Illegal to Unlock Smart Phone or Tablet

In the US it is now illegal to Unlock your Smart Phone or Tablet

As of now, it is not legal to unlock your new smart mobile device. This verdict,  by the Librarian of Congress in Oct., is seen by many as a blow to consumers who wish to do what they want, when they want, with the mobile devices they own.

Why is it not legal to unlock a smart mobile device or tablet?

Unlocking a mobile device requires making modifications to its firmware – software that is copyrighted by your provider and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Was it always like this?

No

Every 3 years, the Librarian reviews the verdicts of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and makes exceptions  under the law. In 06, they  decided that mobile device unlocking should be exempted under Digital Millennium Copyright Act. But that changed in 2012.

Why this verdict changed?

Because they were convinced, for a number of reasons, that allowing unlocking was no longer a necessary exemption.

The reason listed by the Librarian is,  an increasing population of mobile devices you can buy that come unlocked. Apple and its provider partners sell the Iphone 5 unlocked, for example.  Nexus 4 also comes unlocked. T-Mobile has plans to offer more of its mobile devices unlocked.  Retailers like Best Buy offer  unlocked mobile devices. They decided that there is  no reason to change the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to allow people to unlock any mobile device since people can  buy an unlocked mobile device, if they choose to do so.

The new court verdict has changed the interpretation of the law. In 2010, the 9th Circuit court decided owners do not actually own the software on  mobile devices. Instead, we  only licensing the software  a key difference means that we don’t have a right to change that software. This was role in the Librarian’s verdict.

Is it not legal to unlock all smart mobile devices?

No
.
The verdict only applies to newly bought mobile devices, meaning any provider locked mobile device bought on or after Oct. 28, 2012, the date the new verdicts went into effect.

If you buy a used mobile device  or even a new mobile device not directly from a provider  you are still allowed to unlock it. It’s also perfectly legal to buy a mobile device that comes unlocked. You can also, in some circumstances, ask your provider for permission to unlock your mobile device.


Is jail breaking the same as unlocking?

No.

Jail breaking allows you to run apps on your mobile device that you couldn't with an un-jail broken mobile device, such as apps that are not available in the Itunes App Store.  Jail breaking does not let you change to a different provider.  Jail breaking is still completely legal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Is there a legal way for me to unlock my new mobile device?

Yes

AT&T will let you unlock your mobile device forever, given your contract has already expired.

What happens if I unlock my mobile device anyway?

Not Telling the verdict on that is not in.

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Two Tips to Better Googling

Good Goggling tips for a Better Experience.

First Tip:

No Region Google

Look I am not alone when I say this. I hate that I get Regional  Google. I want to search the web and being an American most of my searches are targeted for the entire web and not ads that suit my location. 

I changed my searches over to this. What it does is give you Google without country ID. Thus you can search the web and find relevant items without a lot of Regional items.

Just by adding NCR after the .com/NCR  you will search the entire web.  This can also be accomplished through the Google tool bar.  However if you are like me.  Who wants all those tool bars?  

Second Tip:

Recording all Your Search Terms

Yes as I said every thing you have ever searched for is saved by Google  If you were logged into Gmail or Google in any form. You can also review everything you ever searched for. Hmmm maybe not a good thing.

Helpful to turn it off

Turn off your Google Web History

If you're visiting a webpage or performing a search that you don't want stored in your Google Web History:

Click the gear icon on the upper right corner of a search results page, and go to Search history.

Click the gear icon again on the upper corner of the Web History page, and go to Settings.

Click the Turn off button next to "Web History is on." To start keeping track of your web search activity again, click the Turn on button.

Sometimes you might prefer to run a few searches without recording them. Instead of turning off your Google Web History, you can simply use a private browsing mode like Google Chrome incognito mode or Firefox Private Browsing to prevent your web activities from being associated with your Google Web History.

Note: If you sign in to your Google Account in private browsing mode, your subsequent web activities are recorded in your Google Web History. Stay signed out if you don't want them to be stored.

If you'd like to sign out of Google Web History altogether, click your name or email address at the top of the page, then select Sign out from the drop-down menu. Note that you'll need to sign back in to your Google Account in order for Google Web History to begin storing your activity again.

If you sign out of your Google Account, your browser might continue to store your search history. 

If you like the tips ensure you like us on Face Book and Google plus.

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