What is unlocking?
Unlocking allows you to remove the network lock and open your phone to other carriers. So, if you’re leaving your carrier but love your phone…simply unlock it! *Please note that effective January 26th, 2013, phones can only be unlocked with your carrier’s permission.
What is jailbreaking/rooting?
Once your cell phone has been jailbroken/rooted, you would have full read, write, and rewrite permissions, enabling the ability to do more advanced things, such as:
- Install new leaked releases of operating systems
- Modify hardware systems
- Install more advanced apps
- Only mobile phones are able to be legally jailbroken or rooted at this time. The DMCA states that it is a crime to jailbreak or root tablet devices.
What is flashing?
Roanoke Cell Phone Repair can Flash your Phone.
You’ve probably heard the term “flash” when it comes to cellphones, but what does flashing a cell phone mean? In simple terms, flashing a cell phone essentially means reprogramming it to work with a carrier other than its intended provider.
So what is the difference between Flashing and Unlocking? It really comes down to the differences in the main 2 cellular technologies,
- Unlocking applies to GSM phones, which is the process of obtaining a code that “unlocks” the sim card slot and allows you to put a different provider’s sim card in place of the original. Some phones come unlocked already, but many do not.
- Flashing, on the other hand, applies specifically to CDMA phones. For example; Sprint, Verizon, and US Cellular all use CDMA towers. Flashing a CDMA phone reprograms the internal software coding to make the phone think it is for a different provider.
Is this legal, yes it is, but there are some potential disadvantages. Flashed phones often cannot be reprogrammed for their original carrier. On the other hand, the whole reason to flash is to get on a no contract service that will allow you to cut your bill in half, so why would you want to go back?
Another potential side effect of flashing is that certain phones may lose certain features. For example, some phones cannot send or receive picture messages after being flashed. The main other disadvantage to flashing is that flashes can be negatively affected by software updates or factory resets, so you do have to be careful, or you may end up having to pay for a second flash.
The benefits to flashing a phone to many people far outweigh the potential disadvantages. For one, you don’t have to invest in a brand new phone. Right there, you have saved a few hundred dollars. Not to mention the fact that if you are flashing a phone, you are likely going to a no contract provider that will save you a ton of money.
Let Roanoke Cell Phone Repair help explain to you about flashing and unlocking your phone.
