Consumerist: unlocking

Sprint Will Allow Departing Customers To Unlock Their Phones

Carey — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:46:14 EDT

Sprint will relinquish unlock codes to departing customers in good standing as part of proposed class action settlement.The class was formed last year by California consumers who argued that the locked phones bound them to Sprint by making it more expensive to switch carriers. Sprint claimed that releasing the codes was unnecessary since the service contract clearly informed consumers that phones would only work on Sprint's network.

Sprint phones will only work on the CDMA networks used by Verizon and Alltel, not the GSM networks run by AT&T and T-Mobile.

The settlement covers all customers who bought Sprint phones between Aug. 28, 1999, and July 16, 2007. It should allow those phones to be switched to competitors whose networks are compatible with Sprint's, such as Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp.
Sprint, whose operational headquarters is in Overland Park, has denied wrongdoing but said it agreed to settle the cases to avoid the uncertainties and expense of litigation.

"We think this is a fair and reasonable settlement," said Matt Sullivan, a spokesman for Sprint.

The settlement is a victory for consumers, and will hopefully nudge other carriers towards releasing their own codes. Similar class actions have been filed against T-Mobile, Apple and AT&T.

Sprint Nextel will provide code to unlock cell-phone software [Kansas City Star]
(Photo: Maulleigh)

Court Allows Lawsuit Against T-Mobile To Proceed

Chris Walters — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:18:24 EDT

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to review two earlier findings, which killed T-Mobile's final chance at blocking a lawsuit against its early-termination fees and practice of locking phones. This is the third time T-Mobile has tried to stop the case from proceeding, and both a state trial judge and a state appeals court have already rejected T-Mobile's claims that its customers were required by the terms of their contracts to submit to binding arbitration.

In June, the state appeals court said T-Mobile's contractual prohibition of class-action lawsuits was "unconscionable," which "rendered the arbitration provision unenforceable."

If the plaintiffs win, "the outcome could require cell phone carriers, at least in California, to unlock cell phones upon a customer's request." It could also have an impact on two class-action lawsuits that were filed last week in California against Apple and AT&T over their practice of locking the iPhone to a single network, and of possibly bricking rogue phones deliberately.

"Court Clears Way for Mobile-Phone-Unlocking Lawsuit Against T-Mobile" [Wired]
(Photo: Getty)

Class-Action Lawsuits Filed Against Apple, AT&T Over iPhone

Chris Walters — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:55:25 EDT

A class-action lawsuit was filed on October 5th against the unholy duo of Apple and AT&T, charging that they intentionally broke unlocked headsets via the last firmware update, and conspired illegally to monopolize parts of the mobile phone market by preventing consumers from using any services other than those provided by the two companies. The suit charges the two companies, either jointly or separately, with six formal counts, including "alleged violations of the California Business and Profession's Code, The Cartwright Act, The Sherman Act, The Federal Trade Commission Act, The Communications Act of 1934, and The Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as rules and policies established by the FCC."

The particular issue is the nefarious 1.1.1 upgrade, which the lawsuit claims was designed solely to disable hacks and SIM cards that had been unlocked, and to damage phones with unapproved software installed, rather than to fix or improve any flaws in the device.

This is the second class-action lawsuit against Apple over the iPhone. The other one, which was also filed last Friday, claims that unlocking mobile phones is entirely legal based on existing law, and asks for an injunction against Apple to prevent any software locks on future iPhone sales.

"Class-action charges Apple, AT&T with unlawful business practices" [AppleInsider]
(Photos: moria and moria)

Is It Legal To Unlock The iPhone?

Chris Walters — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:31:27 EDT

According to a Slate columnist, not only is it legal, but it's ethical and fun. (Fun?) "I did just throw down more than $400 for this little toy," he writes. "I'm no property-rights freak, but that iPhone is now my personal property, and that ought to stand for something."

The two major issues in the unlocking restriction are:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which "makes it illegal to break digital locks to get at copyrighted works." But last year, the librarian of Congress issued an exemption for unlocking for personal use:

As the librarian wrote, the locks "are used by wireless carriers to limit the ability of subscribers to switch to other carriers, a business decision that has nothing whatsoever to do with the interests protected by copyright."

Your terms of service, which Apple claims you violate if you unlock the phone. The columnist's opinion here is a bit murkier—Apple has taken great pains to make their unlocking ban legally enforceable by lumping it under "reverse engineering," but "copyright allows reverse engineering for compatibility as a 'fair use,'" writes the author.

The conclusion is that Apple's ban on unlocking is more about Apple (and AT&T?) unfairly controlling the market and preventing competition than it is about protecting copyrighted software and works—in which case, it's not a defensible business practice. While it is possible that writing software that unlocks the phone could be illegal, there's probably nothing illegal about you, as a consumer, unlocking the phone that you bought with your own money in order to use it on competing cellular networks.

As readers pointed out in this post, maybe it's time we ban the practice of locking phones altogether, to prevent companies from engaging in anti-competitive behavior like this.

"The iPhone Freedom Fighters" [Slate]

RELATED
"Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies" [Library of Congress] (look at Section 5 on page 5)
(Photo: Getty)

AT&T Refuses To Provide Unlock Codes, Feel Free To Complain To The FCC

Meg Marco — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:56:25 EDT

AT&T is refusing to supply unlock codes for the iPhone, says reader George. He's written in to ask other iPhone users to complain to the FCC and other pertinent regulatory bodies, AGs, and so on about AT&T:

Hey Guys,

Well, updated to 1.1.1 and no brick, but lost all my apps.

As a lark, I did call AT&T Wireless to request an official unlock code and was told "no way hombré."

So, I filed the following complaint with the FCC, the State of Georgia's Public Service Commission, and the State of Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs:

Hello.
On June 30, 2007, I purchased my cell phone directly from an AT&T Wireless Corporate Store, located in Roswell, GA.

On June 30, 2007, I ported my telephone number, 404-XXX-XXXX, from T-Mobile, over to AT&T Wireless.

I am a customer in good standing with AT&T.

As it has been close to 90 days since I have had service with AT&T, and with an account in good standing, as is customary I was attempting to unlock my cellphone as I am planning some International travel.

AT&T has informed me they are unable and unwilling to unlock my phone, which would force me to use AT&T's International Roaming, while incurring excessive rates and charges.

I am requesting that AT&T be required to supply and provide unlock codes for all phones that they sell. Arbitrarily forcing a customer to remain on a carrier's network sounds eerily reminiscent of the "old AT&T" — a.k.a. "Ma Bell" — from the early 1980s.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,
[Redacted]
Tel: [Redacted]

Telephone number in question:
[Redacted]

No mention that it's an iPhone, because frankly it shouldn't matter.

Take care and have a great weekend!

(Maybe others should file complaints with the FCC and their State's PSC too.

Good idea, George. It really is more than an iPhone issue. Unlocked phones are good for consumers.

File A Complaint With The FCC
(Photo:cmorran123)