Author

Topic: Unlocking Cell Phones Becomes Illegal 1/26/2013 (Read 2522 times)

legendary
Activity: 3066
Merit: 1147
The revolution will be monetized!
November 15, 2013, 05:29:01 PM
#31
I haven't had a phone in my name in years. And I don't think I have ever had a locked phone. That is not going to change.  Wink

I even tricked the phone company into having a land line under the name RodeoX.
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
So locking the phone is completely legal while unlocking it is quite the opposite.
Seems legit  Huh
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 500
:)
USA, land of the free? Tongue
Those were the days...

USA, land of the free? Tongue
More like land of the terrorists.  Roll Eyes

Hahahaha! +1 to you both, you gave me a good laugh!
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
USA, land of the free? Tongue
Those were the days...
hero member
Activity: 574
Merit: 500
freedomainradio.com
USA, land of the free? Tongue
More like land of the terrorists.  Roll Eyes
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 500
:)
USA, land of the free? Tongue
hero member
Activity: 590
Merit: 500
And how exactly is "this law" enforceable?

Selectively, same as usual.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1386
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Laws are always stupid.... That's why I don't give a shit about them.

If you like your cell phone you can keep your cell phone.

If you like your cell phone provider you can keep your cell phone provider.


BWHAHAHAHA!
hero member
Activity: 574
Merit: 500
freedomainradio.com
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Laws are always stupid.... That's why I don't give a shit about them.
newbie
Activity: 49
Merit: 0
Nice sharing.Here by i wish to share the update information about unlocking cellphones.Now,Unlocking cellphones are legal.Recently i had unlocked my Nokia 9300 phone from USA AT&T Network using unlock code from the site Unlock-Free.com
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
Changing avatars is currently not possible.
Never really liked contracts so I avoid them, don't need a carrier to buy me a phone and then overcharg me for the service.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1386
Yes you can buy top ups without ID but to actually get onto any network you cant get past the ID. Theres no way to actually access the system without government ID.

Ah, so to buy a prepaid phone/sim card you need ID. Yeah I hope that never happens over here....
I have not ever given ID to people I bought phones or sim cards to.

I buy phones and sim cards off of Ebay.

USA.

I use rooted Android phone and prefer Samsung S3, 7500 mAh battery, 64gb microsd+16gb internal memory, on which I keep 2 copies of Wikipedia.
newbie
Activity: 19
Merit: 0
I was looking at Chronic Unlocks for unlocking information and noticed they listed the iPhone 5S, which is obviously manufactured after the cutoff date. It must just be a United States thing, right?
sr. member
Activity: 326
Merit: 250
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Isn't it because you sign a contract when you buy the phone at a steeply discounted price that says "Hey, I know you're giving me a fantastic deal on this phone, so for that reason, I'll keep it locked on your network"?

Simple solution is to not sign said contract and not buy a phone requiring one.

I agree that it is silly, but people should learn not to sign silly contracts if they don't want to be held to their silly terms.

I completely agree!!!
hero member
Activity: 743
Merit: 500
full member
Activity: 140
Merit: 100
1221iZanNi5igK7oAA7AWmYjpsyjsRbLLZ
full member
Activity: 140
Merit: 100
1221iZanNi5igK7oAA7AWmYjpsyjsRbLLZ
My politically active ... friends ... don't use Apple products because of the lockdown. And it's too mainstream.
full member
Activity: 140
Merit: 100
1221iZanNi5igK7oAA7AWmYjpsyjsRbLLZ
Personally it baffles me why anyone would want to pay AT&T, considering what they do to you.
member
Activity: 105
Merit: 10
I'm guessing this is USA only??  Doesn't apply to most of the world luckily, but I doubt it will be long before we all fall in line... argh.
donator
Activity: 1731
Merit: 1008
No need for a law, This is only a lack of technical skill or cooperation between phone maker and carrier.

Try jailbreaking an iPhone 5...
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
Yes you can buy top ups without ID but to actually get onto any network you cant get past the ID. Theres no way to actually access the system without government ID.

Ah, so to buy a prepaid phone/sim card you need ID. Yeah I hope that never happens over here Smiley

I wonder how drug-dealers get around this, I mean, once the police get a dealers phone number, they can then get the dealers name and address?

Now you know why silk road is so popular.

Drug dealers do what they always did and get a "cleanskin" to front the phone or simply buy a fake ID.

As always laws only punish people doing the right thing and make it easier for criminals. The answer is black market reloaded and silk road.

legendary
Activity: 1386
Merit: 1004
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Isn't it because you sign a contract when you buy the phone at a steeply discounted price that says "Hey, I know you're giving me a fantastic deal on this phone, so for that reason, I'll keep it locked on your network"?

Simple solution is to not sign said contract and not buy a phone requiring one.

I agree that it is silly, but people should learn not to sign silly contracts if they don't want to be held to their silly terms.

It's typically a two year contract. If the contract says that you may not unlock the phone during this time, there is no need for a law.

I've not read the law, but if it goes above and beyond any contract, it's ridiculous.

Agreed.  This shows how much power these companies have over the political system.  They can already take you to court if you do not honor the contract.  That should be enough.  The government does not need to be involved unless there is a trial. 
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
You cant buy a pre paid phone credits here without handing over ID.

REALLY? now that is crazy. You can buy them from literally any shop over here, no ID at all. My network has none of my personal details. I think the system the US phone networks use is rubbish, no way would anyone over here hand over personal details to a network (exception being billpay phones as thats basically a loan).

Over here you can walk into any networks shop and ask for a sim card. They'll just hand you one, its free, no paperwork or ID. They give them out for free outside college campuses. Much better than the US system IMO.

Yes you can buy top ups without ID but to actually get onto any network you cant get past the ID. Theres no way to actually access the system without government ID.
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 500
... it only gets better...
And how exactly is "this law" enforceable?

You cant buy a pre paid phone credits here without handing over ID.

Sounds like a market opportunity for BTC.
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
And how exactly is "this law" enforceable?

You cant buy a pre paid phone credits here without handing over ID.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1005
I dunno.  I'd be just as pissed if I had just spend 600 euro on one and broke it.  Either way, I'd have to replace it.

Look at it this way:

http://www.three.ie/online/shop/productDetail.aspx?src=p&p=voice&pid=1494&tariffType=contract

iPhone 4S, you get it for free on a 61euro/mo plan for 24months, if you loose your phone, you have to pay 1464euro in total.

http://www.three.ie/online/shop/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1507&p=voice&tariffType=prepay&step=2&src=p&edt=0&itemId=0&dch=0

You buy it pay-as-you-go and it costs you 549euro once off. Not so bad if you loose it then, and the savings are pretty obvious.
Good point.  But, pay-as-you-go, you're still paying for some level of service (which you have conveniently discluded from your calculations).  The savings is in the service type - if you don't use your phone much, you'll save a great deal over the contracted plan.
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 500
... it only gets better...
And how exactly is "this law" enforceable?
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1005
Interesting.  It's vastly different in the US, where a locked iPhone (with contract) costs you $200, and an unlocked iPhone would cost $800.  I haven't delved into the pay-as-you-go market here though, which might align more closely with what you see.

Its the same here. A billpay iPhone 5 would cost around 100euro but you'd be stuck paying 50euro/mo for the next X years. One on pay-as-you-go would cost 600euro but 20euro's topup would last around 6-8 months, and you can topup with as little as 5euro & can still receive calls/texts when you have no credit (and make them using Skype Wink ). The phone companies have tried all sorts of marketing to try and get us Irish on billpay phones, it hasn't worked much. The only person I know who has a billpay phone is from the US.

IMO I could never imagine having a "phone bill". That would suck soo much. What happens then when you lose/break your phone, I'd be pretty pissed off paying every month for a phone I don't even have.
I dunno.  I'd be just as pissed if I had just spend 600 euro on one and broke it.  Either way, I'd have to replace it.

I think I might look into pay-as-you-go, or at the very least, non-contract phone plans come this October.  We really don't use them all that much for phone, mostly just data.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1005
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Isn't it because you sign a contract when you buy the phone at a steeply discounted price that says "Hey, I know you're giving me a fantastic deal on this phone, so for that reason, I'll keep it locked on your network"?

Simple solution is to not sign said contract and not buy a phone requiring one.

I agree that it is silly, but people should learn not to sign silly contracts if they don't want to be held to their silly terms.

It's typically a two year contract. If the contract says that you may not unlock the phone during this time, there is no need for a law.

I've not read the law, but if it goes above and beyond any contract, it's ridiculous.
Fair points.  I agree.

Isn't it because you sign a contract when you buy the phone at a steeply discounted price that says "Hey, I know you're giving me a fantastic deal on this phone, so for that reason, I'll keep it locked on your network"?

Simple solution is to not sign said contract and not buy a phone requiring one.

I agree that it is silly, but people should learn not to sign silly contracts if they don't want to be held to their silly terms.

I've never signed any paperwork at all when buying a phone (we all use pay-as-you-go phones where I'm from).

Anyways, I have the legal right to smash that phone up with a hammer, throw it in a fire or drop it down the toilet right after I buy it. Surely they should make this illegal as well, because that would prevent them from recouping the discounts they gave me on the phone.

Also, I've yet to actually see any locked phone be cheaper than a sim-free phone. They're roughly the same price, but the networks get them in months/years before they become available sim-free. Maybe thats just the case where I'm from.
Interesting.  It's vastly different in the US, where a locked iPhone (with contract) costs you $200, and an unlocked iPhone would cost $800.  I haven't delved into the pay-as-you-go market here though, which might align more closely with what you see.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1005
What a stupid law. People should have the right to do whatever the fuck they like with the phone that they paid for.

Every single phone I've ever bought I've unlocked myself, this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing it again, in fact I'm going to make sure the next phone I buy is locked just so I can unlock it, its my phone for christ sake. This is completely ridiculous.

This is the equivalent to selling paper and saying you can't draw a cat on it because the big man in the government said so.

What is the world coming to.
Isn't it because you sign a contract when you buy the phone at a steeply discounted price that says "Hey, I know you're giving me a fantastic deal on this phone, so for that reason, I'll keep it locked on your network"?

Simple solution is to not sign said contract and not buy a phone requiring one.

I agree that it is silly, but people should learn not to sign silly contracts if they don't want to be held to their silly terms.
legendary
Activity: 3318
Merit: 2008
First Exclusion Ever
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