President Barack Obama has signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, making it legal for consumers to unlock their smartphones.

The bill, which is part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, essentially says that as long as a smartphone has been paid for in full, users are allowed to unlock their device to be used on other carriers.

The act repeals a decision made by Congress in 2012 to make it illegal for a consumer to unlock their smartphone. While it may now be legal, that does not necessarily mean that users can simply switch carriers and continue using their phone. For example, a user of Verizon’s CDMA network will not be able to use their device on AT&T’s network which is run using GSM technology. Not only that, but while the law does make unlocking legal, it does not force carriers to have to unlock users phones without a legitimate reason.

“This commonsense legislation ensured that consumers could transfer their phones between carriers, and that second-hand phones could be put to good use by new owners connecting to a network of their choice,” said Obama in a release.

Unfortunately, the signing of the act may be a temporary fix to the problem, as the DMCA is reviewed every three years, with the next review set for 2015. Despite this, it is expected that the law will stay in effect through 2015. There are also movements taking place for a more permanent act.

Device unlocking could be very handy for users who want to change carriers while keeping their phone, and for users who intend to travel abroad.