AT&T to unlock your contract-less iPhones this Sunday

http://venturebeat.com

AT&T confirmed today that it will unlock iPhones beginning April 8 for customers whose contracts have ended, and are in “good standing.” Unlocking an iPhone means that the customer is cut from its ties with the carrier. That is, the person can insert a sim card from the carrier of their choice and run the phone with them, despite having purchased it through AT&T. Until this point, AT&T kept its iPhones locked, even if the contract had expired, binding those users to the carrier if they wanted to use their iPhone. The move has been long over due. Phones are the property of the person who purchased it, and they have the right to use it freely on whatever carrier they please. An unlocked AT&T phone, however, will not be compatible with Verizon’s service. iPhones built for these two carriers differ in hardware that cannot be overridden with the software unlock. Prior to this, people had to jailbreak their phones in order to run separately from AT&T. This process is dangerous for the phone, as it nulls the warranty and makes the phone more susceptible to malware. The company will begin unlocking these phones on this coming Sunday, April 8. Accounts must be in good standing, no unpaid balances, and must not connected to a long-term plan with AT&T.