How to SIM unlock the TCL 10L
When you buy a phone from a carrier, they typically lock it to their network. This makes sense because it’s designed to prevent abuse by customers who buy phones on the cheap and try to either resell it or move to a different carrier.
A locked SIM is also rather inconvenient because if you plan to travel to a different country, more often than not it is cheaper to purchase a local SIM than pay for roaming, plus you’ll also be able to make local calls to other local numbers at a much cheaper rate in case you need that accessibility.
If you bought the TCL 10 from a carrier and your SIM card is locked, don’t worry because unlocking it is really easy and in some cases, it might actually be free if you qualify for a free unlock from your carrier.
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Unlocking through your carrier
Unlocking through your carrier is the best solution since it is usually a free service that carriers offer to customers, but usually there are some criterias you’ll need to meet in order to qualify for a SIM unlock. This includes:
- You need to be in good standing with your carrier, meaning that you don’t have any outstanding bills and that the contract with your carrier for the phone has expired
- You’ll also need to make sure that you have owned the device for at least 60-90 days
Now these requirements might differ from carrier to carrier, so it’s always best to give them a call to make sure you’re eligible. Assuming that you are eligible, then here’s what you need to do next:
- On your TCL 10L handset, launch the Phone app and dial *#06# to pull up your phone’s IMEI number
- Write the IMEI number down somewhere so you can refer to it later
- Call your carrier and request for your SIM unlock code
- You will probably be asked to provide the IMEI for the TCL 10L’s
- If you meet all the requirements that we mentioned above, the SIM unlock code will be sent to the email address you provided in the next 2-5 days.
- Once you’ve received your code, swap out the SIM with a SIM from another carrier
- Enter the SIM unlock code that you received in your email when prompted and you’re set!
Getting the unlock code from a paid third-party service
Now, there is a chance that if you don’t meet the eligibility requirements set by your carrier, they won’t unlock your phone for you, but don’t worry, that’s what services like Android SIM Unlock are for. You’ll have to pay a bit, but you’ll still be able to SIM unlock your phone even if your carrier won’t do it for you.
- On your TCL 10L handset, launch the Phone app and dial *#06# to get the device’s IMEI number
- Write the IMEI number down
- Go to Android SIM Unlock’s website
- Enter your device’s IMEI number
- Complete the checkout process with your payment and contact information
- Once payment is made, you should then receive the TCL 10L’s unlock code either through SMS or email
- The moment you’ve received your code, you can then swap out the SIM on your phone with a SIM from another carrier
- You should be prompted to enter the SIM unlock code that you received in your email, and once you’ve done that, you should be good to go
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