Carriers Now Have to Agree to Unlock Your Phone Once the Contract’s Paid

In the past , one of the most obnoxious thing about buy a phone on contract was how carriers could allow or refuse asking to unlock it , even after you paid it off . But starting today , once you ’ve paid off your contract bridge or owned a pre - pay phone for a year , all major US carriershave to unlock your phone for youif you take .

Carriers also have to tell you when your phone is eligible to be unlocked , and they have to unlock phones for deployed military personnel .

This is great news . It intend that if you bought an iPhone on declaration with AT&T a few years ago , finish your contract , and now need to take the phone on a trip to Germany , AT&T ca n’t refuse to unlock a post - paid phone . ( AT&T has beenthe most difficult to shell out withaboutunlocking phones . )

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It ’s been a long meter come : Todayis the deadlinefor an arrangement reached between the Federal Communications Commission and wireless carriers back in 2013 .

Here arethe relevant partsof the concord :

Postpaid Unlocking Policy . Carriers upon postulation , will unlock mobile wireless gimmick or ply the necessary info to unlock their equipment for their customer and former customers in good standing and private owners of eligible gimmick after the fulfilment of the applicable postpaid armed service contract bridge , equipment funding plan , or defrayment of applicable early termination fee .

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Prepaid Unlocking Policy . Carriers , upon request , will unlock prepaid nomadic wireless devices no later than one year after initial activating , uniform with reasonable clock time , defrayment or use requirements .

Rules around shut away and unlocking speech sound have proceed back and onward in the past few years . For a while , it wasillegal to unlock your phonewithout express consent of your common carrier . In 2014 , the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Actmade it sound again . And this latest deadline is another winnings for people who need the freedom to use their phone on multiple carriers , since providers like AT&T and Verizon ca n’t say no if you ask to unlock a headphone you ’ve already paid for .

While most major carriers already have policies that oblige requests to unlocked post - paid phones , before now , it ’s been up to them whether or not to unlock them . So this change yield power back to the the great unwashed who just want the earphone they own to be unlocked .

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