In countries like our and Canada, and also a few others, mobile phone carriers tend to sell phones at discounted prices and lucrative offers. But the main problem with such phones is that they often come locked to their respective network service providers. So you cannot swap the SIM card so as to use some other carrier’s network. This can become quite frustrating at times, as you might want to switch to some other network.

Is unlocking legal?
There has been quite a lot of legal tussle regarding the legality of unlocking phones, but the final verdict given by the FCC was in favor of the customers when they declared unlocking of phones legal. The main update given by FCC was that all carriers should mandatorily unlock phones of their customers for free if the customer raises the request for the same. Having said that, this doesn’t mean the customers get a free pass, as FCC has explicitly stated that one can unlock their phone only when they have completed all the installments of the device, fulfilled the contract, or opted to pay an early termination fee.

Now, if you are not sure your phone is locked or not, here are some pointers. Unless you have not bought an unlocked phone explicitly, then chances are that your phone would be locked. It is always recommended to buy an unlocked phone, as it offers better savings in the long run.

Why should you unlock your phone?
One of the biggest advantages of having an unlocked phone is that you are no longer dependent on a sole network provider. You can freely move from network to network, depending on your requirements.

How to unlock a phone using cell phone unlock codes?
Ideally, one should opt for unlocking their phone through their network service provider. However, if your phone is not eligible for that and you still want to go ahead and unlock then you need to take help of third party companies. However, most of the third party companies charge a small fee for the same.

Now, you can find hundreds of websites that are selling cell phone unlock codes. Depending on the country you live in and the make and carrier of your phone, you can expect to pay somewhat around $30 to get your phone unlocked.

Among the best sites that offer cell phone unlock codes are:

• The Unlock Arena
• Doctor Sim
• Unlock Radar
• Release My Code
• Free Unlocks

All of the sites mentioned above are paid websites, however, if you are looking for free unlock codes then you can visit the website FreeUnlocks. This website is part of the TrialPay network and so you will get the very first code for free from this website. Nevertheless, you have to sign up for TrialPay to get the code. Several online reports have confirmed that FreeUnlocks users repeatedly got codes using which they unlocked their phones.