it yet in case you purchase one locked you may take it to or instantaneous shop and they could free up them in the experience that they have got not been said stolen
2016-11-27 19:35:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋