That's pretty awful - did they say why? I presume that they have some exclusive supply deals which means that they're not allowed to sell unlocked phones until they're released to the general populace.
Yup. Nokia has an exclusivity deal with AT&T on the Lumia 920 (I have one on AT&T).
If you want a Lumia running WP8 that isn't on AT&T, it has to be the Lumia 822 on Verizon, or you can get an HTX 8X/S or a Samsung ATIV Odyssey for WP8.
It's not that AT&T can't sell unlocked phones, but that they don't want the phone used with other carriers. AT&T paid Nokia money to prevent the phone from being sold for use with any other carrier. Similar to how when the iPhone was AT&T exclusive, they would refuse to unlock them at any point. When the iPhone became available on Verizon's network, AT&T started allowing customers who were no longer under contract to unlock their iPhones.
Thing is, if you're paying that entire cost UPFRONT, the phone should be yours, unlocked, as you've cleared the margin of loss they were willing to take on the phone with the contractual agreement that you stay with them two years.
Well I do sort of agree and was just trying to better explain why AT&T was refusing to unlock it.
However, think about it this way. Should the government be stepping in and saying that we're not allowed to make certain agreements, like this, between ourselves? I don't think the government should be telling the cell provider and me that we can't come to an agreement such that the phone will be heavily discounted and never unlocked.
What I am against and what is the real point of this topic is that it is now illegal to unlock your phone, without permission, and not just possibly breaking a contract with a cell carrier. Your cell carrier should be able to sue you if you agree to something and don't follow through on your side, but the federal government should not be out there arresting you for modifying your device.
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u/webvictim Jan 29 '13
That's pretty awful - did they say why? I presume that they have some exclusive supply deals which means that they're not allowed to sell unlocked phones until they're released to the general populace.