Owners of the Samsung handsets, including the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Note 3, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S3, whose handsets are locked to a carrier, can now use a code used by engineers of Samsung, to unlock their handsets. Once the device is unlocked it can be used with any SIM card from any carrier and in any part of the world.
If someone has bought their device from Verizon with a contract for instance, then the handset will only work with Verizon as it will be locked. It can unlocked and then used with any carrier, providing the contract has run its term. The handset could be sent overseas so that a friend or relative could use it with their local carrier.
Owners of devices that are locked should take out their SIM card and then put one in that belongs to a different carrier. The device should then be switched off and then turned back on again.
Open up the dial pad and type in *#197328640#. Go to your main menu > [1] UMTS > [1] Debug Screen > [8] Phone Control > [6] Network Lock > Options [3] Perso SHA256 OFF. Wait for 30 seconds or a minute before going back to your main menu and choosing “back”. You will now see a “Network Lock” message. Choose [4] NW Lock NV Data INITIALLIZ.
If you typed in the sequence right, it should read: “Asterisk Pound One Nine Seven Three Two Eight Six Four Zero Pound”. Remember that some people call the asterisk “star”, and the pound button “hash”.
The locked handset should now be unlocked, which means that any SIM card with any carrier, anywhere in the world can be used. This is a code that Samsung engineers have used for a long time and it could work with any device belonging to Samsung.
