unlock

You’re finally free to unlock your smartphone again – here’s what you need to know

February 11th, 2015

Chris Smith

Starting on Wednesday, smartphone unlocking will finally be easier in the U.S. because both large and small carriers have agreed to the new proposals made by CTIA about unlocking devices. That means no matter what kind of smartphone you currently own, whether it’s the big iPhone 6 Plus or an entry-level Android handset, you have the right to unlock …

T-Mobile has a simple way to unlock a smartphone, but there’s a huge catch

August 8th, 2014

Chris Smith

Now that cell phone unlocking is again legal in the U.S., many smartphone users may be interested in unlocking their devices, either for carrier switching purposes, or for selling their old devices that were purchased with a new contract, and thus were locked to a certain operator. Luckily, for T-Mobile subscribers, there’s an app for …

It will soon be legal to unlock your phone and move to another carrier

July 28th, 2014

Chris Smith

Handset unlocking in the U.S. is not exactly legal when done by device owners looking to move to a different mobile operator, but this will soon change, Reuters reports, as the cellphone unlocking bill has cleared the House. President Barack Obama said he’s looking forward to signing it into law.

Unlocking out-of-contract iPhones is easier than ever on AT&T

September 10th, 2012

Raymond Wong

By now, everyone knows what the iPhone 5 will look like when it’s announced on Wednesday, September 12th. What can people do to increase the resale value of their out-of-contract iPhones? The answer is simple: unlock them so they can be used with international SIM cards abroad. AT&T (T) is making it easier than ever to request an iPhone …

If the iPhone won't come to T-Mobile, T-Mobile will go to the iPhone

May 8th, 2012

Zach Epstein

T-Mobile has acknowledged internally that Apple’s iPhone offers a “poor customer experience” on its network, but the nation’s No.4 carrier is working as quickly as it can to change that. The company announced this past February that it will be performing upgrades to its network that bring faster data speeds to users who purchase an iPhone …

New software can easily unlock any iPhone

April 23rd, 2012

Zach Epstein

Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone 4S can now be SIM-unlocked in just a few easy steps, as can any previous version of Apple’s popular smartphone line. The new unlock procedure, mapped out this past weekend by mobile hacker “Loktar_Sun,” will allow iPhone owners to use a SIM card from any compatible carrier rather than just the carrier …

AT&T to begin unlocking iPhones this Sunday

April 6th, 2012

Zach Epstein

AT&T plans to soon begin unlocking off-contract iPhones for customers with accounts in good standing who request that their devices be unlocked. Unlocking a handset allows the device to operate on any GSM network rather than just the network for which it was purchased, and AT&T does not currently provide customers customers with unlock codes …

Redsn0w jailbreaking tool updated to support iOS 5.1

March 8th, 2012

Dan Graziano

It hadn’t even been 24 hours since Apple released iOS 5.1, and the hacking community has already let loose the first tethered jailbreaking tool for the updated OS. According to Redmond Pie, the iPhone Dev Team has updated Redsn0w to allow users to jailbreak their iOS 5.1 devices. The jailbreak is tethered, however, so users will be …

ASUS Transformer Prime bootloader unlocking tool now available

February 22nd, 2012

Dan Graziano

As promised, ASUS has released a bootloader unlocking tool for the Transformer Prime. The tool is packaged in an APK that can be downloaded from the company’s website. Once downloaded and installed, the Transformer Prime will have the ability to run custom ROMS, however ASUS warns that unlocking your bootloader will void your warranty. “Once …

Asus Transformer Prime bootloader unlock tool landing in February

January 25th, 2012

Todd Haselton

Asus recently confirmed on Twitter that an official tool for unlocking the bootloader on the Transformer Prime will be made available in February. The company didn’t give an exact date for when the tool would be released, but the good news is Transformer Prime owners have just a few weeks to wait until they can …