Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking Thankfully, today’s telcos are a little less hardcore and much less likely to strongarm you into loyalty. Just about every postpaid plan now is contract-free, and the phones paired with these plans aren’t locked to a specific network, so you’re free to leave at any time. But what about those who have older phones, before those archaic rules were scrapped? And what about prepaid customers, who scored a bargain handset only to be unable to switch providers? Well, we’re here to help find out whether your phone is unlocked or locked to another network, and if it is, help it break free. Aside from that, you could always do it the old fashioned way and see if a friend’s SIM card (with a different telco, of course) works with your device. If it does, you’re already unlocked and good to go. On the other hand, prepaid phones still come network-locked as standard. If you do want to unlock a prepaid handset (or an older postpaid handset) head over to our Telstra phone unlocking guide for a full breakdown of the process and fees involved. However, if it’s a prepaid handset or older postpaid phone, it may still be locked to Optus. In this case, there’s actually a really easy way to find out. To unlock an Optus phone, you have to go through their online unlocking portal. From there, input your IMEI number and fill out your details, then click “next”. It will tell you whether or not your phone is locked to Optus. If it is, you may have to pay an unlocking fee. If all else fails, you’ll have to contact the Optus support team directly for assistance. If you purchased it before this date, or if it’s a prepaid phone, it may be network locked. In that case, finding out for sure is a similar process to Optus - simply visit Vodafone’s device unlocking portal, input your IMEI number and hit ‘Next’. If your phone is not network locked, you should get an ‘IMEI Not Found’ message. If it is locked, head over to our Vodafone phone unlocking guide for a full walkthrough. This should work in most cases, but if not, reach out to Vodafone customer support for help. If you’ve got a phone purchased from 3 Mobile or Crazy John’s, it’s quite possible that it is still locked. Thanks to their mergers with Vodafone, there’s an easy way to find out. All you have to do is visit Vodafone’s phone unlocking portal and fill out your device’s details. It will also tell you how much it will cost to unlock your device. Boost Mobile is still alive and kicking, but they’ve shifted their focus to SIM-only plans and refurbished devices. Still, if you bought a phone through them before about 2016, it may still be locked to their network. If this is the case, simply contact their support team on 1800 100 933 and request an unlocking code. Most Virgin Mobile phones should already be unlocked, but if it’s not, you’ll have to go with a third-party phone unlocking service. However, these services can be risky, so it’s probably best to just bite the bullet and upgrade.
