[Discussion]Rent a phone. - General Topics

That would be a great idea right? Rent a phone - just like rent a car. Just launch an online webpage with contact details and rent the latest phones to customers for reasonable prices including insurance and stuff. And when the latest phone comes out just return the previous phone and then rent out the older phone cheaper and the newer phone at a higher price. This way one would not be fixed on one phone and developers especially would have the opportunity to develop for many more phones.

sounds like a good idea but for the price of phones i find it easier to just go buy it or take out a contract plus a contract is like renting a phone till your contract is up apart from they dont take the phone back just want your money lol

Well in the Netherlands its already happening. You can lease your phone for a period off time.
But I think the amount you need pay for leasing is still quite high, so I think you can as well buy it yourself.

Or maybe you can also lease a phone lol
Sent from my SGH-T989D using XDA

Terrible idea. What happens if you break it etc?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium

the amount of time you would have to lend it out, you would barely make profit until phones are paid off. would take a while unless they are paying some crazy monthly rental fee.

In fact if you are developing for sony ericsson xperia devices you can borrow a phone from sony Mobile developer site

At this pont in time , I don't see it .
Before cell phones were so common and the providers charged high roaming fees , rental car company locations offered cell phones for rent . The rental and airtime were pricey but worth it to business people on the move.

johnny893 said:
Terrible idea. What happens if you break it etc?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium
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My initial reaction too... I'm not sure I'd want to rent a phone with all the strings attached for damages

People on contract are basically Rent-to-Own.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

I called VZW to find out if I could rent an Iphone just to see if I'd like it. They said that would be an awesome idea, but no, they have no such service. I ended up just getting the GNex!

SamsungGalaxySII. said:
That would be a great idea right? Rent a phone - just like rent a car. Just launch an online webpage with contact details and rent the latest phones to customers for reasonable prices including insurance and stuff. And when the latest phone comes out just return the previous phone and then rent out the older phone cheaper and the newer phone at a higher price. This way one would not be fixed on one phone and developers especially would have the opportunity to develop for many more phones.
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Well actually, in the Netherlands, it's possible. Kind of.. however, you're stuck to that one phone when you take it.. It's like leasing a phone.. You pay for it monthly, but with great replacement service etc.

Rent a phone ? O boy . Who the f..k will rent a phone . And why

well for the reason you mentioned for renting, you can just buy and sell it back when you need another device.

Sounds good, but
1) a phone's price is probably not high enough to justify a renting scheme vs data moving inconvenience. How often do you see rented laptops?
2) the current contract system is already entrenched.

I wish I could have rented a phone when I was having a issue with my razr, to see id it was the phone or not. I would have saved me a LOT of time, dealing with verizon on the phone.
I think renting for a day or a week could work, but even that would be hard.

day

older phones are so cheap, I think that would make this a bad call. You can buy older blackberry curves for like 20 bucks on eBay. So if you just need a loaner smartphone, you can always do that. Granted it won't be the latest and greatest, but it will work.
...though it would be funny to get other people's calls on your rental number. haha.

sounds like a good idea!

better to just buy a new phone, rather then renting as some mobile phones are cheep anyways.

Related

xoom network locking/barring question.

Evening all, apologies for the probably noobish question but i've done a fair amount of searching and have to give in and just ask.
My younger brother got a xoom (32gb wi-fi and 3g) on contract in the uk with three, he then neglected to pay the bill entirely.
My question to you good folks is as follows...
Can three network bar it as they could with a mobile handset who's bill remained unpaid?
If i offer to pay off his contract as the helpful, older, wiser, better looking brother and then, confiscate his tablet and sell it to recoup my huge outlay - can anyone tell me if im going to get an angry winning ebay bidder messaging me to say that it doesn't work with their sim card as its been barred/blocked etc etc??
is there anyway i can check on the actual device?, at the minute it just comes up with "no sim" although the wi-fi works fine as you'd expect.
I just want rid of it, and to have my bank balance drained as little as possible before i send photos of my brother to every retailer asking them to politely remove him from their store.
Thanks for any help that you guys can provide.
kinny
Not to be a bummer but if you did pay off his contract you probably still have a huge dent in your wallet even after selling it. Probably best bet is to just keep with the contract and keep the XOOM since it is a decent device. I know that you want to sell it but I doubt you could sell it for all that much. And if you did pay off the contract your tablet should be unlocked so I doubt people would complain if they are blocked.
Just pop-in a different SIM to check if you still get a no-SIM error.
Sent from my MB855 using xda app-developers app
Chaosgod27 said:
Not to be a bummer but if you did pay off his contract you probably still have a huge dent in your wallet even after selling it. Probably best bet is to just keep with the contract and keep the XOOM since it is a decent device. I know that you want to sell it but I doubt you could sell it for all that much. And if you did pay off the contract your tablet should be unlocked so I doubt people would complain if they are blocked.
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Nah i do agree in principle but I've already got 2 laptops assorted work and home phones and an ipad so the last thing i need is another bit of kit that'll turn into a paper weight, any money back from selling is better than none as i'm resigned to paying off his bill regardless under the understanding that the device becomes mine in exchange for his credit history not becoming ruined at the age of 18.
If i paid it off it'd be over a few months rather than in a lump sum just not the remaining 17 months thats left as i want it gone and off my mind asap!
they seem to be going for £200 plus on ebay which is £200 more than if i put it in the drawer and forgot about it.
Cheers for the reply though matey, much appreciated.
.cruiser said:
Just pop-in a different SIM to check if you still get a no-SIM error.
Sent from my MB855 using xda app-developers app
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The simplest solutions are usually best and in this reply i think you've just epitomised that! Will try this asap.
I still wonder if they can actually be blocked/barred though?
kinny999 said:
Nah i do agree in principle but I've already got 2 laptops assorted work and home phones and an ipad so the last thing i need is another bit of kit that'll turn into a paper weight, any money back from selling is better than none as i'm resigned to paying off his bill regardless under the understanding that the device becomes mine in exchange for his credit history not becoming ruined at the age of 18.
If i paid it off it'd be over a few months rather than in a lump sum just not the remaining 17 months thats left as i want it gone and off my mind asap!
they seem to be going for £200 plus on ebay which is £200 more than if i put it in the drawer and forgot about it.
Cheers for the reply though matey, much appreciated.
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Hmm I see, if you want to get rid and don't mind losing a bit of money, I suppose paying it off as soon as possible and selling it will be wise. And no it won't be barred or blocked if everything works out fine. Don't know about changing ownership, lol first I heard of that but you probably have to discuss it with three. Just curious, why did your brother grab that device knowing he can't pay for it? It would've been better if he just brought it outright if you asked me.
Chaosgod27 said:
Hmm I see, if you want to get rid and don't mind losing a bit of money, I suppose paying it off as soon as possible and selling it will be wise. And no it won't be barred or blocked if everything works out fine. Don't know about changing ownership, lol first I heard of that but you probably have to discuss it with three. Just curious, why did your brother grab that device knowing he can't pay for it? It would've been better if he just brought it outright if you asked me.
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Not entirely sure of that myself matey? might try and beat the answer out of him at a later date though

How I got to keep my HOXL and got AT&T to send me a Galaxy SIII I747 free of charge

How I got to keep my HOXL and got AT&T to send me a Galaxy SIII I747 free of charge
When my upgrade eligibility with AT&T came up last spring I decided that I needed to familiarize myself with the Android operating system. Having been a long time iPhone user (iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 4) with a mostly positive experience, I had always been frustrated by Apple's lack of Flash support and (at the time) their refusal to adjust their screen size. Little did I know that both Adobe and Apple were just "sitting in the corner" laughing at me when I came to this rationalization. Naturally, I overcompensated and went with the Galaxy Note, which, IMHO was probably not the best fit for an Android noob like myself. I did a little more research, and just on the outskirts of my 30 day return window, the HTC ONE XL was gonna debut. Bought it on launch day May 6th (before the embargo ruined the party). Like everyone else I had concerns over the lack of storage expansion from 16 Gigs - my previous iPhone 4 was 32 Gigs - but felt confident enough to pull the trigger since the 25 Gigs of free Dropbox space was on the table and according to AT&T was in play. Having been Grandfathered into AT&T's unlimited data plan and being a moderate user (I average 6-8 Gigs a month and have only been throttled twice) I felt as though I could transition to Cloud storage with ease.
I wanted to wait as long as possible before establishing my Dropbox account so I could get the maximum out of the 2 years. It wasn't until late September that I learned of AT&T purposely opting out of participating in the deal. I still can't fathom the rational for this, since its always been my understanding that not only AT&T, but all the Carriers had absolutely nothing to do with this promotion because the deal was between HTC and Dropbox. You would think the Carriers would welcome this since it would increase data usage, thus gaining them additional revenue. I'm sure that people, much smarter than myself, who contribute to the XDA forums, have the answer to this burning question since i'm clearly clueless.
Anyway, no worries, I'll just simply "Root", "Rom" and Voilà....Uh-Oh... As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short and I miss my window with the initial Root exploit that HTC closed ---- ( BTW this is in NO WAY meant as a backdoor insult or complaint to the Developers and their tirelessly Godlike work that they perpetually churn out on a daily basis, nor is it to the rest of the "awesomesauce" that describes the entire XDA Community!!!!) Now, I know in the back of my mind, there is an obvious workaround -- which I'm sure has been explained in this forum before - attach service to your previous phone for a day or so --- snag a WiFi connection and establish your Dropbox account and Boom instant 25 Gigs --then simply reattach service to your HOXL --- but ya know what....now I'm Pissed....time to call AT&T....
I started by calling sales not customer service too vent my complaint
1st Barrier ---- I get the initial non-decision making Dingbat ... As quickly as possible, I dispensed of this person and got a supervisor - I explained my issue and advised that AT&T did a "bait and switch" on me and strongly emphasized how ILLEGAL this practice is .....
2nd Barrier --- supervisor said he had no idea what I was talking about and that he had never heard of this "Dropbox freebie thing" (keep in mind I'm speaking with the sales department) --- this was easily refuted as I told the gentleman to try opening the box -- you know --the one with the AT&T logo on it that the HOXL comes in -- and to look at the paperwork inside --- it advertises the promotion!!!! Clearly his plausible deniability is out the window....
3rd Barrier --- "Can't help you because it's not our promotion..." No kidding -- that's the point..... I went on to explain how I was well aware that it wasn't their promotion and how it makes it worse because they purposely had to "opt out" --- emailed him the link to the Dropbox page explaining the promotion and How AT&T and VERIZON opted out (keep in mind the promotion is for any new HTC device running Sense 4.0 not just the HOXL) He continually stated that it wasn't their promotion for which I replied that I knew that and that it didn't matter whose promotion it was. I advised him, that I signed a contract with AT&T based on that information and that the Dropbox offer was used by AT&T as a selling tool to that end and that's why this is a bait and switch situation and that the practice is ILLEGAL
4th Barrier --- "How do we know that you were told about this offer and that our employees used this strategy...." I emailed him a link from androidcentral (Being that this is my very first post on the XDA forums protocol prevents me from posting the link that I sent ... but I can tell you that androidcentral was the original source for the "article" titled "AT&T HTC One X will have free Dropbox space, company spokeswoman affirms" and was dated Apr 24 2012) --- granted this is simply an unofficial "blog site" that can basically say anything they want but I advised him that this story was picked up by all the other major 'tech sites" and it has never been refuted by AT&T. In addition the "AT&T Spokeswomen" is Jackie Vettorino. Her official title is - Digital PR/Social Media Strategist for AT&T - She is basically their Top Dog when it comes to dealing with the press - She is widely known to many media outlets because of her role as the Point-man..er..Point-woman on "Throttlegate" last fall. I explained to him that because of her fairly high profile, it would be extremely remote that the story was fabricated or that she had somehow been grossly misquoted because of the likeliness of serious repercussions... but I did offer to three-way her office --- He declined. I also, again referred him to the materials that came in the box with my phone -- yes the Box -- the one produced and manufactured for AT&T with their logo splashed all over it.
5th Barrier --- "Did you purchase your phone and contract from a Corporate store or online through the official AT&T website ...." I told him that i didn't and that I used an "Authorized Retailer" (My friend works there and I wanted her to get the commission. To be honest, at the time I didn't know it wasn't a corporate store -- they only sell AT&T product and the only name mentioned inside or outside the building was the official AT&T logo all decked out in that crappy blue and orange - no offense to all you Miami Dolphin fans. It had been years since I had been in an AT&T store - all my recent dealings had been at an Apple store) He began to tell me that I would have to "take up this issue" with the store and that it was "out of his hands". I promptly asked him who my contract was with - He stated AT&T. I immediately repeated the question - he again correctly answered AT&T - I asked the question 3 additional times in succession and he scored a perfect 5 for 5. Finally, I asked him if he knew what the word "authorized" meant, as in "Authorized Retailer" and during my reading of this definition (straight from .merriam-webster.com) he interrupted me by resignedly asking me "what I wanted...."
Aah!!! ... Success. I went into this endeavor with the hopeful expectation that AT&T would credit my account the price of what I would have to pay for cloud storage for 2 years - It's soft money and almost always AT&T's go to when they screw up. Well after almost 90 minutes on the call, I quickly rethought my position and like any successful Rep will tell you "Ultimately, you always have to ask for it". I told the supervisor that there were 2 options:
1) AT&T could release me from my contract without penalty and refund my full purchase price for the phone...not something AT&T wants (nor did I ... again I stay because of my unlimited data plan) or....
2) Replace my HOXL with an equivalent phone that has expanded storage options at zero cost to me - of course we both knew that the only possible replacement was the Galaxy SIII
Without hesitating he asked me what color I wanted and to what address I wanted it shipped -- The phone arrived at my doorstep, Oct 2, precisely 27.5 hours from the time I ended the call. After 2 weeks and another lengthy call - this time to Customer Service - I was able to successfully argue that my contract start date should be reinstated to the original May 6th date and not the Oct 2nd citing that the SIII was not an upgrade but a replacement phone.
I created this Post not to boast or pat myself on the back, but rather as a template for other HOXL owners who may be feeling slighted by AT&T's consistently awful business practices. Hey, It doesn't have to be an SIII --- it may be a great way to offset HTC's poor decision of putting out a part deux a mere 6 months into release of their "flagship" X series. Why is it always the early adopters and loyal supporters who seem to get hosed ... but I gotta say the HOXL+ is looking mighty Dope. Although, I do question the decision of not going with a RAM increase, (can anyone confirm this?) While its not a huge hindrance, I do get a "load screen" every now and then. It just seems as though 1 Gig is really riding the line, at least with ICS 4.0.4.
That's awesome bro lol. I wish I could pull some shiz like that.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app
haha thats great, I'm glad you made out good
dotsquad said:
t may be a great way to offset HTC's poor decision of putting out a part deux a mere 6 months into release of their "flagship" X series.
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Yeah, exactly. Let's start demanding free phones because HTC is keeping up with technology.
If this forum had a "First world problems" section, this thread would've been a sticky.
Some people need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
Great first post. Sometimes I want to tell AT&T these things. I just seem to always get a very helpful customer service rep who always make me feel warm and cared for inside. =)
After this month I'm getting pretty pissed about being throttled to 500kbps after 5GB.
whys everyone mad.... of course they gave him an s3....it's a downgrade and very likely a refurb.
Sent from my One X using xda premium
EliWay said:
Yeah, exactly. Let's start demanding free phones because HTC is keeping up with technology.
If this forum had a "First world problems" section, this thread would've been a sticky.
Some people need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
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ATT= Cash Cow
Defrauding the public = illegal
Free phone to satisfy a customer who was LIED to and keep taking their money = MORE PROFIT
No sympathy for them. First or third world. Corporations and governments take advantage of all of us in order to make another buck.
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
I would of asked to not be throttled anymore =)
Great first post! Great story! I really felt like when u are watching a tv series that ur addicted to and cant stop watching! Really entertaining!! And congrats on demanding ur rights, thats the way to go!
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
c5satellite2 said:
ATT= Cash Cow
Defrauding the public = illegal
Free phone to satisfy a customer who was LIED to and keep taking their money = MORE PROFIT
No sympathy for them. First or third world. Corporations and governments take advantage of all of us in order to make another buck.
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
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You know what else for-profit companies do? They pass their expenses down to their customers. They aren't going to eat the expense of giving out free phones like this. You're not "fighting the man". Its nice to think idealistically like that, but it really doesn't work that way. The cost gets handed down to us in the form of higher device costs, higher service costs, etc.
Their was likely no "defrauding of the public". Bonus offers like the one for Dropbox almost always come with a disclaimer that the terms of the offer can be changed at anytime, and without notice (including rescinding the offer itself). And AT&T opted out of the offer a long time before September. Just because a piece of paper has been sitting in the box since May, doesn't mean the offer is still valid.
If AT&T wanted to keep a customer happy, I can see letting him switch to another phone, if the One X is so "unacceptable" due to low storage. But it would have made the most business sense to demand the One X be returned. Otherwise its just motivation for people to game the system and get free phones.
c5satellite2 said:
Fight the man and stand up for yourself no matter where you live. Isn't that why XDA came into existence in the first place?
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No. XDA developers came into existence because we believe that if we bought a device, it's ours to reverse engineer or do whatever we want with it.
What you are doing is trying to game the system to get free stuff. It's SHAMEFUL.
redpoint73 said:
You know what else for-profit companies do? They pass their expenses down to their customers. They aren't going to eat the expense of giving out free phones like this. You're not "fighting the man". Its nice to think idealistically like that, but it really doesn't work that way. The cost gets handed down to us in the form of higher device costs, higher service costs, etc.
Their was likely no "defrauding of the public". Bonus offers like the one for Dropbox almost always come with a disclaimer that the terms of the offer can be changed at anytime, and without notice (including rescinding the offer itself). And AT&T opted out of the offer a long time before September. Just because a piece of paper has been sitting in the box since May, doesn't mean the offer is still valid.
If AT&T wanted to keep a customer happy, I can see letting him switch to another phone, if the One X is so "unacceptable" due to low storage. But it would have made the most business sense to demand the One X be returned. Otherwise its just motivation for people to game the system and get free phones.
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Couldn't have said it better myself.
IMHO and no disrespect to the OP, after spending so much time talking to their customer service, I would have been very upset if ATT tries to compensate me with an S3, I would have preferred an HTC One X+, too bad is not available yet.
OP, I need to give you props for your effort. In your particular case, I think you did the absolute right thing in complaining to AT&T about the whole issue. You getting the S3 for free is just a bonus in my eyes. IMO, this isn't defrauding a company; it's a situation where the customer was promised something and wasn't delivered by the company and the company made things right.
Congrats on the phone. Although i prefer the one x, gs3 is easier to work with for roms.
I'm surprised AT&T finally gave in. I guess they realized you were persistent and it wasn't worth it.
P.S. 6-8GB isn't moderate use by any means. You're lucky to be on unlimited data.
Great job dotsquad. Maybe others will get the same results.
As for the two that think this is shameful and wrong, ATT doesn't care about you. They only want your money regardless if their products or service work as advertised. And losing dotsquad as a customer costs them more than giving him a new phone and keeping him. Higher costs would be passed on if he went to another carrier.
Give customer a new phone, less than $250
Lose the customer, lose $1000+ per year. They don't really give you anything other than the next monthly bill.
And remember Randall Stevenson CEO of ATT lost the company 4+billion dollars with the failed T Mo merger, and then received a 22million bonus. 4 billion in costs passed on to customers.
If you really want to complain about something, that might be a better start.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
c5satellite2 said:
Great job dotsquad. Maybe others will get the same results.
As for the two that think this is shameful and wrong, ATT doesn't care about you. They only want your money regardless if their products or service work as advertised. And losing dotsquad as a customer costs them more than giving him a new phone and keeping him. Higher costs would be passed on if he went to another carrier.
Give customer a new phone, less than $250
Lose the customer, lose $1000+ per year. They don't really give you anything other than the next monthly bill.
And remember Randall Stevenson CEO of ATT lost the company 4+billion dollars with the failed T Mo merger, and then received a 22million bonus. 4 billion in costs passed on to customers.
If you really want to complain about something, that might be a better start.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
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Well played sir. I agree 100%
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app
Awesome!
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
You know I may try something similar to this. Although not talking about DropBox I genuinely thought that the HTC One X had 32GB of space (and it does). I didn't know the At&t version, or as I know now the HTC One Xl only had 16GB. And the thing is I remember asking the sales associate at Wal-Mart (which is also authorized reseller as you may know) "How much space does it have" and she said "32GBs". I was like yesss, because I have a bunch of music, take a lot of video and photos and of course fill up on apps. Now I have to constantly clear things up. And I didn't notice it only had 16GBs until my return period was up (I was too amazed at android and didn't really download many apps until later on, I switched from iOS ).
So what do you think my odds are at getting a device with 32GB?
----------
And yes I tried to make it work but I just can't. I haven't complained about the space issue but here recently it's beging to be a real problem.
All I need to say is 'good work'
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda premium
McMichael96 said:
You know I may try something similar to this. Although not talking about DropBox I genuinely thought that the HTC One X had 32GB of space (and it does). I didn't know the At&t version, or as I know now the HTC One Xl only had 16GB. And the thing is I remember asking the sales associate at Wal-Mart (which is also authorized reseller as you may know) "How much space does it have" and she said "32GBs".
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Improper research before buying a device. And I wouldn't trust a Walmart employee to give me any correct information on phones, or an AT&T rep, for that matter. That part was clearly the Walmart employee's bad. But in the future, just do your own research. How hard would it have been to just read the box, before purchasing?
This is the exact reason that this thread is a poor precedence. Now people are trying to get free phones, for their own mistakes.

Keep unlocking phones legal!!

This really is a USA thread only but all can get involved. Recently our government has ruled that unlocking phones without carrier permission is now illegal. Please sign this petition to change such law so that we can own the technology we buy!!!
http://wh.gov/yA9n
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I don't see what's so unfair about this.
This impacts people who are buying carrier-subsidized devices. This is a practice that has always benefited the carrier much more than the consumer.
This ruling shouldn't be something to get mad about directly - people should be mad about how badly they're being screwed over by subsidies in general. I think it's fair enough that if you sign up to be screwed, you get your full screwing.
Also, if you actually read the thing, it doesn't apply to used devices. This only applies to new phones bought under contract wherein you had full disclosure about the phone's state and the carrier's policy - no one should hedge their bets on being able to circumvent the terms they agreed to.
Even if you buy a phone at full price from a carrier it is still illegal to unlock it without the carriers approval. Thats my issue.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
See the problem is that they claim they are losing money on people unlocking their phones then going to another carrier. The flaw here is that they aren't losing anything, if someone cancels the contract they pay the etf, and if they don't they are still paying monthly because of the contract. Its just another scheme to hurt our money. Carriers can get in on the cell phone unlocking business and charge money to unlock their own cellphones, and there won't be anyone to compete
Sent from my DKOSP using Tapatalk 2
this is the result of old baby boomers who do not understand or appreciate info tech but "represent us" in govt + ridiculous amounts of corporate lobby money in politics + people surprised and shocked when they realize they voluntarily screwed themselves by signing bad contracts.
that said, people are too freaked out by this. ask yourself: will you still unlock your phone even if its illegal? if course you would and so would most people. so, who cares?
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
bleggy said:
this is the result of old baby boomers who do not understand or appreciate info tech but "represent us" in govt + ridiculous amounts of corporate lobby money in politics + people surprised and shocked when they realize they voluntarily screwed themselves by signing bad contracts.
that said, people are too freaked out by this. ask yourself: will you still unlock your phone even if its illegal? if course you would and so would most people. so, who cares?
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
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If I paid full price for my phone, I should be able to do whatever I like to it.
But the real impact is: this law kills the spirit of technology innovation.
I see this as an issue between the consumer and carrier. Stop buying phones that don't come unlocked - demand that carriers make it an option or buy used / phones sold as unlocked only.
Carriers are slowly realising that they're losing business if they don't give people the options they want - see Sprint rolling out a pre-paid service (not just the other brands they own).
If a business is screwing you, take your business to one whose terms you like. It's like pay-day loans - terrible for you, but it's your choice to do something terrible for yourself.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
jozmedia said:
If I paid full price for my phone, I should be able to do whatever I like to it.
But the real impact is: this law kills the spirit of technology innovation.
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If you buy your phone on contract, the cost of phone is almost always subsidized and you're playing by their rules. You're essentially leasing the device.
If you buy your phone at full mrsp price, then yes, you should be free to do whatever.
I dont see how this stifles tech advancements at all; I just see the creation of more underground and gray markets for unlocking services. All the bodega cellphone stores will still unlock phones for 30 bucks; they may just advertise less. Hell, they probably wont change that. Do you think cops will even care? Not where I live.
And unlocking tools/codes/apps will still be all over the internet. They may not be on the US Google Play Store anymore. Big deal.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Exactly. Its not that big of a deal if you.have the know how. I unlocked my galaxy note 2 subsidized without my carriers permission. In 30 seconds flat to work on any carrier. I could care less what government agency cares. And care less about.any legislation anyways as i am officially branded by.my government as an outlaw anyways. I have no respect for worthless laws.
Nor do the police have any means of enforcing this at the moment anyways. And yes i know because i take the.exact same.classes that.digital forensic offocers.take.at.my.college
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
I was going to make this same exact thread.
Surprised to see so little activity on this topic especially here on XDA.
I would assume 95% of XDA members phones are unlocked/hacked so this would affect us.
Doesn't matter if you don't think it will be enforced or not, you shouldn't have to worry about being prosecuted just because you want to experiment with your own phone.
We need to reject laws like these that are hostile to the consumer and show greedy corporations and politicians that we are paying attention and won't stand for this crap.
Agreed
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
papi92 said:
Even if you buy a phone at full price from a carrier it is still illegal to unlock it without the carriers approval. Thats my issue.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Okay now that's just wrong on the carrier's part because when you pay full price, you literally own the phone.
Sent from my GT-P3110 using xda app-developers app
free phones and other devices
I don't like such politics. I want devices free!!!
Too little too late?
There was a thread for this, your probably not seeing it bc no one has posted on it in 4 or 5 days. Its really sad too especially considering that this is probably the first in a line of laws to be unfairly passed that screw the consumer. To everyone overseas: not everyone wants to do something they know is technically illegal, enforced or not. The options for unlocked phones get pretty narrow if you like a certain kind of phone, and even narrower if you are tied to a particular service that has better reception in your area like say verizon like with me. I live in the middle of nowhere...lol but that's a different subject. The point is this sucks bc it takes away our options as consumers. We shouldn't have to not buy locked phones until all the carriers get the hint and safe to say that would take time. Obviously they see the wisdom in this move for them or they would not have done it. I was like the 14,000th signature on this petition and have been watching and promoting it everywhere, and sadly it looks like we have lost the needed speed to finish with 100k sigs. At this rate we will finish with about 80k give or take i figure. Not saying give up bc i wont, but everyone that is in the u.s. and understands whats involved needs to pick it up big time as this gets less media coverage. Spread the word!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-unlocking-cell-phones-legal/1g9KhZG7
This big brother administration keeps ramming through laws that hurt the consumer!
If we purchase a non subsidized phone at full retail do they lower our monthly bill? Can we carrier unlock?
The answer to both is no. Funny how they get it all and we get nothing in return. Enough is enough already.
I will gladly pay full retail if I "own" my phone, no carrier lock and unlocked/s-off, and they reduce my bill accordingly.
Just remember, they use OUR airwaves, and now are abusing the legal system to hold us hostage so they can profit. Pretty sure this is not legal.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
5l4Y said:
I don't like such politics. I want devices free!!!
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Click to collapse
Free to unlock our own phones/tablets!! :good: Totally agree!!
Yep, let's get this signed
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2.

White House Petition

Yes I know it's a long shot. But since the White House is getting more technologically advanced these days I figured it was worth a shot. Here is a petition to make it illegal for the carriers to control the software on a device you own.
http://wh.gov/layx4
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I totally agree with this, but the problem is when you buy the device on contract, you don't technically own it until the end of the two years since you're paying it off during those two years.
But if you buy the device out right off contract I think they should have some form of removal.
I know. I phrased it as consumer owned devices so those who bought the device out right or payed their ETF would qualify. Those still under contract are at the mercy of the carrier. I figure once the contract obligations are met they can unlock the bootloader for the customer similar to unlocking it for use on other networks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Well I'll sign it either way but this would be a massive legal undertaking
Oh yeah. But since the courts ruled jail breaking was legal this would seem like a common sense extension. Maybe some legal firm wants to make a name for themselves and will take up the cause.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I also think of it this way. Imagine if Ford told you that you could only put Ford approved tires on your vehicle even though it was paid off and you held the title.
Then they claimed it was to keep other Ford drivers safe. However, if you bought the the same Ford in Canada then you could put whatever tires you wanted on it. Doesn't make much sense does it?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I'm starting a petition to stop other petitions from being petitioned especially ones that have been tried before with the same results.
There is 0 chance you get the 100,000 signatures you need in 1 month. It was a nice try, but it simply won't happen
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy S4 Running AOKP 4.2.2
I don't know, I kinda liked the one where Texas petitioned to secede. I signed it, but then again, I'm not from Texas...
As to the OP, best of luck, but I don't think 'long shot' even begins to describe it.
Yes. It will fail. People will take 30 seconds to come here and whine and [email protected]#ch about it but won't take the same amount of time to sign it. Apathy at its finest.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I think its just a majority don't want to "Register" anything with the government.
Most of the people on these type of forums and similar forums are hackers/moders (good and/or bad doesnt matter)
They just wont simply register an account with the government to sign the petition.
Bingo...my thought exactly.
Guys, this doesn't make any sense. Don't get me wrong, i feel your pain, but you have to understand the fundamentals of business before you start asking a restructuring. When you buy a phone on contract, you are SUBSIDIZING a phone. By definition, a subsidy is: "A sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive" In this case, its not the government but a corporation, that is funding you so you can purchase a commodity or service. You are taking a good, using a service, subsidized, and have to oblige to their guidelines. It's like if you asked a movie company that sells DVDs to remove copy protection, or a car manufacturer to not lock the car at 230km/h.
As long are you are being subsidized by your carrier, you have to follow their rules. In a carriers head, having an unlock bootloader mean user can fiddle with their phone, use them above their OEM specs, and potentially break them. How many people have bricked, or even fried their phone because of a failed flash or bad OC? A lot, and that in terms mean A LOT more $$$$ for the carriers to replace your phone, because we can all agree if you bring them a phone that is not water damaged, or physically damaged, they will almost certainly just swap it for a refurb one and they will deal with that later.
It sucks, but its not only their right, it's also understandable. If users took a little more precaution when playing around with roms, maybe this would not be the case. So until then, buy unlocked
Thermalwolf said:
I totally agree with this, but the problem is when you buy the device on contract, you don't technically own it until the end of the two years since you're paying it off during those two years.
But if you buy the device out right off contract I think they should have some form of removal.
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Click to collapse
This is not true at all. A subsidized phone still belongs to the customer.
Thank you polish_pat for explaining that. I don't know how many times I've tried to explain that to someone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
RedIronCrown said:
This is not true at all. A subsidized phone still belongs to the customer.
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Click to collapse
it does, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want with it. It's yours, but with "strings attached"
I really wish something like this works one day.
polish_pat said:
it does, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want with it. It's yours, but with "strings attached"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you can do what you want with it. You can sell or modify it as you see fit with no more consequence than if you had bought the phone outright without a contract. There is literally nothing you can do with a purchased phone that you cannot with a subsidized phone.
The subsidy is to get you to sign a service contract, which obligates you to pay for their service for whatever the contract term is. Nothing to do with the hardware.
Which is why I phrased it as a consumer owned device. If gives the carrier an out while you are paying off the subsidy. However, once you paid off the device, At&t should have no say in what goes on the device. Providing an unlocked bootloader at that point would be what we would be looking for.
Remember at one time Jail breaking was considered illegal, but the courts ruled in favor of he consumer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Yes you can sell the phone, but you are still locked into 2 year plan. It's not like after selling the phone you can get an upgrade on the same line right away with discounted price. AT&T doesn't care what you do with your phone as long as you are not eligible for an upgrade on discounted price. You can sell it and don't use the phone, still you need to pay them the monthly bill until your contract is over. People who paid full amount without any contracts from AT&T, they have full right to make the petition about this issue.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Good deal. 32GB for $325?

Two weeks old on CL said he would do $325 only includes phone..no charger, box or anything. Would you guys take it? I'm trying to decide my sprint contract is up Feb 1 and i was interested in this phone and switching to T Mobile
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
rickyb316 said:
Two weeks old on CL said he would do $325 only includes phone..no charger, box or anything. Would you guys take it? I'm trying to decide my sprint contract is up Feb 1 and i was interested in this phone and switching to T Mobile
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds sketchy...
He was asking $375 but said it was negotiable because it didn't include anything but the phone. Would it be recommended to use any micro usb charger or is there one specifically built for this phone?
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
rickyb316 said:
He was asking $375 but said it was negotiable because it didn't include anything but the phone. Would it be recommended to use any micro usb charger or is there one specifically built for this phone?
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not box or charger? Because it's probably stolen.
BirchBarlow said:
Why not box or charger? Because it's probably stolen.
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Click to collapse
i can only agree with fellow XDA member.
if you buy new device (high end) you will defon keep the box... maybe the charger can kinda get lost (in work, school, or something) but defo not the box... and the price he is sellling it at is not a "steal"... so save few more bucks bro and get your hands on brand new boxed nexie.
take care...
My friend just bought a Black 32GB just the phone and cable, no box or charger, for 300$ of CL here in the Seattle area, he just made sure he checked the IMEI using Swappa.com (they have a free IMEI/ESN checker, be careful with other sites that claim to check IMEI/ESN's for you, cause some of those are just phishing for these numbers, and once you put them in, they will tell you its ok, but then copy the number themselves and use it for cloning devices, or for changing the IMEI on a blacklisted phone, to the white-listed IMEI you gave them. Also once you use a legit IMEI checker, call your service provider and tell them you are purchasing this right now and have the dude talk to them to verify this, you could also call whatever provider he was using, if any, so that way there's record of him selling. or you could just meet at one of your service providers stores. If they aren't willing to do that, and are absolutely set on not meeting there, then yea, somethings up. But I would at least try the approach I suggested cause you may end up getting a very good deal, and if not, then you didn't lose anything cause you took steps to ensure your protection, so no harm no foul.
AND NEVER GO ALONE ! Guy or Girl. I am 27, 6'3", ex-military, and a Guitarist who is well known in the local scene so most people in the area know me, but I still don't do CL deals by myself. I even have my CHL and carry either a Glock 19 Gen 2, or a FNH FNP Tactical .45 (not always, but sometimes, I am an opencarry adovacate, but i wont get into that here lol), and still dont go alone, can't stress that one enough. a dear friend of mine was raped in Tacoma, WA while trying to buy a crib for her daughter and i wish everyday that she woulda called me or one of our friends to go with...
The final bit of advice I can give, is trust your gut. Sounds cliche, but its true. If you feel like somethings off, it prolly is, and even if it isn't, is your life, or overall well-being, worth getting less then 100$ off on a phone, ya dig.
Not sure I agree with the people who say if you don't have a box, its probably stolen. I sold a phone without a box because when I bought it, the person at the t-mobile store told me that I would get a $10 bill credit if I let them recycle the box. Sounded sketchy to me, but I did actually get the credit.
And running the IMEI through swaapa just proves that it hasn't been marked as stolen YET. The seller could stop paying payments (if they have tmo) and the IMEI gets blacklisted then.
Silicon Knight said:
My friend just bought a Black 32GB just the phone and cable, no box or charger, for 300$ of CL here in the Seattle area, he just made sure he checked the IMEI using Swappa.com (they have a free IMEI/ESN checker, be careful with other sites that claim to check IMEI/ESN's for you, cause some of those are just phishing for these numbers, and once you put them in, they will tell you its ok, but then copy the number themselves and use it for cloning devices, or for changing the IMEI on a blacklisted phone, to the white-listed IMEI you gave them. Also once you use a legit IMEI checker, call your service provider and tell them you are purchasing this right now and have the dude talk to them to verify this, you could also call whatever provider he was using, if any, so that way there's record of him selling. or you could just meet at one of your service providers stores. If they aren't willing to do that, and are absolutely set on not meeting there, then yea, somethings up. But I would at least try the approach I suggested cause you may end up getting a very good deal, and if not, then you didn't lose anything cause you took steps to ensure your protection, so no harm no foul.
AND NEVER GO ALONE ! Guy or Girl. I am 27, 6'3", ex-military, and a Guitarist who is well known in the local scene so most people in the area know me, but I still don't do CL deals by myself. I even have my CHL and carry either a Glock 19 Gen 2, or a FNH FNP Tactical .45 (not always, but sometimes, I am an opencarry adovacate, but i wont get into that here lol), and still dont go alone, can't stress that one enough. a dear friend of mine was raped in Tacoma, WA while trying to buy a crib for her daughter and i wish everyday that she woulda called me or one of our friends to go with...
The final bit of advice I can give, is trust your gut. Sounds cliche, but its true. If you feel like somethings off, it prolly is, and even if it isn't, is your life, or overall well-being, worth getting less then 100$ off on a phone, ya dig.
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Click to collapse
OP and you can bring me ill get him to punch me (self defense) then ill beat his ass and take my iPhone crack it first then smack him on the face making sure the glass shards cut every damn thing!
markdapimp said:
OP and you can bring me ill get him to punch me (self defense) then ill beat his ass and take my iPhone crack it first then smack him on the face making sure the glass shards cut every damn thing!
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Click to collapse
wow, I totally change my stance. Forget everything i said (minus the part about IMEI/ESN checkers) and just bring this dude, he's like some crazy iphone wielding ninja. You can't lose with him watching ur back, they will be so scared, they'll prolly just give you the phone and free service for a year lol
Hunteres said:
i can only agree with fellow XDA member.
if you buy new device (high end) you will defon keep the box... maybe the charger can kinda get lost (in work, school, or something) but defo not the box... and the price he is sellling it at is not a "steal"... so save few more bucks bro and get your hands on brand new boxed nexie.
take care...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it probably is a steal. Get it? :laugh::good:
mistahseller said:
Actually it probably is a steal. Get it? :laugh::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:rimshot:
Sent from my Moto X
Not worth
No go people. It's not about being stolen, I've had my phone stolen before and I needed to send my box and service agreement into Asurion. It could be that he has the box and may sell it but then report it stolen after the fact. I've done business on craigslist plenty of times and actually learned this the hard way about a year ago when I bought a Nexus 4 blacklisted from T-Mobile about 3 days after I bought it and was working. Always get the box with the IMEI sticker still attached when buying phones on craigslist, in most cases your better off than not.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

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