[Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General] ZeBoxx:
It's all a bit of a grey area when it concerns SIM locks. They SIM locks are based on a business model like game consoles; often they make a loss on the device which they expect to recuperate on kickbacks from games and accessories. You could make the same argument that anybody who would hack their game console to run Linux (for some ungodly reason) is 'stealing' from the console developers. However, it's a conscious business decision to take a loss on the console, knowing full well that there may be hacks to do so. Moreoever, they know full well that somebody might buy it, play a game that comes with it, decide they like a different console better, and trash their existing one. Now this person also hasn't provided the console developer with what they expected to recuperate from fringe sales. So are they stealing, too?

All in all, it is the phone carriers that choose to go with one of typically three plans...

1. prepaid; get the device for cheap, with sim lock, and they recuperate costs - with any luck - from selling top-ups / prepaid cards / etc.

This is a business model that has success only through numbers, much like the console business. There are, however, plenty of already unscrupulous people who will buy such a device to use once, and then discard it. Then there are those who might not call enough to full recuperate the actual cost of the device. Nevertheless, I do think that usually unlocking the SIM for these devices is a bit on the black end of the grey area.

2. contract plans; get the (typically more advanced than prepaid) device for relatively cheap, with sim lock, and they recuperate the costs on your plan.

Now this is where I think a SIM unlock is perfectly valid *if* and only if you can't terminate your contract early - which you usually can't. So if you're already stuck paying $20/month for 2 years, and paid $200 for the device itself, that's $200 + $480 = $680. Now I need to jump to the third one before concluding this 2nd plan.

3. SIM-lock-free; some carriers will sell devices SIM-lock free from the get-go. This means that you get the phone they offer, which may be exclusive to them, but you can use any carrier you want. No unlocking issues here, as there's no lock.

Now here's the kicker. A lot of carriers provide 2 & 3 for the same device. Contract plan works out to be $680, but if you get the simlock-free one, it'll cost you the lump sum of $500. So if you go with the contract plan (and, again, if you can't terminate it), you already paid for the device itself - and then some. So why SIM-lock it? To get even more money... more money than the device normally costs, and even more money than you're already paying them thanks to the contract. But what validation do the carriers have for this - as they recuperated the costs, they made no loss, etc? Just more profit. So I wouldn't consider that "stealing" - that's a void of potential revenue.

And if they really, really wanted to stop you from using an unlocked phone, they can have the IMEI blocked. Unless, of course, somebody changed it.

So let's compare the pros/cons of SIM-unlocking and IMEI changing...

SIM unlock:

- carrier loses money if it's a prepaid

- carrier has a void of potential revenue if it's a contract

- consumer gets free choice of carrier

IMEI change:

- carrier can't block phone if it is stolen

- carrier can't block phone if it is being used unjustly

- networks may go wacky over two the same IMEIs if they happen to be on the same cell

- police cannot track phone in case of crime (yes, I know that anybody with enough will can do it, 'if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have gun', yaddayadda - any proper criminal uses a disposal-worthy prepaid anyway)

- consumer loses all hope of getting their phone back

- some consumers can use their device on a network where it would otherwise be blocked for some inane reason - such as emree over here. Though they can usually apply to have their IMEI entered into the carrier's database anyway, but that's something for emree to investigate.

So from both the consumer -and- the carrier's point of view, an IMEI change is vastly more damaging than a SIM-unlock. Almost the only people who win from an IMEI change procedure are those who have stolen a phone, or found it and have no intention of returning it to the rightful owner. The people who win from a SIM-unlock is mostly the consumers, as they get free choice. Though I do suggest consumers get the contract thing or just get the non-locked devices - prepaid unlocking to me is still kinda whack.

Emree: I hope you've inquired with your carrier by now, and that the outcome is good. I see that since you posted this, you were still looking into actually buying the phone (correct me if I'm wrong), so for all we know the phone you buy will work just fine where you're at. Good luck either way :)