When a Locked Cellphone Isn’t Really Locked

Carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. sell you a locked phone with a two-year contract. What’s a locked phone? One you cannot activate on another carrier. Can you get your phone unlocked? Kind of….

When your two-year commitment to your carrier is done, the Carrier is obligated by law to unlock your handset. That also means your bill is fully paid. They have no further obligation to you, you have no obligation to them. Only when your time is up and the bill is paid will they release your phone number to another service, including prepaid. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the phone is unlocked.

Part of the release process also involves programming the phone, either directly or over the air, to be open for activation on any cellular system. Not every Carrier makes it easy to do so. If they don’t, the phone is still locked, making it impossible to switch Carriers.

Wireless Replay, however, can activate your phone on our prepaid service, even if it is still on AT&T or T-Mobile, or Verizon. Wireless Replay can do this because our prepaid service operates on those same systems anyway. So if you have phones you bought online, or came from another business, or are otherwise still locked, call us. Even if your phone is on another, more expensive carrier, we’ll get you moved to our prepaid service fast, so you can talk more, cheaper!