Starting on January 26, 2013, a policy update to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act will make it illegal for owners of new cellphones to unlock their devices unless authorized by their carriers. Approved in October, the new policy applies to newly purchased devices, but not to smartphones owned prior to the deadline. There was a 90-day window in which people could still buy a phone and unlock it, but it closes on January 26. It won’t be impossible to get an unlocked phone, though: customers can still legally buy unlocked iPhones at unsubsidized prices. Currently, Verizon’s version of the iPhone 5 is sold as an unlocked phone, while AT&T will unlock an out-of-contract phone. A petition at whitehouse.gov looks to restore the legality of unlocking cell phones, but only has about 3,000 signatures as of this writing. [via Tech News Daily, The Next Web]
Latest News
- Apple to invest $430 billion in the US over five years
- AirPods 3 to release in the ‘coming weeks’, reports Hits Double Daily
- Apple Music high-fidelity plan to release in ‘coming weeks’
- Apple’s App Store has a profit margin of 78%, says Epic Games
- Apple developers update nearly 10,000 apps to support anti-tracking feature
- Win PS4 and Prizes in Star Wars Event, Get MacX DVD Ripper for Free
- The 43-inch Sero QLED TV by Samsung is now $500 off
- Apple’s ‘Careers at Apple’ page gets a design refresh
- M1 iPad Pro owners may have to shell out $699 for repairs without AppleCare+
- AirTag teardown video surfaces online