Skip to main content

Phone unlocking is almost legal: It’s passed the Senate!

finally legal unlock smartphone cell phone unlocking
Image used with permission by copyright holder
As it stands now, if you want to unlock your phone, or unchain it from AT&T or the network you use, it’s a complicated, sometimes impossible task. This is because certain sections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act forbid cell phone unlocking. While there was an exemption in place that pertained to unlocking your cell phone, it wasn’t renewed. However, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act looks to change that, and it passed the Senate earlier today.

If the bill sounds familiar, that’s because it passed the U.S. House of Representatives back in February. However, that version of the bill disallowed cell phone unlocking in order to conduct “bulk unlocking.” In other words, business wouldn’t be allowed to buy phones, unlock them, and turn around to sell them to consumers. Now they can. In addition, the version that passed through the Senate now allows consumers to ask a third party, like a company or a technician, to unlock a phone for them.

As good as this may sound, the bill should not be seen as a permanent solution to legalizing phone unlocking. It will require the Library of Congress to put the previous DMCA exemption back in place and lets the Library of Congress to reconsider the exemption when the time comes for possible renewal. We are hopeful, however, that the bill will help pave a path to permanent legalization of phone unlocking.

Now that it passed the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is coordinating with the House of Representatives bill author, Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), to make sure the bill is signed into law by President Obama by the end of the year.

Editors' Recommendations

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro: is it time to upgrade?
Renders of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro next to each other.

The iPhone 15 Pro series, released last year, comes with significant design changes, which include a titanium body for the first time. The new models boast improved camera quality, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, and a new 3nm A17 Pro chip. While these features are impressive, some may not find them compelling enough to upgrade from the iPhone 14 Pro.

But what about the iPhone 13 Pro? When comparing the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro to the 2021 iPhone 13 Pro, it's no surprise that the differences are considerably longer. Whether these differences are significant enough for you to switch depends on whether you could benefit from them and are willing to pay the price of upgrading.

Read more
Nothing Phone 2a vs. Nothing Phone 2: Don’t get the wrong one
The Nothing Phone 2a and the Nothing Phone 2 with Glyph Lights active.

Nothing Phone 2a (left) and Nothing Phone 2 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Nothing has created a buzz in the tech community with its innovative smartphone designs. After successfully releasing its first phone in 2022, the Nothing Phone 2 hit the scene in 2023 to rave reviews. Fast forward to 2024, and we now have the Nothing Phone 2a.

Read more
I tried Belkin’s ridiculous new iPhone accessory — and I love it
Belkin Stand Pro with iPhone 14 Pro Max mounted in StandBy mode.

One of the most interesting iPhone accessories to debut this year is one that wouldn’t have been possible without Apple sneaking a new feature into iOS 17 last fall. While there’s no shortage of iPhone stands and mounts on the market, Belkin’s Stand Pro is something entirely different from the rest.

That’s thanks to Apple’s DockKit. It's a framework for accessory makers to create motorized stands that can follow you around the room. While the concept itself isn’t new, DockKit means that such stands can be significantly more affordable as they don’t need to pack in complex sensors. With DockKit, the iPhone does all the heavy lifting of figuring out where to point itself.

Read more