It also specifies that you can't alter your device.
(g) modifies your device from its manufacturer's specifications; or (h)
(g) modifies your device from its manufacturer's specifications; or (h)
Carrier response to rooted phones
- Thread starter Droid hungry
- Start date
But, is rooting your phone modifying it in any way? Technically, it has been considered legal....
The problem I have with that clause is that it's really, really vague. If I download ADW Launcher to my unrooted Droid Incredible and use it instead of the stock Sense launcher that could be seen as modifying the device from it's manufacturer's specifications. Would using ADW Launcher then break my contract? You don't need to root to modify your phone from the manufacturer 's specifications. Some things you can do to modify an unrooted phone include but are not limited to...
-Using an alternate launcher like ADW or Launcher Pro.
-Using an alternate lock screen like Widget Locker.
-Using a non OEM extended battery.
-Using an alternate keyboard, dialer, email or SMS program.
-Allowing your phone to download and install apps from unknown sousces so you can use the Amazon app store.
Do doing any of these things break contract?
Besides, the courts have said that rooting is legal. It's my device, I should be able to do whatever I want with it and to it. If I end up bricking my device or damaging it in any way then it's purely my fault. I knowingly and willingly took that risk, so Google and the carriers need to back off.
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I am sure their lawyers worked long and hard on that sentence--it is deliberately vague to cover every contingency
Not like rooting really does THAT much on the network side of the spectrum, we arent adding 4G to our non 4G phones...
But yes, when I originally got in on the Android train, I purchased a G1 for full price, not the with contract price because I only had been with tmo a couple months... I had put @home and numerous other apps on it to alter the look of my G1, and basically rooting it, and running it with a custom firmware I view as no different than taking my laptop, destroying windows and putting Ubuntu on it...
Also considering Android is open source, means that modification is possible, and welcomed
ONE MORE POINT: Altering my device could be something as simple as buying a non-OEM Extended Battery, or as was done with a lot of phones as of old, such as the old nextels, case-swapping. We have more potential to ruin our phones and need to buy new ones from the carrier/manufacturer if we allow more people to root them (well at least the uninformed ones are REALLY good at bricking them)
But yes, when I originally got in on the Android train, I purchased a G1 for full price, not the with contract price because I only had been with tmo a couple months... I had put @home and numerous other apps on it to alter the look of my G1, and basically rooting it, and running it with a custom firmware I view as no different than taking my laptop, destroying windows and putting Ubuntu on it...
Also considering Android is open source, means that modification is possible, and welcomed
ONE MORE POINT: Altering my device could be something as simple as buying a non-OEM Extended Battery, or as was done with a lot of phones as of old, such as the old nextels, case-swapping. We have more potential to ruin our phones and need to buy new ones from the carrier/manufacturer if we allow more people to root them (well at least the uninformed ones are REALLY good at bricking them)
AFAIK, though, you cannot just buy any phone and then choose the carrier you want to use it with--you do that with a computer--my ISP doesn't care what kind of computer I hook up or what OS I am running on it.
If I mess with my computer and render it useless, my ISP doesn't care--it doesn't affect them. I can't go to them and demand they replace my computer--they just check the line and if it works they have done their part.
A better analogy for this situation would be the boxes cable companies install to convert their signal to your television. It is programmed to decode services you have paid for, and if you fiddle with it so you get all the premium channels for free, they are going to call it by its correct name "theft of services" regardless of whether or not I own the converter box.
You are certainly free to purchase and modify any phone you can afford, but that does not mean that any company has to allow you to purchase their service. Just as you have the right to do what you want with your property (the phone) they have the right to do what they want with their property (the service.)
If I mess with my computer and render it useless, my ISP doesn't care--it doesn't affect them. I can't go to them and demand they replace my computer--they just check the line and if it works they have done their part.
A better analogy for this situation would be the boxes cable companies install to convert their signal to your television. It is programmed to decode services you have paid for, and if you fiddle with it so you get all the premium channels for free, they are going to call it by its correct name "theft of services" regardless of whether or not I own the converter box.
You are certainly free to purchase and modify any phone you can afford, but that does not mean that any company has to allow you to purchase their service. Just as you have the right to do what you want with your property (the phone) they have the right to do what they want with their property (the service.)
Alright so I'm on a rooted gb droid x and I had wireless tether installed. I was just checking to see if it would work and surprise, it didn't. I decided to go into the market to check if anyone has made comments about it but the market wouldn't open. I went to the browser and vzw loaded a page that says if you want to use wireless tethering, you need to sign up for the plans, and it gave the list of plans. Scary stuff!
To an extent, I know people that still use the old sidekicks, went to tmobile, had them unlocked, and now use them on AT+T (which, now at+t owns tmo, but thats a different story) As long as your phone is GSM on a GSM network, and it is unlocked, it doesnt matter either way to the company, as long as they get their money for the service provided to the phone...
That right there is the gist of it.
You do not have to go far on this forum to see people bragging about bricking their phones and returning them to the carrier as "defective" to get a new phone for free. Or people demanding the "right" to tether for free when the carrier offers a tethering plan as a separate service.
If people weren't so intent on getting something for nothing, then the companies probably wouldn't care if we root or not.
Honestly, I pay for an insurance policy, and if I were unfortunate enough to brick my phone, I probably would end up reporting it lost or stolen... but I'd still have to pay $100 to have it replaced as the deductible...
As for the right to free tethering, I still have as of yet to see an option i can click online to add tethering, Id have no problem paying for it. (I know where the option should be, but it isn't listed for me. I set it up for a friend on his Evo)
As for the right to free tethering, I still have as of yet to see an option i can click online to add tethering, Id have no problem paying for it. (I know where the option should be, but it isn't listed for me. I set it up for a friend on his Evo)
Really, I wouldn't advise anyone to do that. If they can tell your phone was rooted, they can charge you with fraud
Better to just dump the insurance plan and take your chances,
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