iPhone firmware hits the internets -- let the hacking begin!

No use on non AT&T networks, A2DP, MMS, chat app, 3rd party programs, widgets, extended codec support, etc.? No problem -- maybe. It looks like the iPhone's system restore image has already shown up online; it might be a while before anyone can deconstruct this thing into meaningful, moddable bits (and perhaps even longer before modded iPhone ROMs can be flashed to users' devices -- everything looks pretty well encrypted at this point), but hacking device software always starts at the same place: a firmware image.

[Jwr5 @ Jul 1st 2007 1:54PM]

Sweet!

[Louis S. @ Jul 1st 2007 6:05PM]

If I was Apple, what I'd do is allow developers make apps for the iPhone, but have them submit them to Apple through iTunes, and once approved, the developer can set the price if they want (hopefully most don't) and have it in a new 'iPhone Apps' section of the iTunes Store.

That way Apple doesn't get certain apps screwing with their phone and developers can make REAL apps for the iPhone with a convenient place for people to get them.

[fontendet24 @ Jul 2nd 2007 5:21AM]

WOW!
SUPER!
OPEN - OPEN iPhone!
I think that many people drooling now...
All the world is waiting for it.
And we must give some good prize for that hero, who can open it.

[J @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:57PM]

I'd rather have two tiers: "Apple-approved" software available through iTunes and "use at your own risk" software that can be installed simply by telling iTunes to load the files into the device. This way we don't have to worry about Apple or AT&T censoring things like Skype or open-source software.

[Sneakz @ Jul 1st 2007 1:54PM]

So the iPhone can play Doom?

[jaysins @ Jul 1st 2007 2:30PM]

Not yet but symbian phones can :)

[NHAnimator @ Jul 1st 2007 3:44PM]

Sorry. Only iDoom.

[AlexG @ Jul 1st 2007 1:56PM]

Let the nerds with no lives get on their job! Lol.

[Kyrra @ Jul 1st 2007 1:55PM]

Engadget, you scared me there with to non-iPhone stories in a row! Thanks for fixing that problem.

I'm hoping Apple releases periodic updates to add a lot of these features that seem to be missing from the phone, so we won't have to rely on some hacked firmware.

[AlexG @ Jul 1st 2007 1:58PM]

I really hope so, because I was kinda upset when I found out it had no IM clients and I've heard you can't use your own ringtones. =[

[unowner @ Jul 1st 2007 2:43PM]

cool

[Kyrra @ Jul 1st 2007 1:59PM]

So, looking at this, the downloaded file is only 91 megs zipped up, 105 megs unzipped. But from what we've seen, the iPhone's OS has a footprint of around 700 megs. So, what's missing?

[Ryan Block @ Jul 1st 2007 2:15PM]

I think Pogue had it wrong, didn't account for formatting. It's got to be less than 700MB.

[halfeatenfish @ Jul 1st 2007 2:18PM]

Actually the OS isn't 700 MB. That came from some reviewer that noticed that there was 7.3 GB before adding any media. Remember, though that an 8GB drive does not format to the full 8GB. I'm not sure, but I think 7.7 is the proper value. Somebody please jump in here.

Anyway, the point is... the OS isn't 700 MB.

[halfeatenfish @ Jul 1st 2007 2:24PM]

Hey, Ryan... great minds...

By the way, keep up the iPhone news. Some of us seriously considering it really value the videos, etc.

People will complain... let em. A lot of these people complaining about the phone are the same people that complained about all of Tiger's "eye-candy," way back when, but now want to rave about how beautiful Vista is...

two-faced

[bluebonics @ Jul 1st 2007 3:10PM]

well, it all makes sense if you look at it like this. when a package lists a hard drive in gigabytes, it means 1,000,000,000 (10^9) bytes. when your computer lists available space per gigabytes, it means 1,073,741,824 (2^30) bytes. so, if the package lists 8,000,000,000 bytes / 1,073,741,824 bytes that the computer lists per gigabyte, you're left with 7.45 GB listed for overall space, and take away the 105 megs that the OS takes up, you're left with approximately 7.3 gigs of available space.

[aidano @ Jul 1st 2007 2:03PM]

The contents of the restore image are still going to be heavily compressed after unzipping.

[johnny @ Jul 1st 2007 2:04PM]

Maybe the hackers can get it to dual boot os x and Windows Mobile!!!!!!

[matt @ Jul 1st 2007 2:07PM]

or get my windows mobile device to run iphoneOS?

[Atanas Boev @ Jul 1st 2007 3:30PM]

Apple will release boot camp mobile for that:)

[Kyrra @ Jul 1st 2007 2:07PM]

Looks like the processor information has been figured out for the iPhone. They are reporting it to be a ARM 1176JZF-S.

[jaysins @ Jul 1st 2007 2:32PM]

Link?

[kev @ Jul 1st 2007 2:15PM]

rockbox anybody

[Richard @ Jul 1st 2007 2:16PM]

Yes.. your windows mobile phone can run the iphoneOS.. Just hit alt-f4 for all the info..

[shaun @ Jul 1st 2007 2:42PM]

omg you just made my browser close, you idiot

haha only joking who would be that stupid....my browser closes on command+Q anyway

[Zeuz @ Jul 1st 2007 4:36PM]

Obviously the only ones who would fell for that would be windows users; hence alt+f4

[halfeatenfish @ Jul 1st 2007 2:20PM]

Hey, Ryan... great minds...

By the way, keep up the iPhone news. Some of us seriously considering it really value the videos, etc.

People will complain... let em. A lot of these people complaining about the phone are the same people that complained about all of Tiger's "eye-candy," way back when, but now want to rave about how beautiful Vista is...

two-faced

[halfeatenfish @ Jul 1st 2007 2:33PM]

oops... mis-post

[Moses @ Jul 1st 2007 2:57PM]

I-Hacked put up a how-to on how to make your WM5/6 smartphone emulate the iPhone interface. I have it and it works beautifully with a little bit of tweaking. http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/253/1/

[Jon Wu @ Jul 1st 2007 2:45PM]

well best of luck to y all

[Justin Smith @ Jul 1st 2007 2:44PM]

I give it until Friday before the iPhone has been unlocked and shipments start making their way around the world.

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Jul 1st 2007 6:39PM]

oh god i hope so.

i was reading that people in New Delhi will have it unlocked by this friday and for sale in india. Lucky me, Im going there in 1 month...if the hackers cant work faster

[Don @ Jul 1st 2007 2:47PM]

WTH is taking so long, the hack should've been online days ago..

[kevin @ Jul 1st 2007 2:50PM]

Does anyone know the password for the second image file of the image restore

[John Doe @ Jul 1st 2007 2:59PM]

If the iPhone can be hacked to work on T-Mobile's network then I will reconsider it.

[Tony @ Jul 1st 2007 4:27PM]

Stop! STOP in za name of ze law! LOLLL way cool!

[Cliff @ Jul 1st 2007 6:01PM]

[quote]
I'd get an iphone, but the lack of HSDPA support turned me off.
[/quote]

Since a large part of the US is still only EDGE and AT&T shows no sign of bringing 3G to us soon I'm fine with EDGE data on the iPhone (Glad that they did that small upgrade though - I went from 50k to 250k download speeds the last few days).

[Moburkhardt @ Jul 1st 2007 6:09PM]

@ Jon Doe
that would also enable it to run in europe and other 2.5G networks.
I am really looking forward to that, and it would save me a lot of money, since those things are so cheap in the states, compared to europe. With the dollar this low I can easily save 150 €.

[Mic2000 @ Jul 1st 2007 7:35PM]

Well, you also have other programs instead of itunes to get your mp3's on your ipod. So they can maybe also make something like that for the iPhone. Ooh and don't forget Sharepod!

[C. Scott Andreas @ Jul 1st 2007 7:03PM]

Two months into a 24-month contract with Verizon, a bike accident left me a little bloody but permanently smashed the front LCD on my poor month-old RAZR. I've been using the phone since - and it's been a trooper. But it's time for a change.

I'm looking forward to a phone that has usable text input instead of this ghastly T9. I'm looking forward to a phone with a usable calendar. One that'll bring me the web instead of a wretched WAPpy OpenWave knockoff. A phone that'll whisper a little Ben Harper into my ear, then flip to Modest Mouse when friends walk into the room. A phone that loves me back...

Yeah, that's it.

[C. Scott Andreas @ Jul 1st 2007 7:05PM]

Whoa, mea culpa. That comment was for the Giveaway post. I'd switched tabs without realizing it - sorry! Feel free to delete both of these.

Cheers,

Scott

[Seth @ Jul 1st 2007 7:59PM]

If such firmware was available to myself, it might be reasonable to look for the passwd file by doing a search on the firmware for 'root:'. Baregrep is a great little program for such situations. This might be what one would find...

nobody:*:-2:-2::0:0:Unprivileged User:/var/empty:/usr/bin/false
root:XUU7aqfpey51o:0:0::0:0:System Administrator:/var/root:/bin/sh
mobile:/smx7MYTQIi2M:501:0::0:0:Mobile User:/var/mobile:/bin/sh
daemon:*:1:1::0:0:System Services:/var/root:XUU7aqfpey51o
unknown:*:99:99::0:0:Unknown User:/var/empty:/usr/bin/false

Now that is interesting...I wonder what john has to say about this...

sfogies-mac-mini:/downloads/john-1.7.0.2/run root# cat iphone.txt
Loaded 2 password hashes with 2 different salts (Traditional DES [32/32 BS])
alpine (mobile)
dottie (root)


Things are starting to get interesting!!!

[llama_boy @ Jul 1st 2007 8:20PM]

Does anyone ever think it will be able to be used for sprint?

[darkstar @ Jul 1st 2007 9:22PM]

no. because sprint is cdma. att is on gsm... a flavor of tdma. totally different technology.

[john @ Oct 1st 2007 10:11AM]

sprint does have gsm, it the old nextel network. has anyone tried to use that sprint network?

[booyaka @ Jul 1st 2007 9:00PM]

I didn't realize there was more than one internet.

[Clordio @ Jul 1st 2007 10:13PM]

And so begins Apple's entry into the virus prone world. If the firmware really is what Jobs' says it is, a stripped down version of OS X, then hackers are finally going to focus on the "unbeatable" OS. I'm excited, not because I dislike Apple, but because soon it will become as equally dangerous as Windows.

[Sean @ Jul 1st 2007 11:54PM]

If anyone could help me out that would be great. I im activating my iPhone right now and its been on for about 7 hours i was just wondering if you could let me know what is supposed to be on the screen and if you need to keep it conected. Also what happens when it is finished.
Thanks

[charles @ Jul 2nd 2007 1:53AM]

any intention of making fun of George Bush's use of the term "Internets" in the title? haha!

[fabio Ribeiro @ Jul 2nd 2007 11:10AM]

There is a website (http://www.iphoneunlocking.com/) saying they can unlock iPhones, seems a little out of place, given all the fuss about when it will actually be unlocked.... Mine hasn't arrived yet (I ordered online), but I am counting on the unlock solution since I have absolutely no intention to sign up for AT&T.