Is Jailbreaking and Unlocking iPhone 6 or iPad Legal?

In 2010 Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)) won two critical exceptions to the digital millennium Copyright Act. (DMCA), which made it legal for users to jailbreak and unlock their iPhone devices.  However, it didn’t add this same options to tablets.  Therefore, making it illegal still yet for users to jailbreak or unlock their iOS tablets.

What does this mean in layman terms?  Users can feel free to jailbreak or unlock their iOIS iPhone devices but are not legally able to jailbreak their tablet devices.

In 2006 and 2010, the Librarian of Congress had included unlocking mobile phones in the list, which allowed users to unlock their mobile phones so that they can use it with any other carrier. However, this year, the Congress has excluded it from the list.

“The Register concluded after a review of the statutory factors that an exemption to the prohibition on circumvention of mobile phone computer programs to permit users to unlock “legacy” phones is both warranted and unlikely to harm the market for such programs. At the same time, in light of carriers’ current unlocking policies and the ready availability of new unlocked phones in the marketplace, the record did not support an exemption for newly purchased phones. Looking to precedents in copyright law, the Register recommended that the class designated by the Librarian include a 90-day transitional period to allow unlocking by those who may acquire phones shortly after the new exemption goes into effect.”

This means its no longer legal to unlock your iPhone without the carriers permission. 

Users wishing to read in detail just exactly what the Library of Congress states here.  This is the complete document which explains what users can and can not do.

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