Based on “the maintenance of a device or system … in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications” can I or can I not legally unlock a device to use a different OS/apps on it?
Not exactly the same thing, but operator unlocking was deemed legal in 2013...
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-13-041/statement-regarding-whit...
...and measures were put in place to oblige operators to assist consumers in unlocking their phones.
Fast forward to 2018, and nothing really has changed. Unlocking a phone legally via you operator is a nightmare. They'll make you jump through 17 hoops and you will give up. Customer retention is key.
When operator unlocking is not possible, rooting a phone or playing with base settings is the only way, so this is great news.
However, I have a strange feeling that things won't get much easier. As has happened with operators, hardware manufacturers will go to great lengths to protect their playground.
Although you could make an argument that the device never performed according to its specifications and your unlocking the device is merely an attempt to repair a fundamentally broken product, but that seems like it'd be a hard sell.
But it does create a gray market for the information obtained by people who legally break DRM for "repair and maintenance." Information set free can be used for anything, wink wink.
E.g. the product could interact with most computers when it came out, but since then a competitor has come onto the scene and the manufacturer hasn't implemented features to make it work with them. Therefore, jailbreaking and making it work with them would sort of be returning to what the situation was when you first purchased.