Why is my mobile phone locked to SoftBank Japan?
When you buy a cell phone it will be offered at a discounted price by SoftBank Japan. They “lock” your cell phone to SoftBank Japan in order to tie you in to their service and recouperate their costs. This means that you cannot use the SIM card of another network, and if you try to do so the phone will display “Phone Restricted”, “Contact Service Provider”, “Enter Unlock Code” or a similar message. Unlocking the phone removes this lock, allowing you to use your on any GSM wireless network anywhere in the world.
