A few months ago, I placed a freeze on my Experian. Two weeks ago, I did the $1 for updated reports from creditchecktotal.com, and as soon as I cancelled it, I get an email saying that my Experican "credit file has been unlocked". Worried that this meant that the freeze on my EX was lifted, I returned to the EX freeze screen (https://www.experian.com/ncaconline/freeze) thinking that I need to place a new freeze on it. When I tried, I got an error message telling me that the freeze was still in effect.
So I know that a freeze restricts anyone from doing a HP on my report. What does the "unlock" mean in the context of Experian/creditchecktotal?
"lock/unlock" performs the same as a freeze as far as preventing unauthorized report pulls. A freeze is guaranteed by law (so you have some recourse should it fail) but the lock/unlock feature is not backed by law - so it's more of a use at your own risk feature.
If you have a freeze on your experian, then order a service owned by experian (such as creditchecktotal), the freeze will prompt the lock/unlock feature to auto-lock. Once you cancel the service, you lose the ability to use the lock/unlock feature, so it auto-unlocks -- but doesn't affect the freeze as they are two different services. You basically, briefly, had the bottom lock and the deadbolt on and now you just have the deadbolt.
Thanks @thornback!