Why it is illegal to switch carrier? I bought the phone, it is mine now, I should be able to use it anyway I want I think.
It's not illegal to switch carriers or phones.
What is required to put a non-VM phone onto VM however can run you afoul of the law and VM.
To switch a Sprint or Verizon phone to VM, you have to copy the ESN (similar to the VIN number on your car) from a legitimate VM phone, to the second phone. This is sort of a grey area in terms of federal law, and is flat out illegal in some states. It is also a terms of service violation on VM, and against the rules to discuss the methods to do it on almost every forum.
Back in the early 90's copying ESN numbers or "cloning" was a big thing, and carriers lost tons of money because of it, lots of laws were passed to stop it. The federal law regarding it was later amended to make it only illegal to do if you are doing it to defraud the carrier.
The laws that many states put in place however were never changed or never took this into account. Missouri is one of those states, it's flat out illegal to clone a cell phone for any reason there. However, there are lots of laws that are outdated and no longer enforced. So long as you aren't causing trouble the carriers and states tend to ignore it.
Many people are unaware this law was changed and scream it's illegal any time anyone mentions it. Forums don't like trouble, and some have had the feds and others come down on them for spreading the information, so most have a rule that you can't discuss the methods involved.
Here is what changed for those curious...
Back in the 90's you could get a phone at a swap meet (for around $150 and usually stolen) then pay the same guy around $300 and you would get unlimited service for 3 months or more. You couldn't receive calls, but you could make them. I knew people using 5k minutes or more a month on cloned phones. Cell service was EXPENSIVE back then, so this was a crazy deal. You found lots of people with a pager or a cheap cell phone to receive calls, then they would call back on the clone phone.
Today,
Would you pay someone $100 for a phone, and $500 to set it up so you could only make outgoing calls for 3 months? No. You can get an Iphone with unlimited minutes incoming and outgoing minutes for that. The economics changed on cell phones to the point that cloning no longer makes economic sense. Most people doing it today are only doing it so they can use a phone on a different carrier, such as using an Evo 4g, 3d, Epic, or Optimus Black on Virgin or Boost.
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