Carriers also won't unlock a phone if it has been ... carriers "piggyback" on larger networks. AT&T phones are compatible with Consumer Cellular, for example.) Buying a used phone?

That's where unlocking comes in. When you unlock your phone, you get full ownership of the device. This means that you can then switch cell phone carriers without having to buy a new device.

In some cases, phones currently need to be unlocked manually through a customer request. Manually needing to ask cellular carriers ... making a difference at the consumer level.

Network carriers T-Mobile and AT&T released their response to the rule this week. The proposal would require carriers to ...

When the FCC proposed the 60-day unlocking rule in July 2024, the agency criticized T-Mobile for locking prepaid phones for a year. The NPRM pointed out that "T-Mobile recently increased its locking ...