RE: What you need to know about unlocked phones vs. locked phones - CNET
The market in Canada is not as competitive yet, but fortunately going forward at least locked phones are a thing of the past here since the CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) has ruled that no carrier can sell locked phones any more as of December 1 last year and existing locked phones have to be unlocked for free. Bell still tried to charge a few people an unlocking fee because they bought a used phone but weren't Bell customers and that caused such an outcry in the media that they quickly dropped it. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com <viphone@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of M. Taylor Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2018 6:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: What you need to know about unlocked phones vs. locked phones - CNET Unlocked phones vs. locked phones: Why you should care In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon breaks down what you need to know about the carrier practice of locking phones. By Marguerite Reardon, February 17, 2018 5:00 AM PST FAQ Should you get an unlocked phone? The US wireless market is more competitive than ever, which is great news for consumers who have lots of choices when it comes choosing a service provider. But one barrier still exists when trying to switch carriers: the locked smartphone. The end of wireless contracts marked a watershed trend for consumers because it finally opened the door for them to more easily shop around for alternative wireless carriers. But the software locks that carriers put on phones restricting its use on other networks still prevent many consumers from having total freedom when it comes to choosing a provider. Now Verizon, the only wireless carrier that sold its phones unlocked out of the box, is reversing course. The company said earlier this week it would begin locking the phones it sells to consumers for an undetermined period of time, which will prevent them from using a SIM card from another carrier. But Verizon promised it would eventually unlock the device after activation. The company hasn't said how long that period would be. Verizon said it's doing this to deter criminals from stealing phones, which are often stolen en route to retail stores or from the stores themselves. Unlocked phones make attractive targets because they can be resold on the black market or used overseas with different carriers. That's particularly the case for iPhones, which are a top target for thieves because of their high resale value. Because I get so many questions about the difference between locked versus unlocked phones and what it means to the average wireless customer, I've put together this FAQ for my Ask Maggie readers to summarize the basics. What's the difference between a locked and unlocked phone? The difference is that a locked phone has a software code on it that prevents you from using it on another network. An unlocked phone either doesn't have the software lock on it or someone was able to get a code that unlocks the software. Once a device is unlocked, you can pop out the SIM card and put in a different SIM and get service. What's the benefit of having an unlocked phone? The biggest benefit of having an unlocked phone is that if you want to switch wireless operators, you can easily do that. All you have to do is pop in a new SIM and sign up for service. There's no need to buy a new phone. This is great because it lets you shop around for the cheapest service instead of being stuck with a particular carrier because you don't want to buy a new phone. This flexibility can also come in handy for people traveling overseas. It's usually less expensive to use a local wireless service while traveling abroad. And again, you simply pop out the SIM card in your phone and replace it with one from a local carrier. And voila! You will have a new local number and it will be cheaper to make calls in country and access the internet than if you used a US carrier's service that would require roaming on the foreign network. Does GSM vs CDMA still matter? Yes, the voice networks of US wireless carriers still use two fundamentally different technologies GSM and CDMA. Sprint and Verizon use CDMA, while AT and T-Mobile along with most of the rest of the world use GSM. The good news is that phones are a bit more compatible and portable among carriers than they were a few years ago. But phone makers, like Apple, still tend to make multiple versions of their phones so you need to know which model you're buying before you can know if you can take it to another carrier. For instance, Apple sells two versions of the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X. Unlocked versions of these phones that aren't sold through a carrier are compatible on all four US carriers. The iPhones sold through Verizon or Sprint can also be used on both CDMA and GSM networks, which means they are compatible with AT and T-Mobile. But iPhones sold through AT and T-
What you need to know about unlocked phones vs. locked phones - CNET
Unlocked phones vs. locked phones: Why you should care In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon breaks down what you need to know about the carrier practice of locking phones. By Marguerite Reardon, February 17, 2018 5:00 AM PST FAQ Should you get an unlocked phone? The US wireless market is more competitive than ever, which is great news for consumers who have lots of choices when it comes choosing a service provider. But one barrier still exists when trying to switch carriers: the locked smartphone. The end of wireless contracts marked a watershed trend for consumers because it finally opened the door for them to more easily shop around for alternative wireless carriers. But the software locks that carriers put on phones restricting its use on other networks still prevent many consumers from having total freedom when it comes to choosing a provider. Now Verizon, the only wireless carrier that sold its phones unlocked out of the box, is reversing course. The company said earlier this week it would begin locking the phones it sells to consumers for an undetermined period of time, which will prevent them from using a SIM card from another carrier. But Verizon promised it would eventually unlock the device after activation. The company hasn't said how long that period would be. Verizon said it's doing this to deter criminals from stealing phones, which are often stolen en route to retail stores or from the stores themselves. Unlocked phones make attractive targets because they can be resold on the black market or used overseas with different carriers. That's particularly the case for iPhones, which are a top target for thieves because of their high resale value. Because I get so many questions about the difference between locked versus unlocked phones and what it means to the average wireless customer, I've put together this FAQ for my Ask Maggie readers to summarize the basics. What's the difference between a locked and unlocked phone? The difference is that a locked phone has a software code on it that prevents you from using it on another network. An unlocked phone either doesn't have the software lock on it or someone was able to get a code that unlocks the software. Once a device is unlocked, you can pop out the SIM card and put in a different SIM and get service. What's the benefit of having an unlocked phone? The biggest benefit of having an unlocked phone is that if you want to switch wireless operators, you can easily do that. All you have to do is pop in a new SIM and sign up for service. There's no need to buy a new phone. This is great because it lets you shop around for the cheapest service instead of being stuck with a particular carrier because you don't want to buy a new phone. This flexibility can also come in handy for people traveling overseas. It's usually less expensive to use a local wireless service while traveling abroad. And again, you simply pop out the SIM card in your phone and replace it with one from a local carrier. And voila! You will have a new local number and it will be cheaper to make calls in country and access the internet than if you used a US carrier's service that would require roaming on the foreign network. Does GSM vs CDMA still matter? Yes, the voice networks of US wireless carriers still use two fundamentally different technologies GSM and CDMA. Sprint and Verizon use CDMA, while AT and T-Mobile along with most of the rest of the world use GSM. The good news is that phones are a bit more compatible and portable among carriers than they were a few years ago. But phone makers, like Apple, still tend to make multiple versions of their phones so you need to know which model you're buying before you can know if you can take it to another carrier. For instance, Apple sells two versions of the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X. Unlocked versions of these phones that aren't sold through a carrier are compatible on all four US carriers. The iPhones sold through Verizon or Sprint can also be used on both CDMA and GSM networks, which means they are compatible with AT and T-Mobile. But iPhones sold through AT and T-Mobile don't include modems for CDMA, so they can't be used for voice service on Verizon or Sprint. The bottom line is that you should check before you buy if you think there's a chance you'll be switching carriers. How do I get my phone unlocked? Depending on how you bought your phone, it may already be unlocked. For example, if you didn't buy your phone through a US carrier or you purchased it directly from Apple or on Amazon and either company indicated it was unlocked, you don't have to do anything. Prior to the change, Verizon phones came unlocked out of the box. Phones bought through AT, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon (starting later this year) will have locks on them. And you'll need to find out what criteria needs to be satisfied before you can ask for a code to unlock it. So what are the criteria for
