The secret is out—prepaid cell phone carriers offer amazing deals for cell phone plans. But before you can switch to a prepaid carrier and benefit from these affordable prices, you’ll need to unlock your prepaid phone.
Unlocking your prepaid phone is typically pretty easy, since it's likely already fully paid for. To unlock your phone yourself, simply gather your account and phone info, contact your carrier, and voila! Now you can swap your phone to any carriers that let you bring your own device (BYOD).
Let's go into more detail on how to unlock your prepaid phone.
Before you unlock: Eligibility requirements
Every carrier has its own unlocking eligibility requirements (keep in mind that they still have to adhere to the CTIA guidelines). Verizon, for example, will unlock your device automatically after 60 days from your purchase date, whereas T-Mobile requires you to wait a year. One of AT&T’s requirements is that the phone cannot be reported lost or stolen. Cricket makes sure to note that the phone cannot be tied to any fraudulent accounts.
That said, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), your prepaid carrier MUST unlock your phone no later than 1 year after purchase as long as:
- Your account is in good standing with your carrier (i.e., it's fully paid).
- The phone isn't flagged as lost or stolen.
To prepare to unlock your phone yourself, gather the following info:
- Your current account number, PIN, and billing information.
- The personal information of the account holder, if that isn't you. This could include their name, address, and Social Security number.
- Your phone's IMEI/MEID number. This can be found by dialing *#06# or by looking in your phone's settings.
- Pay-off information for your phone, if applicable. Most prepaid phones are sold at full cost upfront, but if yours was purchased via monthly payments, make sure it's fully paid off.
- Your overseas deployment papers, if you're active-duty military who needs to unlock your phone before your contract expires.
Unlocking your prepaid phone
The specifics for unlocking your prepaid phone can vary depending on the phone and carrier. We’ll walk you through the process for unlocking your phone with any of the major carriers as well as some popular mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that run on major carrier networks. We also have full unlocking guides on the pages listed below.
Carrier unlock guides
Find out how to unlock your phone with the following carriers:
How to unlock an AT&T prepaid phone
To unlock your prepaid phone from AT&T, here are all the prerequisites you’ll need to meet:
- You need to have the device fully paid off. You can’t unlock your AT&T phone with a payment plan—it needs to be paid off in full.
- The phone you want to unlock can’t be reported lost, stolen, or involved in fraud.
- The device can’t be active on another AT&T’s customer account.
- The phone needs to have been active for at least 60 days.
- If you upgraded your phone and want to unlock your old device, you have to wait 14 days per AT&T’s “buyer’s remorse” policy.
As soon as you have all that figured out, you can submit an unlock request form online. Fill out all the information, and you’ll get a confirmation e-mail to unlock your AT&T prepaid phone. Make sure to click that confirmation link when you receive it and AT&T will send instructions on how to unlock your phone.
Start your AT&T prepaid phone unlock here.
How to unlock a T-Mobile prepaid phone
To unlock your T-Mobile phone, you need to have spent at least $100 on refills for your prepaid phone. If you know you’ve spent over $100 on prepaid refills on the device you want to unlock, here are all the other boxes you need to check:
- It must be a T-Mobile phone.
- Your account needs to be in “good standing” to unlock the phone.
- The phone can’t be reported lost or stolen.
- Have your receipt ready if you still have it.
- Make sure you haven’t made another unlock request in the last year.
With all that in mind, you can unlock your device with the help of a T-Mobile customer representative. You can chat with an agent online or call 877-746-0909.
Start your T-Mobile prepaid phone unlock here.
How to unlock a Verizon prepaid phone
Verizon is, by far, the easiest carrier for unlocking your prepaid phone—it will automatically unlock after 60 days. If you have any problems unlocking your Verizon phone, call customer support at (888) 294-6804 for help.
How to unlock a Visible prepaid phone
Visible is owned by Verizon and thus mimics its parent carrier's unlock policy. Visible will unlock your prepaid phone automatically after 60 days from the date you purchased your device. The only exception is if Visible flags the phone as stolen, lost, or fraudulently purchased.
How to unlock a CREDO mobile phone
CREDO will unlock your device only if it fits these requirements:
- Your service has been active for at least 90 days.
- Your contract and device financing are complete (or you've paid an early termination fee).
- Your device is not reported as lost or stolen.
If your device meets these requirements (or you know you want to pay an early termination fee), you can contact CREDO's customer service to unlock your phone. Depending on your device, CREDO customer service can unlock your phone in a few ways:
- Unlocking your phone remotely
- Sending you an unlock code to enter into your phone
- Walking you through a unique unlock process for your device
Once you've confirmed that CREDO has unlocked your phone, you're free to activate it with a different carrier.
Take your CREDO mobile phone to a new carrier
If you want to take your CREDO device to a new carrier, any carrier that uses Verizon's network (like CREDO does) will be an easy swap. Here's a list of popular phone plans that use Verizon's network.
|
#1
|
Visible
$25 Visible Plan
$25.00/mo
Taxes & Fees included
|
|
#2
|
XFINITY Mobile
Mobile Select Plan
$0.00/mo
(for the first year of service) <br>Regular rate of $30/mo. thereafter
|
|
#3
|
US Mobile
Unlimited Starter Plan
$25.00/mo
$20/mo. for 6 months; $25/mo. thereafter
|
|
#4
|
Verizon
Unlimited Plus
$70.00/mo
+ Taxes & Fees. Price includes AutoPay & Paperless discount.
+ $40 Upfront
|
|
#5
|
Twigby Mobile
Unlimited Talk, Text and 2GB Data
$5.00/mo
for the first 3 months then $15.00/month
|
How to unlock a Mint Mobile prepaid phone
Mint Mobile requires devices to stay locked to its network for 1 year before being eligible for unlock. You may also meet the following requirements:
- Your phone number has not been recycled or ported, and your phone is in good working condition.
- Your Mint service is currently active and in good standing, with no overdue payments, or no more than 60 days have elapsed since your last active service date.
- You purchased your Mint Mobile phone on or after September 1, 2018.
- Your phone hasn't been flagged for any fraudulent activity or reported as lost or stolen.
- You haven't already unlocked a phone within the last 12 months.
To unlock your Mint Mobile phone after the year is up:
- Gather your account information. You must be the person of record on the account in order to request an unlock from Mint.
- Call Mint Mobile through their customer care line to request your prepaid phone unlock.
Start your Mint Mobile phone unlock here.
How to unlock a Cricket Wireless prepaid phone
There are only two requirements you need to meet in order to unlock your Cricket prepaid phone:
- The phone has been active for at least six months on Cricket’s network.
- You have an active phone number that hasn’t been reported as lost or stolen, nor been suspended for fraud.
If you meet those requirements, you can sign in to your account on Cricket and click on Account Settings and then click Get Code. Follow the directions and you’ll get a code that you can enter in on your phone to unlock it.
Start your Cricket prepaid phone unlock here.
How to unlock a Metro by T-Mobile prepaid phone
If your Metro by T-Mobile prepaid phone has been active for 180 days after activation, you should be eligible to unlock your device. The process by which you unlock your phone will depend upon your model. For many Android devices, a pre-installed Device Unlock app will walk you through the process. For newer Samsung phones, you can find your unlock access in your phone settings under the Connections menu.
For iPhone users, Metro will remotely unlock your device once it's eligible. Simply insert a new SIM from a different network into your phone and follow the prompts.
Start your Metro phone unlock here.
How to unlock a Boost Mobile prepaid phone
In order to unlock your Boost Mobile prepaid phone, make sure these three things are true for your device:
- The device has been active on Boost Mobile’s network for at least 12 months.
- Your phone hasn’t been reported lost, stolen, or have any fraud charges.
- Your account needs to be active and in good standing. Make sure you don’t have any missed payments or issues with your account.
If you’ve got all three of these boxes checked, you can contact Boost Mobile Customer Care and they can begin the process to unlock your prepaid phone.
Start your Boost Mobile phone unlock here.
Unlocking prepaid phones for military personnel
Military personnel on deployment can get their prepaid phones unlocked prior to the 1-year minimum (regardless of the carrier’s policies for non-military personnel). In order to unlock your prepaid phone early, you can expect to provide:
- Proof of active duty service.
- Deployment documents on official military letterhead.
The process may vary slightly by carrier regarding how to submit your documents to unlock your phone early for a military deployment.
What to do with your unlocked phone
Now that you have that prepaid phone unlocked, you’re free to take it to another carrier, major or small. But before you switch to a new carrier, you’ll first want to make sure that your prepaid phone is compatible with your new carrier’s network.
The major cell phone carriers and their MVNOs use one of two network technologies: GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) or CDMA (Verizon, Sprint).To learn more about network compatibility and other steps you should take when switching carriers, check out our guide to switching carriers when bringing your own device.
The good news is, you can probably save a ton by switching phone plans. Many smaller carriers offer cheap unlimited plans on the Big Carrier networks. For example, you can find a $30/month ($15/month for the first 3 months) Unlimited plan from Mint Mobile that includes 50GB of premium data and a 20GB mobile hotspot on T-Mobile's network. That's a fantastic price for access to the largest 5G network in the nation.
Mint Mobile Unlimited Data Plan
| Carrier | Mint Mobile |
|---|---|
| Data | Unlimited Data |
| Type | No Contract |
| Current Deal | Get this plan for just $25/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required |
| Total Price |
$25 per month
$75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.
|
| View Plan |
If you're a Verizon fan, Visible offers a $25/month Unlimited plan with unlimited 5G data and an unlimited mobile hotspot with speeds capped at 5Mbps. Verizon's 4G LTE network is the largest in the nation, so you'll rarely struggle for service on Visible.
Visible $25 Visible Plan
| Carrier | Visible |
|---|---|
| Data | Unlimited Data |
| Type | No Contract |
| Total Price |
$25 per month
Taxes & Fees included
|
| View Plan |
They're far from the only MVNOs with unlimited plans. Check out some of the other top options below:
|
#1
|
XFINITY Mobile
Mobile Select Plan
$0.00/mo
(for the first year of service) <br>Regular rate of $30/mo. thereafter
|
|
#2
|
Astound Mobile
Unlimited Data Plan
$0.00/mo
+ $14.99 Upfront
|
|
#3
|
Boost Mobile
Unlimited Plan
$10.00/mo
with AutoPay
|
|
#4
|
Cricket
3-Month Unlimited Plan
$15.00/mo
$45 advance payment for 3 months (equals to $15/month)<br>regular rate for 3 months is $120 (equals to $40/month)
+ $9.99 Upfront
|
|
#5
|
Google Fi Wireless
Unlimited Essentials for 1
$17.50/mo
|
Unlocking a prepaid phone: FAQs
How much would it cost to unlock a phone?
It doesn't cost anything to unlock a phone. Simply submit a request through your carrier to get the process started.
Is it illegal to unlock phones?
No, it is not illegal to unlock a phone. The only issue you would encounter is if your phone was reported as lost or stolen, or the carrier flagged the phone or your account for fraudulent activity.
Can I unlock my phone with my IMEI number?
Yes, you can unlock your phone using your IMEI or MEID number. You'll need it to check your eligibility for an unlock, as well as to check your phone's compatibility with any other network you may want to switch to.
Does a factory reset remove a network lock?
No, a factory reset does not unlock your phone from a network. You will still have to go through your carrier's device unlock process to remove the network lock.
Lauren Hannula
Managing Editor
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