Apple May Be Breaking the Law With Policy On iPhone Unlocks

an anonymous reader writes "Apple's recent decision to void warranties for folks that unlocked their iPhones may wind them up in legal hot water. The site Phone News points out that Apple appears to have broken a key warranty law relevant to SIM unlocks. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law decades old, would seem to prevent Apple from voiding warranties in the way it is threatening to do with the iPhone, or so the site argues. 'The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states that Apple cannot void a warranty for a product with third-party enhancements or modifications to their product. The only exception to this rule is if Apple can determine that the modification or enhancement is responsible [for] damaging the product in question ... The legal [questions are]: Is the SIM Unlock process that has become mainstream doing damage to iPhone? And, also, is Apple designing future software updates to do damage to iPhone when said SIM Unlock code is present?'"

Comments

Re:Why this is probably wrong

[Henry V .009]

Of course, this will devolve into disinformation where people believe that even the third party application hacks also might void the warranty or "damage" the phone, or that Apple is purposely "damaging" phones that are unlocked, and then villainously not honoring the warranties just to "stick it" to them, when in reality it's nothing of the sort...so I expect it to be a big bad press brouhaha when the first people get their phones bricked.

That would be so Apple, and you know it.

Re:Why this is probably wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you'll find that locking phones in the UK is only permitted because the carrier subsidises the cost of the phone.

Then I guess we'll find out whether the iPhone is locked to a carrier in the UK when it comes out, won't we?

And if it is, then what? A bunch of crying and whining?

Re:Why this is probably wrong

[Microlith]

If they wanted it to be truly restricted, they'd encrypt the database.

But I suppose you've never had a terrible 3rd party sync util (EphPod) go and fuck your iPod's database up on what was only supposed to be a read, have you?

Re:FUCK YOU MOD

[SIIHP]

What kind of idiot are you that you ignore the part of my post that DOES prove him wrong?

Re:FUCK YOU MOD

[SIIHP]

"Obviously the kind that realises that just because they may be wrong about one thing, doesn't mean that everything else they say is wrong because of it."

Well, since I didn't make that claim, that makes you an idiot also.

"How are you meant to discuss the topics at hand if everyone just said "you are completely wrong" and provided little to no evidence why."

Well, since I didn't do THAT either, that makes you an idiot^2.

Also, I couldn't care less about your opinion, and why you have time to waste commenting on my comment of a troll mod is beyond me, but thanks for the opportunity to tell someone off, that made my morning.