If you’ve purchased your phone from a telecom provider, chances are your phone is locked. A locked phone is one that will only work on the network that it has been locked to, meaning that you can’t use a SIM card or services from another provider. Companies do this in order to secure your business for an extended period of time, as it ensures that you will not use the device you purchased from them on another network. Along with signing a contract, this is also part of the reason why purchasing a mobile device from a service provider is cheaper than from the manufacturer (ex. Apple, RIM, Samsung, etc.), as providers subsidize the cost of your device, in order to get you locked-in with them.

Having an unlocked device can come with quite a few perks, as it allows you to shop around for the best deal, depending on how you use your device. For instance, it allows you to have a local provider for your Canadian phone needs but you can still do travel with us, to greatly lower your roaming rates. Roam Mobility SIMs work in your unlocked phone, to provide you roaming service without having to switch companies. If you readily upgrade your devices to keep up with the newest phones, unlocked devices also have much higher resale value, as they are much more versatile, in terms of available networks and where you can use them.

Unlocking your device is perfectly legal and can be done in several ways. Some mobile companies will provide an unlock code for your device, upon request. Otherwise, unlocking services are also available from third-party companies, depending on your device. Generally speaking, unlocking your phone is as easy as punching in a numeric code and you're good to go.

Currently, the iPhone is one of the only devices you cannot unlock through a third-party source. While there are some options you can use to unlock an iPhone, many of them are risky, some even causing your phone to lose functionality. Because of this, we highly recommend purchasing an iPhone directly from Apple, if you plan on using different providers. The iPhone4 is available directly from Apple in an unlocked state, unlike many of its predecessors.


In the instance where your phone is locked, and you have no plans to get it unlocked, a quick, easy and affordable solution is to invest in our Breeze phone, as it comes factory unlocked. This means it can be used with SIMs from other providers, as well as on the Roam Mobility network.

If you're wondering if your phone is unlocked or not, find out here. If you have any further questions about unlocked/locked phones or have any recommendations on the subject, please drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook . We suspect owning an unlocked phone will be much more common going forward; as people keep learning its many benefits.