[Merged] iPhone officially unlocked!

[mark_in_2k]

Read here on Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/iphone-unlocked-atandt-loses-iphone-exclusivity-august-24-2007/)!

The software hasn't been released officially yet, but has been confirmed as working from the boy at Engadget.

Here's where you choose the carrier:

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/08/iphone-unlocked-04.jpg


Notes on the install

* The unlock process took only a couple of minutes. From our end it was totally painless.
* Once you put your new, non AT&T SIM in the device, you have to go through the usual activation process. This can, of course, be done by anyone anywhere with the right tools (like iASign or iActivator)
* We tested with an active T-Mobile SIM -- after the hack was finished and we reactivated we immediately got full bars and the T-Mobile carrier info popped up in the top bar.
* Everything is otherwise the same, except the menu system now has a couple more options. The root menu has Carrier settings where you can select your preferred network if you don't want to roam.
* The General -> Network menu now has an EDGE network settings area where you can input your carrier's APN and username / password. We put in our T-Mobile info, and were immediately online. (Apparently these hidden menus were added in the 1.0.1 update, they tell us. How convenient!)
* Visual voicemail isn't in the cards -- sorry. That was, of course, to be expected because it's a special AT&T network-specific feature right now. When you hit the voicemail button you are taken immediately to your carrier's default voicemail line though, and that works just like it would on any other phone.
* Everything is confirmed as working on a non-AT&T network: SMS send / receive, internet (including Safari, Mail, Google maps, etc.). YouTube doesn't work out of the box, but that's to be expected. If you're not on AT&T you have to manually activate YouTube -- here's the guide on how to do that. (YouTube is the only app you have to activate like this.)
* We know, it's kind of crazy, but this isn't a hoax.
* No, sorry, you can't have our unlocked iPhone.

[fishlips20]

Here we go. Time to hit eBay HARD!

iPhone has successfully been unlocked from AT&T.


See Engadget Link:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/iphone-unlocked-atandt-loses-iphone-exclusivity-august-24-2007/

It's high noon, Apple and AT&T -- we really hate to break it to you, but the jig is up. Last night the impossible was made possible: right in front of our very eyes we witnessed a full SIM unlock of our iPhone with a small piece of software. It's all over, guys.

The iPhoneSIMfree.com team called us up to prove their claim that they cracked Apple's iPhone SIM lock system, and prove it they did. (No, we don't have a copy of the unlock software, so don't even ask us, ok?) The six-man team has been working non-stop since launch day, and they're officially the first to break Apple's SIM locks on the iPhone. It's done. Seriously. They wouldn't tell us when and how they would release it to the public, but you can certainly bet that they'll try to make a buck on their solution (and rightly so). We can hardly believe the iPhone's finally been cracked. No, scratch that -- we just can't believe it took this long.

Again: we can confirm with 100% certainty that iPhoneSIMfree.com's software solution completely SIM unlocks the iPhone, is restore-resistant, and should make the iPhone fully functional for users outside of the US. Read on for details and links to our video, and check out the gallery of images below.

Gallery: iPhone unlocked

Notes on the install

* The unlock process took only a couple of minutes. From our end it was totally painless.
* Once you put your new, non AT&T SIM in the device, you have to go through the usual activation process. This can, of course, be done by anyone anywhere with the right tools (like iASign or iActivator)
* We tested with an active T-Mobile SIM -- after the hack was finished and we reactivated we immediately got full bars and the T-Mobile carrier info popped up in the top bar.
* Everything is otherwise the same, except the menu system now has a couple more options. The root menu has Carrier settings where you can select your preferred network if you don't want to roam.
* The General -> Network menu now has an EDGE network settings area where you can input your carrier's APN and username / password. We put in our T-Mobile info, and were immediately online. (Apparently these hidden menus were added in the 1.0.1 update, they tell us. How convenient!)
* Visual voicemail isn't in the cards -- sorry. That was, of course, to be expected because it's a special AT&T network-specific feature right now. When you hit the voicemail button you are taken immediately to your carrier's default voicemail line though, and that works just like it would on any other phone.
* Everything is confirmed as working on a non-AT&T network: SMS send / receive, internet (including Safari, Mail, Google maps, etc.). YouTube doesn't work out of the box, but that's to be expected. If you're not on AT&T you have to manually activate YouTube -- here's the guide on how to do that. (YouTube is the only app you have to activate like this.)
* We know, it's kind of crazy, but this isn't a hoax.
* No, sorry, you can't have our unlocked iPhone.

Restore / upgrade resistance

* The iPhoneSIMfree.com guys claim this method is restore and upgrade resistant. We have no way of knowing whether Apple will be able to disable this SIM unlock with future iPhone software updates, but we can confirm that it is restore-resistant.
* We performed a full restore (v1.0.2) on our iPhone and successfully activated it using an inactive AT&T SIM.
* After fake-activating our iPhone, you merely pop out the AT&T SIM, put in the foreign SIM of your choosing, reactivate, and you're done. "Boom," as Steve might say.
* Restoring from an iPhone backup in iTunes worked perfectly despite the lock and foreign SIM. The only thing to notice was the phone number is now listed as "n/a" in iTunes. Big whoop.
* No, seriously. You can't have our unlocked iPhone.

Video
Before you get in a tizzy claiming it's a faked video, please note that:

* We show the T-Mobile SIM at the beginning and end.
* The video stream does get cropped toward the end. That's actually just a crop to make sure the phone number on the second iPhone isn't shown. No frames of the video stream were removed, it wasn't a cut.
* Just so you could be extra sure it's real, we even left in the GSM radio noise.
* Dude, you can unlock your own iPhone soon, ok? You can't have ours.

[elty]

Will Future updates brick the phone? if not, then the refurb. 4GB is at a pretty reasonable price.

[mark_in_2k]

Will Future updates brick the phone? if not, then the refurb. 4GB is a pretty reasonable price.As there's no way of checking "future updates" there's no possible way that question can be asked!

And I bet those refurbs are flying off the Apples stock room shelves now!

[shaolinmonk]

big news.. need to find a way to confirm this and get one...

[Goonish]

The price on one of the refurbished iPhones doesn't seem so bad now. Now will Apple ship an iPhone to Canada?

[Bytown]

The price on one of the refurbished iPhones doesn't seem so bad now. Now will Apple ship an iPhone to Canada?

Can you afford to pay $200 a month in data alone.

[shaolinmonk]

meh you don't need to use rogers data on it.. all the non-data features are still there...

fyi-you cannot buy refurbs at an apple store...they only sell them online...

[baktrak]

If you dont have a data plan, can you still activate the wifi feature, and use all the nifty wifi goodness within your own home? Later on, when data plans get more economical, we can later activate that part, right?

cheers

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

YAHOO News has it on it's main page as its headline- (Friday 6:00pm)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/ap_on_hi_te/iphone_unlocked


Bwahahahaha I laugh in the face of Apple :D Thank God for hackers.

[st7860]

if you still don't want to lay out over $500 for an apple iphone you can buy a clone on ebay by searching for "cect p168", there are plenty of sellers selling clones for $150USD

http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1JmZnYmVs N2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MTg1NjEzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRX l5Mw==
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvJ1RGlxe8Q
http://iphonesimfree.com/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/iphone-unlocked-atandt-loses-iphone-exclusivity-august-24-2007/
http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/07/08/24/1858252.shtml

[Sgt_Strider]

Out of curiosity, what's with the MRG tag in the title?

I'm glad this hack has been released as there are definitely some people who are keen on getting an iphone; especially in Canada. However, I still think this phone is overhyped especially with the keyboard. Did anyone heard about people typing twice as slow on the iphone's keyboard versus a traditional handheld keyboard?

[st7860]

MRG = merged

[Badman]

suddenly the iphone looks like its worth getting. I still don't like the camera they use but the features are nice.

[perplexed_one]

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/249530


Hack opens up the phone to overseas users
Aug 24, 2007 01:42 PM
Associated Press

NEW YORK – A 17-year-old hacker has broken the lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&T's wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones.

George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., confirmed Friday that he had unlocked an iPhone and was using it on T-Mobile's network, the only major U.S. carrier apart from AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone's cellular technology. In a video posted to his blog, he holds an iPhone that displays "T-Mobile" as the carrier.

While the possibility of switching from AT&T to T-Mobile may not be a major development for U.S. consumers, it opens up the iPhone for use on the networks of overseas carriers.

"That's the big thing," said Hotz, in a phone interview from his home.

The phone, which combines an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod, is sold only in the U.S.

AT&T Inc. spokesman Mark Siegel said the company had no comment, and referred questions to Apple. A call to Apple was not immediately returned. Hotz said the companies had not been in touch with him.

The hack, which Hotz posted Thursday to his blog, is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software. It takes him about two hours to perform. Since the details are public, it seems likely that a small industry may spring up to buy U.S. iPhones, unlock them and send them overseas.

"That's exactly, like, what I don't want," Hotz said. "I don't want people making money off this.''

He said he wished he could make the instructions simpler, so users could modify the phones themselves.

"But that's the simplest I could make them," Hotz said. The next step, he said, would be for someone to develop a way to unlock the phone using only software.

The iPhone has already been made to work on overseas networks using another method, which involves copying information from the Subscriber Identity Module, a small card with a chip that identifies a subscriber to the cell-phone network.

The SIM-chip method does not require any soldering, but does requires special equipment, and it doesn't unlock the phone – each new SIM chip has to be reprogrammed for use on a particular iPhone.

Both hacks leave intact the iPhone's many functions, including a built-in camera and the ability to access Wi-Fi networks. The only thing that won't work is the "visual voicemail" feature, which shows voice messages as if they were incoming e-mail.

Since the details of both hacks are public, Apple may be able to modify the iPhone production line to make new phones invulnerable. The company has said it plans to introduce the phone in Europe this year, but it hasn't set a date or identified carriers.

There is apparently no U.S. law against unlocking cell phones. Last year, the Library of Congress specifically excluded cell-phone unlocking from coverage under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Among other things, the law has been used to prosecute people who modify game consoles to play a wider variety of games.

Hotz collaborated online with four other people, two of them in Russia, to develop the unlocking process.

"Then there are two guys who I think are somewhere U.S.-side,'' Hotz said. He knows them only by their online handles.

Hotz himself spent about 500 hours on the project since the iPhone went on sale on June 29. On Thursday, he put the unlocked iPhone up for sale on eBay, where the high bid was above $2,000 midday Friday. The model, with 4 gigabytes of memory, sells for $499 new.

"Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it," he told The Record of Bergen County, which reported Hotz's hack Friday.

Hotz heads for college on Saturday. He plans to major in neuroscience – or "hacking the brain!" as he put it to the newspaper – at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

–––

On the Net:

Hotz' blog: http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/

Apple iPhone: http://www.apple.com/iphone

bound to happen sooner or later, now it's upto Apple to up the ante.

Do you think ppl will stop buying fakes bcuz they go with any provider for their iphone?

[illusion81]

"That's exactly, like, what I don't want," Hotz said. "I don't want people making money off this.''


On Thursday, he put the unlocked iPhone up for sale on eBay, where the high bid was above $2,000 midday Friday. The model, with 4 gigabytes of memory, sells for $499 new.

:rolleyes:

[Arkaine]

^^ he just wants himself making money off of it :p

[Mystix]

Umm let me throw a conspiracy theory out there.

Do you think Apple purpose sent an unlock code out there to maybe raise sales? They already gain big money from AT&T, but now with the unlock, their sales will also skyrocket. Its a win win situation for them.

[shaolinmonk]

Umm let me throw a conspiracy theory out there.

Do you think Apple purpose sent an unlock code out there to maybe raise sales? They already gain big money from AT&T, but now with the unlock, their sales will also skyrocket. Its a win win situation for them.

with enough interest and resources any phone can be unlocked... apple is trying to work out a deal with vodaphone in europe it's not in their best interest to sabotage their own product when they're in negotiations for long term contracts...

having said that they knew the phone would eventuallybe unlocked it's also why the probably choose GSM in the first place... makes it easier for them to sell unlocked phones in the future...

[st7860]

Umm let me throw a conspiracy theory out there.

Do you think Apple purpose sent an unlock code out there to maybe raise sales? They already gain big money from AT&T, but now with the unlock, their sales will also skyrocket. Its a win win situation for them.

male cow pies ^_^

[mushroomcheese]

so if we have an existing plan with Rogers, we can just put the SIM card in the iPhone and it would be fully functional?

[Sgt_Strider]

so if we have an existing plan with Rogers, we can just put the SIM card in the iPhone and it would be fully functional?

Yes, but that's assuming you have an unlocked iphone. Otherwise it won't work.

[meocanada]

This sounds exciting.
I'm considering buying a refurb from apple.
Anyone has done so already?

[z_squared]

Bwahahahaha I laugh in the face of Apple :D Thank God for hackers.

apple laughs right back in your face..
they still sell iPhones (probably more than they would have anyways)
it's AT&T that's taking the hit on this.

[Goonish]

apple laughs right back in your face..
they still sell an iPhone.
it's AT&T that's taking the hit on this.
True. If anything, Apple was hoping for this. They're selling even more phones now.

[z_squared]

anyone know if the iPhone has good functionality as a PDA?

ie. could i replace my Palm/Pocket PC device with this?

[Rehan]

This sounds exciting.
I'm considering buying a refurb from apple.
Anyone has done so already? Mine should be arriving some time this week, via a friend in the US who is forwarding it.

Personally, I'm in no hurry to unlock it and I'm sure there will be more stable software unlock methods later on. As long as I can get the WiFi on it working for now, I'll be happy.

[Impossibles]

:rolleyes:

He's mis-quoted there. He said he made the hack public (in youtube) because he didn't want people making money off selling the info on how to hack it. He didn't care if people made money selling hacked iPhones, since it does require a lot of work and skill.

[Sgt_Strider]

anyone know if the iPhone has good functionality as a PDA?

ie. could i replace my Palm/Pocket PC device with this?

The Iphone does have PDA features, but it definitely cannot compete with the Blackberry, Symbian, or Windows Mobile OS if you're looking for MS Exchange support.

[mark_in_2k]

Mine should be arriving some time this week, via a friend in the US who is forwarding it.

Personally, I'm in no hurry to unlock it and I'm sure there will be more stable software unlock methods later on. As long as I can get the WiFi on it working for now, I'll be happy.I was under the impression that the only thing you could do with an unactivated (and locked) iPhone was to turn it on. I think you have to activate it on AT&T to get at any of the other features.

[bubble.tea]

so if ................. it would be fully functional?

Not fully...but damn near it I guess?? Haven't really studied this baby.

Digital VoiceMail not supported by Rogers for one, won't be functional naturally.





I'm truly blown away by this 17yr old h4ckz0rz (lol @ me being a 3l33t speek n00b). If I was a major wireless corporation I'd be knocking on his front door offering him a SERIOUS position in my security (& R&D) department as this kid has some SERIOUS 1ups over the current personnel.

[Impossibles]

Wow, Yahoo says some phone cracking company traded the cracked iPhone for 3 8BG iPhones and a Nissan 350Z!!!

[Impossibles]

I'm truly blown away by this 17yr old h4ckz0rz (lol @ me being a 3l33t speek n00b). If I was a major wireless corporation I'd be knocking on his front door offering him a SERIOUS position in my security (& R&D) department as this kid has some SERIOUS 1ups over the current personnel.

He's heading off to his first year of university next week at Rochester Institute of Technology to study neuroscience (was in the globe and mail)

[Rehan]

He's heading off to his first year of university next week at Rochester Institute of Technology to study neuroscience (was in the globe and mail) ...because he wants to "hack the brain", as he said in an interview. :|

[joshmxpx]

Wow, Yahoo says some phone cracking company traded the cracked iPhone for 3 8BG iPhones and a Nissan 350Z!!!

Company is Certicell, and they did trade for a 350Z and 3 8G iPhones:

http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/08/an-iphone-for-a.html

[importpsycho]

I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care
I have no interest in any of apple products :lol:

[sonick]

I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care
I have no interest in any of apple products :lol:

Then why bother posting in here?

[shaolinmonk]

Then why bother posting in here?

he wants us to care that he doesn't care to show that he cares ;)

[bubble.tea]

He's heading off to his first year of university next week at Rochester Institute of Technology to study neuroscience (was in the globe and mail)
Doesn't mean he can't have a side job. :cheesygri


...because he wants to "hack the brain", as he said in an interview. :|
Impressive outlook this kid has. The reality is that human (and all living things of course) physiology is exactly that. A mystery, just waiting for the first genius to truly unravel it's medical mysteries, and all the associated health benefit implications.

Just as the Human Genome Project has managed to radically change the way prenatal testing and all that jazz has begun to form our lives.


I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care
I have no interest in any of apple products :lol:
seriously who are you?

Then why bother posting in here?
lmao +1

he wants us to care that he doesn't care to show that he cares ;)
+1!!!!!!!!!!! This is the post of the day imho :D

[sonick]

he wants us to care that he doesn't care to show that he cares ;)Nail on the head. The only thing worse than Apple fanboys, are douchey anti-apple snobs who think they're better than everybody by pretending to be 'non-mainstream'.

[bubble.tea]

..douchey ....

lmao. I've never seen this useage before. Gotta lock it up ready for a spontaneous useage sometime tonight :lol:

[johnwayne]

Then why bother posting in here?

Maybe he/she wants a phone for ms exchange, DUN, high speed network, simple copy and plaste, edit office documents, add programs, non crippled BT support so files can be exchanged easily, support for BT stereo, doesnt want to sync to manage music content, better (or more) file support, solid call quality...and the list goes on.

But then again, if you don't need the above features and looking for a sleek entertainment phone, iphone hands down.

[sonick]

Maybe he/she wants a phone for ms exchange, DUN, high speed network, simple copy and plaste, edit office documents, add programs, non crippled BT support so files can be exchanged easily, support for BT stereo, doesnt want to sync to manage music content, better (or more) file support, solid call quality...and the list goes on.If he was looking for all that, knew the iPhone could not do all this, and knew that he was not remotely interested in an iPhone at all then why would he bother reading, let alone replying to a thread named "iPhone officially unlocked!"?

[johnwayne]

If he was looking for all that, knew the iPhone could not do all this, and knew that he was not remotely interested in an iPhone at all then why would he bother reading, let alone replying to a thread named "iPhone officially unlocked!"?

Good point. However, maybe he/she just didn't really care enough to reasearch the phone as it is not available to us Canadians. Now, based on the info available in this thread explaining that it can now work in Canada, reads up on the product then mentioning no interest; is that not relavent?

Is this not a discussion on the iphone? Not all discussions are based on mutual interest.

I may have made some assumptions, but so did you in your post.

[Sgt_Strider]

Nail on the head. The only thing worse than Apple fanboys, are douchey anti-apple snobs who think they're better than everybody by pretending to be 'non-mainstream'.

I have to agree with you on this.

[jjoaquin23]

where can i buy a referbished one?

[shaolinmonk]

just got my iPhone today usingit now posting via wifi unlocked by my buddy Gabe over at plus one in first markham place lete know if you are intersted and I'll try to get a better rate

[shaolinmonk]

http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/24572/2003282555515814225_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003282555515814225)

[mark_in_2k]

http://aycu13.webshots.com/image/24572/2003282555515814225_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003282555515814225)Nice! How did you get it unlocked? Which software was it?

[st7860]

I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care
I have no interest in any of apple products :lol:

i agree. the only thing worse are those rabid pro apple snobs

[sonick]

just got my iPhone today usingit now posting via wifi unlocked by my buddy Gabe over at plus one in first markham place lete know if you are intersted and I'll try to get a better rate8gig iPhone slashed to $399 USD; I'm sure the secondary sellers market will adjust accordingly. I feel sorry for you.

[shaolinmonk]

8gig iPhone slashed to $399 USD; I'm sure the secondary sellers market will adjust accordingly. I feel sorry for you.

ya...it does hurt... i've adjusted my prices already.. at the same time we'll be getting price protection from apple on all purchases before 14 days...

it's a good thing though cheaper product means more users.. and more people get to enjoy this great product...

heres my iphone review if interested

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1233739

unlocking still requires the same amount of effort though...