Unlocked phones are always a topic of conversation. There are many reasons that people are always looking to buy an unlocked phone, and sales of this kind of phone have increased exponentially in the past five years. There are various reasons that this change is taking place, and more and more consumers are looking for unlocked phones to replace their locked ones each day.
An IMEI check can help you verify that the phone that you are looking to pick up is unlocked and ready to be used the way you want. You might be wondering why unlocked phones are so ideal. If you haven’t heard about the benefits of this kind of phone, we will discuss them here.
What is an Unlocked Phone?
You might be wondering, what exactly is an unlocked phone? This is a reasonable question, and one that we should cover before you start learning about the advantages of having one. In the early years of cell phone contracts and cell phone sales, an unlocked phone wasn’t even an option for consumers. Thankfully, things have changed and unlocked phones can be bought directly from manufacturers or purchased used.
Unlocked phones are not blocked by carriers from working with other networks. When you purchase a cell phone on a plan with a carrier, that phone is locked into being used only on their network. This used to be the only method for getting a cell phone, but in recent years, things have changed as more and more cell phone companies have entered the market and started to offer month-to-month services to consumers.
Advantages of Investing in an Unlocked Phone
1. Â Freedom to Select a Carrier
When you have an unlocked phone, you can select any carrier that you want to have a contract with. Since there are so many carriers who offer month-to-month plans these days, this can be a great way to shop around and get the best deal each time you make a new contact with the provider. Plus, when you want to leave the provider in question, you will not have to pay off your phone or make additional payments to do so.
2. Ability to Use More Than One Network Type
If you have the right kind of cell phone, you will be able to use your phone on both kinds of cell networks. There are various kinds of dual-network phones that can be used both when you travel and when you are at home in the US. If you are someone who spends part of each year in another country, this can be an invaluable feature related to having an unlocked phone.
In the past, people who spent a large part of each year in another place with a different cell network would end up having to own two different cell phones. Now you can use the same phone when you travel.
3. Reduces Cost
In most cases, when you get a cell phone as part of your overall cell phone plan and make payments on the device over time, you will actually be paying more for the phone than its real value. This can be the only way for some people to invest in a smartphone. However, the days when devices were prohibitively expensive are nearly over. If you want to own a basic, fully functional smartphone, you don’t need to break the bank or commit to a contract that will cost you more than it is worth over time.
You will also be able to shop around for the cell phone plan that you want most, and you can choose to switch cell phone carriers whenever you want. This will almost always save you a significant amount of money over the course of your contract, which can be a really nice benefit to those on a budget.
4. No Bloatware
When you get a phone via a carrier, you will often have to deal with bloatware, which is all of the apps and products that the carrier feels should be installed on each phone that they sell to a customer. Most of the apps that are linked with your cell phone carrier will never be of use to you, but you will not be able to remove them, and they will just clutter up your phone. Having an unlocked phone will allow you to avoid all of this hassle and use whatever apps you want on your phone.
5. Quicker Updates
While not always the case, many people who have an unlocked phone report that software updates happen much faster for their phone than for their friends’ phones who are in a contract with a cell provider. This is because of the bloatware and other requirements of the carrier that also have to be updated during software maintenance.
In addition, the updates for your bloatware and other items that you would not have chosen to have on your phone are not optimized for your device. This makes the process of updating them slower, and sometimes, it can mean that they fail over and over again during updates. Being able to simply allow your phone to update in a few seconds can be a key reason to choose an unlocked phone for some consumers.
Unlocked Phones Offer Significant Advantages
If you are tired of bloatware, cell phone contracts that feel like a trap, and being unable to take your phone with you when you travel, you need to consider getting an unlocked cell phone. You can verify the status of a phone that you currently own or that you want to purchase with a simple IMEI check. This will help you determine if your purchase will allow you the freedom to enjoy your cell phone free of all of these encumbrances.
Gone are the days where you needed to sign a contract with a cell phone company just to be allowed to have a cell phone. Make the most of this change in the industry and get an unlocked phone!
