When you buy a new phone, chances are it'll be locked to the network you bought it on, and if you try to put another network's Sim card in it simply won't function.
Unlocking your mobile enables the phone to be used with any compatible Sim card on any network, which gives you these benefits:
- Promotional deals. Often networks give away free Sim cards, these can come with free texts or calls. Yet if your phone isn't unlocked you can't put the Sims in your phone and take advantage. Any decent free Sim offers are included in the free weekly MoneySaving email.
- A cheaper tariff. If you like your phone but don't have a good deal, unlocking it allows you to keep the phone but switch to another network. And the fact you don't need a new phone should enable you to get a better tariff. See Cheap Mobiles for more info.
- Added value. Unlocked phones sell for more on eBay, because they have much wider appeal to users on other networks and in other countries.
- Freedom to roam. Unlocking extends to many foreign Sim cards too, so you can totally eschew the UK networks' expensive overseas rates by getting a local Sim card everywhere you go. See Cheap Roaming for more.
In short, unlocking gives your mobile independence from the network you got it from. And what's more, it's usually simple to do. Many, especially slightly older, handsets can be unlocked using codes generated for free on the web, and if that doesn't work, you can do it for a reasonable fee, either through your network or high st. phone unlockers.
Even if you have to pay your network to unlock the handset, unless you're on a particularly good tariff, the savings should quickly outweigh the outlay.
Why do mobile phone companies lock phones?
Mobile companies say their phones are already heavily subsidised to entice you to buy them and they need to make up this shortfall. Yet the reality, as ever, comes down to cold hard cash; it makes no sense to sell you the phone at reduced cost and then let you take your money to another network provider.