A friendly reminder that isps do NOT care about you or your digital rights. Always best to buy directly from the OEM rather than from the telecommunications (unless you can't afford it). Do proper research before buying a phone!
I usually move on once it's time for a battery replacement - I can get ~$100-150 back by selling the old phone and I get a newer camera out of the upgrade at the same time.
It works out to be something like $8-10/mo spent in the end (or ~$12/mo if I keep the old phone for some reason) so it's not terribly expensive in the end.