You are here:

Cellular Phones/How to unlock a T-Mobile

Advertisement

Expert: - 7/23/2010


Question
My daughter bought a T-Mobile over ebay to replace her hiptop that had broken. It arrived but is locked. I am presuming that the person who sold the phone had finished their plan. Is there somewhere that we could find the code to unlock the phone so she can use her Telstra sim card?

Answer
If the phone has a keypad lock code, then the seller has to provide that code. This has nothing to do with how much longer they have on their plan. If the phone is SIM locked to T-Mobile, you would need to get it SIM unlocked by contacting a third party who charges to unlock phones. You are much better off just using a Telestra phone so that you don't have to worry about any of this. I'm afraid that the phone your daughter bought may not be able to be used for her.  

Cellular Phones

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.