in this video I'm gonna show you how to
unlock your t-mobile phone I don't mean
unlocking it with your face or unlocking
it with your code
I mean unlocking it from the t-mobile
network well whenever you buy a phone
straight from a carrier whether it be
t-mobile Verizon AT&T or Sprint it comes
locks to their network and you have to
unlock it if you want to use it
elsewhere so that's what I'm going to
show you today I'm gonna show you in a
few simple steps how to do that don't
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I'd love for you to join along no today
we're talking about unlocking your
t-mobile phone and why does that even
matter what can you even do with an
unlocked phone that you can't with a
locked phone well when your phone is
unlocked you can take it to a new
carrier and that might be important to
you if you want to change carriers if
you want a new plan or you are looking
for better coverage than your current
carrier then that is one reason why
you'd want to unlock your phone another
reason is because if you take your phone
with you to a new carrier there are some
really good bring-your-own-device deals
and I'm linking to those in the
description below oftentimes when people
switch carriers they think that's a
great time to buy a new phone and while
that may be the case if you're looking
to save a few bucks right now bringing
your own phone will save you a lot of
money now you're not sure if your phone
can switch carriers and work on another
network here is a good rule of thumb
newer phones can generally be taken to
any carrier and older phones if it's
older than five years sprint phones work
just fine on the Verizon network most of
the time and vice versa and AT&T phones
work just fine on the t-mobile network
and vice versa most of the time now if
you know the carrier you want to switch
to you can check out your phone's
compatibility on that carriers site you
can just type in your IMEI or meid
number and you'll be able to find out if
your phone is compatible with your
preferred network that you want to
switch to now one last reason why you
might want to unlock your phone is so
that you
sell it now technically you can sell
locks phone but that's a real crappy
move and I don't highly recommend it
it's so much easier for the person you
sell it to if it's unlocked before then
because generally people who buy a phone
from a third party can't unlock it with
their carrier unless they are the person
who bought it so that's in one last
reason why you might want to unlock your
phone now let's jump in and learn how to
actually unlock the device first you
have to meet a few requirements before
t-mobile will unlock your phone first
and foremost your phone must be from
t-mobile second your phone can't be
reported lost or stolen so if you're a
robber watching this sorry it won't work
for you
and three your account must be in good
standing with t-mobile meaning all your
bills are paid and you can't have
requested more than two device unlocks
on your line in the last year meaning
you can't unlock your smart phone your
tablet and your phone in the same 12
month period now for postpaid accounts
your device must be active for at least
40 days on your line and your device
must be fully paid off
now for prepaid accounts your device
must be active on your t-mobile account
for at least one year or your prepaid
account must have more than $100 and
refills since you first activated it now
if you were in the military there are a
few exceptions for unlocking your phone
you can have it unlocked anytime if your
account is in good standing and you show
proof of deployment with your deployment
papers now once you meet these
requirements you can request an unlock
code
now you can request an unlock code a few
different ways if you have an Android
phone you may be able to access the
t-mobile device unlock app now this is
not an app you can download it is
pre-installed on some supported
smartphones so you can look for it in
the my apps and games and then go to
installed and once you are in the app
you can scroll down to how-tos and tap
security then you can tap T mobile
device unlock and follow the
instructions on the screen now if that
doesn't work you can call customer
support now if you have an iPhone you
cannot use that app because there just
isn't one for iPhones you need to call
t-mobile customer service for their help
and when you call you should have a few
pieces of information handy you need the
account number associated with the phone
you want to unlock you need the account
password or last four digits of your
social security number and you need the
IMEI or any ID number of your device now
you can find that on the back of your
phone inside the settings or you can
dial star pound zero six pound that
number will be 14 to 15 numbers long
you're also gonna need your phone number
and if you're in the military you're
gonna need your deployment papers for
that phone call now it may take 24-48
hours to be fully unlocked but once it
is unlocked you can take your phone
anywhere most likely and do whatever you
want with it now if you have any more
questions let me know in the comments
below I'm Cherie Riggs with was loud TV