The answer to this question is as simple as maybe. Before we get to that though, let’s talk unlocking. People use the term unlocking a phone for many different reasons, but the only true meaning of unlocked applies to the radios that are contained in the phone. In a CDMA phone, this would mean an unlocked device would work on Sprint or Verizon. In GSM phones, a T-Mobile phone would work on AT&T and vice versa. Let’s get a few of the misused terms back to where they go now.
An unlocked iPhone will be almost functional on most carriers. When I say almost, I mean certain features require something beyond unlocking to work on off-network carriers. If you have an AT&T iPhone and unlock it to use another carrier’s SIM card, you will have your voice and text messaging start working almost immediately. The data configurations are usually handled by an app or a script from a website. What probably won’t work without taking the next step is MMS or picture messages. This usually requires a procedure called ‘jailbreaking’. Jailbreaking is the physical cracking of the OS to allow the Access Point Name or APN to change to a new carrier’s settings. The APN’s are what Data and MMS use to validate your device on the network. Without editing these settings, the features will not work properly. This means even your unlocked phone will not function completely.
Android has its own version of jailbreaking, called rooting. Rooting a phone will allow a user to put custom ROM’s, Apps and edit the core values of the phone completely. The same standards apply to Android as the iPhone. You can unlock your Android device and still not have full functionality. Apps like Tweakker make manually changing the APN’s on your device quick and easy. Tweakker is available in the Google Play Store and is free to install and use.
Windows Phones are another entirely different scenario. if you use a Samsung or Nokia device, you can actually download the Network or Wireless Setup Apps from the Marketplace and configure the entire APN strings for your device. HTC devices tend to be a bit more problematic, but they can be configured as well.
So, before you start answering the question of if your iPhone has to be unlocked or not, or if it was already, understand what unlocked means. Unlocked phones allow for any SIM card to be placed in the device and register it to the network. Unlocking a phone will not allow the phone to receive data or use MMS messages. Those require those additional modifications to the APN’s before usage.
That said, if you own a T-Mobile phone, you are all set for Solavei service. If you want to use all the features of your Solavei service, the device should be rootthe Solaveied/jailbroken/editable but many can be configured to the Solavei network with Apps and scripts. If you have an AT&T or other carrier’s device, it will have to be unlocked to accept the Solavei SIM, but it will also have to be reconfigured to the network before it will function to its fullest.
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