Have you heard of jailbreaking? Most people who have often wonder what it is, and why they should do it, but very few people actually know why. If you’re not sure about jailbreaking, you can take a look at the advantages of unlocking your phone, or purchasing and unlocked phone. However; you should also remember that there can be some drawbacks as well.

Here are just a few of the reasons it’s a great idea to get a jail-broken phone instead of a locked one.

You Will Have Contract Freedom
In my opinion, one of the most obvious benefits of an unlocked phone is having contract freedom. A traditional phone will have a ‘lock’ on it that only allows it to work with a sim card from one phone company. That means you will be limited to using your phone with their service, no matter how expensive that service is. If you want to switch over to another provider, you will have to switch phones, where you will most likely face the same problems. Jailbreaking your phone means that you won’t have any of these issues.  A jail-broken phone can be used with any sim card, from any carrier, meaning that you can feel free to switch back and forth between them at will.

Another benefit of contract freedom that I am personally fond of is that if you travel, you can exchange your sim card for a pre-paid one from another country, thus eliminating international charges when you make calls in that country during vacation. You will however; have to switch back to your original sim when you call home.

An Unlocked Phone Can Use More Apps
If you’ve got a phone with a lock on it, you might not be able to use any apps that you’ve already purchased, especially not if you purchased them from a different store. For example, a Blackberry phone only allows you to use apps from other phones. However; not all of them will work on your phone.

You can also use any applications that have been restricted to your location, and you can get around a lot of control settings that prevent you from accessing certain applications.

Change the Look of Your Phone
Ever wanted your phone to accept themes or wallpaper that you didn’t have to purchase? Jailbreaking it is the best way to do that! After you get a jail-broken phone, you can easily install any number of themes and wallpapers that you’ve downloaded for free from the internet. For most phone users, changing the theme can include changing the background, changing the look and feel of icons and even changing the colour scheme on the phone. If this is the type of thing you’re looking for, then a jail-broken phone is definitely a good idea.

Make Sure You Jailbreak Safely
If you decide to jailbreak your phone on your own instead of purchasing a pre-unlocked one, make sure that you do it safely. Making a mistake can cause serious problems in your phone. However; if this happens, I recommend that you restore your phone to factory default.

Just remember that if you have no idea how to jailbreak a phone, or even what FTTP software is, then you might not want to consider doing it yourself. The process is more than a little bit risky, and you can easily make mistakes.

Despite the risk, there are still plenty of great reasons to get a jail-broken phone. Having the freedom to use the carrier that you want is one of the most important, but isn’t the only reason. If you’re thinking about getting an unlocked phone, consider your options and make sure that you need it before switching over.

You can find a variety of unlocked mobile phones and sim free phones by going online. This is the safest way to get a jail-broken phone because you don’t have to risk doing it yourself.