Stress-free Practices How to Unlock A Phone From A Carrier

Bon LewisUpdated by Bon Lewis / July 03, 2025 05:30

Good day! Can you help me unlock carrier-locked phone? I plan to travel abroad for a month, and my brother has informed me that I cannot use my phone's network due to its condition. Any recommendations will be highly appreciated. Thank you!

Travelling abroad is indeed great. However, this excitement can be stressful if the phone you brought with you has no network. Let us assist you in unlocking an Android phone or an iPhone from its carrier. Full details can be found below.

How to Unlock Phone from Carrier
Guide

Guide List

Part 1. How to Unlock Phone from Carrier

Customers preferred buying from carriers because they offer flexible installment plans for paying for their products, such as an iPhone or Android phone. This is because not all individuals can afford to buy fully paid smartphones from their official manufacturer. In addition, most carriers offer freebies when purchasing a particular product.

On the other hand, locking the Android phone or iPhone is the compensation for these matters. You cannot use smartphones from different carriers, unless you have met the policies of your carrier. Then, you can perform the process below.

1. Contact Carrier Hotlines

Unlocking an iPhone or Android phone from a carrier must be done in accordance with their policies. Before you can unlock a phone carrier, you must meet carrier requirements. We will list some of them below for your reference.

  1. Your device is used from the carrier network for 60-80 days.
  2. Stolen or missing reports must not be reported to authorities.
  3. The Android phone or iPhone is not involved in any fraudulent activities.

The positive aspect is that there are a few specific exemptions that allow for unlocking a carrier-locked phone, including military enlistment and travel abroad. Learn how to unlock a phone from a carrier for free by contacting their hotlines. The table below shows the hotlines of the famous carriers.

Carrier Name Carrier Hotline
Boost Mobile 1-833-502-6678
Cricket Wireless 1-800-274-2538
Metro by T-Mobile 1-888-863-8768
US Cellular 1-888-944-9400
AT&T 1-800-331-0500
T-Mobile 1-800-937-8997
Verizon 1-800-922-0204

2. Visit Carrier Websites

Another selection is to contact the carrier directly through their website. You may search for the [Carrier Name] Customer Service keyword online. It is the best substitute if you do not prefer to call their hotlines. In addition, some customers like this technique because calling their hotlines consumes much of their time. In addition, please avoid using online tools to unlock your carrier-locked iPhone or Android phone. They might breach the terms of service of the mentioned devices.

FoneLab iOS Unlocker
FoneLab iOS Unlocker

FoneLab Helps you unlock iPhone screen, Removes Apple ID or its password, Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

  • Helps you unlock iPhone screen.
  • Removes Apple ID or its password.
  • Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

3. Visit Carrier Physical Stores

Lastly, visiting the physical stores of your phone’s carrier might also help. You can ask for their assistance on how to unlock phone carrier. Ensure that you have proof of purchase for your phone as verification that you are the device's rightful owner.

Part 2. How to Unlock Carrier-Locked Phone (Android/iPhone) with FoneLab Tools

Unlocking smartphones to enable the use of different eSIMs or SIM cards is a common concern for many customers. Another common issue arises when a phone is locked and the owner has forgotten the passcode. If you are experiencing this issue on your Android phone or iPhone, let us help you in this section. FoneLab tools are available below to further assist you.

FoneLab iOS Unlocker

Apple is known for having tight security features on its devices, including the iPhone. Bypassing the lock screen passcode might be difficult. FoneLab iOS Unlocker makes the unlocking procedure easy with its advanced functionalities. This tool wipes the iPhone data and settings to achieve the mentioned goal. Having this tool on your computer, such as Mac and Windows, will be convenient for the unlocking procedure because of its user-friendly interface. Other Apple features can also be bypassed, such as the Screen Time restrictions, Activation Lock, MDM profile, and more! Let’s use the tool using the detailed instructions below.

FoneLab iOS Unlocker
FoneLab iOS Unlocker

FoneLab Helps you unlock iPhone screen, Removes Apple ID or its password, Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

  • Helps you unlock iPhone screen.
  • Removes Apple ID or its password.
  • Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

Step 1Please search for the FoneLab iOS Unlocker’s web page and click the Free Download button from the main interface. Wait for the downloading process to end and set up the file.

Click Free Download Bbutton

Step 2Install and launch the tool afterward. The 6 features offered by the tool will be shown on the screen. Select the Wipe Passcode button from the options list. Later, plug the iPhone into the computer to see the information about it. Click Start to continue with the procedure.

Click Wipe Passcode Button

Step 3Select the Unlock button from the main screen. Then, please enter the 0000 code from the space at the center. Click the Unlock button on the right. Finally, the software will start unlocking your iPhone.

Click Unlock Button
FoneLab iOS Unlocker
FoneLab iOS Unlocker

FoneLab Helps you unlock iPhone screen, Removes Apple ID or its password, Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

  • Helps you unlock iPhone screen.
  • Removes Apple ID or its password.
  • Remove screen time or restriction passcode in seconds.

FoneLab Android Unlocker

In addition to iOS, FoneLab tools also support Android OS. In fact, FoneLab Android Unlocker is a tool that can be used for Android phones. This tool can unlock your Android phone lock screen passcode, such as PIN, pattern, fingerprint, face recognition, and more. It also supports a variety of Android phone brands. ZTE, Oppo, Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, HTC, Vivo, Samsung, and Google phones are some of the included ones. This software can also bypass Google FRP Lock when the Google account is missing. Please perform the steps that are available below to use the tool quickly.

FoneLab Android Unlocker
FoneLab Android Unlocker

FoneLab Helps you remove Android screen lock easily.

  • Unlock PlN, pattern, password on Android.
  • Android fingerprint & face recognition are available.
  • Bypass Google FRP lock in seconds.

Step 1Click the Free Download section from the main interface. Then, set up, launch, and install the software. Later, please click the Start button, which is included with the Remove Screen Password button.

Click Start Button

Step 2Select your Android phone brand from the list. Then, get a USB cable and plug your phone into the computer. Later, please put it into recovery mode. Click the Next button at the bottom right.

Click Next Button

Step 3Follow the on-screen instructions to clear the Android phone's caches and settings. Click Next to proceed. Finally, click the Confirm button in the dialog box that will appear. This action will start unlocking the Android phone.

Click Confirm Button
FoneLab Android Unlocker
FoneLab Android Unlocker

FoneLab Helps you remove Android screen lock easily.

  • Unlock PlN, pattern, password on Android.
  • Android fingerprint & face recognition are available.
  • Bypass Google FRP lock in seconds.

Part 3. FAQs about How to Unlock Phone from Carrier

Can I use IMEI to unlock my phone?

Yes. International Mobile Equipment Identity, or the IMEI, is a unique 15-digit number that can identify your device. This information can be used to unlock your phone, as it is the main requirement for unlocking the phone from the carrier. There are also online tools that use this information to unlock the iPhone or Android phone directly. However, these programs are not 100% recommended because they might breach your carrier's policies.

What is the carrier SIM unlock code?

By default, carriers do not put a SIM lock on their SIM cards for your Android phone or iPhone. On the other hand, some carriers add a default PIN from the SIM cards for some customers who are not aware of these security locks. In this case, they can guess it quickly. You may try 1234 or 0000. These are the common PINs for some carrier SIM cards. You may contact their customer service if you cannot unlock the SIM to request a PUK code.

That’s all about how to unlock carrier-locked phone. We hope that each method has helped you achieve your goal quickly. What makes this article interesting is the FoneLab tools that are included with the topic. FoneLab Android Unlocker and FoneLab iOS Unlocker are here to unlock the Android phone or iPhone when the lock screen passcode is accidentally forgotten or in other scenarios. Do you have more questions about this particular topic? Let us assist you further in the comment section below. Thank you!

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