Catshanghai

How do you unlock a cellphone ready to use with a local sim card in China?

I am writing this post in response to a new colleague who asked me this question at the end of last week. She has just arrived in Shanghai and wants to use a cellphone, which she brought with her from the UK. I have not had to do this for three years so I am a little rusty.

Networks lock cellphones to stop you from straying to other services especially if they have subsidised the handset as part of a contract. Emigrating or even travelling for a few weeks is good enough reason to open up your cellphone so it can be used with a local sim card. Otherwise, the roaming charges are exorbitant.

Anyone of the following methods should work.

Call Your Network
They will not advertise this part of the service, but you should be able to ring a customer service line to get step by step instructions and release codes to unlock your phone. They should do this for you if you explain you are emigrating, but every network and country has its own peculiar contractual terms and conditions. If you are planning on leaving for a long time you may have to pay a termination fee if you have signed up for a minimum period of time that has not yet elapsed.

Use an Unlock Service
You have to pay a nominal fee to unlock your phone using third party services. When I left the UK, I went to a local mobile phone shop who offered to unlock my handset for ₤10 GBP (150 RMB).

I used a website called Unlock 123 who unlocked my Nokia phone for half the price. People with cellphones from other manufacturers such as Motorola, Sony-Ericcson, Samsung, HTC and LG may want to look at Unlockthatmobile for more options.

Getting unlock codes from the Internet was successful for me, but I have heard of some people who have had trouble making this happen. It might be convenient to pay a little more to get someone else to unlock your phone for you.

If you arrive in China with a phone that it still locked then it may be possible to take it to a local phone seller who can help you. China is the land of the hacker and unlocking a cellphone is pretty easy compared with breaking copy protection on DVDs. I have not seen any information giving specific details about where to go, but I bought a grey market HTC smartphone that had been manufactured for the Japanese market. The seller had no problems had no trouble unlocking my new phone for local use. It’s probably a good bet to take your handset to a small shop that sells the same type of phone.

There are big electronics malls throughout Shanghai. Noteable locations include Pudong’s Zhangyang Lu, Cybermall on Huai Hai Lu - Huangpi Nan Lu and Metro City in Xujiahui.

A lot of people use the occasion of living in a new country as a good excuse to splash out and buy a new shiny phone free of contracts and unlocking issues. I love new technology, but don’t throw your old handset away, because the chances are that it will end up in a Chinese village like Guiyu. See BAN. Recycle your old cellphone by giving it away to a needy recipient or reappropriating it as an alarm clock.