The cost of operating your phone might not appear high when you view it casually, but a critical look into what you pay for the services wireless carriers provide will reveal that the contract you signed is way too expensive. This could mean that when your contract expires, you may want to save some money by searching for a carrier with lower rates.

Unfortunately, the present contract you have might not allow you to jump ship and cross over to another network simply because your carrier locked your phone to their network. If you are faced with such a situation, do not throw panic buttons because the process of unlocking a phone is not only legal but it is also simple. In some countries like the US, the FCC and new legislation now does not view phone unlocking as a direct violation or infringement of the copyright law.


Since it is not illegal to unlock your phone, here are guidelines on what you can do to end the cat-and-mouse chase between you and your carrier.

Basic Requirements

It is important to mention that the process is not an easy one, whichever way you look at it, but if you follow these tips, and if you are ready to be patient for hours of many phone calls, then the work can be done. To make it easier, it is wise to unlock the phone before you change your carrier because if you do so after shifting, the incentive to help you might be very little.

Vital pieces of information you need include:

  • Your Phone Number
  • The Device’s IMEI
  • The name of the account holder and the account number
  • The payment plan for the device and a finished contract
  • The password of social security number of the account holder
  • If you are in the military service and you wish to unlock your phone before the contract expires, you should have the papers for overseas deployment.

How to Unlock a Verizon Phone

Instead of GSM, Verizon phones use CDMA; however, many of the devices have an unlocked slot for SIM cards. To reconfigure a phone such as 4G LTE which is not locked to another network, you will not need any code.

A Verizon with a SIM that can be used on T-Mobile, AT&T and other carriers of GSM must access GSM radios in the US to send text messages or make a call. Modern handsets by Verizon will function well using GSM bands in America but your mileage will vary if you are on LTE support. To request for a SIM unlock, you can dial 800-711-8300 and ask for help. Unlock requests for Verizon are not found online.

Many postpaid 3G phones running on Verizon’s network are not locked. All you will do is to enter a code such as 123456 or 000000 to allow cellular compatibility for a third party. You cannot unlock the specially branded World Devices from Verizon without requesting for the assistance of a store tech by dialing customer support at 800-922-0204.