If you want to switch cell phone carriers to get more coverage or better rates, you may be locked in by more than a contract. Your Cingular 8125 itself may be locked from changing carriers. This software issue means your phone won't let you make calls when you swap your current carrier's chip out of the battery compartment and put a different carrier's in. You can resolve this by acquiring an unlock code.
Instructions
1. Open the Cingular page at Unlocking or Mobile Unlocked. See Resources for the specific links. Both are pay sites.
2. Click the select button to put the code in your cart.
3. Remove your Cingular's battery. Find the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. You'll be prompted for it at some point because the unlock code is generated from the IMEI. This also allows the sites providing the code to check whether the phone is stolen.
4. Wait to recieve the unlock code by email. You should get it before the day's end. Type the code into the Cingular's keypad while in phone mode. For example, "A5012J Send" means to type in 250125. Press the "Talk/Call" button to send the code into your phone.
5. Open the battery compartment and swap out the old carrier's SIM chip with the new carrier's chip. If you still can't make a call, repeat Step 4 before contacting the service that mailed you the code to remedy your problem.
Tags: carrier chip, unlock code, battery compartment, Cingular 8125, code into, your phone
