I need to know if flashing a custom ROM like Cyanogen will unlock my Android smartphone.

Dave In NZL (now Aus). 2012-09-06 22:41:10 No, it will not. No firmware update will unlock your Android handset. You will need to unlock it using a code linked to your IMEI - there are some dodgy online places to source these, ask the relevant forums for some direction. 2012-01-07 08:50:00 Rooting and unlocking are two different things, When you root a phone/device you are unlocking the potential of the Android Operating System. When you "unlock your phone" you are allowing the phone's hardware to accept other carrier's SIM cards.So by running Cyanogen, you have rooted your device, but you have not unlocked it. Mjevolve 2012-01-06 23:38:00 Hello . if i understand what you mean , --then , You  cannot install a custom ROM onto a device that has not been Rooted .Rooting will Unlock the Bootloader of the device and that will let you Flash Custom ROMs like Cyanogen or any other .so Root > Unlock > Flash .and not the other way around .if you want to know more about rooting , check the MakeUseOf Guides section and download the  "Android Guide . " Ekun 2012-01-26 10:18:00 What part of that question do you not understand? If you are not sure what you are talking about, then shut up. Tina 2012-01-26 20:16:00 Thank you for your valuable contribution, Ekun. I'm looking forward to seeing more practical solutions from you!