What dose it mean to "lock" or "unlock" a phone?

Question

bc i saw a lot of questions with this and it confused me

Answer 1

All the above answers are correct....but it also has another meaning. IF a phone is "locked" to a certain company, like Cingular, it means u can only use Cingular service on the phone. U cannot use it with another provider, UNLESS the phone is "unlocked". You would have to ask your service provider to do that for you.

Answer 2

it depends there are 2 things-

first u can lock ur fone by pressings 2 keys then to unlock jus press i think menu and then *

second u could talk bout the way a company locks a phone with a code so u can't put anthoer companys sim card or ship in it in a unlock cell phone u can put any wireless providers chip in

EX> IN Cingular phone u can only use cing. chips not sprint chips
in an unlock cell u can use a cingular and sprint chip

Answer 3

Unlocked phone means that the phone is capable of working with more than one carrier. When you purchase a phone from an actual phone company, they lock the phone to their system so that you can not use it somewhere else. If you buy an unlocked phone, you can use the phone with any carrier that uses a sim card.

Answer 4

a locked phone is basicly set up for a certain service provider (ie: cingular, t-mobile, etc.) when you unlock the phone you are making it available to use the carrier you desire. so say cingular makes a phone that you like, but tmobile is your carrier of choice, you can have a cingular phone unlocked, and put your tmobile chip into it for your talking pleasure. in most areas you can find someone on craigslist who will unlock a phone for you for 5 - 10 dollars. hope that helps.

Answer 5

It has to do with your phone's keypad. If you lock your phone, the keys cannot be accidentally pushed. If unlocked, you can push the keys and make calls, play games, etc.

Have you ever gotten a phone call only to hear background noise. Someone didn't lock their phone, probably put the phone in their pocket or purse and through normal daily movement, buttons got pushed.

This happens to me often. My husband wears his phone on a belt clip, so even if he bumps into someone else (or something like that) the "send" key can be pushed. Whoever he called last is now getting another "call."

Answer 6

a locked phone can only b used for 1 service provider, unlocked phones can be used on any service. ive only known it to work on GSM phones (phones w sim cards)

Answer 7

if my phone is from at&t and it's locked, it can only be used on the at&t network. if i switch to verizon, it will have to be "UNlocked" so it can be used there. to unlock it, you will need to contact your service provider. if it's unlocked, you can use it with any network, such as verizon, firefly, etc. basically, it will work on all networks.

Answer 8

its so if your phone is in your pocket or some where that none of the buttons would mess up ur phone and also so its harder for people to steel your phone and use it. usually there is a code or a special button combo you have to use to lock and unlock ur phone

Answer 9

It restricts which country your phone will work in and which phone company network you can use the phone with and which SIM card you can use with the phone.

Answer 10

you can "lock" the keypad to avoid accidental dialing (like 911), while it's in your pocket or purse. Or to keep others from using your phone if you should lose it. For mine you press M + *