Unlocking

As of next Wednesday, new standards on smartphone unlocking will come into play in the United States, making it a great deal easier for mobile consumers to pursue and achieve unlocked status through their network operator. If you are a U.S.-based mobile device user, this is quite a landmark event, and below, we've covered everything you need to know about the changes.

If you’re a cellular customer in the United States, today marks a very important day for you. As of today, cellular unlocking is legal in the U.S. again - which basically means you can now unlock your mobile phone, including the iPhone or any Android smartphone, to work on any carrier in the country. According to the White House, President Barack Obama is signing the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act today.

The United States House of Representatives has taken the opportunity to unanimously pass a bill that finally declares the act of unlocking a cellphone to be perfectly legal. The bill, which passed through the Senate, overturns last year's decision to continue to make unlocking cellphones illegal, and is expected to be signed into law by President Obama's administration.