[TorUser827PlsNoBan]

I don't quite know what forum to put this on so I'll ask it here.

In the US, you can get $1000+ new phones for $100 but they come locked to a carrier and a service contract.
I've seen on youtube websites that offer "Pay us $300 and give us the IMEI and we can magically unlock the phone so you can use any phone service".
Are those services a scam or legit?
Does anyone know what they do or how that works?

[Dismas]

What phone are you thinking of? Highly dependent on device. If it's Android, your odds are better as some devices are easily rooted/unlocked.

Some of the services offering this are scams, but there are plenty of legitimate ways of accomplishing what you're after.

[TorUser827PlsNoBan]

What phone are you thinking of? Highly dependent on device. If it's Android, your odds are better as some devices are easily rooted/unlocked.

Some of the services offering this are scams, but there are plenty of legitimate ways of accomplishing what you're after.

I'm just want to learn about it in general. It seems completely fake to me, but I would have said the same about a lot of legit things on this site.

I saw one service saying they can un-contract lock a new Iphone 16 and all they need is the IMEI. Can you really do that with just an IMEI?

[Dismas]

What phone are you thinking of? Highly dependent on device. If it's Android, your odds are better as some devices are easily rooted/unlocked.

Some of the services offering this are scams, but there are plenty of legitimate ways of accomplishing what you're after.

I'm just want to learn about it in general. It seems completely fake to me, but I would have said the same about a lot of legit things on this site.

I saw one service saying they can un-contract lock a new Iphone 16 and all they need is the IMEI. Can you really do that with just an IMEI?

I am not sure if any of those services are legitimate, unless they have an insider at your carrier. If your objective is to get a device on a payment plan and unlock it without paying, that is very unlikely to work. Carriers have gotten stingier about locking the phones until they are paid off.

The normal way is to call your carrier and tell them you're travelling to another country (and need a SIM unlock). They might refuse if you haven't paid for the device yet. You can search XDA, as some devices can be carrier unlocked without paying (usually older devices). Apple devices are pretty much a no-go, as far as I'm aware.