After you purchase and use your cellphone for an extended period of time, you can change networks. However, the phone that you're currently using may not be offered on that network. If you wish to ...

Your phone's SIM card allows the device to make calls, send texts, and connect to the internet. The SIM card provides a phone number that identifies your device on the carrier's network, whether it's ...

(Subscriber Identity Module lock) A function in GSM cellphones that restricts the phone's use to a particular cellular carrier identified by a SIM card. SIM locks are used to ensure subscribers finish ...

Have you ever gotten a new phone only to find out it’s locked to a specific carrier? This often happens when you purchase a subsidized phone from a carrier. The carrier locks the phone so you can’t ...

1) a Straighttalk iPhone SE (carrier locked) that came from the carrier with a Verizon-tower SIM card. 2) a Straighttalk ATT-compatibe SIM card. I would definitely assume so. The phone might also have ...

In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon breaks down what you need to know about the carrier practice of locking phones. Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Zak Doffman writes about security, surveillance and privacy. This is not as easy as it sounds — and it’s not common advice. But ...