It??s legal to unlock your phone but that doesn??t mean you
Source: Brett
Trying to unlock your smartphone? Now you’ve got the law on your side. President Obama has signed into law the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which was passed by Congress on July 25, 2014. The new law creates an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) “regarding the circumvention of technological measures controlling access to copyrighted software on wireless telephone handsets (mobile telephones) for the purpose of connecting to different wireless telecommunications networks (a practice commonly referred to as ‘unlocking’ such devices).”
The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act essentially overturns an earlier ruling from the US Library of Congress that stated unlocking wireless devices was copyright infringement protected under the DMCA.
So does that mean your wireless carrier must unlock your device for use on other networks? Specifically, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act states:
(c) Unlocking at Direction of Owner.�C
(1) In general.�CCircumvention of a technological measure that restricts wireless telephone handsets or other wireless devices from connecting to a wireless telecommunications network … may be initiated by the owner of any such handset or other device, by another person at the direction of the owner, or by a provider of a commercial mobile radio service or a commercial mobile data service at the direction of such owner or other person, solely in order to enable such owner or a family member of such owner to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when such connection is authorized by the operator of such network. �C Congress.gov
Does the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act change anything?
In plain terms it would appear that as the owner of your device you can request an unlock of your device to use on another carrier provided that the other carrier allows unlocked devices to run on their network. The only exception in the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act is “bulk unlocking”, or the unlocking of many devices for the sole purpose of resale as outlined in the bill which states, “No bulk unlocking.�CNothing in this subsection shall be construed to permit the unlocking of wireless handsets or other wireless devices, for the purpose of bulk resale.” However, the law does not include other devices that connect to wireless networks such as tablets, computers, wearables, or other connected devices.
But as always with any law, there’s a lot of ambiguity, specifically around the definition of an “owner”.
But before rushing to call your wireless carrier for an unlock, it’s important to remember that the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act doesn’t override or circumvent existing provisions from cell phone companies. As pointed out by CNET, carriers are not required to unlock devices that are purchased under contract at a subsidized price.
However, it still isn’t clear if smartphones purchased using a carrier installment plan such as Verizon’s Edge or AT&T’s Next program are also barred from unlocking before the device is paid in full. Technically speaking, it would seem consumers on these plans could qualify for an unlock. They are paying full price for their phones with no subsidy, and they do not have a contract for their service. However, they technically haven’t paid the full price for the device if they are still making payments, but does that qualify as a subsidy?
These caveats will likely be ironed out in the coming weeks, as customers look to unlock their devices with their wireless carrier only to be perhaps turned away.
The reality is that while the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act is a step in the right direction for wireless users, it’s redundant in some cases as wireless companies already agreed to unlock devices paid-in-full last year at the urge of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
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