iPhone unlocked: AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity, August 24, 2007, 12:00PM EDT

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 with software. 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

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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 (though not necessarily 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.

[MP4] Download in 720p HD (44MB)
[MP4] Download in wide VGA (14MB)
[AVI] Download in 720p HD (44MB)
[AVI] Download in wide VGA (14MB)

[Gee @ Aug 24th 2007 2:03PM]

The iPhone is still garbage. Still no FLASH nor Cut&Paste. *YAWN*

[Ahmed Gabr @ Aug 24th 2007 2:08PM]

That's great news .. perfect

[roc ingersol @ Aug 24th 2007 2:08PM]

Great, now I can use the iphone on the GSM network of my choice.
Which is AT&T or T-Mobile or ... I guess T-Mobile.

[stea4 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:09PM]

Right yesterday Fedex brought me the Blackbox wich i used to hacking my iPhone.
I hope this sw will be cheaper for the rest of us :)

[kinger @ Aug 24th 2007 2:13PM]

For those of you who think there is a legal angle to this. You are right - there is. And the answer is you are allowed to do so - though I don't know if they can contractually obligate you from doing it.

http://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/1201_recommendation.pdf
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061124-8280.html

As for me, I am still not sure I want to play along with "benevolent dictator" -tude of apple.

Damn I own so many ipods that I dont use. Gifts.. goddamn gifts. I dont about the rest but the ipod is the best damn gift idea around.

[pstelman @ Aug 24th 2007 2:16PM]

Best tech news YTD! :-)

Looking forward to switching my iPhone over to my TeeMobe account. And using local SIMs in ROW.

Thank you, benevolent hackers. :-)

[Colin Devroe @ Aug 24th 2007 2:16PM]

To the editors/authors: This video is also in use over here - is this ok with you? Please email me directly otherwise.

[Chris Wanja @ Aug 24th 2007 2:21PM]

Can I simply get a reply to this question: The way to hack the phone is unreleased right now, correct??

[JP @ Aug 24th 2007 2:22PM]

Yes! Now I can use whatever GSM carrier I want with the iPhone, like Tmobile or ATT or Tmobile or ATT!

[Justin Edwards @ Aug 24th 2007 2:22PM]

I imagine that if Apple cannot fix this that it would be a breach of contract and Apple would have to buy out the rest of the 5 year deal. If AT&T did not put something about the possibilities of this phone being unlocked and the repercussion of such circumstances in their contract they deserve every bit of what is going on here. Cover your ass (CYA) is a very frequent term in the corporate world for very good reasons.

[hew33 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:23PM]

The kid that hacked the iPhone is on CNBC now...

[David @ Aug 24th 2007 2:23PM]

I'm all for freedom of choice, but let's not get carried away here...

-I'll be using my iphone for AT LEAST 2 years, thank you very much.

-For me, the greatest feature of the iphone is visual voicemail. That makes ATT the carrier of choice;)

[Gregling @ Aug 26th 2007 12:02PM]

I also do not really get the hype over this. I much prefer the news about unlocking the iphone to allow ssh and sftp: these are things that I can use in my daily life. I think the iphone is inappropriately named and marketed...the most important features have nothing to do with a cell phone, but rather with the excellent mobile web and email functions (and incredible touch screen technology). I could care less about which phone I have as long as it works. Likewise, AT&T, T mobile, whatever carrier doesn't really matter to me. Being able to use email and web in a such an aesthetically pleasing user-friendly way while on the go is worth the hype!

[AGraf @ Aug 24th 2007 2:29PM]

No doubt it is the real thing. Listen to the typical interference on the audio of the video. Typical GSM... I always get that on my car speakers when I leave my mobile on the car panel... Even the pattern is from receiving a call...

Anyone noticed this or Am I just freaking out?

[Chris Wanja @ Aug 24th 2007 2:32PM]

I want to go buy an iPhone, but I need to know how to activate my damn phone for Tmobile. Please release this soon!!

[Colin Devroe @ Aug 24th 2007 2:32PM]

My comment was supposed to link to:
http://cybernetnews.com/2007/08/24/unlocked-iphone-works-on-t-mobile-and-others/

But I work for Viddler and will pull it down if this isn't what you intended.

[Mischa Lockton @ Aug 24th 2007 2:38PM]

I don't understand the excitement over this.

Anything can be hacked, but what is the upside? You can use another carrier with similar rates- you only need to take your phone apart?

What is the down side? How does this affect future firmware upgrades? Visual voicemail?

I also find it very funny that many people seem to want to stick it to apple.... after they buy a $500 item from them... yeah you show them, Mr. ELEET.

[Fox McCloud @ Aug 24th 2007 2:43PM]

1. There is a software hack. You don't need to open the phone.

2. People want choice for a carrier, regardless of how much the iphone costs.

3. STFU you stupid beeich.

[dagamer34 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:55PM]

Because now you are not AT&Ts slave. Competition makes the world go 'round.

[anmarkle @ Aug 28th 2007 4:39PM]

But the only other option in the US is T-Mobile. It's not like you gain that much of a choice. AT&T or T-Mobile... Seems like 6 of one or 1/2 a dozen of another. In fact, in my experience ATT&T is far better tha T-Mobile(in my area at least). Certainly not worth losing visual voice mail over. The only upside I see is if you already have a T-Mobile contract and would like to avoid the termination fees.

[tehpwnmstr @ Aug 24th 2007 2:38PM]

I think this is going to have more posts than the Bioshock giveaway.

[Earthling @ Aug 24th 2007 2:40PM]

This will never see the light of day. First, because the creators want to make money off of it. That puts them in a world of legal trouble. Second, because of the DMCA. The only way that this could become available to the Rest Of Us would be if they had immediately released it as GPLed open source.

[deucea729 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:50PM]

Hackers' next job:

Lower the price.

Thanks, and I'll hang up and listen.

[jc @ Aug 24th 2007 2:50PM]

This hack has probably been found for a while, but iphonesimfree.com may have waited for the right time to publish it. Apple may not be so happy with this hack because they're negociating exclusivity with European carriers. Maybe the guys at iphonesimfree.com could make more money with Apple than by selling individual licences...

[Muai Tai @ Aug 24th 2007 2:52PM]

I wonder if the other carriers will let you have your iPhone working under their system. Unless they have no way to find out that you are running an iPhone.

[s0m0ney @ Aug 24th 2007 3:03PM]

@sickofit - you shouldn't be penalized for tinkering with your own property, but M$, Nintendo, and Sony are all doing their best to prosecute the people who modded their consoles. Granted it's for a different purpose. But it's all to achieve the same means, which is making the product do something other than it was originally intended.

This next part isn't at you at all, but it's funny to me that everyone isn't making their usual claims of piracy and the end of the world as we know it when an iPhone is hacked.

[Twisell @ Aug 24th 2007 3:15PM]

Am I the only one who noticed that this guy always put his big hand over the screen ?

We never see the two screen at the same time!
The incoming call on the second iPhone can be performed by a third phone out of camera sight.

On top of that the letter "E" for emergency call is near T-mobile.

If its not a fake, it look like the author do his best to make a "non-sense" demo.

[Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 3:18PM]

What makes T-Mobile better than AT&T anyway?

[Mischa Lockton @ Aug 24th 2007 3:22PM]

Don't ask those kinds of sensible questions. Just stick it to Apple big time by getting an iPhone and running it on t-Mobile.

[Andrew @ Aug 25th 2007 3:32AM]

yep, stick it to apple by giving them 400-500 dollars of your money. you're a winner.

and yes i have an iphone. and i'm on at&t.

[ubercool @ Aug 24th 2007 3:19PM]

Hey, can anyone tell me why the 44MB video still plays like I'm streaming instead of playing it locally? It's stuttering and has bad lipsynch problems! :(

[Earthling @ Aug 24th 2007 3:26PM]

Just because phone unlocking has been ruled legal, does not mean that tools for doing so are legal to create and legal to sell. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

[EL_RIEL @ Aug 24th 2007 3:26PM]

Hell yeah!!!

Just ordered an 8gb for me!!
..i was going to do the hardware hack because i got the skillz! LOL!!!

now i just hope this guys software is not expensive!!


happy happy, joy joy!!!
iPod Nano 8GB for Sale!! now that i wil have an iPhone!! XD


w00t w00t!! iPhone is going to Monterrey, Mexico!!
and fear no more, this will be also hacked, and some can wait for the "free" version.
Salud/Cheers everyone!! ... (B)

[mega millions @ Aug 24th 2007 3:26PM]

So the carrier or EDGE setting/info menu, which makes the usage with and transition to other carriers much easier, is added by apple's official update several days ago before this hack??? How convenient indeed.

Correct me if I am wrong. But it is truly so, I smell some conspiracy. Is apple selling this hack to sell more iphone? I know I would do it if I were Steve. (I wish I were...)

Or the hidden menu is added for those newly signed European carriers....which makes more sense and not as fun as it could be.

[Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 3:28PM]

I recently found out that I can fully access my PC from my iPhone< I think that is whats really cool!

[Scott F @ Aug 24th 2007 3:29PM]

Awesome, now us Europeans can have iPhones! :D

[roz @ Aug 24th 2007 3:29PM]

I think this is only helpful if you intend to use your iPhone abroad. Then it would be nice to have it hacked and then use it with any network.

I think any Apple update would fix this, so it would need to be software that the iPhone owner can keep on their desktop and run when needed.

I really don't see the advantage of TMobile.

[Nelson @ Aug 24th 2007 3:30PM]

Ryan,

I see that you claim there are no cuts, but at 0:53, there's a fade in. Why is that?

I'm not trying to refute the claim that this isn't for real, but I just noticed the cut/fade, even though you claim no cuts in the video.

Thanks.

[Nelson @ Aug 24th 2007 3:33PM]

Also, there's another cut at 1:19, where the frame focused on the second iPhone changes position.

Again, I'm just being nit-picky. I still believe that this isn't fake, but wanted to point out the cuts.

[Nelson @ Aug 24th 2007 3:38PM]

Woops, sorry! Forget about my comment about the cut at 1:19, my computer at work is just being jumpy with playing video back.

But there's still the cut/fade at 0:53. Any particular reason?

[kroister @ Aug 24th 2007 3:30PM]

The article makes reference to this hack now allowing the iPhone to work "outside of the US." Why wouldn't this also allow it to work inside the US on another carrier besides AT&T? Is this hack really exclusive to iPhone use outside of the US, or was that a bit of a misstatement in the article? Or misunderstanding by me? :)

[Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 3:32PM]

Europeans dont need phone..............they need soap!

[philldo @ Aug 24th 2007 3:39PM]

Sweet. I wish that was the only roadblock to me buying an iPhone.

I am trying callwave.com for visual voice mail on any carrier. Of course it's free during beta.

[Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 3:41PM]

What makes T-Mobile better than AT&T anyway?

[pipper @ Aug 24th 2007 4:14PM]

Not much better, but people want choices.

Why T-mobile is better for some:
1. For certain folks in some region of US, T-mobile get better coverage.
2. t-mobile customer supports are better (personal experience)
3. Rocks if the $5.99/mo mobile web works

[Chris @ Aug 24th 2007 3:42PM]

YO - WAIT A SECOND

it DOES say "e" (emergency calls only) beside tmobile... WHY, that SHOULD NOT BE THERE

doesnt this seriously call the truth of the hack into question? im so hopeful this will work, as i live in canada and want one, but why does it say emergency calls only? then theres the issue of that u never see the two screens at once in the call, could be a 3rd party phone involved. i want these things addressed, but god i hope that its all real and im just being paranoid, though the E conerns me. any ideas??

ugh, not to be annoying and alarmist, but, please explain???

[Bryan @ Aug 24th 2007 4:02PM]

E means EDGE.

[Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 3:44PM]

Why dont somepne unlock iTues so you can put ANY thing on it?

[Chris @ Aug 24th 2007 3:45PM]

and in the picture in up at the top of the page the e is hidden and replaced with a wifi indicator... seems shifty. please prove me wrong and dumb, i want this so badly to be real

[OV @ Aug 24th 2007 5:04PM]

likely because it is connected to wifi and not edge...