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Can You Sell A Locked Phone?

Jun 5, 2023 •

If you had asked years ago whether you could sell a locked phone, you might have heard a sound no. Even if you got lucky, you’d get only a small amount for the transaction. However, issues like cloud-locked, Bad IMEI and passcode-locked phones are common today. So if you’re wondering whether or not you can sell your locked phone, the simple answer is yes. At MLG Cash, we make trading your locked phone much easier while offering the best purchase deal in the market. Read on to learn more information about selling your locked phone.

What is a Locked Phone?

There are several ways a phone can be locked. A locked phone means you can’t use or sell it either because you cannot activate it on another network or simply don’t have access. It is essential to know the different types of locks as they may affect the pricing and value of a phone. Here are three of them: 

  • Carrier Locks: This implies that you cannot use your phone with another carrier/network than the original programming allows. Your phone likely has a built-in technical limitation that locks it at activation, restricting it to only one network, such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc. You can sell a phone, even with a carrier lock, as long as it is legally yours.
  • Finance Phone Locks: if you are behind on payment or haven’t paid off your phone completely, your current carrier will likely have a lock on it, restricting you from transferring to another carrier. Finance phone locks simply mean you have a phone debt you are yet to pay off, and your phone has been finance blacklisted.
  • Blacklisted locks. If you have a bad IMEI, your phone is likely blacklisted. Blacklisted locks happen when your phone has an unpaid balance or is reported stolen or lost. You may find it difficult to activate your phone or use cellular service if it has bad IMEI, as all major carriers use a shared blacklist.

How to Know if Your Phone is Locked

Here are simple ways you can decipher whether your Android or iPhone is locked or not:

  • The simplest way to check if there’s a lock on your phone is to try using a sim card from a different network/carrier.
  • If you don’t have a spare sim card from another network, borrow one and insert it into your Android or iPhone. Check whether or not you get a signal. If you don’t, your phone is likely locked.
  • If your phone is carrier-locked, you may see a message on the screen saying, “Enter SIM unlock code.”
  • To be 100% sure whether or not your phone is locked, restart your phone first. Your phone may take a while to recognize a newly inserted sim card.

Selling Your Locked Phone for the Best Price 

If you want to sell your locked phone, you certainly want the best market deal for it. At MLG Cash, we take away the difficulty of selling a locked phone while offering you the very best price on the market. What’s more? The process is straightforward. All you have to do is go on our website, select the “price your device” tab, input details, and the system will generate a quote. For further information, contact us today!