So the good news is that a class action lawsuit out in Cali is on the cusp of coming to a resolution, and the resolution will require AT&T to provide an unlock code for just about any phone it has sold since March 12, 1999 -- in other words, you'll be able to take the phone and use it on any GSM carrier of your choice. We say "just about" because there's one big exception -- any phone for which AT&T secured an exclusivity period of at least ten months -- which
naturally includes the iPhone (in fact, it's called out by name in the settlement). There are some stipulations, too; if you're postpaid, you have to have been a customer for at least 90 days, and even devices with exclusivity periods of less than ten months can't be unlocked until the period is over (which admittedly makes good sense). Taking a
Backflip somewhere else might not seem like a particularly appealing option, but who knows -- maybe you're a T-Mobile customer with a thing for backward hinges and a disdain for 3G.
posted May 24th 2010 10:45PM
"Except the iPhone"
Thats the phone that matters
@AlienSix Blackrain allows you to unlock it in like 3 minutes... sooo who cares if ATT wants you to or not
@SteveyAyo
Well people do get tired of waiting for someone to figure out how to unlock it after a new firmware release.
@AlienSix
It also covers the Bolk 9000 and Backflip I believe. Anything that's exclusive to them.
@totalfixation 4.0 was jailbroken in like 24 hours... i seriously hope people can wait a day
@Waltah
*Bold*......begs for edit button.
@AlienSix OMG That is word for word what I came here to post.
@AlienSix I believe the Pre Plus wouldn't be considered exclusive, and I'd say that phone matters. Quite a bit.
@SteveyAyo
Jailbreak != Unlock
@SteveyAyo Jail broken does not mean unlock.
@etwashoo2 Blackrain comes with a tool that unlocks it with a single click so Blackrain = Unlock... trust me i had an unlocked iPhone on a different carrier for over a year
@totalfixation Do you guys really not know the functionality of Blackrain? i would have figured it be common knowledge on a tech site, but seriously Blackrain UNLOCKS your phone, go do it and be free if you dislike ATT or want to go overseas
@AlienSix Yes it does
@SteveyAyo ... i believe the word you are looking for is blacksn0w, not blackra1n.
@remote whatever, its part of Blackrain lets not be technical ted
@AlienSix
The iPhone is the only GSM phone I have seen (except some Android ones), that you can unlock without paying some site on the internet to get you a key...blackrain makes it as quick as 3..2..1. Done! Although, it is always fun reading forums whenever a new firmware is released...poor souls (read: Awesome People), trying to figure out a new unlock method...
@SteveyAyo but you also have to take into account the baseband firmware. Since the two are not the same, you can jailbreak the iphone using blackra1n, but can still be unable to unlock using blacksn0w due to it's baseband firmware being at the time unhacked. Therefore, jailbreak != unlock.
@SteveyAyo
Go to Wal*Mart and buy one of these iPhones. Take it home and run your blacksh1t. I bet you won't have an unlock.
Wow how great, I'm gonna use my time machine to go back about 10 years and share my excitement with the Europeans when they'd only been able to do the same thing for like 5 years!
@Valicore Exactly. I don't even get this "locking" and "contract" nonsense in the US. o_O
Me: Hey, O2, I want this phone
O2: Sure, for just $1 it's yours on a 2 year contract (still unlocked, though)
Me: Ah... no, not really in the mood for commitment right now...
O2: No problem, for $299, It's yours without a contract, unlocked.
Me: HEY! This sounds like a great deal! I take it!
O2: You're welcome, please come again. * smiling at me *
@Valicore
T-Mobile already does this. They have for quite a long time.
Interesting... wonder if this will effect any other carriers. seems things are going more and more unlocked which is awesome. ATT is just grasping at their precious iphone and they will continue to for as long as they can. Which they should, its a great phone with a lot of appeal
@uck
But will it even matter? With all the different 3G network standards that US carriers have, you could not switch with your phone even when you wanted to or am I wrong there? I'm curious.
@SeeKo Yes, and no.
In the US, the 2 GSM providers use completely different bands for 3G (UMTS).
For now, there aren't any phones which support all the commonly used UMTS bands, most UMTS phones only support 2 or 3 bands.
But who knows what mfgs will do in the future
@SeeKo In the past you could only get dual-band GSM or tri-band GSM, now quad-band GSM is the norm for hi-end devices.
@bruslim
Exactly. The only phone providing that is the Nokia N8. And that's not even on the market yet. So this unlocking business will only make sense with feature phones that you use exclusively for calls and texting in 2G.
@bruslim
Nokia's upcoming N8 probably has 3g radio for all bands, which will cover both AT&T and T-mobile.
Yeah cause the iphone is so special riiiiigghhhtt. Move along.
@Alexpeegs
troll. not even worthy of a proper response
This is nice to have as an option, but let's be honest, most people never have a need to unlock their device.
@MRCUR
Until it comes time to throw that suckra on Ebay that is.
@Waltah - Very true!
@Waltah I don't think even that many put their old phones on Ebay. Most likely they just get chucked in a draw somewhere, and forgotten about.
@MRCUR
I've been with At&t forever... they've unlocked EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY PHONES, I called in, and said I need it unlocked to use in Europe on other carriers, they do as I say.... I'm not sure what the news are...
I believe T-Mobile already does this.
@TheGM They do. I was selling my G1 to a friend on AT&T, and a quick phone call to t-mobile gave me the unlock code, no problem. Their coverage may not always be awesome, but their customer service and policies are top notch.
@TheGM T-Mobile does have an unlocking policy, but it's unadvertised, and only the geeks and the know-how knows about it. Lay people don't know about this, and still think that if they go overseas, they need to pay the ridiculous roaming charge.
@pika2000 who cares if its unadvertised, at least it exists.
You can easily find it just by searching their site.
And consumers should be the ones responsible for saving money, not the provider.
It doesn't make good business sense to tell people that it would be cheaper for them to purchase a local SIM card and just pop that into their phone, if you can sell them international service.
@TheGM I'm on T-Mobile too, and since I thought T-Mobile does it, I thought every carrier would unlock by request. I've unlocked every phone I got from them since I travel a lot to foreign countries. This kinda of news just made me an even more satisfied customer. A service that I've always taken advantage of, but didn't know was unique to the carrier.
@TheGM
I've heard that Verizon does this too for their world phones, though I've never actually tried myself. Too bad they don't put sim cards in all their phones...
@TheGM
I thought AT&T did it also, I've gotten unlock codes from them for 2 of my previous phones. No problem, just have to ask.
Good. Where's the lawsuits aimed at the other carriers? Hopefully all phones will be unlocked soon. If that would happen the carriers will really have to put an emphasis on upgrading their network and customer service to retain customers.
@deepdigits The only other carrier where this would be meaningful is T-Mobile, and they already unlock phones for free. Want an unlocked Sprint or Verizon phone? That's great, but it's not going to work with any other carrier. Also, even though T-Mobile and AT&T both use GSM, they operate 3G on different frequencies. So for instance, even if you unlock an iPhone, you won't be able to use 3G data on T-Mobile.
Unlocking won't really be meaningful until all (or even more than one) carrier operate on the same technology and frequency.
@SubFuze doesn't stop you from legally unlocking it and selling it to another country...
iPhone supports 3G on UMTS2100, which is used all throughout most of Europe and Asia
If I'm already tied to AT&T with a 2 year contract, then my phone should be unlocked for me for free. Period.
@spin cycle
Not according to the law.
Lmao....
@spin cycle
+1
Oh, Apple - won't we ever get the keys to your chastity belt?
@Pearl Jam
sorry, Apple is only sharing the key with AT&t - you're screwed dude!
And in the process putting out of business dozens of ebay sellers selling unlock codes.
I wonder if this will lead to a market where phones will support more frequencies for data. That way if you're on tmobile and want to switch to at&t at the end of your contract, you can do so and still enjoy internet at full 3g, or 4g, speeds. Then again, with the evolution rate of phone, more specific android phones, phones are practically obsolete the day they come out. Why would you want to use a phone 1 or 2 years old anyway?