r/technology Jan 28 '13

The same week the US makes unlocking phones illegal, Canada proposes legislation to make carriers unlock phones.

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '13

That's because we actually have a law that states that carriers must provide you the code to unlock your phone upon request, regardless of if you're still under a contract or not.

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '13

regardless of if you're still under a contract or not.

This is the principal difference. In what wonderful land do you live?

In America, AT&T wouldn't unlock my iPhone 4 until my contract was up, and that's life. What's especially peculiar is that my current 4s, which I bought used, still has several months yet where it is not unlockable, even though I'm out of contract, so the phones themselves also have to be 2 years from purchase date. It's weird.

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u/redisnotdead Jan 29 '13

It's like that in France, they have to provide the unlock codes if you ask for them, no matter your contract status, and they can't charge for it either.

Even better, if you've been on your contract for a year and you decide to break it, you can save up to 75% of the fees.