How to Unlock LG G5
Owning the brand new LG G6 is pretty exciting, but being locked to a carrier who charges you every month and gives you poor customer service is not. Locked phone comes with several restrictions, not to mention ridiculous fees and poor network availability.
If you want to switch to another carrier, you need an unlock. Last month, I purchased an AT&T LG G5 phone, but my phone is now free of a carrier lock. You may be wondering how I unlocked my LG G5 AT&T-locked smartphone. I will share with you in this post.
Why my phone is locked
LG’s most anticipated smartphone has finally landed on our shores, and with it comes to the same old problems. Most carriers out there are still locking the phone to their networks, forcing users to use their phone on a single carrier. If you head overseas, you will pay some crazy international roaming fees.
If you want to go for the phone SIM free, you are looking at around $650 in the US and £649 in the UK. For contract pricing, you will pay between $26 and $29.50 a month for the phone with a 24-month contract through major carriers in the US.
Why would I want to unlock my phone?
Locked phones can only be used on the network they are locked to. Once unlocked, your phone can connect to any carrier’s network. This allows you to switch between different carriers. If you go abroad, you are free to use your phone with any local SIM card instead of paying roaming charges.
In reality, I was satisfied with the service my carrier provided, but roaming fees and poor network availability were enough to switch sides. That’s when I started seeking options for unlocking my phone.
There are three ways for unlocking a phone available on the market, but not all of them will work for you.
Rooting (dangerous and unreliable)
The first unlocking method on the market is rooting. However, rooting can put you at risk of damaging the phone or voiding your warranty. Does that sound like something you want to do to your brand new LG G5? No, I don’t think so.
Ask your carrier to unlock (expensive and time-consuming)
This is one of the safest ways to unlock your phone. However, you have to meet certain criteria before having your phone unlocked (the conditions may differ from one carrier to another). I once asked AT&T to unlock my LG G5. However, they sent me an email asking me to pay full price for my phone and complete all service commitments and installments plans. I decided to walk away and started looking for a different option.
Unlock code (Safe and effective method)
The final and the only effective method for unlocking a phone is using the genuine Unlock code. Every phone has a unique set of unlock codes and it’s stored in your carrier’s database. An unlocking service provider identifies the Unlock code based on the IMEI number of your phone.
This is safe, permanent and most importantly, doesn’t void your warranty. Because of this, unlock code is the only unlock method I recommend.
What’s an IMEI number?
The letters IMEI stand for International Mobile Station Equipment Identity. It’s a unique 15-digit serial number given to every mobile device. The IMEI number is used to identify your mobile phone. Your phone IMEI number is stored in your carrier’s database and marked as SIM-Locked.
Phone locking is where your phone is tied to a particular carrier and you cannot use it with a different network. Phone unlocking, on the other hand, is where you get rid of the restrictions imposed by the carrier and escape all problems your carrier is creating.
There are tons of unlocking service providers out there claiming to give you the unlock at cheap rates. However, not all of them are trusted.
Two years ago, I lost all my money to an unlocking website that promised to unlock my LG G5. What I got back was a phone with a voided warranty and my phone being put in a permanent Blacklist. I then figured out that they used hacking tools to get the unlock done.
When I first bought an AT&T-locked LG G5, I went through all sites on the internet, desperately searching for a trusted unlock code provider. That’s when I found UnlockBase.
How I unlocked my LG G6 AT&T-locked smartphone
I was skeptical in the beginning, thinking that I could lose my money again. However, when I read all the details and reviews on their websites, I decided that this was the one for me.
The process was pretty simple. First, I went to UnlockBase. After that, I inserted my IMEI number and completed my payment. Three hours later, I received an email including the unlock code for my device and a step-by-step guide for completing the unlock. I followed the instructions to enter the Unlock code to my phone. Once I had done that, it worked perfectly and my phone was totally free.
During my two weeks in Japan, I used my LG G5 with a local SIM card and it worked like a dream. I am now using my unlocked LG G6 without any problems in the UK, with a Vodafone SIM card.
As mentioned above, there are three methods available for unlocking a phone. Rooting is dangerous and will damage your phone, carrier lock is expensive and time-consuming, meaning that IMEI unlock is the only effective way to unlock your LG G5.
