Blackberry phones have recently become the favorite among all groups from teenagers to businessmen. They are selling like hotcakes even with its expensive price. Taking advantage of this, network providers have configured a "subsidy lock" into each blackberry that they sell. If the owners of a blackberry do not know how to do blackberry unlock, which is likely the case, then they are tied to the network provider forever.

Some network providers will allow you to get your code for free if you meet some requirements. One of these requirements is that they should have been your network provider for a certain number of years. Given that, your only option if you are not a long-time customer is to look for the services of people who know how to unlock a phone if you want to switch to another network provider. If you own a Blackberry, then it is a bit different because the codes are assigned to them using a calculator.

Other mobile phones are somewhat easier to crack because the codes are not assigned randomly. Hence, it is cheaper to do have your Motorola unlock code cracked. Cracking your blackberry’s code will require more work and effort because the people whose services you will hire will find other means to unlock it. They may also have to invest in software or hardware in order to succeed in unlocking your mobile phone. Hiring their services is still cheaper than buying a new phone from another network just so you can switch to a different provider. Besides, you would not want to part with your blackberry anyway.

All GSM phones, by original design are supposed to be compatible with any Subscriber Information Module or SIM. This SIM comes in the form of a small chip which has a serial number assigned to it. This serial number is stored in a network’s database and this is how they identify you. These days, however, network providers lock the phones that they sell so that it would only accommodate SIM's that are released by their network. You would need to unlock mobile phone in order for your mobile phone to accommodate a SIM that is provided by another network. Unlocking cell phone is not very easy but there are people who are experts on this and they provide their services to unlock cell phone for a reasonable price.

Network providers like AT&T, Cingular, Verizon and T-Mobile offer discounts to attract customers given the high price at which mobile phones are sold. In order not to lose much profit, they lock these mobile phones to their network and you would need an unlock code to be able to switch to another network. This code will not be given to you along with the phone when you buy it from them. You will need to hire the services of people who know how to do mobile phone unlock if you want to have it unlocked.