Posted on 01/25/2013 8:16:08 AM PST by EXCH54FE
Users will not be able to alter their cellphones to access different networks starting Saturday. But advocacy groups are questioning the law.
Starting Jan. 26, buying and unlocking a phone will no longer be legal in the United States.
The term "unlocking" a phone means to remove the security feature that prevents the phone being used on a different network. Once a phone is unlocked, it can work on more than one carrier's network. Unlocking phones is useful for those traveling internationally because it allows phones to work on different networks.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.msn.com ...
Discuss/Debate.
Rooting is changing the operating system in some useful way, kinda like running your PC on Linux instead of Windows or changing Windows to actually operate in a way that is useful..............
So after my contract is over I have to stay with the same company, get a new contract with new company, or not have service?
Sounds to me like the cellular cartels are just trying to force people into soft contracts.
Answer: No. In fact, if something is not mandatory, it is now expressly forbidden.
That's why it will become illegal. Gotta protect the phone companies' and manufacturers' monopolies..........
Does anyone make a ‘unlocked’ phone that will work anywhere?.........
They are forcing you to buy new phones if you change companies. I knew this day would come.........
A GSM phone, which uses a SIM card, should absolutely be “unlocked”. The whole US industry that claims to give you a “free phone” in return for a two-year contract is ridiculous. The rest of the world just buys the handset then puts in the SIM of the company of their choice. If that company doesn’t serve you well, you get another company’s SIM. Verizon and Sprint are CDMA and don’t use SIM cards, so there is less flexibility.
I thought the supreme court settled this matter.
Check eBay. I believe one could jailbreak an iPhone to make it work on other networks.
Why are they bother to make laws that are both unenforceable and against the will of the people? Damn petty tyrants, the lot of them.
The DMCA, if not the worst piece of legislation ever passed by Congress, probably ranks in the bottom 5. (Obamacare certainly also makes a run at the top spot.)
That said, carriers will unlock out-of-contract phones, and some will even unlock them while under contract, as long as you keep paying the subsidized bill.
Who are they to say i can’t do this? I bought the cell phone and i own it. If i play with the software, thats my right. Screw them.
Why unenforceable? All they have to do is have a database of phone identifying numbers. Then as soon as a phone dares to tap another network, the drones can zero in...
Now we know why the FEDS bought a BILLION BULLETS.
Get a nexus 4, they can be purchased from the the google play store unlocked.
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” -Ayn Rand
from a cellphone guy just get a sim card and the phone has no play in the network...
Most cell companies in 5 years will be gone. I work in Telecom and getting your cell service at you CVS or grocery store is walmart is you best bet today!
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