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AT&T tries to defend why it shouldn't let you unlock your phone sooner
(www.androidauthority.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
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Wha? The guy I responded to said the customers now pay full price up front. If a device is bought it should be unlocked.
Additionally giving away a phone for a determined time contract means that the company is technically giving you a loan and it should be on your credit record, require the company to do a proper credit check and be allowed to give out loans.
Bottom line, it's predatory and should not be allowed. Noone is advocating giving 1000 dollar phones for free.. it was a strawman you stuck me with.. but I don't want it.
No. I never said that. I said the cost of the phone is upfront. There are no 2 year contracts anymore, and haven't been for at least a decade. You see the full price of the phone, and decide how much a month you want to spend to pay it off.
I agree with you. And that's how it works. The question is how long after paying off the phone should it be locked.
Again, they haven't offered contracts like that in ten years. But yes you do need to pass a credit check to have a phone financed.
What exactly should not be allowed?
OK so you buy the phone on a payment plan.. and credit check. Then once it's paid off it should be unlocked.
Correct, you've got it. That's how it's worked for ten+ years.
Here in the Netherlands they don't allow carrier locking and still sell on these installment plans.
They are 2 separate services (telecom & financing) and thus cannot be linked at sale. That's not an issue.. why would it be different in the US?
In the Netherlands you purchase a new phone and a fixed monthly subscription for calls, texts, and data. You choose to pay for the phone itself upfront, or with installments each month, along with your monthly subscription cost.
That's the same thing. I think you don't know what you're talking about, friend.
Back to the original point.. Phones are not provider locked. That's not allowed. It's a predatory practice.
You're talking about sim only plans. The US also has that.
The part they are saying is different is that the phones are unlocked immediately. They don't ever lock.