You might recall last summer President Obama signed into law that all carriers had to allow customers to unlock phones and take them to whatever carrier they wish. Well, that law is officially going into effect on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. This law goes for both MVNOs and primary carriers, from what I understand.
Here are what the current unlocking policies for prepaid devices with all four of the main carriers look like as of yesterday:
Most of these policies are not too greatly changed, with the notable exception of Sprint.
Prior to February 11, Sprint prepaid devices could not be unlocked or moved to another carrier and devices purchased before this policy became mandatory still cannot be unlocked. Sprint notes in fine print that once a device is unlocked, customers might not be able to bring the device back to Sprint prepaid. There are also a million addendum that the device, even though it’s unlocked, might still not work on other carrier networks, and they may not be able to unlock the GSM abilities–only CDMA. If you intend to unlock a Sprint device, be sure to read the policy thoroughly.
Keep in mind, of course, that just because you SIM unlock a phone, that does not mean that it will be automatically compatible with all other carriers. Be sure to check with the carrier you intend to use to ensure the device is compatible and will work properly.]]>
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