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FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

techcrunch.com

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Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#61

Post by the_snooze »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #56
blitzar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its always the US ... the comments are always full of "the system will break down if they scrap it / wont somebody think of the children"

You can easily get an unlocked phone in the USA, so it is more like "If you want an unlocked phone, buy an unlocked phone, and if want a mobile network to subsidize your phone, then you might have to deal with the terms of the agreement, including being locked to a mobile network".

Enough people seem to love artificially low up-front prices, even if it costs them more (in money and headaches) in the long-run. See: Spirit Airlines, Ticketmaster, and restaurant fees and tipping.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#62

Post by Mo3 »

paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

They used to be SIM and/or carrier locked here in west Europe, until if I remember correctly 10-15 years ago

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#63

Post by Amezarak »

lbourdages wrote: post #7
yyyfb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Markets exist where SIM locking has been prohibited for a long time (Wikipedia says Canada, Chile, China, Israel, and Singapore at least). Financing still exists in these countries. The phone is absolutely not "collateral". The carrier does not take it back if you default (even if they could, they wouldn't be able to get anything of value for it). Unlocking is just an inconvenience that prevents enough people from ch…

Yes. In Canada, the phones are not locked, but if you terminate your contract before the term (max 2 years) you have to pay the remaining cost.

What happens if you don’t pay?

I ask this out of genuine curiosity - I’m not sure what happens in the US either, I don’t believe they brick carrier-locked phones that a customer stops paying for but I’m not sure. But I’ve enough experiences with enough people to know this is probably actually a fairly common scenario and I wonder what the consequences are. (A surprising amount of the time, there are no real consequences.)

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#64

Post by kirenida »

Detrytus wrote: post #15
yyyfb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Markets exist where SIM locking has been prohibited for a long time (Wikipedia says Canada, Chile, China, Israel, and Singapore at least). Financing still exists in these countries. The phone is absolutely not "collateral". The carrier does not take it back if you default (even if they could, they wouldn't be able to get anything of value for it). Unlocking is just an inconvenience that prevents enough people from ch…

And in EU, it is technically not prohibited, but haven't really been a thing for a long time. One caveat: carriers do not really pay for your phones. Your phone bill would list two separate charges: service charge, for calls, internet use, etc., and then the monthly payment for your phone. If you add all those monthly payments over the whole contract period you get maybe 5-10% discount to the regular market price.

It seems that Croatian operators didn't get the memo about the discount.

Here the phones that you can get from your carrier and pay off on a monthly basis often end up costing more than in retail.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#65

Post by OptionOfT »

the_snooze wrote: post #61
lotsofpulp wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can easily get an unlocked phone in the USA, so it is more like "If you want an unlocked phone, buy an unlocked phone, and if want a mobile network to subsidize your phone, then you might have to deal with the terms of the agreement, including being locked to a mobile network".

Enough people seem to love artificially low up-front prices, even if it costs them more (in money and headaches) in the long-run. See: Spirit Airlines, Ticketmaster, and restaurant fees and tipping.

In general in the USA a lot of things are pushed to you as monthly payments, and not the total cost of ownership.

Yes, you can afford a $900 / month car note. But that doesn't mean that it actually makes sense to pay it for 72 months at some ridiculous interest rate.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#66

Post by sgift »

Anduia wrote: post #38
Detrytus wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in Europe they will actually ask you for a proof of employment/income before they sell you the cell phone plan. If you are unemployed then your only option is pre-paid sim, and those usually do not come with phones.

In which country?

Rather typical in Germany (they usually do it via Schufa, but the end result is the same). No idea for other countries.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#67

Post by 0x5f3759df-i »

paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Phones only started being unlocked in Canada starting in 2017, so the US isn’t so unique. Though Canada carriers are probably not the standard to hold yourself to.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#68

Post by miki123211 »

paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Keep in mind that in Europe, some phones are still under carrier control, despite not technically being locked.

You can resell the phone and use it with any carrier you wish, but as soon as the original owner stops paying the bill, the phone becomes remote-locked and turns into a brick.

Samsung's Knox can do this, not sure which other brands also have that option.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#69

Post by dv_dt »

miohtama wrote: post #54
jstummbillig wrote: post #33

TIL locked phones are still a thing, somewhere. Not gonna lie: That feels fairly wild at this point.

The US is also using paper cheques for payments

And for some forms of US electronic check payments, typing an account number wrong will take 4-5 days to return a "bounced check" result, often with a fee from the entity you're trying to pay.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#70

Post by paxys »

miki123211 wrote: post #68
paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Keep in mind that in Europe, some phones are still under carrier control, despite not technically being locked. You can resell the phone and use it with any carrier you wish, but as soon as the original owner stops paying the bill, the phone becomes remote-locked and turns into a brick. Samsung's Knox can do this, not sure which other brands also have that option.

Which is still significantly better than the system in the US. Most people make all their payments in time like they are supposed to, but are still affected by carrier locks. For example if I want to travel abroad and buy a local SIM for cheaper data, I'm out of luck, because AT&T won't let me use my phone. So I have to use their ultra expensive roaming plan or buy a secondary phone just for those few days.
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