What is phone unlocking?
Many wireless networks (not us!) lock your handset so that it can only use their SIM and network. Unlocking a phone allows it to work with any SIM and any network. To use the Tru service, your phone needs to be unlocked.
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How do I know if my phone is unlocked?
Easy! Take your SIM card out of your phone, and insert a SIM card from another network.
If your phone still works as normal, your phone is unlocked and ready to use with Tru. If your phone displays an error message like 'Invalid SIM' or 'SIM Card Not Accepted' this means that your phone is locked.
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Why should I unlock my phone?
A locked phone means it is locked to one particular network.
Unlocking removes this restriction, allowing any network SIM card to be inserted and used in your phone.
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What information do I need to unlock my phone?
In most cases, you will need to know the following:
- The make and model of your phone (e.g. Nokia 3310)
- The IMEI (a 15-digit unique number you can retrieve by dialing *#06#)
- The network it is currently locked to
Once you have this information, we recommend speaking to the network to find out how to unlock with them, and the cost (cost varies by network).
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Does it cost anything to unlock my phone?
It depends.
Some networks don't charge to unlock handsets, for example if you are out of contract. However, in most cases there is an administration fee of some sort.
If using a third party service, they will always charge you.
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Can Tru unlock my phone?
No. You will need to speak with a third party unlocking service (or your current network), if you would like to keep using your existing phone with Tru.
Phones supplied by us come unlocked, so this is not something you will need to worry about if you are being supplied a phone.
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Is unlocking safe?
Phones were designed to be unlocked, so as long as you unlock your phone in a recommended way (we always recommend getting your current network to unlock the phone), the unlocking process won't cause any problems.
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Is unlocking legal?
Yes. It is completely legal to unlock your phone.
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