Most phones sold by UK networks today are already unlocked. If yours is an older phone that is still locked, ask the network that sold it: EE and O2 say they unlock their phones free of charge, Three’s blog says older Three phones can be unlocked free in its stores, and Vodafone takes requests through an online form. EE, O2 and Vodafone all work from the phone’s IMEI, which you see by dialling *#06#. A phone from a US carrier is different: only that US carrier can unlock it, so the request goes to them, not to a UK network.
Are UK phones still sold locked?
No. Ofcom, the UK regulator, banned mobile companies from selling locked phones from December 17, 2021, so people can move to another network with the phone they already have. A phone first sold before then, often bought secondhand, may still be locked to the network that sold it. The networks’ own pages fill in the detail:
- O2: most devices are no longer locked to O2. Apple devices bought from O2 have been unlocked since 1 August 2018, and almost all new devices shipped after January 2019 are unlocked. Alcatel and Doro devices are still locked.
- Three: Three’s own blog says it stopped selling locked phones on 1 January 2014.
- Vodafone: its unlock page says most of its devices are already unlocked, and that most of its Apple devices should be too.
- EE: every Google Pixel, Oppo and OnePlus phone is unlocked, whenever it was bought. Any other EE phone can be checked online from its IMEI.
Check whether your phone is locked
- 1Try another network’s SIMPut in a SIM from a different network and restart. O2’s page says messages such as “incompatible SIM” or “enter network unlock code” mean the phone is locked.
- 2On an iPhoneSettings → General → About → Carrier Lock. Apple says “No SIM restrictions” means it is unlocked.
- 3On EEEE’s unlock page checks the status from the IMEI, and for an Apple phone you can text UNLOCK to 150. If the phone shows two IMEIs, EE says to try both.
- 4Find the IMEIDial *#06#. Every network’s request uses it, and our IMEI guide shows other places to find it.
How each network unlocks an older phone
| Network | How to ask | What its page says |
|---|---|---|
| EE | EE’s online unlock page, with the IMEI | Free, even while still in contract. Android phones get an unlock code; iPhones need none and finish unlocking when a non-EE SIM goes in. |
| O2 | Pay Monthly: call 202. Pay As You Go: call 4445. Both calls are free | Free, any time. You must be in the UK and the phone bought from O2. iPhones get a text, other phones an email. A phone that needs the maker’s help can take up to 10 working days. |
| Vodafone | The online unlock-code request form | Asks for your email, mobile number, make, model and IMEI, and sends the code by email. Only phones bought from Vodafone, and not ones reported lost or stolen. Large business accounts use Vodafone Corporate Online or call 191. |
| Three | A Three store, or Three’s own help pages | A 2017 Three blog post says older Three phones can be unlocked free in a Three store. Check Three’s help pages for the current steps. |
O2 adds that a Pay Monthly customer still has to finish the minimum contract term, even when using another network’s SIM.
Bought it secondhand?
Ask the network that first sold the phone. O2 and Vodafone both say they can only unlock phones they sold, and send you to the provider you bought it from otherwise. Before you pay for a used phone, an IMEI check shows whether it has been reported lost or stolen. Vodafone won’t unlock a phone with that report, and an unlock wouldn’t clear it anyway: see what a blacklisted IMEI means.
A US carrier phone in the UK
A UK network can’t unlock a phone from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or another US carrier. Apple says only the carrier can unlock an iPhone, and Samsung says the code comes from the original network or retailer. So the request goes to the US carrier:
- AT&T: requests go through AT&T’s online unlock page, and AT&T says you don’t need an AT&T account to send one. A postpaid phone must be paid in full, bought more than 60 days ago and not active on another AT&T account, and not reported lost, stolen or involved in fraud; a prepaid phone needs 12 months of paid service. More in our AT&T guide.
- Verizon: the postpaid and prepaid rules, and how the automatic unlock works, are in our Verizon guide.
- T-Mobile: the rules and on-phone steps are in our T-Mobile Galaxy guide.
If the carrier can’t unlock it for you, our AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile pages list the unlocks we offer, each with its live price and delivery estimate. Once it’s unlocked, our guide to using your phone abroad with a local SIM covers the switch.
Our UK network pages
The network’s own free route should come first. If it can’t help, we list unlocks for EE, O2, Three and Vodafone phones, each with its live price and delivery estimate. Every other network we cover is on all carriers.
