Unlock phone on Three

How to get the most out of your Three phone: unlock to save money and boost flexibility

In April 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed, later the same year, Concorde took its last flight and NASA launched its first manned space mission. Amidst this excitement, Three—a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings—launched the UK’s first 3G-only mobile network (of course, today Three offers 3G, 4G and 5G). Three’s 2003 launch makes it the youngest of the UK’s incumbent mobile network providers. Initially, Three established an agreement with an existing 2G provider, followed by a deal with Orange. As its services expanded, Three continued to use existing infrastructure to provide coverage. In fact, as early as 2004, Three became the first network to maintain 80% population coverage, a regulatory requirement which took other providers several years to achieve.

Three entered the market ambitiously with immediate plans to sell handsets and open physical retail locations—by 2004, they began selling NEC and Sony Ericsson devices. At the same time, Three opened their first stores on Oxford Street and Kensington High Street, two prestigious London locations. As well as their own stores, Three sold devices and contracts through online retailers. Later, in 2006, they purchased almost 100 stores from O2. Three have been pioneering in their product and service launches, as well as in acquiring complimentary businesses. In 2015, Hutchison Whampoa acquired O2’s UK operations for more than £10 billion; however, the EU blocked the purchase on competition grounds.

Today, Three boasts more than 9 million UK customers, 300 stores, 4800 employees, and a strong, active network of data users who combined use more than 3 times the UK average. Continuing its record for strong network coverage, Three has the country’s most complete 5G holdings. Three’s rise to popularity coincided with a general surge in smartphone ownership as well as demand for the latest upgraded handsets, a major trend which led to major network providers selling locked contract devices en masse. These locked contract devices made ownership easier but limit consumer flexibility and reduce handset value.

Millions of UK customers use or own a Three smartphone, if you’re among these, you’ll want to consider a more device unlock.

Why should you unlock your Three smartphone?

• Recently, major networks have announced that post-Brexit, roaming charges will return for most customers. The charges will be 10p a MB of data, 20p a text and 55p a minute for calls. Even networks like Three and Tesco who previously offered ‘home from home’ style agreements will be forced to reintroduce roaming charges. All users with locked will no choice but to pay these charges, reason being that no other SIM can be used with a locked device. However, even if a user remains ‘in contract’, a device unlock will help immediately avoid roaming charges. Unlocked devices work with any SIM, meaning when travelling to a foreign country, opposed to being subject to roaming charges, travellers can locate a local store and select any SIM-only deal offered by whatever domestic providers are available. Then, you can simply ‘plug and play’, insert the domestic SIM into your handset and continue using your phone without bloated roaming charges.
• Locked devices are worth less than unlocked devices, unlocking your smartphone will boost the resale value. Hopefully this article has made clear how much more flexible and functional an unlocked device is compared to its locked counterpart. Well, it’s not just you whose noticed this, private buyers and recycling companies know it too. Most smartphone owners intend to sell their device eventually, whether they use the sale value toward a new device or spend it on something else. In this case, you’ll want to maximum that value to get the most out of your smartphone. Unlocking your device can boost the price by as much as 30%, a smart investment!
• Locked devices are most often bought from major network provers, these ‘big players’ have higher monthly usage costs than their ‘challenger’ competitors. Of late, the usage market has exploded with new, lean start-ups focusing solely on usage. Without staffing costs, physical stores and inventory, these competitors can offer similar usage volumes at much lower prices. If you’ve bought or own a locked smartphone, unlocking it helps you access these deals and save you a ton of money each month. It’s likely you could save as much as £20 per month by switching to a new network.

So, for everybody who wound up here from searching unlock Three phone, DirectUnlocks can help you do just that.

How to unlock your Three phone

You might think unlocking your smartphone will be difficult, it certainly used to be. However, DirectUnlocks have made the process incredibly simple. In fact, you won’t even need to leave the comfort of your own home. Follow these four steps to unlock within 24 hours:

1. Simply choose the correct Three network in the form above (UK or otherwise) followed by entering your IMEI. Once you’ve entered your IMEI, we will automatically identify your device. If this identification is correct, go ahead and select ‘buy now’ to begin the process.
2. Once the payment is successful, we will begin processing your order and correct any mistakes you might have made. At this point, the unlocking process has begun, the time to complete varies by network and device.
3. Whilst we process your unlock you can track your order on the tracking section of DirectUnlocks website. The entire process should take no longer than 24 hours.
4. Once the unlock is complete, you’ll receive an Email and Text confirmation, including a code for devices other than Apple, which are unlocked entirely remotely.

We’ve been doing this for years and processed hundreds of thousands of devices, you’re safe in our hands!