unlock your phone is illegal now

[µT6]

people will complain

eventually they will stop selling locked subsidized phones

this will lead to people stop buying iphones, they are too expensive to be bough without a contract, not much people is ready to pay $700+ for that phone knowing that they will replace it in one year because the company released the new version

[parnote]

Where do we find these morons?

They are voted in by Joe Public so it's all the fault of Joe..... lol

Nope, thorper. The "Librarian of Congress" is not an elected official. He's appointed by those we elect, and therein may lie the problem.

[AndrzejL]

Now here is a fun fact. Few weeks ago friend of mine purchased a phone over internet (on E-Bay). When the phone arrived we were looking for the place to insert the simcard to... No such place. We have contacted the person who sold the phone to us... just to find out it was a phone that is ONLY to be used with Verizon and that there is no way of replacing the simcard in it because there is no simcard. I mean there is on but it's just another chip on the phones motherboard. The phone was sent back on the same day... Now this is not only about locking the phone anymore... it's about making them impossible to unlock and use with other networks even when the contract with the carrier is over.

Regards.

Andrzej

[YouCanToo]

Where do we find these morons?

They are voted in by Joe Public so it's all the fault of Joe..... lol

I dang well didn't vote for any of this non-sense.  So just who is this "Joe Public" that voted for it

Or perhaps I should say I didn't vote for this directly!

[Crow]

I can't wait for the legal challenges to start arising over this!

To me, it's like saying you buy a car from Dealer X, but you can only put gasoline in it from Gas Station Y ... even though the gasoline from Gas Stations A, E, S and T will work well, too. But, you are prohibited by law from putting any gasoline into the car, except from Gas Station Y.

Putting it into these terms makes the "Librarian of Congress" ruling seem even more absurd than it already does on its face.

Where do we find these morons?

IF the Dealer X sold the car below the market price and told the customer that he could do that because he recovered the money selling the other item AND the customer agreed because that way he payed less it's a free agreement that can be reclaimed by Dealer X.

The point is: there are laws about it, you don't need another law. Dealer X still can sue if the customer didn't comply with the agreement.

[Lone Stranger]

Now here is a fun fact. Few weeks ago friend of mine purchased a phone over internet (on E-Bay). When the phone arrived we were looking for the place to insert the simcard to... No such place. We have contacted the person who sold the phone to us... just to find out it was a phone that is ONLY to be used with Verizon and that there is no way of replacing the simcard in it because there is no simcard. I mean there is on but it's just another chip on the phones motherboard. The phone was sent back on the same day... Now this is not only about locking the phone anymore... it's about making them impossible to unlock and use with other networks even when the contract with the carrier is over.

Regards.

Andrzej

Some networks such as Sprint and Verizon (as well as Bell and Telus in Canada) use an older technology and do not have removable SIM cards in their phones.  When you buy a phone from any of those companies the phone is tied to that company only.  If you want to keep your existing SIM card then you are better off with carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. (Rogers and Wind Mobile in Canada.)

[AndrzejL]

Well I am in Europe so I won't be using Canadian or American carriers but thank You for the info.

Regards.

Andrzej

[Lone Stranger]

Well I am in Europe so I won't be using Canadian or American carriers but thank You for the info.

Regards.

Andrzej

I saw the word "Verizon" and assumed America.  I should read info more closely.

[parnote]

I can't wait for the legal challenges to start arising over this!

To me, it's like saying you buy a car from Dealer X, but you can only put gasoline in it from Gas Station Y ... even though the gasoline from Gas Stations A, E, S and T will work well, too. But, you are prohibited by law from putting any gasoline into the car, except from Gas Station Y.

Putting it into these terms makes the "Librarian of Congress" ruling seem even more absurd than it already does on its face.

Where do we find these morons?

IF the Dealer X sold the car below the market price and told the customer that he could do that because he recovered the money selling the other item AND the customer agreed because that way he payed less it's a free agreement that can be reclaimed by Dealer X.

The point is: there are laws about it, you don't need another law. Dealer X still can sue if the customer didn't comply with the agreement.

Laws are supposed to be just, as in justice. What I find most disturbing is that many people find these laws acceptable, even if they are not just.

[Waldo22]

Now here is a fun fact. Few weeks ago friend of mine purchased a phone over internet (on E-Bay). When the phone arrived we were looking for the place to insert the simcard to... No such place. We have contacted the person who sold the phone to us... just to find out it was a phone that is ONLY to be used with Verizon and that there is no way of replacing the simcard in it because there is no simcard. I mean there is on but it's just another chip on the phones motherboard. The phone was sent back on the same day... Now this is not only about locking the phone anymore... it's about making them impossible to unlock and use with other networks even when the contract with the carrier is over.

Regards.

Andrzej

I seem to remember that phones that use GSM technology will use a sim card, whereas a phone that is designated as CDMA will not.  You can usually see which technology is used from the specs posted in the listing on e-Bay. 

[AndrzejL]

Well I am in Europe so I won't be using Canadian or American carriers but thank You for the info.

Regards.

Andrzej

I saw the word "Verizon" and assumed America.  I should read info more closely.

It happens to all of us. No worries Dude.

Laws are supposed to be just, as in justice. What I find most disturbing is that many people find these laws acceptable, even if they are not just.

A big +1...

Now here is a fun fact. Few weeks ago friend of mine purchased a phone over internet (on E-Bay). When the phone arrived we were looking for the place to insert the simcard to... No such place. We have contacted the person who sold the phone to us... just to find out it was a phone that is ONLY to be used with Verizon and that there is no way of replacing the simcard in it because there is no simcard. I mean there is on but it's just another chip on the phones motherboard. The phone was sent back on the same day... Now this is not only about locking the phone anymore... it's about making them impossible to unlock and use with other networks even when the contract with the carrier is over.

Regards.

Andrzej

I seem to remember that phones that use GSM technology will use a sim card, whereas a phone that is designated as CDMA will not.  You can usually see which technology is used from the specs posted in the listing on e-Bay. 

You're probably right but as a European citizen I was not even aware of such distinctions. All phones (as far as I know...) come with a simcard slot and can be unlocked to be used with other carriers. At least here they do...

Regards.

Andrzej

[The Chief]

I don't understand, why people is implicating the government in all this? 

Because, now it is illegal, where before, as long as you owned the phone, it was perfectly legal.   Use to be, you could buy an  old phone on ebay, unlock it, and use it where ever you want.  Now that's illegal unless you contact the original provider, which you might not even know.

[Lone Stranger]

You're probably right but as a European citizen I was not even aware of such distinctions. All phones (as far as I know...) come with a simcard slot and can be unlocked to be used with other carriers. At least here they do...

Regards.

Andrzej

You are right as far as Europe goes.  CDMA does not exist there.  Eventually it will disappear in North America as well.  Pretty much the only advantage CDMA has over GSM is being less prone to dropped telephone calls but these days it makes hardly any difference.