Unlocking Fails You Should Avoid (When & How)

So all you decided to ditch your mobile operator and your little bit cautious about the next steps and your thinking about the Unlocking fails to avoid. So Mobile phone unlocking is becoming increasingly popular, with users becoming more aware of the benefits.

From making your phone more sale-able, to giving you the freedom to change between providers at your leisure, there are numerous advantages to why you should consider it.

If you vacation abroad or travel out of the country on business, an unlocked phone will give you the freedom to use local SIM cards and thus avoid international roaming charges.

You can also relax in the knowledge that when your local pre-paid SIM runs out of credit, the phone will stop working and you won’t have to concern yourself with any ridiculous bills when you return home.

Even better is the fact that it’s safe and legal, as long as the handset wasn’t purchased in the US after Jan 26th 2013.

However, that doesn’t mean that people don’t make mistakes when unlocking their phone, so with that in mind, here are a few unlocking fails to avoid.

Take your time when entering the code

Sounds obvious, but you would be amazed at the number of people who are left dumbfounded after trying to unlock their phone.

Cries of “it doesn’t work on mine” and “there’s something wrong with my phone” when the reality is that they simply didn’t enter the code right or follow the basic instructions.

It isn’t the same as buying a new PS3, you have to follow the instructions and if you do, it should be very simple.

Be careful if you’re buying a locked handset

If someone is selling a barred phone, it’s illegal to unlock it and very difficult so don’t bother.

If you are buying a pre-owned phone, it makes sense to ensure it is already unlocked, or that you are buying from a reputable individual.

If you are buying from eBay or Amazon, check the seller’s rating first.

Don’t go straight to your supplier

Whilst your supplier will be able to do it for you, you may be stuck waiting for a week for the code when you can have it done a lot quicker.

There is nothing wrong with using a reputable online service to have your phone unlocked.

Don’t get scammed

As stated above, using a reputable online service is fine.

However, not all services are reputable. If in doubt, check their reputation via a forum and see what others have to say about them before continuing. 

Some overcharge through extortionate lines that you have to call charging £2.00 per minute and then charge you an additional fee for the service.

Being scammed is one of the biggest unlocking fails to avoid.

It won’t work

It won’t break your phone.

Some people are of the mistaken impression that unlocking a handset will make it unusable.

That isn’t true, and as long as you don’t have an unpaid bill or a stolen phone, you will be just fine and can expect lots of fun with your unlocked cell phone.

Thanks to our guide to Unlocking fails you should avoid you should be able to enjoy all the featured that your iPhone 5S can offer without any of the pit falls.