Copyright Office rules that consumers can legally unlock 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.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Frank @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:11PM]

WTF? T-Mobile has been unlocking phones for their customers for AGES as long as they have been with them for at least 90 days and are not overdue. Plus they unlock the device even AFTER canbcelling as long as it is within 90 days of cancelling. Rewrite the article to include that Evan. Cingular is the one that does not like unlocking their stuff.

[Carlos @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:13PM]

So can we go to the service providers (i.e. Cingular) and ask them to unlock the phone or do we still have unlock our phones by other means?

[AndrewNeo @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:31PM]

Sweet. Now when I switch from Verizon to something sensical I don't have to worry about buying an already unlocked phone. Now if only they could get Verizon to stop locking their phones as it is..

[Nique @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:38PM]

Hmm...I wonder if Apple (iPhone) had any say or persuasion....Either way, very pleasing information.

[Hugh Jass @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:41PM]

You're kidding, right...?

[Stymie @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:57PM]

For the love of god will Apple fanboys just shut the f*** up?

[tedk @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:38PM]

I did not RTA, but from your post I get the impression that this has nothing to do with the 1-2 year contracts that most sign in order to get the sweet discount on their newest gadgety goodness. So once my formally cutting edge cingular 8125 is utterly outdated in march of 2008, I can switch to T-mob with my unlocked phone? Sweet! WTF?

[reemusk @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:45PM]

how will this apply to CDMA carriers? will this force the removal of subsidy locks? the ESN will also have to be added to the new carriers database -- is there something similar that GSM carriers must do when activating an unlocked phone?

[chris @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:27PM]

will this work for Rogers Wireless in Canada? because i really want to unlock my phone and sell it!!!

[Froggy @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:34PM]

much love, Billington, much love!

[Lord Dark Moon @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:37PM]

This has Zero impact on CDMA carriers so Sprint and Verizon customers are SOL! This mainly applies to GSM carriers i.e. T-mobile and Cingular. This news is actually NO NEWS since both T-mobile and Cingular unlock phones upon request AFTER your contract obligations have been met (1 or 2 years). The other option is to PAY FULL PRICE and get that phone unlocked (yes, by the carrier) day one. But who wants to pay almost, what, $300 for that new RAZR when you can get it for $49 bucks and a 2 year contract.

This is how it works dudes (practically give away a phone below cost in exchange for a customer staying for 2 years). This is what has grown the cell phone business here. Don�t believe? Go into one of those fancy new Nokia stores and try to buy a phone without service. YOU WILL PAY DEARLY because that�s what retail cell phones cost without service bundling. That�s it...

--------------
LDM
Water-bending Master
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/ldm_master_builder!.jpg

[Mattus @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:01PM]

So does this mean that I, as a Sprint customer, can now purchase a Verizon Motorola Q and use it on the Sprint Network?

[Kendachi @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:32PM]

Well the ruling should have made it illegal to lock the phones in the first place right?

[catfish @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:43PM]

Well the ruling should have made it illegal to lock the phones in the first place right?

no, its merely a "fair use" ruling. Basically the company can do what they want to prevent me from unlocking my phone, but it isn't illegal for me to do it.

capitalism at its best, imo.

[Paul Lingad @ Nov 23rd 2006 8:07PM]

now the question is how? where?

[Vince @ Nov 23rd 2006 8:09PM]

I think this pertains more to unlocking your phone via a non-carrier approved method, be it online, an independent phone shop, or the JAF that you bought last week. The carriers have maintained that unlocking your branded handset through a third party represented a breach of contract, and that they could hold you liable for the full unsubsidized price of the handset. This ruling simply makes it so that they can not.

As for why you'd want to unlock your handset...partly so you can use it on the competitors' network. Sure...it may not be as cutting edge (if it ever was) as when you bought it, but you have it set up the way you like and you don't lose any information. OR you can use a pre-paid sim when traveling abroad, and avoid those nasty-nasty roaming fees.

[Javaflash @ Nov 23rd 2006 8:09PM]

Providers should soon eliminate these software locks altogether.

My personal wish - cellphone sales to be separated from service providers. Unit prices optimize, while innovations such as wifi voip can evolve quickly, induce wireless data consumption. Providers then eliminate voices capabilities, and shift focus entirely to data.

Wonderful news indeed!

[naneiko @ Nov 23rd 2006 11:07PM]

Finally!
In Asia, all phones are unlocked no matter which carrier you buy from. This locking of phones are just cheating tactics from carriers like Cingular.
But it seems like its only Cingular and the formal AT&T that does this.

[gMiller @ Nov 23rd 2006 11:24PM]

Here's a start, this website lets you unlock Nokia phone's for free !

http://www.gsmliberty.net/shop/nokia_unlock.php

[Kauz @ Nov 23rd 2006 11:40PM]

now is it true that Sidekick's data features don't work on other networks anyway, so it wouldnt pay to try to get one for say, Cingular?

[Vinn @ Nov 24th 2006 2:46AM]

lol, that lock says "norton" on it

[mike @ Nov 24th 2006 12:45PM]

Awesome

[Joe @ Nov 24th 2006 10:23PM]

Sweet! Now I can switch to Sprint (they're buying out contracts in my area) and save $10 a month.

[alex @ Nov 24th 2006 11:12PM]

1st poster is right.

tell your carrier you want to go overseas and want your phone unlocked.

POC = PIECE OF CAKE

[Billie @ Nov 26th 2006 10:58PM]

Two comments:
First, T-mobile unlocks all phones EXCEP for Sidekicks. They have refused to unlock any sidekicks for the last 12 or 15 months. So, finally... I can unlock my old sidekick. So, T-mobile is not as benevolent as some of you say.

Second,
Kauz, yes you are correct. The Sidekick's data package can't be used on any other networks here in the US (except for FIDO in California). However, you can still do all your texting and telephony on it... so someone who just wants a full QWERTY keyboard for normal texting could use it on a different network.