Got a Locked Cellphone? As of Monday it will be UNLOCKED!

[Googer]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/23/copy...-consumers-can-legally-unlock-cellpho/


Copyright Office rules that consumers can legally unlock cellphones

Posted Nov 23rd 2006 2:55PM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Cellphones
Looking for a reason to be thankful today (besides the fact that Engadget writers snubbed their families in order to toil through the holiday and bring you your daily dose of gadget news)? Well look no further than Librarian of Congress and copyright czar James H. Billington, who has bequeathed a wonderful gift upon millions of cellphone users by granting an exemption wherein consumers may legally break the software locks on their handsets in order to transfer service to another carrier. That's right, starting on Monday you'll be able to say screw you to Cingular or ta ta to T-Mobile and keep rocking your precious RAZR even after you've jumped ship and signed up with a new provider. The exemption is one of a record six granted by the Copyright Office on Wednesday, and was announced so unexpectedly, that even the EFF's Fred von Lohmann admitted that he was "surprised and pleased" by the development. So go forth, friends, and use this new info to either make the switch or squeeze a better deal out of your current provider -- just remember, no matter how hard you try, you're just not gonna be able to get that unlocked GSM phone to play nice with Sprint or Verizon.

 

[RagingBITCH]

What idiot thinks a GSM phone is going to work with Sprint/Verizon? Well, probably many.

In regards to the comments on Engadget's page - I've heard Cingular is stingy on unlocking phones. Apparently very, but haven't had first hand experience. Never had an issue with T-Mobile doing it though, just a matter of taking it in and they normally have no qualms.

 

[spacejamz]

so how does this work?

I have an old Sony Ericsson T68 GSM phone I had while I was on Voicestream (now TMobile)...will it magically work on Cingular's network on Monday if put my existing Cingular sim card in this phone?

 

[Googer]

I have no Idea how it will work, so your best bet is to head down to your local cellphone sales office on Tuesday and start asking the clerk a few questions.

 

[DigitalCancer]

i used an unlocked Nokia on my cingular service w/ no problems, then i bought my sony and still haven't had any trouble. As far as i know, when you get a new phone, at least with cingular, you don't have to tell them, just have to have your SIM card.

 

[intogamer]

That sucks ballz for unlocking companies

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
so how does this work?

I have an old Sony Ericsson T68 GSM phone I had while I was on Voicestream (now TMobile)...will it magically work on Cingular's network on Monday if put my existing Cingular sim card in this phone?

You still have to get it unlocked...it doesn't magically unlock itself due to the new law...just now the provider can't say "What you're doing is illegal, we can't unlock it, sorry".

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: intogamer
That sucks ballz for unlocking companies

ROFL. I like how they made money unlocking phones when all the consumer had to do was call up their service provider or bring it into their respective branch and ask them to unlock it (for free). Besides...I don't think most people know what unlocking is, much less think that a Cingular phone will work on TMobile and vice versa. The providers sure as hell won't be advertising this, just b/c why bring or buy a phone from another provider when they can rape you by extending your contract 1/2 years and buy a phone through them?

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: intogamer
That sucks ballz for unlocking companies

ROFL. I like how they made money unlocking phones when all the consumer had to do was call up their service provider or bring it into their respective branch and ask them to unlock it (for free). Besides...I don't think most people know what unlocking is, much less think that a Cingular phone will work on TMobile and vice versa. The providers sure as hell won't be advertising this, just b/c why bring or buy a phone from another provider when they can rape you by extending your contract 1/2 years and buy a phone through them?

I tried that with my old AT&T Wireless phone....Cingular wouldn't give me the code.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: intogamer
That sucks ballz for unlocking companies

ROFL. I like how they made money unlocking phones when all the consumer had to do was call up their service provider or bring it into their respective branch and ask them to unlock it (for free). Besides...I don't think most people know what unlocking is, much less think that a Cingular phone will work on TMobile and vice versa. The providers sure as hell won't be advertising this, just b/c why bring or buy a phone from another provider when they can rape you by extending your contract 1/2 years and buy a phone through them?

I tried that with my old AT&T Wireless phone....Cingular wouldn't give me the code.

As mentioned in my original post, Cingular (no personal experience to back this up though) is notoriously stingy about giving out unlock codes.

 

[BillGates]

Newbie question, but what other companies use the same type of network as Verizon? I'd like to stick with them but purchase a better phone from, say, Sprint, if they would be compatible with Verizon's network. Verizon has sucky phones.

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Does this mean that, if unlocked, I'll be free to use all the features T*Mobile locked me out of on my Samsung T509?

 

[xchangx]

Originally posted by: elektrolokomotive
Does this mean that, if unlocked, I'll be free to use all the features T*Mobile locked me out of on my Samsung T509?

No, it means that you can use a T-Mobile phone with Cingular

 

[SSP]

Forget about your phones for a second...

For computer software and video games that require machines no longer available, copy-protection controls may be circumvented for archival purposes.

Does that mean I can legally download ROMs from obsolete consoles?

 

[doze]

Just because this is legal does not mean that the cell companies will do this for you.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: DigitalCancer
i used an unlocked Nokia on my cingular service w/ no problems, then i bought my sony and still haven't had any trouble. As far as i know, when you get a new phone, at least with cingular, you don't have to tell them, just have to have your SIM card.

That has nothing to do with anything. The issue is when you buy a phone from Cingular.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: SSP
Forget about your phones for a second...

For computer software and video games that require machines no longer available, copy-protection controls may be circumvented for archival purposes.

Does that mean I can legally download ROMs from obsolete consoles?

Well... I guess that depends on what is meant by "no longer available." Just about anything can be found used, so it's still available. But really, companies don't seem to care much about people using ROMs, because until recently those games had very little commercial value. Even now that Nintendo is doing the virtual console and companies have been releasing old game collections for modern systems, nobody seems to care much about ROMs. If it weren't for ROMs, I'm not sure we'd even see companies selling their old games again.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: SSP
Forget about your phones for a second...

For computer software and video games that require machines no longer available, copy-protection controls may be circumvented for archival purposes.

Does that mean I can legally download ROMs from obsolete consoles?

Well... I guess that depends on what is meant by "no longer available." Just about anything can be found used, so it's still available. But really, companies don't seem to care much about people using ROMs, because until recently those games had very little commercial value. Even now that Nintendo is doing the virtual console and companies have been releasing old game collections for modern systems, nobody seems to care much about ROMs. If it weren't for ROMs, I'm not sure we'd even see companies selling their old games again.

No, ROMs are still illegal to download...you can "backup" your old games now legally...just can't distribute them. (According to Joystiq)

 

[mercanucaribe]

Wait.. the title says the phones will be unlocked. Does that mean you don't have to do anything?

 

[Spineshank]

Ehh my phone is already unlocked so it doesnt matter to me.

 

[Colt45]

if something is just made legal, does that mean it was illegal prior to this?

 

[clickynext]

Wow... I wonder when/if this will happen in Canada!

 

[moskey71]

reeeeeeeeepost

 

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: intogamer
That sucks ballz for unlocking companies

ROFL. I like how they made money unlocking phones when all the consumer had to do was call up their service provider or bring it into their respective branch and ask them to unlock it (for free). Besides...I don't think most people know what unlocking is, much less think that a Cingular phone will work on TMobile and vice versa. The providers sure as hell won't be advertising this, just b/c why bring or buy a phone from another provider when they can rape you by extending your contract 1/2 years and buy a phone through them?

I tried that with my old AT&T Wireless phone....Cingular wouldn't give me the code.

As mentioned in my original post, Cingular (no personal experience to back this up though) is notoriously stingy about giving out unlock codes.

You just called consumers dumb for paying for unlocking when they "could just call up and get it done for free". Then you go on to say that Cingular will often not do it.

LMAO!

 

[sohcrates]

actually, the us copyright office is a separate entity from the us patent and trademark office

/end random comment