Unauthorized Unlocking of New Mobile Phones Set to Become Illegal in U.S.

F123D said:

So if I unlock my phone and use it on another carrier, who's going to enforce this new law?

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You've been reported.

Librarian of congress? A single person can make such important determinations?

The current librarian of Congress is 83 years old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Billington

We let this senile old man make such important decisions? Given his age, hopefully he won't be around much longer.

More government in our lives, isn't this what people like nowadays?

jay_app said:

This is what a massive, extremely powerful federal government looks like - the power is taken from the people and given to the powerful.

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Actually, this is what government controlled by powerful corporations looks like! I'm all for government run well--by people, not by money. But money talks. Take government out of the picture or shrink it and you'd still have big money--big corporations--running the show. In fact, I'd say a WELL-run powerful government, wielding power by/for all people instead of the rich alone, is the only way to keep unreasonable power away from abusive corporations.

(Sadly, such a government is not what we have. The path to getting one begins, I feel, with a multiple-vote system, thus breaking the stagnant two-party system. Some cities use such a system already. They work!)

Moshe1010 said:

You can unlock your device for $3-4 on eBay, and you don't need AT&T or other company to do it. It's 100% legit (probably inside job), and the best thing is that it works.

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You will not find any unlocking service sold on ebay since last week. By legit, you mean it worked and not that it's legal after the law comes into effect.

YES WE CAN!


....label you a criminal for unlocking your phone for use in other countries, or for use on other networks.

Welcome to the land of the free!

Now shut your mouth and show me your papers.

antman2295 said:

So let me understand this, as of Saturday we will no longer be able to "legally" unlock our iPhone's? So iTunes won't unlock them, and you won't be able to unlock your phone via At&t or any other cell provider?

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You won't be able to modify the software to perform an unauthorized unlock. However, that doesn't mean you won't be able to unlock phones within the terms of the contract.

That said, the entire DMCA is a bad law that should be repealed. This should be a simple matter of ordinary contract enforcement, not a criminal matter.

I thought Apple was more interesting in selling their products and not what people do with them.

Once I have paid my money I will do whatever I like with the product, if I break it that's my problem.

Morrile said:

I thought Apple was more interesting in selling their products and not what people do with them.

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This has very little to do with Apple, if you actually read the article. I'm sure Apple would be much happier without the tangle of carrier-related BS that comes with selling phones.

But how did we get here in the first place?

The rationale given is this

"... in light of carriers' current unlocking policies and the ready availability of new unlocked phones in the marketplace..."

but didn't the current unlocking policies only come about because unlocking was specifically declared legal?

How does this help anyone?

Even while in a contract, being unlocked does not mean you can stop paying for service. In fact, it would seem the carriers would like it as they get their money without having to supply service!

Of all things to work on, our gov't does this? WTF

So not only do you go to Federal Prison... you have to continue paying AT&T?

I am 74 years old and can remember when our beautiful country was free.

The corporations have taken over and now we live in a Fascist country. You younger ones do not know what you are missing in quality of life. Freedom was very very good. Video cameras everywhere, Homeland security agency, torture of prisoners, largest prison population by several times in the world, etc.

Uhhh....

Did anyone else actually read the article?

AT&T will still unlock your phone at the end of your contract, Verizon phones come unlocked and Sprint will unlock them after three months.

Anyone who doesn't find this acceptable can still purchase an unlocked iPhone. I don't quite understand why everyone is up in arms about this.

It makes a lot of sense to me. Your phone is locked to a carrier because you signed a contract to pay them every month for two years. I know some people would be nice and stay on contract and just need an unlocked phone for their travels overseas. In my experience, most times the carrier is more than accommodating if you say "I've been an *** customer for X years and I need my phone to work on local carriers when I travel to the Brazil every four weeks."

Anytime I've seen one of these unlock services, it is always sketchy and often has questionable scruples. I can't think of a good scenario, in the iPhone environment we currently live in, where unlocking would be used for anything but subverting a system.

ETA: Oh, and AT&T will unlock the phone of any deployed member of military service and any phone that's bought at full price. Bottom line, only reason for the unofficial unlocking services is for people who want to cheat the system and buy a phone for less than it retails.

Is this a joke? This is ridiculous. The Librarian of Congress can go to hell. Oh wait, he's almost there.

Seems very fascist.

Funny, Apple is the big winner of this given how they contract through their phones.

But it's more irritating that the direct sales market is negligible in the US, with telco's getting the break on the hardware and not the consumer.

Moshe1010 said:

You can unlock your device for $3-4 on eBay, and you don't need AT&T or other company to do it. It's 100% legit (probably inside job), and the best thing is that it works.

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Moshe, the point is that the very process you describe is what will become illegal (unless the unlocking is authorized by the carrier).

So I get a phone and leave AT&T PAY for the early termination fee essentially paying for the phone and I can't unlock it? Another senseless law.

drnick13 said:

...
AT&T will still unlock your phone at the end of your contract, Verizon phones come unlocked and Sprint will unlock them after three months.
...

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These are the carriers' current policies, but there's nothing to stop them from changing this if the regulatory environment shifts toward heavy-handed enforcement of carrier locks. Given a favorable environment, it's in the carriers' interest (or so they seem to think) to increase customers' switching costs as much as possible.

Oh joy. I see how this is gunna go... the day I take my phone to the apple store they gunna hook it up and be like excuse me for a minute and then 5 min later the cops show up.. yea right.

drnick13 said:

It makes a lot of sense to me. Your phone is locked to a carrier because you signed a contract to pay them every month for two years.

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And your still paying them are you not? Even if you unlock the phone to use with another carrier, you're still tied into the contract so you still have to pay them for the duration of that contract. This just sounds like a part of your freedom is being taken away unnecessarily at the behest of some large corporation. **** them. If everyone unlocks, what they gonna do? Imprison everyone? Fine everyone? I say dick with them on purpose, for the sport.

NachoGrande said:

So I get a phone and leave AT&T PAY for the early termination fee essentially paying for the phone and I can't unlock it? Another senseless law.

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I think they mentioned that if you pay the fee you can unlock it... might want to read the article in full..

We should ban phones.