Unlocking the IPhone Is Near Impossible Unless You're a Supergeek
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Trying to get your iPhone unlocked and working on a non-AT&T network? If you're not a supergeek, you've probably found the unlocking processes are not ready for the average Joe. We've put a stub of a "jailbreak" procedure on the How To Wiki, so help us update it. Luckily, a one-click package installer is on the way.
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A new software-based unlocking scheme for your iPhone makes it easier for those of us without soldering skills to leave AT&T. But the good times probably won't last.
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Closing in on their Holy Grail The game is on for hackers trying to spot security vulnerabilities in Apple's iPhone and already they're scoring points.â¦
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A hacker group has released what it says is a one-click way to install unauthorized third-party applications on an iPhone or iPod Touch. You still can't switch the iPhone to another wireless carrier.
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Now that Apple Inc.&#39;s iPhone is finally on sale, the race is on to see who can unlock it.
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Blog: With all of the hoopla surrounding the iPhone, we have all forgotten about the most important development of today's release: a new way to activate a cell phone.
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(InfoWorld) - Fear of litigation has led to an indefinite delay in theÂ planned Saturday release of software to unlock Apple Inc.'s iPhone. John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Saturday that he received a phone call about 3 a.m. Saturday local time from a man claiming to be from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm, calling on behalf of AT&T. The firm has worked with Apple in the past. The man informed McLaughlin that if he posted the unlock code, he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property (IP). McLaughlin was not completely awake when he took the call and did not get the full name of the person on the other end, he said. The man presented "friendly advice," but because of the timing of the call and the fact that it came on a personal mobile phone that McLaughlin never uses for business, it felt more threatening than friendly. "If he wants to give me advice, he could have sent me an e-mail," McLaughlin said. Spokespeople with O'Melveny & Myers, AT&T Wireless and Apple could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday. McLaughlin and his team had planned to release software by 2 p.m. EDT that he claims would unlock the iPhone so it could work with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards from carriers other than AT&T Wireless. Uniquephones set up the Web siteÂ right after the iPhone's release on June 29 and had been working on the software since then. McLaughlin is concerned that fighting a lawsuit with AT&T or Apple would sink his small company, which does a modestly successful business unlocking wireless handsets in the U.K. and Europe. At the same time, he and engineers in several countries have invested time and money to come up with the unlock software. "It really annoys me," he said. "We have the solution sitting there and we have the customers there, but if you connect the two you could lose everything." About 550,000 people have signed up on Uniquephones' iPhone unlocking site as of Saturday afternoon in the U.K. McLaughlin said he still plans to release the software eventually, but is not sure when. "We'd be happy to let another company take the heat and be the second or third company to post [the software]," he said. In addition to Uniquephones' software, there have been two other reports of ways the iPhone can be unlocked. On Friday, blogger George Hotz posted a step-by-step tutorial for unlocking the iPhone that involves both hardware and software modifications. At another site, www.iPhoneSimFree.com, a company claims it can unlock iPhones through software only. The iPhone has been a hot target for unlocking since its launch, both because of its advanced design and features and because AT&T has an unusual long-term exclusive relationship with Apple. It's common for U.S. mobile operators to lock the phones they sell, but in some cases they will later unlock the phones free or for a small fee.
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Score one for the unlockers. After months of waiting, the newest iPhones are now unlockable thanks to the tireless work of one programmer.
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MENLO PARK, California  - A well-known hacker  claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple Inc.'s   iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T Inc.'s  network to use the phone's Internet and music features.
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Have iPhone customers won the freedom to tinker with their cool new handsets? Maybe, if you have the skill to do it yourself. But we don't yet know if you're legally entitled to get help.
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(InfoWorld) - A hacker who figured out how to unlock the iPhone has traded an unlocked phone for a new car. After facing problems trying to auction the phone on eBay, George Hotz received a call from CertiCell, a company that refurbishes mobile phones. "Terry Daidone, the founder of CertiCell, contacted me this morning, and offered to make a trade for the iPhone," Hotz wrote on his blog. "I traded it for a sweet Nissan 350Z and 3 8GB iPhones." Hotz shared the method he discovered for unlocking the phone on his blog, so the phone he traded doesn't hold any secrets. But he put the phone up for auction because he thought someone might want the phone, the second one that he unlocked, for its historical value. "If you are only bidding on this to get an unlocked iPhone, don't. There are much cheaper and easier ways to get one. This is a piece of cell phone history," he wrote on his blog. Hotz, who arrived at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York for his first days of college on Sunday, closed the eBay auction after receiving too many fraudulent bids. He then invited legitimately interested buyers to contact him directly. He plans to give the three iPhones from CertiCell to people who helped him as he worked on unlocking the phone. Besides accepting the gifts, Hotz agreed to do some consulting work for CertiCell, according to a statement from the company. While the statement says that CertiCell doesn't plan to commercialize Hotz's unlocking method, it also says that part of Hotz's consulting work will include training CertiCell staff on the unlocking process. CertiCell also hopes that Hotz will help its engineers develop new methods for updating software and reflashing refurbished phones. Since the iPhone went on sale at the end of June,Â hackers have been working on ways to unlock it. The phones are built to work only on AT&T's wireless network. Unlocking the phone means that a customer can use it on another network and avoid signing a long contract with AT&T. The process is controversial, however. One company, Uniquephones, says that it has developed a way to unlock the phones, but hasÂ delayed the release because of concerns of legal action from AT&T.
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The iPhone is a generational phenomenon. It appeals mostly to the kids of the flower power generation who carry gadgets that allow them to immediately connect with one another without being physically together. It is no longer about computers being networked together. But even so, I might have been in the line if I could have shoved AT&T out of they way to get the iPhone.
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Unlocked and loaded Efforts to open up the functionality of Apple's iPhone to users disinclined to sign up to expensive two year contracts with AT&amp;T are growing.â¦
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Big demand for untethered handsets More than a quarter of a million people have purchased Apple iPhones and unlocked them, the handset's manufacturer admitted last night.â¦
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Blog: With patience wearing thin because of iPhone's bugs I consider restoring the iPhone's settings.
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Hackers claimed significant progress Monday in the race to unlock the iPhone, but some say that some egos in the scene are getting in the way of getting the work done.
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While many who snapped up Apple Inc.'s iPhone were using the latest must-have gadget even before leaving the store, some buyers were put on hold as they experienced frustrating delays in activating their cell phone service.