Tim Wu is apparently a pretty smart guy when it comes to copyright laws and he has taken the time to weigh in on iPhone unlocking. He even says he told the Apple employees at the Apple store where he bought his iPhone that he was intending to unlock it and they still continued to sell him the $400+ iPhone.
He alludes to the fact that due in part to the way in which the iPhone is sold, no subsidies and no in store activation, that there is not even an implication or unspoken agreement, let alone a written one, that says when you buy an iPhone you are agreeing to become an AT&T customer. The only thing you are agreeing to is to pay $400 for your iPhone and to take complete ownership of it for whatever purpose you see fit.
He likens it to buying a car from an auto manufacturer such as GM and then adding non GM parts to it, or going to another mechanic other than the one at the local GM dealership for servicing. Once you buy the product, its all about what you want to do with it, and what’s convenient for you.
So it’s legal, there are possible consequences, namely if you unlock and try and upgrade to Apple’s latest firmware, it wont work. Your warranty will also be voided and Apple will no longer repair your iPhone, but there are 3rd party companies online these days that will do that for you, not under warranty, you will have to pay, but you can still get your iPhone fixed without going to Apple.
Unlocking an iPhone is legal [via boingboing]
U geeks who need to unlock your phones have way to much time on your hands, actually u all are pretty much a waste of life.
How about helpng out humanity and unlocking the human physche to try and fix poverty, crime, or terrorism. Instead of 3rd party apps, go to a 3rd world country and do some good there, otherwise the majority of people are sick of hearing about your trivial little phone woes, and we are sick of these stupid so called journalist writing and fueling this nonsense. You went to collage for this?
Oh and btw, what kind of example are we setting for our kids when we say hacking is ok because “its our right”.
Why not hack into the local bank where we keep our money, “its our right” because our money is there. Or hack into your place of business , what the hell, you work there right? Or lets hack into our governments defense control center and play with some launch codes, hey its our goverment, we pay the taxes, “its our right”.
How would you feel if a moslum is visiting here in the states and starts hacking into american institutions, hmm the land of the free, he sees americans hacking away so he wants to join in on the fun.
Is it just me or dosent anyone else see that hacking (in any form) is breaking and entering, and can only lead to misery for all involved.
@ Stef –
Wow – Don’t you have anything better to do than rant about someone wanting to unlock their phone? What…are you here to learn about stuff that you can find in you manual? Because that kind of stuff isn’t here, and obviously you are wasting your time that you could have spent knitting a dishrag.
Also, if you’re going to be aggressive and rude, try not to be ignorant. You happened to spell Muslim pretty much the only unacceptable way. Congratulations. Try Moslem or Muslem, but not moslum. Also collage? Wrong. Look that one up too. There are some others, but I’ll let them go. By the way, what exactly is your point about Muslims? I smell a bigot.
Breaking and entering? Are you frickin kidding me? Don’t you realize that the phone once purchased is yours to do with what you please? If it stops working, well, that’s your fault at the moment…but it’s hardly trespassing. First article you’ve read on the topic? Unlocking does not necessarily mean hacking. Read the article again. It’s very simple. Why shouldn’t a person be able to do with their own property whatever they wish? It’s all about big money here, and fighting the corporations, and the freedom to choose…the fight here is a worthy one. Maybe not as good as fighting hunger and poverty, but it has its place.
Bottom line – piss off and don’t read this site. Go do something at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/.
Great sentence yourself Dork, i mean derek:
What…are you here to learn about stuff that you can find in you manual?
Anyway, hacking is hacking, but if you able to have a human relationship with the opposite sex, then maybe you wouldnt be so lonely and have to sleep with ur iphone LOL
Do you really LOL? Be more honest. Personally, I like to LQTM (laugh quietly to myslef)…that way it doesn’t wake my girlfriend.
myself :)
Stef, I think you have some really BIIIG problems!
Let me get this straight Stef…. your not into ´hacking´… I get that but what I dont is WTF are u doing in a web site that only talks about it?! Why come here and then talk BS about it and all its readers?
Stef, are you a braindead fuck or what? Hacking is not necessarily “breaking and entering” into anything. In this case specifically, it is unlocking your device. This allows use of a different service provider than AT&T. Perhaps the area you live in doesn’t get any reception from AT&T towers, so you are out of luck. But T-Mobile towers ring in clear. You want an iPhone, but are stuck using it only when you drive 40 miles to get reception. OR, you could unlock it and use it with T-Mobile. It’s not stealing or anything either, you are still paying for service, just from someone else. The fact that you use “LOL” when trying to argue someone makes me piss myself a bit. You don’t visit a site about hacking and then talk bad about hacking. What you think hacking is, is far from the truth. Hacking is when you change or modify things to do things they aren’t originally meant to be capable of, or modifying things for your convenience. Not to “Launch nuclear missiles” like you say. It’s not about causing trouble, it’s about making things better. For example, jailbroken iPhones can run power saving apps that the app store didn’t allow… Those in turn could cut down on electricity usage and make the planet a little greener. All because of hacking. It’s not a bad thing. Get a fucking life, you twelve-year-old-over-masturbating fuck. You can’t even spell to save your life, I wouldn’t go starting arguments with hackers. (The smartest people to walk the earth) :) Go die in a fire.
Derek, by the way, I completely agree with you :)
Stef go fuck yourself you ignorant racist fuck face. I get 250 dollars everyday from unlocking iPhones. So to me you are the waste of life