You may not realize this, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is still the latest and greatest Note you can buy right now. After Samsung skipped the Note 6 name and the Note 7 died an early death, the Note 5 was left at the top of the perch. And honestly, it’s still a fantastic phone. We recently upgraded my grandmother from an LG G2 to a Note 5 and I was honestly surprised at how fast and smooth the thing functioned.

If you’re looking to replace an older or broken phone or you’re still rocking the Note 5 you may have purchased from a carrier, this article is for you. Almost every phone purchased from a carrier come locked to that carrier and that can complicate things like vacations to foreign countries if you want to use your phone. In this article, we have a few tips and tricks for you to get that phone unlocked and use how you please.

First off, you can go through your carrier. If you bought your phone from a carrier and your account is in good standing, your device is paid off, and you’ve had the device on your account for a set number of days (varies by carrier) then you can request an unlock code.

If you’re like most Americans and you bought your Galaxy Note 5 on a payment plan through your carrier, you probably will not qualify for that at this point since it’s unlikely your phone is paid off. If you don’t meet the requirements or you’re trying to unlock a used or “new to you” phone, you’ll need to go through a third-party unlocking service like Android SIM Unlock.

So, how exactly do you get your phone unlocked? Here are the steps we’ll need to take for both methods.

Get your IMEI Number

Before you do anything else, you need your IMEI number. IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identifier and it’s the unique code for every device to identify it to carriers for access on their networks. Here’s how you get your IMEI number:

1. Open the phone application
2. Dial *#06#
3. Your phone’s IMEI will pop up on the display
4. Write it down in a document on your computer or a piece of paper nearby

Unlocking

Free unlocking

Earlier in the article, we talked about the requirements to get your free SIM unlock. If you’re unsure if you qualify, give your carrier a call and ask. The worst they can tell you is no and all you’ve lost is time. If you do qualify, wonderful! Here are the steps to unlocking your device with an unlock code provided by your carrier:

1. Call your carrier customer service (normally you just dial 611 and hit send!)
2. Request an unlock code
3. Provide the IMEI number you wrote down earlier
4. Your unlock code will be sent to you and should arrive within 5 days
5. Replace the SIM card in your phone with one from another carrier
6. Enter the unlock code when the prompt comes up

When you get your unlock code, grab a piece of paper and write it down. While these steps are easy, you don’t want to be left trying to pull that information out of a document you have saved in the cloud when you have no service and no WiFi connections. Just do it the old fashion way.

Paid unlocking

If you don’t qualify for a free SIM unlock from your carrier, you still have options! You can buy a cheap unlock code from a third-party unlocker like Android SIM Unlock. This method will work for carriers besides T-Mobile and MetroPCS, so if you have service through them, we’ll have special instructions below for you.

1. Visit Android SIM Unlock or a similar unlocking site and enter the IMEI you wrote down earlier
2. Complete the checkout process
3. Your unlock code will arrive in your email in about an hour, but most of the time sooner than that
4. Put a SIM card from another carrier in your Samsung Galaxy Note 5
5. Enter the unlock code in the prompt that appears on screen

T-Mobile and MetroPCS Unlocking Process

T-Mobile and MetroPCS, as we mentioned above, has its own unlocking app. Even if you don’t qualify for a free unlock, you can still unlock your device using the T-Mobile or MetroPCS Device unlock apps. Here’s how you’ll go about it:

1. Visit Android SIM Unlock or a similar service and select the T-Mobile Device Unlock or MetroPCS Device Unlock option
2. Enter your IMEI number
3. Complete the checkout process
4. You’ll receive your unlock confirmation email in 1 – 3 days
5. Open the T-Mobile Device Unlock or MetroPCS Device unlock app
6. Press Continue, then Permanent Unlock
7. The unlock process will run and reboot your phone when it’s done

The process for T-Mobile isn’t any more complicated than other carriers, it’s just a bit slower.

It’s as easy as that. Enjoy your new (or used) Samsung Galaxy Note 5 on any network you please.

In this era of mobile gadgets, children also don’t want to be left out of all the fun and ‘cool’ they see all around them. Daddy has this cool gadget he wears over his ears to listen to music on the go and watch movies late at night. And Junior wants one of these children’s Bluetooth headphones, too.

How does daddy explain to Junior that these gadgets are expensive, can’t be maintained by kids, and produce sounds too loud for Junior’s little, developing ears?

Well, daddy needn’t bother. This is 2017; there are tons of children-friendly headphones now available – and actually crafted with these dainty little ones in mind. So, all daddy – and you, if you have a headphone-loving child with a smartphone – has to do is buy one of these perfectly-safe-for-children headphones for Junior.

However, as you can most likely already imagine, shopping for children headphones is in several ways different from buying adult or general headphones. So many things to consider and some research and (probably) planning needed to get the best value for your money, while also keeping your kid happy and excited about his or her new toy.

Welcome to the right place, for here you’ll be getting tips to successfully buying the ideal children’s Bluetooth headphones for your kids.

But first, why Bluetooth headphones?

You really don’t want your kid battling with a ball of tangled cord every time s/he wants to use the headphone, till the cable eventually breaks inside and renders the headphone useless. So, wireless, and in essence, Bluetooth naturally seems like the ideal way to go.

Now here are few things you should consider while shopping for children’s Bluetooth headphones:

Safety

This is the most important factor to consider when buying headphones – in fact, almost anything – for your kids. It’s the major reason we’re considering their age in buying headphones, or we’d just buy any one readily available.

With scary reports like: “Over half of the population in the United States will be deaf by the year 2060,” you want to do everything to protect your children right from now. Among things to do to protect your child from future deafness is protecting them from the too-loud sounds most headphones stream almost non-stop into their ears.

You want to ensure your child’s headphones are safe to use, with volume limits. The safe volume level is between 70 to 85 decibels. Make sure you confirm the features of headphones to ensure they’re at a safe volume limit – or can be limited manually – before purchasing.

Comfort

Comfort is a factor that shouldn’t be overlooked when purchasing headphones for your children. You don’t want them always stressing about using their headphones or stop using the headphones after you just bought it for them.

Make sure you get them something that fits snugly over or in their ears. Something they’d be happy to wear for long, and even doze off wearing.

Durability

They’re children, and things they own can easily get damaged. So you want to get something nice but still rugged enough to stand the rough handling the headphones might have to live with. Buying headphones not durable enough translates to having to replace them severally.

Features

You should look to getting something that comes with features both you and your child desire. Yours might be volume limiter switch, so as to prevent your child from taking in sounds too loud for their little ears, and of course, Bluetooth.

Features your child might love could include noise cancellation, control buttons, adjustable and fold-able bands, bright colors, etc.

Type

There are basically four types of headphones. They are earbuds, in-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, and over-ear headphones. Try to determine which your child prefers and is comfortable with, and then get them just that.

Recommended Age

Children’s headphones come with the manufacturer’s age recommendation. Check to confirm if that pair of headphones you and your child love is perfect for your child’s age. You don’t want to buy a Maxwell Safe Soundz, for example, which is for kids aged 6-9 for a teenager.

Budget

Children naturally play a little too hard sometimes, and that makes some of their toys and gadgets break often. It’s reasonable to expect that most parents wouldn’t have a budget that includes replacing expensive children headphones several times a year. If your budget can, then why not!

However, there are cheap but great headphones for children that you wouldn’t have to break the bank to buy.

Now that you know things to consider in buying children headphones, simply go for one with specs that meet your ideal conditions. Purchasing online makes the process easy for you and gives you access to more options – and more features.

Finally, don’t forget to involve your child in the hunt and final purchase. The hunt will thrill them, and when you finally buy it, they’ll appreciate the new “toy” more and protect it even more.