We published an article back in January of 2013, when smartphone unlocking became illegal. A year and a bit later, in the US, the ruling has been overturned (Have a look a look at the full story).
With the anti unlocking law being overturned in mind, T-Mobile has come up with an app which allows you to change your network service provider, as long as you meet some terms and conditions. The phone must be fully paid off if purchased under a payment plan, and the phone must have been active on T-mobile for at least 40 days.
Unlocking has always been a pesky process, with users either having to get it done by clandestine means which is always risky, by paying a third party which of course costs money, or by speaking with their network service provider over the home and negotiating the unlock with them, which is often quite complicated. Hopefully T-Mobile’s app will reduce some of the hurdles of unlocking.
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At the moment the app is only available on Android on a single phone, the Samsung Galaxy Avant, a mid range handset which hasn’t seen much media hype, and allows users to request a permanent or 30-day unlock. This means for a temporary time period or even permanently the user can use another network’s SIM card and service on the phone. Fancy going on pay as you go for a while between contracts but don’t want to switch phones? No problem.
The feature seems promising, with the 30-day unlock a lot easier to negotiate, making taking the phone abroad for use on holiday much less costly, as roaming charges could be avoided by using a SIM from the local network. The app hasn’t yet been confirmed but it is likely, depending on the success of the app, that it will make it to other devices in the future.
Source: Tmonews
Via: Androidcentral