I must say that, at first, I had some doubts it can be done. I mean, in Romania – this is where I live – I was told that:

– OK, you’ve got yourself a nice phone from America. But no one in Romania unlocks the popular Nokia Lumia 520.

So, I did not spend my time searching for free tools to unlock the phone. There’s no such thing as a free meal and you end up installing bloatware, spamware, tolbars and other crapware on your computer. Instead, I went for the fair and square deal to pay for the unlocking service.

And I got myself a very good deal: unlocking my brand-new, all-loved, full-fun Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone 8 smartphone for a mere $14,99 (USD) on CellUnlocker.net.

Unfortunately, I unlocked the device prior to thinking about filming it. But I did film it after the device was unlocked and this is how I unlocked the device:

1. Inserted some blocked-network Smicro-SIM into the device. I used a Cosmote Romania SIM card that was cut for micro-SIM specifications.
2. I powered on the device. WiFi was on, outside of any known network.
3. My SIM card has a PIN. I was asked to enter it.
4. Very important! Notice how it says „3 tries left”? Good. Insert PIN, if you have one on your SIM. This is your SIM PIN code.
5. Stop. Notice how it is again asking for the PIN? Don’t let yourself mislead, it says „10 tries left”. So it saw your PIN and now asks for the unlock code.
6. Sneaky, right?
7. Insert the unlock code. Notice how he device detects that it has changed?
8. Wait some 30 or more seconds for the new phone configuration to settle in. It still Windows Phone, you know…
9. Make a phone call (optional) to make sure it worked.
10. Try to lock the screen. You might not be able to do so. This is normal.
11. Wait a couple more minutes and try again to lock the screen.
12. Power off the device. Notice that, instead, it reboots.
13. You’re all good to go. Well, you might want to change your GPRS/ HSUPA/ 3G APN settings with those of your new carrier…

Overall:

1. Buy the unlock code from cellunlocker.net. Make sure, prior to ordering, you have all the details straight.
2. Insert SIM card.
3. Insert PIN (if you have one),
4. Insert the unlock code for Nokia Lumia 520.
5. Let it rest, reboot, enjoy.

It takes 15 bucks and a couple of minutes. And it works perfectly.

And that’s right, I was very, very impressed.