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Device unlocking has become legal in the US- that is SIM unlocking, not any other type. This means that consumers will be able to take their device they purchased at one carrier and use it on another if they wanted. However, when the bill was being discussed, carriers asked that they be in control of the unlocking of any device. That said, we now know what T-Mobile’s device unlocking app will look like.
T-Mobile has been all about making things easier for the consumer, paying your bill, upgrading your device, and soon, unlocking your device. Using an app to unlock your device could be possibly the easiest way to do just that. Thanks to TmoNews, we now know what the “Device Unlock” app could look like. They have images of the app running on a Samsung Galaxy Avant test unit.
In the images of the app, we see that T-Mobile will be giving two different options when it comes to SIM unlocking- permanent or temporary. While the permanent option will obviously unlock your device for life, the temporary unlock will only last for 30 days. The temporary would come in handy when say you’re on vacation or traveling for work and need to use a different carrier for that time. The permanent option does have a requirement though.
In order to permanently unlock your device, it must first be checked for eligibility. In the image below, you’ll see that the permanent unlock failed since the device was still on contract. Which shows us that the device must not be attached to a contract or still being paid off in order to unlock. More than likely the temporary unlock will not need to check for such requirements first. All of this is very exciting as we move into the future of smartphones, and unlocking through an app is even better.
The app will be preinstalled on all T-Mobile devices and will more than likely become available to older devices in the future. Though the app will not be available on the Google Play Store, so when it does come to older devices, it will have to be through a software update.
