Unlock your phone

If your phone originally came from one of the mobile operators, it may well be locked — that is, it will only work on their network.

But once it’s unlocked, you’re free to move to other networks and take advantage of potentially better coverage and the best SIM-only deals around. That freedom makes the phone more valuable.

Simple: borrow a friend’s SIM card from any other network and slot it into your phone. If it doesn’t work, the phone is locked.

We recommend asking your network to unlock the phone. You’ll need your IMEI (the phone’s unique identification number). You can find it by entering *#06# on your keypad.

You may find it’s free with some networks, while others can charge in the region of £15.

Definitely. In fact, to encourage competition and shopping around, Ofcom introduced new rules banning networks from selling locked phones. These came into force in December 2021.

This depends on your network. It can take from a day or two, up to 30 days, for the process to complete in your particular network’s systems.