The Samsung Galaxy S5 is widely considered one of the best Android devices to ever hit the market.While initial sales weren’t quite up to Samsung’s expectations, they still moved over 12 million units within the first three months of launch and that’s nothing to sneeze at. Glowing reviews come, in part, thanks to the gorgeous display, powerful specs, and dust/water-proofing.
In fact, Consumer Reports recently recommended the S5 over Samsung’s latest offering, the Galaxy S6, citing the latter of these features as the impetus for giving the edge to an older generation model. With this positive praise, expect to see many folks picking up an S5 used or at a bargain price upgrade.
With the upgrades, or even new contracts, you’re going to run in to the dreaded SIM lock dilemma. Any device purchased from one of the major carriers is going to come restricted to their network. That means you’re not going to be able to take that AT&T device and run to T-Mobile for a discounted rate plan.
While this may be a more frequent problem for the jet-setters among us, that also means you’re going to run into major headaches trying to use a prepaid SIM card when travelling internationally.
So, your choices are to stay with Carrier X and pay whatever rate plans they wish to offer, regardless of competition, or be stuck with a $600 brick. Don’t care for that option? Yeah, we didn’t think so.
Luckily, you can SIM unlock your Samsung Galaxy S5 for free through your service provider – as long as you meet their criteria (the phone paid in full and isn’t tied to a contract). Everyone else will need to use a service like Android SIM Unlock to buy an unlock code for their phone.
Carrier Unlock
You’ll need:
- Your IMEI number. This can be found by navigating to Settings -> More -> About device -> Status or by dialing #06#
- Your carrier’s Customer Service number. If your carrier isn’t listed below, Customer Service is usually preloaded in your phone’s contacts as 611, *611 or similar variation.
- T-Mobile: 1-877-453-1304
- AT&T: 1-800-331-0500
- Sprint: 1-866-866-7509
- Verizon: 1-800-922-0204
The simplest, and least expensive, course of action is to simply call your carrier and request the unlock code. Bear in mind that it could be a little tough; Carrier X doesn’t want to lose out on your business. If your service provider grants your request it will usually e-mail your unlock code within a few days. Have this code ready as you’ll be prompted when entering another carrier’s SIM card.
SIM Unlocking your Samsung Galaxy S5 is a rather painless process. Here’s a 5-step process to help you out.
- Take off the back panel/battery cover on your Samsung Galaxy S5
- Remove the battery so you can get to the microSIM card slot
- Swap out your microSIM card with one from another service provider
- Insert the battery and put the cover back on. Power up!
- When prompted, enter the unlock code that came from your service provider
A great alternative
If your service provider wasn’t able to supply you with a free SIM unlock code for your Galaxy S5, buying one from Android SIM Unlock is the next best option. The site offers incredible customer service along with a money-back guarantee if the SIM unlock code they provide does not work.
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