Monday, January 28, 2013

Unlocking Cell Phone Now Illegal

Ever looked on Ebay for a cell phone and see an "unlocked" phone for sale?  Ever have a friend tell you you're not locked in to your carrier because he can "unlock" your phone so that you can use it with another cell phone carrier?

Not anymore.

As of January 26, it is illegal to "unlock" a cell phone so that it can be used by another carrier.  There is an exception if your own carrier gives its permission.  The likelihood of that is summed up in two words:  "Fat Chance."

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to "unlock"  (or "jailbreak") a cell phone.  An exception was made through January 26, but that exception has now expired.

So take care.  Big Brother may be listening.


photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/khedara/2441552217/">KhE 龙</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

2 comments:

  1. The updated information is.....It is now legal to get our phones unlocked from third party unlocking services in U.S. Recently, I unlocked my mobile .I had to travel outside my country and I had to unlock it very quickly. My network provider prolonged the unlock process...and luckily the amendment of unlocking phone made legal saved my time. I used the service from Superunlockcodes.com and removed the network lock very easily. They unlocked my phone within few hours....

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