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Sprint to Make All Devices Launched After 2/11/15 Unlockable

In January of last year, unlocking your cellphone technically became illegal after the Librarian of Congress removed it from the DMCA exception list. It technically remains legal for you to jailbreak your phone, but you can't unlock it without carrier permission. The absurdity of that concept resulted in a White House website petition, in turn resulting in the White House (via the NTIA) nudging the FCC to create new Part 20 rules making unlocking legal once again.

Instead of new tough rules, FCC boss Tom Wheeler got the carriers to sign off on voluntary unlocking guidelines (pdf) that don't force carriers to sell unlocked phones, but do require they're clear on any restrictions and process unlocking requests quickly where applicable (once a postpaid user's contract is up).

Sprint, one of the worst carriers when it comes to unlocked cell phones, has updated their unlocking FAQ this week to indicate they'll be making all devices "launched after February 11, 2015" unlockable for use on other networks. Have an older Sprint device? You're out of luck, according to their FAQ:
quote:
Specifically, devices manufactured with a SIM slot within the past three years (including, but not limited to, all Apple iPhone devices), cannot be unlocked to accept a different domestic carrier's SIM for use on another domestic carrier's network. Sprint has no technological process available to do this. In accordance with Sprint's voluntary commitment contained within CTIA's Consumer Code for Wireless Service (“Unlocking Commitment”), Sprint is working to ensure that all devices developed and launched on or after February 11, 2015 are capable of being unlocked domestically.
Again, while this all falls short of requiring carriers sell unlocked devices from the start, it's a long-overdue baby step in the right direction toward a more open wireless ecosystem.
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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

I got to see my cousin that I have not seen since 2006, and he handed me his iPhone and that thing didn't look right to begin with. I said to him "this thing jailbroken" which he replied yes. Now I can't use any of the Apple goodies like FaceTime or iMessage. I sent him a text and it had to go through as SMS and not iMessage. When I buy devices, I leave their security software and locks intact. The last thing I need is someone eavesdropping on a phone call because of some defective software on a smartphone or reading my texts. Apple handcuffs their phones for a reason, and that is to protect them from malware. I've owned four iPhones so far. I will NEVER own an Android device.

I wish the DMCA would have extended to jail breaking devices too, Jailbroken iPhones lose their built in security from Apple. I'm not for big government but I want to ensure that the person on the other end of the call (who I'm talking to) does not have malware on their phone that could be eavesdropping on our conversation that neither one of us are aware of.

Eagles1221
join:2009-04-29
Vincentown, NJ

1 recommendation

Eagles1221

Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

If you like having a locked phone that is YOUR choice. I prefer the ability to actually use MY device the way I see fit.
sexcho
join:2009-08-14

1 recommendation

sexcho to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
My iPhone is jailbroken and in fact, better because of it. I still use iMessage and all Apple services. Just because he doesn't know what he's doing doesn't mean it's the jailbreak.
patt2k
join:2009-01-16

patt2k

Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

Hah exactly jailbreak has nothing to do with iMessege I hate when people spread lies.

In fact I used to love jailbreaking but have no need for it anymore.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

I will NEVER own an Android device.

That's weird

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

2 edits

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

I've heard they're more vulnerable to security threats than iOS devices due to their open ability to install software. I like closed devices, that way I know the apps are secure and must meet certain standards. I still take reasonable precautions by not getting apps that are iffy but it's better than just getting an app out of nowhere.

I value my privacy. And Google is not the best at respecting user privacy. I saw on a blog that someone wanted to take out their Nest thermostat because Google bought them out. Even though we are on the losing end of the privacy war, I'll go down fighting. Every piece of paper that gets discarded in my house is shredded, even if all it contains is my name. My iPhone and iPad have pin protection (iPhone has Touch ID), and I disable location services on apps that really don't need it.

Basically in a world of identity theft and data breaches, all it takes is your first and last name and you can kiss the money in your bank accounts and your assets goodbye. Not all of us can afford to remediate the effects of identity theft.

The reason I said I want jail breaking banned in the first place is I want security software on mobile devices to remain intact because if I'm talking to someone I want to know that their device is not compromised and that our conversation is private. At least in my cousin's case I know his iPhone is jailbroken but I could be talking to anyone and have no way of knowing if the device is jailbroken, compromised, or contains malware.

I would actually like to see congress pass a law making it a federal offense to tamper with, disable, or delete security software or features on mobile devices that are sold in the United States or activated on US cell phone carriers for this very reason. It may be your phone that you paid for but the person your talking to should have a reasonable expectation that the conversation they're having with you is secure and private. The security software is there for that reason. People on here may not agree with me but cell phones with security features disabled pose privacy risks for the user and the person that they may be communicating with (that may have no knowledge the device is compromised).

Edit: Cell phones are basically becoming handheld computers and are just as vulnerable to the threats that plague desktop computers. These are not the brick phones of the '90s anymore.

tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ

5 recommendations

tubbynet

MVM

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

said by IowaCowboy:

I value my privacy.

odd, considering that you generally talk about your health problems, your family's health problems, where you live, what happened to you on any given day, and your wants/dreams/needs on a public website nearly every day.

q.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

said by tubbynet:

said by IowaCowboy:

I value my privacy.

odd, considering that you generally talk about your health problems, your family's health problems, where you live, what happened to you on any given day, and your wants/dreams/needs on a public website nearly every day.

q.

The nice thing about screen names.

Some forums (some newspaper comments and TV station news comments or other forums) now require you to use your Facebook login (real name) so I don't reveal as much I do behind a screen name.

And regardless of real name, screen name, or even on my personal Facebook page (Facebook is only the friends I've known personally so it's only 40 or so, not the 500 like many people my age) there are certain things I don't broadcast like my social security number (nobody in their right mind would give that out), my home address, the license plate number/VIN to my car (if I put a photo of my car on here or Facebook I take it at an angle not to catch the license plate), my phone numbers (I give those to selected friends by private message), my personal e-mail addresses, and a lot more info I just won't give out except by private message.

If someone on a forum or Facebook wants to mail me something (goods or a letter) I do have a PO Box and that's good enough. And I give that out on a case by case basis.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

1 recommendation

amarryat to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
Wasn't Apple the first one we found out was tracking your location?

bmccoy
join:2013-03-18
Port Orchard, WA

2 recommendations

bmccoy to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

I value my privacy. And Google is not the best at respecting user privacy. I saw on a blog that someone wanted to take out their Nest thermostat because Google bought them out. Even though we are on the losing end of the privacy war, I'll go down fighting... My iPhone and iPad have pin protection (iPhone has Touch ID), and I disable location services on apps that really don't need it.

Oh yes, you are completely exempt from companies breaching your privacy because you own an Apple device. *cough cough, »arstechnica.com/apple/20 ··· matters/
Expand your moderator at work

passingby
@oaklandcc.edu

passingby to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
The moment you put your privacy in the hands of your device's manufacture, or the idea thereof, your just being dumb. Jail broke or not, you have to take your security into your own hands. Don't need a security+ cert to know that.

thxultra
@mooseintl.org

1 recommendation

thxultra to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
I have to disagree with you. Now that devices are not being subsidized I feel Carriers shouldn't be locking them down to there network and taking features away. Case in point is the download booster on the Galaxy s5. If you pay for a device it should be yours to use on any network you choose. There are many things you can't do unless you root the phone. For one I can't use the usb port on my car to play music unless I were to root my android phone. If I buy a car I can modify it as I see fit as long as it doesn't pose a danger to others. This is the same approach that should be taken with phones if a phone has malware and is causing issue on the network the cell provider should have the right to suspend data service on the device until the issue is corrected.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

I'm able to play music through the lightning port of my iPhone. I guess that is because that is it has the iPod functionality native to its OS.

I also have an aftermarket car stereo in my car that has iPod/iPhone capability (I can only make calls through the iPhone, which is difficult with the speakerphone on the phone itself). The two work seamless, I can use the buttons on the stereo to change the songs, which I can do by feel so I don't take my eyes off the road (instead of fumbling with a touchscreen).

I've tried out Android phones in stores, I've never really seen them as a music device like I do an iPhone. They seem to be more of an app device. I see the iPhone as both an app device and a music player due to its seamless integration with iTunes.

thxultra
@mooseintl.org

thxultra

Anon

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

I have had both iphones and Android phones. Used to tell people to stay away from Android because apple was way ahead. I feel that isn't true anymore. Both phones have there pluses and minuses. Apple does have better 3rd party support (car stereos, boomboxes etc) and there closed system means apps run the same on any iphone. However Android is much more customizable (can change your app launcher, keyboard etc) and offers phones that have sd card ports to add storage and easily replaceable batteries. I have the stock head unit in my car which doesn't support playing off the android phone unless I can mount it as mass storage which requires the device to be rooted. If I replace the head unit I wouldn't have to root the phone but that is big bucks as the kit to replace the head unit in my car is $200 alone... (manufacturer has the heat and ac controls on the radio so this kit is pricy). Point is can fix the issue for free by rooting the phone.

bmccoy
join:2013-03-18
Port Orchard, WA

2 recommendations

bmccoy to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

I also have an aftermarket car stereo in my car that has iPod/iPhone capability

Practice what you preach. An aftermarket car stereo circumvents the anti-theft security in the stock one, why doesn't the US government make it illegal to put in any aftermarket car stereo?

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

said by bmccoy:

said by IowaCowboy:

I also have an aftermarket car stereo in my car that has iPod/iPhone capability

Practice what you preach. An aftermarket car stereo circumvents the anti-theft security in the stock one, why doesn't the US government make it illegal to put in any aftermarket car stereo?

Because my 2001 Dodge Stratus came with a CD player with NO USB or AUX inputs to feed an iPhone or Sirius radio into the stereo.

I'm sorry but CDs are as good to me as a cassette tape these days. You can fit 12 songs on a CD, you can fit 5000 plus songs on an iPhone/iPod.

thxultra
@mooseintl.org

thxultra

Anon

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

Exactly you just proved my case of why there is worth in rooting my phone so I'm not stuck with cd's in the car and I can use my phone and stereo both of which I paid for to play MP3's.
8744675
join:2000-10-10
Decatur, GA

8744675 to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
The NSA is listening to your calls regardless of whether your locked or unlocked.

Frank
Premium Member
join:2000-11-03
somewhere

2 recommendations

Frank to IowaCowboy

Premium Member

to IowaCowboy
jailbreaking has nothing to do with sim unlocking which is what this article is about.

jailbreaking lets you run unauthorized software on your phone.

sim unlocking lets you use your phone on another carrier.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

What I'm talking about is some of the unauthorized software that is used to SIM unlock and Jailbreak iPhones can and does pose security risks. Many of the programs contain spyware and that's not good. Apple does sell unlocked iPhones directly to customers through their website.
tdumaine
Premium Member
join:2004-03-14
Seattle, WA

tdumaine

Premium Member

Re: My cousin jailbroke his iPhone

Your tinfoil hat is on way way WAAAAAY to tight today man
Expand your moderator at work
Rakeesh
join:2011-10-30
Phoenix, AZ

2 recommendations

Rakeesh to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
Honestly dude I don't think you understand technology for shit. None of them have malware. The ones that do are just clones of the original that spammers send around.

You may as well argue that Firefox and VLC contain spyware because spammers are known to inject it into copies of those that they distribute.

messiah
@solnet.ch

messiah to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
I hope you aren't typing this from a Windows or Mac computer. I hear the owners of those machines are able to install any programs they want, signed or un-signed. Flying spaghetti monster forbid people have control over the computers they own. I'm glad you don't get to decide any policy regarding computers. A felony for fully using your own damn computer? What are you smoking?

aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
Asus RT-AX89

1 recommendation

aaronwt to IowaCowboy

Premium Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

........ I've owned four iPhones so far. I will NEVER own an Android device.
...........

I feel just the opposite. I doubt I will ever own an iPhone. Everytime I tried one I have just hated it. The Android phones I've used have always seemed so much better to me than the Apple Phones I've tried out. But of course everyone has their own preference. No one is right or wrong about it since it is highly subjective.
Rakeesh
join:2011-10-30
Phoenix, AZ

Rakeesh to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

I wish the DMCA would have extended to jail breaking devices too, Jailbroken iPhones lose their built in security from Apple. I'm not for big government but I want to ensure that the person on the other end of the call (who I'm talking to) does not have malware on their phone that could be eavesdropping on our conversation that neither one of us are aware of.

That is quite a foolish prospect. You really don't need to "jailbreak" a phone to tap the conversation. Furthermore, making it illegal isn't going to stop somebody who already ignores the law anyways from following it. Very, very foolish.

bmccoy
join:2013-03-18
Port Orchard, WA

1 recommendation

bmccoy to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
I have jailbroken TONS of iDevices and they all have been able to use Facetime and iMessage. Hardly anyone makes malware for jailbroken devices, because most jailbreak users are too experienced to download malware to their device. It's MY device, I should be able to do whatever the hell I want to it.

passingby
@oaklandcc.edu

passingby to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
Who the he11 uses iMessage anyway? Old crackberry users maybe?

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx

Member

Woop Dee Do (Not!)

Well, I have an off-contract iPhone 4S and Sprint's position is still "Go f__k yourself. We will never unlock it for domestic SIM usage". As such, I am in no way in the market for another iPhone from Sprint. They may make their phones unlockable after 2/11/15 BUT whether they will actually unlock them is not certain. After all, the iPhone 4S can be fully unlocked according to Apple but Sprint has to put in the request to do it. They will not. As such, I do not trust them and if it wasn't for the fact that my iPhone 4S service is paid for as an add-on line by my employer, I would dump them in a heartbeat. I never use the 3G service (approaching five months now of zero bytes usage) so I would find it pointless to pay for their service out of my own pocket.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

1 edit

IPPlanMan

Member

No Technological Process?

"Sprint has no technological process available to do this."

Really? Is a Sprint iPhone 5s really that different from a Verizon iPhone 5s which is sold unlocked for all GSM use (domestic/foreign)?

This reminds me of the BS Verizon spewed when it blocked Google Wallet (to prevent it from competing with ISIS): »Verizon: We're Blocking Google Wallet for Good Reason, Honest [39] comments

•••••••••••

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

big deal

if I was going to another carrier I just be getting another phone. Good luck taking a At&t or T-Mobile phone to Sprint or Verizon even if unlocked. I'm not sure how one would make calls on a carrier that uses CDMA with a phone that lacks a CDMA radio but whatever.

SteelerRaw
@72.5.190.x

SteelerRaw

Anon

Still not equitable

So a Sprint (or Verizon) phone can be unlocked and used on AT&T or T-Mobile. However, a T-Mobile or AT&T phone even after unlocking still is pretty much useless for Sprint or Verizon (save for perhaps the Nexus 5 or newer iPhones). The situation still doesn't seem totally "open".

Mr Guy
@charter.com

Mr Guy

Anon

Re: Still not equitable

Until Sprint and Verizon move calling and texting off of CDMA it's going to be that way. At&t and T-Mobile are not going to request their phone have CDMA radios in them so some customer can run off to Sprint or Verizon. Also a Verizon phone may work on At&t or T-Mobile that doesn't mean you'll get 4G speeds on it. If I was going to move from Verizon to At&t I would just a phone designed for At&t's network.
cdunnman
join:2014-01-09

cdunnman

Member

reply to sprint

I been trying forever to unlock my 5s becuase, many many times i call they say they cannot, and i do not know why they cannot, apple says they can, so I do not know who to beleive. But why will apple lie about the 5s you know

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Re: reply to sprint

You can unlock the GSM SIM for international use only: »www.sprint.com/swwsupport

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

with LTE this has end

All the carriers will basically be using the same tech, so all phone should be unlocked ,and not purchased from the carrier anymore.

••••
cyclone_z
join:2006-06-19
Ames, IA

cyclone_z

Member

What a bunch of liars

No technological process? Apparently they're unable to e-mail apple the serial number of an iphone and ask them to unlock it. For a 4S and up, all the hardware and software is there to let it work on any GSM network. Sprint just has to ask Apple to do it. Takes all of 2 minutes.

No way am I ever doing business with Sprint. What a slimy company. Oh and they coverage sucks too.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Re: What a bunch of liars

I'm not buying this either.... Sprint had its flacks word this very carefully, but there are cracks. They said "Sprint has no technological process"... But they never said Apple didn't.

These kinds of press releases insult our intelligence.

acadiel
Press fire to begin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-22
Atlanta
Apple AirPort Express (2012)
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)
ARRIS SB6183

1 edit

acadiel

Premium Member

Yep, we were discussing this in All Things Apple....five days ago :-)

»[iPhone] Sprint has "no technological process" to unlock iPhones

Gizmodo also has coverage of it: »gizmodo.com/sprint-will- ··· 2415/all

So does S4GRU: »s4gru.com/index.php?/top ··· -policy/
wispalord
join:2007-09-20
Farmington, MO

wispalord

Member

if there is a sprint in 2015

at this rate there wont be a sprint by then or they will be called something else and make this null and void I have worked there there a shady group who really don't care about the company