[Solved] How to Unlock a U.S. Cellular Phone for Free?

Once you purchase a mobile phone, you will notice that it comes locked. This means that you will be able to use the carrier that you have a contract with and won’t be able to use any other carrier. Well, this is understandable because every carrier would want you to be their customer.

However, you may want to switch to another career provider, and that’s when you may think about unlocking your U.S. Cellular phone. One thing that you need to know is that unlocking a phone is entirely legal.

Even though U.S. Cellular voluntarily allows its customers to unlock their mobile phones, but it comes with many conditions. One of them is you will have to pay the payment in full, or if you are paying in EMI, you will have to complete the EMI before requesting unlocking. Now, the entire process can be pretty time-consuming and tedious because U.S. Cellular not only has one eligibility criteria but many.

This article will help you understand what you can do to unlock a U.S. Cellular phone. Keep reading.

Part 1. FAQs About U.S. Cellular Phone Unlock

1.1 Will US Cellular Unlock My Phone?

Yes, U.S. Cellular agrees to unlock both pre-paid and post-paid mobile phones. However, they will do so under certain conditions.

Another thing to note is that some mobile phone models may be ineligible for unlocking because of the age of the device. In some cases, old mobile phones don’t permit the device to be used on other networks; your phone won’t be unlocked when this happens.

Here is the U.S. Cellular unlock policy that you must know:

• U.S. Cellular won’t unlock devices that have been reported as stolen, lost, or have been part of fraudulent activity.
• If your device is sold by other carriers, such phones won’t get unlocked by U.S. Cellular.
• If you are using a 4G Lite device, which has been released prior to 1st February 2016, such devices may or may not be unlocked.
• If you are using a 1X and 3G device, which has been released prior to 1st February 2016, such devices may or may not be unlocked.

If there are any technology obsolescence, U.S. Cellular won’t be able to unlock such devices.

1.2 What Is U.S. Cellular Unlock Code?

U.S. Cellular unlock code is a combination of numbers that can be used to unlock an Android phone from carrier lock. It will be created by U.S. Cellular if you’re eligible to unlock your phone, and it’s unique for each device.

Please note that unlock code is only for Android device unlock. For iPhone unlock, U.S. Cellular will do it over the air.

1.3 Can I unlock a blacklisted phone?

When a phone is marked as blacklisted, it means that the phone is stolen or lost. And U.S. Cellular won’t unlock a device that is blacklisted.

So, if you have your phone back with you now, you will first have to get it removed from the blacklist list.

To know how you can check whether your phone is still listed as blacklisted or not, you need to visit the WipeLock IMEI Checker. This IMEI checker will let you find all the details about your phone: the replacement status, blacklist status, and more.

Part 2. How to Unlock a U.S. Cellular Phone (Samsung, iPhone, and more)?

Here are the top two ways that actually worked for us during our research. To help you choose the better one, we made a comparison for you:

2.1 Contact Carrier to Unlock U.S. Cellular Phone for Free

The first thing that you should be doing is contacting the carrier and see if you can unlock your U.S. Cellular mobile phone. Well, most of the carriers will let you unlock your device, and the best part is that they won’t ask for money to unlock it.

So, if you meet the eligibility criteria for unlocking your U.S. Cellular phone, you shouldn’t face a lot of trouble in doing that.

However, be prepared to do a lot of phone calls to check the status because the carrier won’t convey anything about the unlocking process update.

U.S. Cellular follows strict CITA guidelines for its unlocking procedure, which is familiar with other carriers. Therefore, you will have to make sure that you meet their requirement criteria, and you should be good to go.

Anyway, it’s always better to try this step out because, who knows, you may want to shift to your network carrier again. This section will tell you how you can go about contacting your carrier to unlock your phone.

U.S. Cellular can unlock a wide range of Apple and Samsung phones provided you are meeting their criteria. In addition to this, if you are a military person, you can also get your phone unlocked a little bit faster than the rest by showing your deployment papers. Also, make sure that you have made full payment for your device.

Steps to unlock phone free with IMEI number:

Step 1: After meeting the eligibility requirement, you need to dial 611 if you are using U.S. Cellular phone. Else, call 888-944-9400.

Step 2: The customer service team will register your request and will do the needful. They will also make sure that you meet the criteria.

Step 3: The team will confirm when the phone is unlocked. You will be asked to use another SIM card to complete the unlocking process. Once done, your phone will be unlocked.

The downside of this solution is that you may have to wait for up to 15 days to get your device unlocked.

If 15 days is a lot for you, you should try using another way to unlock your U.S. Cellular device, and that’s what we are going to talk about in the next solution.

2.2 Using a U.S. Cellular Unlock Service

If you don’t want to wait for 15 days to get your phone unlocked, you can use a third-party tool to unlock your U.S. Cellular device, and that tool is DirectUnlocks.

For just $28.00, you will be able to easily unlock your U.S. Cellular phone within 24 hours. The best part about DirectUnlocks is that it can unlock multiple phone brands, such as iPhone, Sony, Samsung, L.G., and more.

DirectUnlocks is backed by a team of professionals who will make sure to unlock your device seamlessly so that you can use other carrier’s networks without any problem. There are just some easy steps to follow; here they are:

Step 1: The first thing that you will have to do is visit DirectUnlocks official website. Once you are there, it will show you a form that has to be filled.

You will have to select the country you are from and the service provider, which will be U.S. Cellular. Then you need to confirm your mobile phone’s brand and model.

Step 2: You will have to enter the IMEI number of your mobile phone.

• To locate the IMEI number, just dial *#06#, and the screen will display the IMEI number.
• Another way to find the IMEI number is by going to the Settings option. After that, you need to click on the About option.

Step 3: It will detect your mobile phone’s model number. You need to confirm that and then enter your email address. Once done, you need the select the Unlock for any SIM card option.

Step 4: The terms and conditions page will appear. You need to agree to that before you proceed with the unlocking process. After that, you will be redirected to the payment page. Go through the instruction and make the payment.

Step 5: Your request will be registered, and DirectUnlocks will take around 24 hours to unlock your device. In case you are using an Android phone, the device should be unlocked within 6 hours.

And that’s about it. Your device will be unlocked seamlessly. Once the phone is unlocked, you will be able to use another carrier.

One impressive thing about DirectUnlocks is that it comes with a 30-days money-back guarantee. If your U.S. Cellular is not unlocked, your money will be refunded!

Conclusion

Now you know the ways to follow for U.S. Cellular phone unlocking. Out of the two methods, the one that truly stands out is DirectUnlocks. It is easy to use. There are no rigid criteria to unlock your device, and it only takes 24 hours to unlock any phone number from U.S. Cellular carrier.

So, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of calling U.S. Cellular repeatedly to unlock your device and learn about the status, it is better to choose DirectUnlocks.