I am changing cell phone service providers (no contracts involved). The old provider sold me the old phone, and the new provider can’t use the old provider’s phone. So I have ordered a new phone from the new provider, and I will be left with a fairly new but now useless old phone. Is this what is referred to as a locked phone?
The old provider is Boost Mobile, if it matters. Even if I can unlock it, what can I do with an unlocked phone (other than use it for a second cell phone line, which I don’t want).
If the old phone is fully paid off (see notes below) then the prior carrier should be able to unlock it for you, although it’s normally easier to get this done before leaving rather than after.
As for uses, quite a few, although depending on your needs, they may not be helpful. Assuming a smartphone, you can use it as a backup (you break your new one), in high risk areas (swap out with your new SIM if you’re travelling, going international, going in/on the water, etc), repurpose it as a dashcam or home security camera, offer it as a hand-me-down to friends or family, or use it as a mini tablet on wifi.
The NOTE - if you got the phone from the old carrier as any sort of promo, be aware than those sometimes require 2 years before they’re considered paid off, for example many carriers do promos where you finance it for 2 years with a credit monthly for the two years - if you leave earlier, you forfeit the rest of the credits.
Outside the comparatively rare CDMA vs GSM standard issue, it will work if the OP contacts the prior carrier and gets it unlocked, which in general they are required to do so as long as it’s fully paid off and the account is in good standing.
But you’ll often have a lot more hoops to do this with once the account is closed, which is why I advise unlocking prior to leaving in most cases.
As mentioned upthread, you can still use it with wi-fi as a web browser, etc. You could also use it for audiobooks and music and as a camera. I upgraded to a new Pixel 6a, but I have a Moment Case and super wide angle lens that still works great on my old Pixel 2.
I think I’ve got something. Drive to an area with a lot of people. Get out of your car. Yells “GPS, you’ve betrayed me for the last time!”. Throw the phone down and stomp on it. Observe the reactions of innocent bystanders. ETA Yell “Tell me where you are now, you bastard!”
As I mentioned in the OP, there were no contracts (at least that I’m aware of). I did pay for the phone, but I don’t know what percentage of the un-locked retail price I paid. It’s also true that there are a few apparently minor software or firmware modifications in this phone as compared to the bog-standard one that is referenced in the online owner’s manual.
I’m carrying my old phone number over to the new provider, which they will take care of once the new phone is here, and they said that to keep the old account in good standing until that is accomplished.
So I take it that unlocking the phone requires more (or different) actions than changing out the SIM card?
A locked phone means that the phone is bound to a particular provider. This is commonly done with phones that you get for “free” from the provider. After a certain amount of time (about 2 years), the phone is considered paid off and you can ask the provider to release the lock so the phone can be used with other providers. If you paid full price for the phone when you first got it, the phone may be unlocked already. But there may still be hardware limitations that prevent you from using the phone with other providers. Different providers may use different cell frequencies. If your phone only works on a subset of frequencies, it will only work on the providers which use those frequencies. That may be why you can’t use your old phone on the new service.
One use for an old phone is to keep in your car. If you forget or lose your phone, you can go someplace with wifi and use your old phone to contact people using email or whatever that’s internet based. Make sure you keep a charger with the phone since the battery may slowly drain over time.
Correct. By default, phones sold by the carriers are locked to use SIMs from that carrier. Which means that it may not work with your old carrier, but would work fine on a different account/SIM from that same carrier.
While transitioning the phone #, I’d call Boost and request an unlock, and of course, make sure there is no balance on the phone or account that would prevent it. Depending on the carrier, it can be as simple as downloading an unlock App, an over the air unlock, or substantially more complicated (many iPhones).
Here’s the unlock page for BoostMobile for further reference -
Eligible customers can request a domestic SIM unlock and/or request the associated MSL Code by contacting Boost Mobile Customer Care at 1-833-50-BOOST (833-502-6678) FREE .
Being the most important short term piece of info. I do wish your new carrier had mentioned it as an option (unless it’s the CDMA v GSM issue or supported bands for service) rather than upselling you a new phone, but hopefully it was a good offer on the new one.
Boost Mobile uses the T-Mobile/AT&T network so it’s not CDMA and it should be easy enough to unlock to use a SIM from the new carrier. So long as the new carrier isn’t Verizon or a Verizon reseller, should be good to go.
Dude, everything can run Doom. People run it on their smart fridges.
CDMA isn’t really a thing anymore at the consumer level. As this sounds like a semi-recent phone, it should support 4G if not 5G and work with any of the networks. Boost is T-Mobile anyway so it doesn’t matter. All that matters is whether they will unlock it if it’s not already. Check your IMEI online for its status, this is phone in Settings > About Phone on Android, somewhere similarly easy on iPhone.
I was about to say something similar. CDMA and GSM are throwbacks from 2G and 3G. If your phone’s unlocked and is 4G or 5G, it should work with any carrier. Just check your IMEI for compatibility.
As an anecdote, my phone, a Pixel 4A5G was on Simple Mobile, which ran on T-Mobile’s network. It, along with TracFone and Straight Talk were bought by Verizon. I was offered a new Verizon SIM card to keep using my phone.
I wanted to lower my bill, so I looked into Visible, which is also owned by Verizon. I downloaded an ESIM, ported my number over, and my phone works exactly like it did on T-Mobile.
This business about going back to the original provider to get a phone unlocked… Is it an American thing?
Here in the UK, most of us go and see the guy with a stall at the market, who does it for a small charge while you wait. My daughter used to change her phone every couple of years and pass the old one to her mother. The transition was never a problem.
On the subject of contracts, there was some publicity recently about the people who carry on paying for their phones, even though they are paid for. I think that providers are now obliged to tell customers when the phone is paid up.
It’s pretty much universal in the USA. Largely because our mobile industry’s business model is that a consumer almost always buys their phone directly from the signal provider, not from an independent 3rd party.
I at least cannot speak to practices anywhere outside the USA.
Or yell, “The wind is in the buffalo! Mission is off! I repeat: Scrub the mission! Smitty, pick me up at House Blue! House Blue Smitty!” and break your phone in half and throw it in the trash can.
The customer thinks they’re getting a “free” phone when actually they’re buying it on the installment plan with the cost of the phone folded into the monthly payments for service. That’s how customers get the latest, most expensive tech without breaking the bank.