Comments on: Unlocking Cellular Devices Became Illegal Today

By: Juli Monroe

Juli Monroe — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:43:05 +0000

@Alexander, Except that from what I understand, the rule also applies to phones that are out of contract, which definitely doesn’t makes sense.

By: Alexander Inglis

Alexander Inglis — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:00:50 +0000

It’s a silly rule since it is so easy to purchase an unlock code for an Android device and many other operating systems.

But there is nothing wrong with a carrier selling a locked device and not assisting the customer in unlocking it until the device is paid for. If you’ve signed a two year contract to buy a device with a plan that includes $20/mth in a subsidy (you bought a $500 phone for $99), then you have no right to “walk away” before paying for the phone in full by staying for the term of your contract. (No on forced you to buy the buy at a discount in the first place.)

By: Jon Jermey

Jon Jermey — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 05:40:21 +0000

In Australia part of the deal by which mobile phone companies gained access to part of the broadcasting spectrum was that they would permit free phone unlocking after a fixed period of use — normally 24 months — and users can keep their numbers if they move to a different provider. It sounds like US consumers are being shafted.

By: Frank Lowney

Frank Lowney — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 02:36:29 +0000

One must also bear in mind that carrier locking isn’t ubiquitous. For example, the iPhone 5 from Verizon has a SIM card slot which is unlocked to any GSM carrier. Of course, this could be construed as permission from Verizon.

By: -Andy-

-Andy- — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 01:42:44 +0000

It’s the Librarian of Congress who determines exceptions to the DMCA.

This isn’t iPhone specific. And it has nothing to do with ‘jailbreaking’ iPhones – which is still legal, it has to do with carrier locking, which affects all cell phones and is different (Sure, you can’t unlock without jailbreaking, on an iPhone. But jailbreaking iPhones, unlike ipads, is still legal).

Also, no one puts a custom ROM on an iPhone – that would be an Android activity. What you should have said is that you have to jailbreak an iPhone in order to sideload iPhone apps from non-Apple app repositories, (which are not ROMs)

You should also go read the Ars Technica post about this for actual details. They appear to have done a bit more research.