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is unlocking a phone against the law? is buying an unlocked phone aginst the law? The reason i ask is my friend says it is but im like "what does he know, hes got a piece of junk phone that he never uses" and what exaclty does it take to unlock a phone?
anyone wanna answer?
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
No, unlocking your phone isn't against the law. If you call up verizon and say you are going out of the country they will give you the code and steps to unlock your phone. Also owning an unlocked phone isn't against the law unless it is a stolen phone.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
Building on what ArmaK said, an unlocked phone also means it's no longer "locked in" to be used exclusively with the service provider you initially bought the phone from.
As a very oversimplified and general policy, carriers aren't fans of unlocking their own phones, and won't do it unless you're a good customer with a diminished chance of actually bailing on them.
Example. I purchased a BB Storm with Verizon. I only paid $99 for the phone. The phone is worth more, but VZW sold the phone to me at this price since they hope to recoup the difference over two years via my monthly plan.
I then got it unlocked. I then bail on VZW. They charge me an early termination fee (from $0 to $175 depending on where I live and how much longer I have in my contract). I then establish service with Sprint and, because my Storm is unlocked, they are able to provision it.
As such, there is a negative stigma associated with unlocked phones (propagated by the CARRIERS), which is why you may have assumed it's not legal :)