What does unlocked cell phone mean

[Yash-papa]

Well, it may be silly question for you guys but i really don't know what is meant by Unlocked cell phone? I came to know about this when one of my friend was searching an unlocked iphone on internet. Could you guys please help me out for the same and also let me know how do you do it and why do you do it?

[Gonzo]

When you purchase a calling plan and phone from a provider, the phones are always configured to that provider's network. You can say that the phone is locked to the particular network provider. And that means you can not use that phone with any other simcard or any other network. And when the phone is Unlocked it will work with any active sim card. Most probably, these unlocked phones are required with GSM network as you can use any sim card of any GSM network. GSM customers enjoy secure communications, and GSM offers unparalleled call privacy and fraud prevention.

[Pugsly]

Some phone comes locked or configured with a particular network plan. These are locked phone. If you want to use any other sim card in this particular phone you need to unlock the phone first. Unlocking any phone differs with model number. You can search this forum for the steps of unlocking your phone.

[Regina]

A locked phone, however, will only recognize a SIM card from a particular carrier. If the cell phone is unlocked, it will recognize a SIM card from any carrier.The biggest advantage to having an unlocked phone is that it allows the consumer to switch between providers without having to buy another new phone.Unlocking is generally performed on GSM phones and not CDMA. GSM is the global standard in cell phones. Examples of GSM carriers are T-Mobile, AT&T Cingular etc.