Originally Posted by
robbyrobby
i think all phone sold unlocked would be a good move, that would not necessarily mean that phones would be sold 'unbranded' and without carrier loaded crap although if mandating unlocked phones resulted in the end of subsidies than customers would likely begin to favor and purchase the generic non carrier branded versions of devices and they may eventually dominate the market. we would also likely see fewer flagships being sold as mass market devices and the mid tier taking over the mainstream.
i would like to see not only a ban on carrier locked phones being sold but also on IMEI/SIM pairing prevent the easy movement of device between subscriber lines that is sometimes a hard pairing such as with metro by t-mobile and boost were a SIM will not function in any handset other than the one assigned and sometimes more of a soft pairing where features are enable or disabled on the back end based on the registered IMEI as with AT&T.
i would also like the freedom to select any plan based on talk, text and data allotments and than make my own choice to use in a phone, tablet, mobile hotspot, laptop, watch, etc. i do understand this may make unlimited offerings no longer feasible but at the same time think it would lead to the most consumer friendly and rational pricing options.
So the idea of banning locked devices can be a mixed bag, but also the idea of banning IMEI/SIM pairing is actually a horrible idea.
Reason 1: If a carrier cannot sell devices specific to their networks, not only would device pricing for consumers skyrocket due to the end of subsidized pricing for devices - but the customer experience will also be worse since the devices will be incapable of supporting all the bands for every carrier. Users will start buying off-branded devices like ZTE and will sacrifice full network access across all devices, including flagships, regardless of the carrier. No single phone can, in their current size and pricing, support every band for all carriers in the US, much less outside the US. They are only capable of supporting the "most common" bands. (Could mean saying goodbye to LTE 71 and NR n71, since only T-Mobile has that band.) Adding band support would increase device size, battery consumption, and overall cost to make the devices. If the devices are too expensive, no-one will buy them.
Though I would support enforcing that devices be sold unlocked, I still support devices being subsidized - which would likely not happen. I also think that carriers could sell unlocked devices that are still designed for their networks. Even the current iPhones do not offer full band support for all carriers in the US when sold by Apple. The ones sold by the carriers are more "carrier specific" and have more support for the carrier in question, but per Apple's terms, must be sold unlocked or unlocked within 30 days of sale. (iPhones are not carrier agnostic, so if you buy one from Verizon then switch to T-Mobile - you will have a bad experience on T-Mobile and probably switch back to Verizon. This is because the Verizon iPhone lacked full band support for T-Mobile.)
To that end, carriers do allow devices to be unlocked either automatically after a certain amount of time used on their network, or after certain requirements are met. (IE: Phone paid off) Sometimes, the unlock may require the usage of a certain app. The FCC currently allows device locking only so carriers can offer subsidies to those devices to ensure the carriers get their money back for said devices AND offer phones for lower overall prcing.
You actually DON'T own a device till the lease is paid off and attempting to switch to another provider with the same device constitutes stealing the device if the lease is not paid off. The carrier/creditor owns the device and therefore their own rules will apply.
Forcing a device to be sold unlocked could encourage "device theft" from carriers since the billing for the device cannot be transferred. Carriers that would want to offer monthly payments for unlocked devices will have to partner with a creditor that could bill for it separately. There are a few companies in business that do this for some prepaid carriers. However, the billing is still currently tied to the carrier billing even with these companies, so they have to keep the device blacklisted from outside activation on other carriers till the lease is paid off. However, it is also more expensive to pay off those leases and tend to also have an APR, like credit cards do, because unlocked devices are not subsidized and therefore, cost more.
iPhones are typically not subsidized, so they cost more up front and/or require down payment + monthly payments to the carrier. The unlocking policies of our carriers are still legal, considering that they are barred from keeping devices locked for too long, but do ensure they can continue to bill for the devices. (As it stands, any device not fully paid off cannot be activated on a different carrier, by policy and by law. The locking of the device ensures it gets paid off before you can switch with it.)
Reason 2: IMEI/SIM pairing is actually a SECURITY FEATURE to prevent SIM swapping scams. These scams entail a hacker cloning a SIM card and using it on a different device to gain full access to a subscriber's account, so to speak. Once they get your phone number on their own devices, they can use it to gain access to literally _everything_ you have done on your phone and/or tied to your phone number. This includes all accounts that use your phone to confirm logins. They then would have access to your bank accounts, credit card accounts, Amazon, ebay, this website, and your emails - just to name a few examples. Hackers can use this information to not only wipe your accounts clean, but to fully steal your identity. Just by getting a SIM card number the same or similar to your own and plugging it into one of their own devices. AT&T and T-Mobile both had a huge problem with these scams until they began enforcing pairing to an IMEI. I also know at least one carrier allows you to re-pair your SIM to another "compatible" device directly from your account online without having to contact customer support or go into a store. (Though I'm not entirely sure if any post-paid companies do this due to activation fees.)
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides...unlocking-faqs
Last edited by jmac32here; 11-27-2020 at 03:15 AM.
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The Us gov passing law legalizing unlock of phones, that includes JB !!!
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