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Unlocking Your Phone Becomes Illegal on Sunday
Bizarre DMCA Exemption Process Goes Round and Round

While the oft-criticized Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal to bypass DRM, when the law was based back in 1998 a provision allowed the Librarian of Congress to grant certain exemptions. The most recent list of exemptions (pdf) back in October again tinkered with the often draconian and bizarre law, making it legal to unlock your tablet, but setting the stage to make it illegal to unlock your mobile phone.

The smartphone change goes into effect on Sunday, meaning it's only legal to unlock your smartphone for half of this weekend. As Techdirt notes, the fact that people have to petition every three years in the hopes of being able to fully use devices they own is utterly absurd, yet the bizarre wheel keeps on spinning.

Note that technically it remains legal for you to jailbreak your phone, but it won't be legal to unlock your phone -- unless you get your carrier's permission first. In some cases carriers don't mind, in others they'll unlock your phone only once you're out of contract, and in some cases they'll refuse outright.

Can our copyright law get any more ridiculous? Wait, don't answer that.
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Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

1 recommendation

Mike

Mod

Librarian of Congress?

In before dictator etc etc.

However if you unlock your phone after Sunday and get convicted.. it's 10 years of federal prison.

I suggest killing someone instead and have good behavior if you have an urge to unlock a phone.
cahiatt
Premium Member
join:2001-03-21
Smyrna, GA

cahiatt

Premium Member

Re: Librarian of Congress?

said by Mike:

I suggest killing someone instead and have good behavior if you have an urge to unlock a phone.

Maybe the people that write these laws? Two birds with one stone. Just sayin....

(Note to FBI: Not serious. Read into the sarcasm)

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Re: Librarian of Congress?

said by cahiatt:

said by Mike:

I suggest killing someone instead and have good behavior if you have an urge to unlock a phone.

Maybe the people that write these laws? Two birds with one stone. Just sayin....

(Note to FBI: Not serious. Read into the sarcasm)

Sure...IP address noted. Don't contact us, we'll contact you.

Jeff Williamson
Director, CIA; Ottawa Branch (Canada)
1-888-WE-CALL-U

www.cia.gov
travanx
join:2002-01-15
Altadena, CA

travanx to Mike

Member

to Mike
And yet no one will keep a database of stolen phones to completely shut out stolen phones from the market.

If this really is an iPhone related issue, who in their right mind would want an iPhone or Apple product in the future?

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

Mike

Mod

Re: Librarian of Congress?

Pretty sure that extends to all phones, not just Apple.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

yeah, okay

As long as this rule remains in place, I will never buy a phone from a carrier again. My property is MY property.

Lark3po
Premium Member
join:2003-08-05
Madison, AL

Lark3po

Premium Member

Re: yeah, okay

said by ArrayList:

As long as this rule remains in place, I will never buy a phone from a carrier again. My property is MY property.

Agreed.

Don't buy a subsidized phone if you want to mod/hack it. Pretty simple really...

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76

Member

Re: yeah, okay

It may be simple to avoid, I myself don't have to worry about this as much as I'm on a byod sim prepaid plan, I can just buy an unlocked device, but the truth is that many phones on ebay are used phones, many of which were carrier subsidized. and used carrier phones are normally cheaper than the full unlocked versions. This move could kill a substantial part of the second hand market.

This is about greed, carriers can make it harder to switch by refusing to unlock your phone, even if your contract is up or you've left and paid the etf, which in reality pays for the rest of your subsidized phone not the mention the boom for phone manufacturers to increase sales, as more phones become harder to resell.

With T-mobile's refarm and bring your own device promotion. I fully expect AT&T to start refusing to unlock phones, regardless of your contract being over. Verizon and Sprint may be better about it, as their phones aren't easily moved from one carrier to another. It's anticompetitive and anticonsumer, they shouldn't have the right to tell you what you can do with a device you own.

dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI

dnoyeB to ArrayList

Member

to ArrayList
Will this apply to second hand phones that originated from a carrier? Will this prevent carriers themselves from unlocking phones for their customers?

michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

michieru

Premium Member

Re: yeah, okay

It seems that way after reading the pdf. They are trying to stop a practice of a company buying used phones which are out of contract and therefore can be unlocked and are later sold in other countries for full price.

Therefore they are now not required (by my understanding) to unlock that phone even after contract is up.

So in short consumers should now buy unlocked and not subsidized phones. If carriers don't want to activate your unlocked device because their firmware is not on the phone then they could also tell you to go screw yourself.

Which damages the used cellphone market and will also give carriers greater control of what devices are on the network and how they are used.

In the process though it gives us less options so they can feel safer. It's also a indirect benefit for handset makers and allows for the use of backdoors because it's "Their firmware".
Expand your moderator at work

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues

Premium Member

Crazy laws

You get less time in jail for armed Robbery, which has real victims then unlocking a phone or camping a movie.

That's why you get when you allow lobbyists to write laws.
camelot
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON

camelot

Member

Re: Crazy laws

I don't understand how they're actually going to know??

There are plenty of ways to unlock your phone, and if a company truly wants your business, they're not going to care.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

1 recommendation

elefante72

Member

Re: Crazy laws

This is going to have the unintended (or intended) consequence of destroying the secondary market (used) phones. This will do a few things:

1. If you can buy a phone off of ebay, CL, etc now all of a sudden you are taking a chance that by buying a phone, you now become an oulaw.
2. These new "protection" databases where carriers will be tracking "stolen" phones will be used as an intimidation tool by the mainline carriers to ban phones on their networks AND MVNO, and once they start sharing across the board.
3. Theoretically a carrier locking a phone should be illegal, because even if the phone is subsidized (leased) it is still your property. The action to make whole is the termination fee if one breaks a contract which is a CIVIL not CRIMINAL matter.

Did you hear any of the big guys complain- NO. They LOVE this, it artificially limits competition. It's like you have to scrap your 2 year old car and buy another new one (cash for clunkers), except the car still has robust economic value for many years....Guess what cars, phones, etc depreciate in value like heck in the first 2 years. I can buy a 2 year old phone that "cost" $500 for $100.

The imperial government is in the process of criminalizing civil matters so they can simply gain more control and the lobbyists use the congress and pres to be their hammer.

Copyright, etc are purely civil not criminal matters and breaking DRM is not breaking the law at all. By finding a hole in intellectual property (known as an INVENTION) that person who breaks the DRM should be filing a patent, not going to jail. Of course that is yet another way the government limits competition and the entrepreneurial spirit. And then we become Greece.

dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI

dnoyeB

Member

Re: Crazy laws

which means the price I get for my directly purchased phones when I sell them on ebay will go up quite a bit!

Destroying the secondary market is the same thing Steam has done for video games. unless you make a steam account for each game.

Phone companies will probably be happy with this for a few years while it pushes up their sales. But in the long run its going to make people just stop buying phones from them.
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo

Member

Re: Crazy laws

said by dnoyeB:

Destroying the secondary market is the same thing Steam has done for video games. unless you make a steam account for each game.

I have had valve unregister games from my account and make them into gift codes which can be sold, legally, even according to their TOS, as long as they don't know, your in the clear. You just need to get the right person in support. I don't think Valve was 100% at fault for this change at all either. Once game companies started using online registration and one time use game CD keys, the second hand market for PC games was already dying. Its a bad comparison too, because it does not kill the second hand market, phones will just be carrier locked, so if you will now have to look for a phone to use on a specific carrier as well as what other features you want.

Also, have any of these laws ever prevented anyone from unlocking or jailbreaking their phones? the DMCA laws are outdated and need to be rewritten, the only problem is that they will only get worse, because lobbyist have more money than you or I.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

1 recommendation

KrK to elefante72

Premium Member

to elefante72
This what happens when Corporations write the laws. The write the laws to line their pockets.

The DMCA anti-circumvention laws have to be removed, period.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster to elwoodblues

Member

to elwoodblues
Is there any surprise with this sort of thing. When you have the RIAA using the provisions of the same law to sue people for an amount for one song shared that exceeds the total revenues for the entire history of the recording industry. The solution is the purchase your phone outright and then look for a carrier as they do in Europe. Chinavasion has all kinds of smart phones that can operate anywhere in the world and many have multiple SIM slots so you can actually run more then one carrier. Friends at work are ordering stuff from this outfit and they have been very pleased with what they are getting for such a cheap price.

JakCrow
join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA

JakCrow to elwoodblues

Member

to elwoodblues
I really can't see this surviving any kind of legal challenge, especially with jailbreaking still being allowed. I think they're undermining their own arbitrary law making with that.

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH

tschmidt to elwoodblues

MVM

to elwoodblues
said by elwoodblues:

You get less time in jail for armed Robbery,

Or crashing the economy.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: Crazy laws

said by tschmidt:

said by elwoodblues:

You get less time in jail for armed Robbery,

Or crashing the economy.

well those who crashed the economy own the government so they could murder people and just buy a law that makes it legal for wall street to murder people.
Kearnstd

Kearnstd to elwoodblues

Premium Member

to elwoodblues
The thing with Valve is they focus on a market that never had a big secondary market to begin with. PC gaming has never had a big used game market. Consoles have had a huge used market even since the SNES. And it really took off in the Playstation era.

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

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Ownership of software and other works

You may own the device but you don't own the software on it, the copyright owner does. As with software, you don't own it but you are granted a license by the developer to use it.

Same with any media, when you buy a CD or Blu-ray, you don't own it, you are purchasing a license to have a copy.

So in other words, it is a breach of the license to modify the software on your smartphone and that includes unlocking it. While you may own the physical device, you don't own the software on it and you are bound by the software licensing agreement.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

Re: Ownership of software and other works

I work w/ copyright in software all the time. You assertions while excellent are a little off base:

1. Software are covered under intellectual property law and copyright, which means that yes you own that license (meaning the actual method of use), and it has been proven in the courts that you can resell that license EVEN if the licensor says you can't. This falls under fair use and first-sale doctorine laws which is what they are going after next.
2. Software will also contain intellectual property which may or may not be covered by patents, and this is totally different than the copyright laws.
3. Breaking DRM or protection mechanisms on software is actually a new invention and has been protected since the beginning of time. It should not be illegal to break a lock (DRM), but to use what is behind that lock illegally that is the problem. The DMCA took what was legal since the beginning of time and made a "specific" invention illegal. So this makes an inventor a criminal to limit competition, nothing more. This is NOT a common sense law, but one meant to be anti-competitive.
4. Much of the phone's software is based upon *nix and its open source variants, so there are ZERO phones out there that do not take advantage of open source software that falls under differing licensing requirements. Now imagine AT&T putting a lock on Central Park (a public park), and then telling people that you now have to pay AT&T to go into the park and use it. Do you think that people would go for that? No, and that is EXACTLY what they are doing.

I have worked for a number of software companies, and I can tell you that I am 100% on board for people paying for what they use, but I also 100% disagree with software locks and license owners telling me what I can do with the software, because the entire fact for purchasing the software is to create a new or derivative work.

a333
A hot cup of integrals please
join:2007-06-12
Rego Park, NY

a333 to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
Last I checked, breach of copyright laws is not a criminal matter, but rather a civil one. Granted, it's been some time since I last bothered buying a locked device, but AFAIK, I do not agree to anything concerning the locking status of the device I am activating, either on the carrier contract or device license agreement... Locking is strictly a matter between the carrier and myself... They can choose to grant me an unlock code, or I can vote with my wallet and buy unlocked hardware (whether or not it's factory-unlocked is irrelevant.)

JakCrow
join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA

JakCrow to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
Unlocking a phone isn't about software ownership. It's about hardware. You own your phone, and it's provider lock has nothing to do with what software it's running. Your position means you couldn't mod your own computer if you were running windows or mac os, and we know that simply isn't true. Plus, this ridiculous restriction has nothing to do with jailbreaking a phone, which will still be legal, which IMO, makes the restriction on unlocking a phone just plain stupid and shows just how out of touch these people making such baseless and arbitrary rules really are.

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan

Premium Member

Re: Ownership of software and other works

said by JakCrow:

Unlocking a phone isn't about software ownership. It's about hardware. You own your phone, and it's provider lock has nothing to do with what software it's running.

Once the hardware subsidy is paid off (typically the same term as the contract) - you DO truly own the phone, and can do as you please... I don't know a single carrier that won't unlock a phone after the contract has expired.

If you want that freedom from day one, then buy an ulocked phone at the retail price, not the heavily discounted, subsidized contract one.
ccureau
join:2002-12-28
Slidell, LA

ccureau to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

So in other words, it is a breach of the license to modify the software on your smartphone and that includes unlocking it. While you may own the physical device, you don't own the software on it and you are bound by the software licensing agreement.

Interesting... All this time I have been purchasing computers that come preinstalled with Windows, wiping the disk, and installing Linux.

Does that make me a criminal too?

iTroll
@charter.com

iTroll to IowaCowboy

Anon

to IowaCowboy
Last I heard Android software was acquired by Google, and of course iOS is owned by Apple. So what part of the phone's software are you referring to that is owned by the carrier?

Are you saying that removing the portion of the firmware that only has to do with that carrier to use with another should be illegal?

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

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: Ownership of software and other works

said by iTroll :

Last I heard Android software was acquired by Google, and of course iOS is owned by Apple. So what part of the phone's software are you referring to that is owned by the carrier?

Are you saying that removing the portion of the firmware that only has to do with that carrier to use with another should be illegal?

The carrier loads software on to the device that is bundled with the phone's software. Also, most handset makers will void the warranty as modifying the software to unlock the device since that is a breach of the software licensing agreement. As for the unlock codes, it is illegal to crack them since that is considered off-limits to the user so that is considered hacking.

Back when I was in 9th grade, me and several classmates had gotten into trouble after a teacher had given us passwords and the school district installed software on computers but left the passwords as the default (which were easily obtainable) and we got into a boatload of trouble. The school system was partly to blame as they left passwords as default and the teacher (who was no longer employed by the district) gave us the passwords. We were young and this was around 1998. Some of the software involved was called LAN commander, Screen to Screen, and On Guard (all products by a company called Power On software) and this was on the Macs. While I learned my lesson, one of the other kids (who I no longer knew since I changed schools my 10th grade year) ended up killing a pizza guy and is doing life in the Iowa DOC. I was in a behavior disorder class when the computer incident occurred. I was completely out of BD class by 11th grade and I graduated on time with honors in 2002.

I learned my lesson from the computer incident back in 1998, which is why I don't access any part of a computer system or software that I am not supposed to access.

jtl999
join:2012-11-24
canada

jtl999

Member

Re: Ownership of software and other works

The computers were the schools property.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to IowaCowboy

Premium Member

to IowaCowboy
The difference is that the computers where property of the city. The phone, your desktop, your game consoles are your property.

I see DVDs and Blu Rays as mine too, If I want to rip them to a media center PC for personal use with no intents to ever send that data over the internet, I will because that is my choice to do so not the choice of some content owner in Hollywood to tell me I should also buy a separate DRM and platform locked digital version.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

The Supremes will rule in this case....

....which will have "trickle down" effects on smartphones and indeed every other non-USA manufactured device

Note: no decision has been rendered yet in this case.

Justices Weigh Case on Imported Textbooks
»www.nytimes.com/2012/10/ ··· oks.html

The general rule for products made in the United States is that the owners of particular copies can do what they like with them. If you buy a book or record made in the United States, for instance, you are free to lend it or sell it as you wish. The question for the justices was whether that rule, called the first-sale doctrine, also applies when the works in question were made abroad.

The answer turns on a phrase in the Copyright Act, which appears to limit the first-sale doctrine to works “lawfully made under this title.” The lower courts said that textbooks manufactured outside the United States cannot have been made under American law and so remained subject to the control of the owner of the copyright.

••••••
kd6cae
P2p Shouldn't Be A Crime
join:2001-08-27
Bakersfield, CA

kd6cae

Member

I've got a technical question

I've got a question for anyone who knows about such things. How does a phone know which carrier it is suppose to lock to if it's a locked device as mine currently is? Even an upgrade of the phone's OS keeps it locked to the carrier, as does a phone restore.
I have an iPhone 4S, and when my contract is up at the end of this year, I'm considering switching to Verizon. If I do so, will I be able to have sprint unlock my phone, so I can use the same device on Verizon if I wish? I know plenty of folks who have unlocked GSM devices, but I don't hear much about anyone with CDMA carriers getting their phone unlocked. Correct me if I'm wrong on my understanding of this, but my iPhone 4S is a phone capable of CDMA or GSM. Currently since my phone is locked to sprint, I could not put any GSM carrier's sim into my phone and have it work. And since Verizon is CDMA, the phone will not see Verizon towers unless unlocked? I'm just curious how all this works, and what the procedure will be for me when the time comes that I do wish to unlock my phone. Thanks. Oh yeah it's silly to make unlocking your phone illegal, I mean I've already long since paid for the total cost of my phone. OK rant done.

•••
adampsyreal
join:2012-10-13

adampsyreal

Member

Once again; laws created by those who don't understand.

*Why is it legal for cell phone companies to make my phone run slower with apps that cannot be removed without unlocking?
=They way I see it; phone companies owe us $ for lost time that we could have been using to make money -had we not been spending time out of our lives waiting for crap to run on our phones.

What's next? -no laptop bloatware removal?

•••••

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

This isn't DRM

What is the exact "digital right" they are managing by locking to a carrier? Unlocking isn't about copying or copyright at all and the phone itself isn't the property of the carrier nor is the operating system (eg iOS, Android).

carpetshark3
Premium Member
join:2004-02-12
Idledale, CO

carpetshark3

Premium Member

Re: This isn't DRM

I usually buy unlocked to begin with, but my kid lives in the EU. She can use any unlocked GSM so I can give her my old ones.

I unlock and root just to get rid of carrier crap, entertainment of all types, social media of all types. No DRM involved, dammit.

There are quite a few weather apps, astronomy apps, nature apps that simply don't run on a dumb phone.

Some movie named Inception or something like it was included on some TMO phones. I guess it was on the SD card - but I formatted my card first and wouldn't know. But some were looking for it. That would involve DRM, I suppose. So would music if the app is installed by the carrier.

PaulHikeS2
join:2003-03-06
Fitchburg, MA

1 recommendation

PaulHikeS2

Member

This should work...

So if I cannot unlock my phone to bring to another carrier at the end of my contract, I assume the carrier I bought it from will buy the phone back from me at full retail?

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

n2jtx

Member

Sprint iPhone

I guess people with Sprint iPhones are SOL because Sprint will not unlock iPhones for domestic SIM usage. International yes but try and get an off contract phone unlocked so you can use a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM and you are screwed.
kd6cae
P2p Shouldn't Be A Crime
join:2001-08-27
Bakersfield, CA

kd6cae

Member

Re: Sprint iPhone

This is the situation I was curious about. I wonder why sprint is unwilling to allow a full unlock of off contract phones for domestic use? Once my contract is up, why can't I decide which carrier I want to use my device with? So when my contract is up at the end of this year, my device will remain stuck on sprint's network, even though I may want to go prepaid or just have another carrier option to connect my device to in the U.S? And even though sprint and Verizon use CDMA, my sprint phone will never ever be able to connect to VZ? So much for getting more choices out of my device once my contract expires, unless of course I travel. It all seems rediculous, and I wonder what the point of that is.

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

n2jtx

Member

Re: Sprint iPhone

I have no idea what is up with Sprint and their policy. My 4S is off contact in October and I may appeal directly to Apple, as many AT&T customers did, to get a full unlock. Basically an off contract Sprint iPhone is usable domestically only with Sprint or with any SIM outside the United States. My guess is because they have not yet been smacked as AT&T has, they have continued the policy. Come October, it will be two years since Sprint started selling iPhones and that will be the real test to see if their policy sticks. If people start requesting full unlocks at that time and keep getting denied, that may force people like me to go directly to Apple for assistance.
Chaldo
join:2008-03-18
West Bloomfield, MI

Chaldo

Member

This isnt going to stop anything.

You will still see people unlocking phones and using them. Do you think this is going to stop the huge demand in other countries for unlocked phones from US? That is a big multi million dollar business, people still will unlock their phones.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: This isnt going to stop anything.

My guess is that, presuming the ruling stands as is, that individuals who unlock their phone won't be pursued in courts, but that services that offer to unlock phones may be. It's just like pirating. The individuals that do it aren't worth the time/effort to actually prosecute/sue in court...even with a victory what can be recovered or actual damages is far less then what the legal fees are. It's the bigger services that would be guilty of willful violation, or many counts is where the money could be at, if it ever came down to it.

Personally, I think it's a non-issue for 99.9% of the population. Most people have lived with locked cell phones for some time. With different technologies, frequencies, etc along with contracts, people stay with their same carrier for most or all of their contract. If/when they change, they get a new phone, trade in the old, donate it, or resell it to someone on the same carrier. Plus, with my experience with T-Mobile, after I think it's 90 days of good standing they will unlock it for you if you say pretty please or lie that you are taking it overseas.

kevinds
Premium Member
join:2003-05-01
Calgary, AB

kevinds

Premium Member

If I get caught,

I fully plan on counter lawsuit under fair-use rules.

•••••
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT
·Frontier FiberOp..

tired_runner

Premium Member

So let me get this straight

If I choose to purchase let's say... a T-Mobile-branded phone from eBay. The seller on eBay states the phone can be activated without contract. The phone may or may not ship with original software from T-Mobile. I receive said phone and install a SIM from a T-Mobile MVNO like Simple Mobile and it works fine. I'm still breaking the law anyway?

Some of these phones are rooted and flashed with custom ROMs that work much better, but that's now illegal as of Sunday?

How can this be remotely enforceable anyway? They're now going to access everyone's phones OTA and take a peek at the software version and build?

delusion ftl
@comcast.net

delusion ftl

Anon

Re: So let me get this straight

No, this issue really only applies to a small target. iphones, particularly on Sprint, and some on Verizon. They are locked so that they cannot be used on ATT and T-mobile even though they have sim card slots and have the ability to work. The exemption would allow a user to circumvent the lock and use their phone on a domestic network. That is expiring tomorrow.

Virtually every other phone can already be unlocked legally by the carrier/manufacturer, often well before a contract expires.

In my opinion you either don't do business with carriers that refuse to unlock your device, or you choose devices the carriers will unlock (if any).

Sprint and Verizon refuse to allow phones from each others network to be activated. ATT will take devices from other networks but will force you into a plan they deem appropriate for your device (usually mandating a data plan). T-mobile is the lone star here that allows you to bring any device and use it with any plan (including non data plans) and they don't have any devices they will not unlock upon request.

anonphoneuse
@comcast.net

anonphoneuse

Anon

how does this affect CDMA ?

i am wondering how this will affect phone flashing on CDMA carriers.

is it safe to assume that an SPC of '000000' is already considered unlocked?

changing the SPC would be illegal?

that would make flashing verizon postpaid phones to cricket or metropcs legal, but flashing sprint or verizon prepaid illegal.

or would writing a PRL of a different carrier be illegal?

or perhaps since setting data sometimes requires a bit of hacking on certain phone model talk and text is legal but data illegal?

i wonder if metro and cricket will just stop accepting flashed phone all together, although i imagine that would put most of the same mom & pop shops out of business since flashing is the one area they have an edge to compete against the corporate owned stores.

Cthen
Premium Member
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI

Cthen

Premium Member

More piracy on the horizon

When are these morons going to realize that they are only pushing more people into piracy with this crap?

On the plus side they are helping the other companies out there who will come with ways to get around this by increasing demand for their stuff.

Juggernaut
Irreverent or irrelevant?
Premium Member
join:2006-09-05
Kelowna, BC

Juggernaut

Premium Member

Re: More piracy on the horizon

I can see this creating a huge market for the 'pure' Google Nexus devices, as they all come unlocked already. In fact, it was the deciding factor in my buying the Nexus S. No begging the carrier, and no money spent for a third party unlock.

Maybe when the cell providers start losing enough profit off their device sales, they'll see the folly of their ways. As it stands, I can see this creating a lot of 'criminals' in the interim by unlocking their hardware for travel.

Hellgodl33t
@sprint.com

Hellgodl33t

Anon

Lock Me Up

Sorry but its my phone ill do as a please with it like telling me i cant put a ford engine in my chevy eat me

carpetshark3
Premium Member
join:2004-02-12
Idledale, CO

carpetshark3

Premium Member

Re: Lock Me Up

I have TMO service. I have bought unlocked European phones from Amazon and used them on TMO. One was a Nokia C6, not sold here, The other a Samsung Apollo, also not sold here. The Samsung was in the Czech language. I now have the unlocked Nexus S, and will get the Nexus 4.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

1 recommendation

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

On a related note......

...sales of Google's unlocked Nexus 4 phone are starting to climb again.

Acuity
join:2002-06-22
Londonderry, NH

Acuity

Member

White House Petition

Not that it makes any difference. We the people do not matter to the government. No matter who we elect, we always end up losing more and more of our rights.

»petitions.whitehouse.gov ··· 1g9KhZG7

MTK6577
@rcn.com

MTK6577

Anon

I build cell phones

Thanks to morons, more and more customers will buy cell phones from China

voiplover
Premium Member
join:2004-05-28
Portsmouth, NH

voiplover

Premium Member

Re: I build cell phones

Non USA companies stand poised to clean up by absorbing the mom and pop dealers that have been making a living by jail breaking phones. Thanks Mr. FCC.

icanread
@comcast.net

icanread

Anon

EBay sales are safe

Page 20: "However, with respect to “legacy” phones – i.e., used (or perhaps unused) phones
previously purchased or otherwise acquired by a consumer
– the record pointed to a different
conclusion. The record demonstrated that there is significant consumer interest in and demand
for using legacy phones on carriers other than the one that originally sold the phone to the
consumer." And then, "The Register concluded after a review of the statutory factors that an exemption to the
prohibition on circumvention of mobile phone computer programs to permit users to unlock
“legacy” phones is both warranted and unlikely to harm the market for such programs."
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