UniquePhones's iPhone unlock release 'slowed' by AT&T lawyers
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 25th 2007 12:43PM
posted Aug 25th 2007 12:43PM
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Did you think they would just lie down and
take it?
The unlocking will be crushed...
Trust me.
Oh believe me, they will lie down and take it raw. Aint no stopping that. It's only a matter of time, once this gets to the public, torrents, etc its over. AT&T can blow it out their @ss.
But there are still great Nokias that you can buy unlocked and use on any network so what does it matter. New phones rivaling the iphone are already on the verizon. Nokia, Motorola, etc got some treats cooked up.
Hey theboss,
That's funny how you substituted "verizon" for "horizon," you clever dog.
Dude... you are so far out of touch. There are many people just like me. I buy my hardware purely for the ease of controlling it my way, hacking it, tweaking it, using how I want. I'm not afraid to void warranties to do it but I shouldn't have too.
If the 'hack', which is another debate, remains feasible, I might get an iPhone, and not until...
Until it gets released in Russia, or Hong Kong, or etc, etc...
I still believed that Apple knew that this day will come, the day the iPhone will be hacked, dont be so excited and relax, they are not dumb and stupid. As for Apple Inc...they knew before hand all this will happen, and thats a fact ! its really a simple business tactics..all win, no loss no matter what. As for ATT&T all ican say is 3 milions iPhone was sold on the FIRST day means less than 3 million signed up for the 2 YEARS monthly service....do the math. Ever wonder how many more millions signed up till today? Its all business folks and you all are part of the drama...
its all drama folks, you all really believed that Apple Inc. and ATT & T dont know that one day this day will come? c mon now, think about it. What am really waiting for is the counter attack by Apple & ATT&T. its all drama & publicity.and its all working.
so its not going to be relised or has it bean relised iv bean looking around for it but i cant find it....
CherryOS anyone?
Hi all,
I was reading the Irish Daily Star this morning and they have a small article claiming that two guys in Ireland have unlocked the iphone to work on O2 - Ireland. I can't say anything about the creditability of the article, i was just wondering if anyone had heard the same thing
All they need to do is upload it to Pirate Bay or similar and after 5mins, no one can stop it spreading the love around the world ;)
.....just say that it was virus that stole the program and uploaded it ;)
While that would work, I think their intent was to sell the software.
Sounds like BS to me. They are based in the UK, and unless the attorney called to offer them $10 million NOT to post it, I can't see any legal grounds for them to delay it.
Surely they KNEW they'd get a call sooner or later?
If they really wanted to prove that they have a legit unlock method, they should release the unlock, for free, in spite of AT&T phone calls. There are plenty of unlock methods out there for other phones but people will still pay to have it done, as they lack the technical skill to do so.
Few more thoughts...
The way Apple will most likely handle this
is by adding new features via Itunes Updates...
Loads of them...features that will make the
original out of the box iPhone seem boring...
And with every update, a firmware sweep that
eradicates any software changes or unlocking...
"Hey, you have an iPhone? Take a video of us!!"
"Um, I can't...I can't upgrade to that...I'm too cheap and I can only use it for calls with T-Mobile..."
"Hey, you have an iPhone? Let's instant message!!"
"Umm, I can't...I can't upgrade, but I can make calls
with T-Mobile..."
Along with these wonderful scenarios...
"Hey Apple, I unlocked this, and now my iPod is having problems..." TOO BAD
"Hey T-Mobile, why was I charged so much regarding
data and internet on my iPhone?" TOO BAD
"Hey, AT&T, why did this feature stop working on my iPhone?" TOO BAD
hack away dreamers...
Apple and AT&T had a plan to deal with this
long before the iPhone even came out...
Good weekend to all!
People who look into unlocking their iPhone are probably not the people who will be crying to Apple when something goes wrong.
Haxxy, I agree 100%
But there will be a great number
people who will run out, drop $600
on the phone and unlock it expecting
it to work as it should.
And when it doesn't... they will complain...
Man, the only 2 phones worth buying that are sold locked are the Iphone and sidekick series.
Nokia never locked their phones and they offer great phones. People just complain too much. Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, etc all have great new phones.
Too many bandwagoners and dildo hoppers. Just cause the iphone is the new thing everyone wants to get one. Make your own mind up people.
wrong againnnnnnnnnnn i was working the other day wit an anonymous programmer that worked with an iphone unlocking program using simple codes. and once we unloacked his iphone all features worked except for video voice mail (which suxs any how cause it only works with other iphone users) but anyhoe all of the instant message all the edge functions work wifi everything i was impressed even youtube. so wrong again get ur fact straight before saying BSSSSSSS and lets hope for a better free IPHONE like it should be ;)
I am pretty sure that would be illegal for Apple to do that to someone else's property. It's like you take out hard drive from your laptop and Sony goes after you for that. I would actually sue Apple for doing it my iPohone -- because once I paid AT&T for it it became mine.
screw the sidekick. the helio ocean owns SK3.
i got an unlocked iphone here, followed a guide somewhere a while again and yea, everything is working except for the voicemail... as for video recording, no one has it at this point, apple made no statment of putting that feature in, and as for aim, there are at 2 or diffrent native apps you can add to the phone to use aim, .Mac, irc and msn. and a couple more online apps that does the same. Most of them are in early stages of development, but they are working nevertheless
I almost believe that they wanted this to happen. All of this "we will release it this day at this time" seemed to be really asking for the lawyers to get involved. Just put the thing out there without all these dramatics.
I completely agree with TY , 2 facts come to light : 1- they were gathering subscriptions for a pre -release 2- They were shouting out loud to the world when they will release the software; it was a clever bluff to get AAPL and ATT to make the call and most certainly offer them a zesty pie, they were claiming 1/2 million subscribers let's say time 20$ = 10mil Ok AT&T we are not greedy let's settle for half of that and no trial lawyers and no courts.
Got the big picture ? A well played hand of poker with a stone face, and a lot of Grrrrrrreeeed!
Where are all the dedicated poor software engineers of the 90s? Gone.... living in Beverly Hills; Captain Crunch where are you? Woz! I admire you, you left in glory when you felt the dirt coming
your way and couldn't take it; I know you lost quite few of dough but you kept your dignity intact.
steorn, is that you?
I wonder what grounds they have to stop this. The DMCA has a specific exemption to allow cell phone unlocking. These exemptions are setup by the Copyright Office/Library of Congress.
"5. Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."
The problem is they're selling it. They can claim their primary intent is to make money, not to unlock the phones.
good point. Guess they shouldn't be greedy. Hacking for profit = FAIL
'cept, these guys are UK based so there's not much AT&T can do about it that isn't some variant on crying. The only 'legal consideration' they could possibly have if AT&T phoned em up about it is how much they can get out of AT&T to keep quiet about it... but given how many people have purportedly cracked the iPhone, I doubt that AT&T is willing to pay just one group
Is the fact that they plan to sell it really relevant? An iPhone unlocking program is a "computer program" which "enables wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network", which circumvents the DMCA for "the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network", whether it's sold or not. This is talking about the purpose of the program, not the intent of the person writing it, and this program does indeed circumvent the DMCA for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting a phone to a network. Whether the software is then sold, given away, or printed out in binary over a football field is irrelevant, its purpose as a piece of software remains the same.
WHOOP! There it is!
You can earn money unlocking phones or you can earn money waiting for AT&T to pact some NDA about this hack (and saying goodbye to any future unlock using this method).
yes, they will want for it, a lawyer with a bags full of money.
kinda reminds me of the psp v1.5 firmware. And they keep on adding more features to it and "forcing" you to upgrade to play the new games.
There is no way this will be released for free. There is BIG MONEY to be made in unlocking phones. If 10000 people pay $50 for this software, you can do the math how profitable it'll be for them.
Sadly for them someone else WILL come up with a free software unlocker, and all that work will have been for nothing.
Scooby, lets do that math...
Hmmm $50 for the software.. 10,000 peopl...
Ah, crap! The unlock hack made my iPhone calculator
stop working! Rats!
The problem here is that they wanted to make money off their "crack."
So, since their intentions were always to make money, and so are Apple's and AT&T's. Then, let them all bite pieces off each other. In the meanwhile, those who wanted to experiment with the crack are left just wishing for it.
Whatever ....
i have no problem whatsoever with them charging a fee of unlocking your phone. They spent the time developing the tool to do it and they should be able to make some money off it.
I don't particularly care if they decide to charge or not. But the fact remains that what they did is called "reverse engineering" which I think it's not allowed under "EULA" for most computer-related equipment/software, including cell phones and pda's. And considering how anal-retentive most corporations are, and the fact that they don't enjoy others making money off their products without taking a cut, they will come full force after these people. Just ask "Dark Alex" and his great work with the PSP. He went underground. Speculations abound on the internet.
If you take into consideration how hard the lawyers went after "DVD John" and the "FairUse4WM" trying to make an example out of them, you can rest assure that it won't be any different now.
The world is waiting to see what these corporations' next move is, as it would dictate the direction in how reverse engineering and the right of the owners to do whatever they want with their paid gear.
Hey Rob,
WRONG!!!!
"The DMCA has a specific exemption to allow cell phone unlocking. These exemptions are setup by the Copyright Office/Library of Congress."
"5. Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."
UniquePhones.com is issuing a ** PRESS RELEASE ** in the next few hours according to their blog.
http://blog.iphoneunlocking.com/
Let's see what happens then...
vaporware.. pure and simple
Just wait- it'll get released by another group in a country that's free from possible lawsuits, like China (hey, China doesn't even officially have the iPhone- but you can buy unlocked ones from HK) if they're prevented from releasing it.
Somebody please correct me if I am wrong... but I thought there was a law in the States that stated that the consumer had the right to unlock the phones. Does anyone know this for 100%
'?
Either way.. they should just come to the country where I live... there will never be a problem... ohhh the joy of Russian life ;-)
see my post above. scooby made a good point that since they are selling it, they are outside the realm of the DMCA exemption.
Joe, thanks for your commit. In reading the followup posting from the "legal" expert it would seem that selling the solution is perfectly fine... but selling a phone that is unlocked for almost any reason is not. But this only pertains to people in the US.
I will be taking an iPhone home with me to Europe.. where I will be free to do as I wish ;-)
The signup form asked people for their IMEI numbers so now these folks have a bunch of iPhone IMEI numbers to mess with.
I knew there was something fishy when they asked for that just to be notified of availability.
If you submitted your IMEI be careful.
I think that's just to make sure its one person per phone per software, so that you don't order multiple copies of the crack and sell them off.... or something....
Pehaps they went a little too high profile bragging about the unlocking. It was on every tech site on the Internet for 3 days.
Since it has WiFi, I'd like to have an iPhone and skip the cellular service. Seems like it would make a decent PDA for me.
No thanks...I`m getting 2.1 megabits down and 800 kilobits up on SPRINT with very low latency.
Apple and ATT are YEARS behind...and SPRINT/CLEARWIRE/GOOGLE WIMAX is rolling out right now , further crushing Apple/ATT ;)
On what shitty device are you getting that download/upload rate? Not an iPhone i bet.
@ktula
i hope youre kidding. you are kidding right? 2.1mb on a phone? The iphone can't touch that on edge. not even close....you're kidding right.
I use the Sanyo 8400 Let me describe it. Nice 320x240 screen. Very loud clear speaker and earpiece. I can put 4gb of Memory into it (MSD cards) and it has 60mb of internal space (more ringers than you an shake a stick at) Full open bluetooth. I can download m4a mp3 qcp mid ringers till I am blue in the face. I can upload my own ringers for nothing. megapixel images (not bad quality for cell cam) video unlimited length (capacity of mem card and thats a crap load of video) I already do video mail. Texting is a PITA so I record a video and send that. If a game or program is available I can install it.
I pay $34.53 a month with taxes and get 500anytime minutes 7pm nights weekends mobile to mobile unlimited pic mail unlimited EVDO internet and unlimited texting.
All the normal features as well picture id ringers speaker BT voice dial etc.. etc.. etc.. I can do the youtube etc.. too. I even stream recordings I make on my computer at home live to my phone anytime I want (thanks orb) I can even access my ENTIRE mp3 collection remotely if I want to. I can even stream LIVE TV from one of my tuner cards of I want. YES the EVDO is that fast. Download speeds have NO bandwidth limits any limits are limitations of the PHONE and its software NOT the network its that fast. When jacked into computer ($40 a month for that) its faster than most DSL connections with pretty decent UPLOAD too. I have hit 50+k up and I have gotten singular downloads over 400k actual (bytes not bits) I bet I could get more multi streaming but I do not want to abuse such a good thing.
Unlocked AND Unrestricted the Iphone is a pretty neat idea. As it stands its a paperweight to me. If sprint released an iphone with NO restrictions and NO catch 22's (special plans and crap) I would probably plunk down $400 too (only after they fixed the non replaceable battery issue)
Otherwise besides the larger screen and no flip (I prefer candy bar phones) the iphone has NOTHING to offer me that I can not already do easier better and cheaper.
I hate apple. I hate apple for the SAME reason I hate SONY. both companies can, do, and have released WONDERFUL hardware (ipod minidisc) and both are rendered MOOT to me because of silly PROPRIETARY restrictions added by the companies making them.
Apple makes AMAZING hardware that they then RUIN by saying SCREW the customer. I would not even LOOK at an ipod till I could put music on it WITHOUT itunes. (thanks rockbox even though its too primitive yet to really be great) I only have an ipod because someone sold me a half busted one for $40 that I repaired for another $30 (battery and headphone jack assembly)
I use my PDA (zodiac) for an mp3 player. Nicer screen built in stereo (and usable) speakers yahama sound chip (amazing quality) and I can load 8gig of SD cards into it (dual SD card slots dual 4gig cards) and NO RESTRICTIONS no stinking ID3 databases. No stinking playlists. Just folder access and bliss Drag Drop DONE. No software to install or screw with. DROP my mp3's on the SD card pop it in the slot hit play. WHY manufacturers do not "get this" is beyond me. WHY PEOPLE do not SCREAM about this is beyond me. I can load 30 mp3's onto an SD card and be PLAYING THEM in my Zodiac in less time than it takes itunes to open and see the ipod and I have a pretty hot system. They actually MOVING stuff onto the ipod with itunes? gag me please. its insanely slow and IT IS itunes becuse I can drag and drop the MP3's onto the same ipod with the SAME cable in 1/3 the time in Mass Storage Mode.
In fact take a tapwave Zodiac and move the headphone jack sideways a bit (its on a curve so thicker headphone jacks do not fit) and put a more conventional charging jack on it and add SDHC support and its about as perfect an MP3 player as money can buy. that 480x320 screen sure is pretty :-)
I am sorry for ranting. It just drives me NUTS !! I was hoping the IPHONE would equal the beginning of Cellular FREEDOM and its just one more proprietary shackle thats EVEN WORSE than the current model shackles.
I was hoping apple had finally learned. They have not. Great Hardware Horrible Software.
Is there any legal crap we can throw at AT&T for stopping the unlock software being released? Create some kind of class action suit based upon our right to unlock the bloody phone!
Retaliate against Apple and ATT? Sure! Get the 10K form and look up the accounting firm that does the financial statements of these corporate giants. Write a letter to the corporate headquarters (shareholder relations, perhaps) that says, in a friendly way, that you understand that the corporate policy is to do this and do that (bad stuff) and you want to be advised if you are wrong. To claim damages for liability, the plaintiff has to minimize the damage, for example by writing back and saying no, that's not the real company policy. Failure to do so means the company cannot collect damages (per British common law; watch your step in Louisiana.)
The letter has your return address at its top, but the envelope does not. The envelope has the return address of a notary, who is on on the scheme.
After a month, the notary prepares a statement: "I, (name), sent a letter of which here is a copy, to the address on the letter, and it was not returned, so this may give the sender the legal right to assert that it was delivered."
Less easily detected than a certified letter. Bonus: you get to prove what was sent, which a certified letter in general won't let you do.
After you have done this and waited a month, send a copy of the notary's letter by certified mail to the accountant. You have proved, by failure to receive a rebuttal, that company policy is (bad stuff). The accountant must so state in the financial statements or the accountant can be sued for any loss of value any stockholder can attribute to the omission.
Wait for a downtick that can be correlated to the bad stuff complained about and sue the accountant without mercy.
Query: What happens when a corporation cannot furnish financial statements because all the accountants are afraid of being sued? Interesting to find out, huh
Press Release
August 25th, 2007
iphoneunlocking.com, a subsidiary of UniquePhones (www.uniquephones.com). was poised and ready to release remote software unlocking services for the iphone today at 12 noon EST. The sale of unlocking codes is on hold after the company received a telephone call from a Menlo Park, California, law firm at approximately 2:54 a.m. this morning (GMT).
After saying they were phoning on behalf of AT&T, the law firm presented issues such as copyright infringement and illegal software dissemination. Uniquephones is taking legal advice to ascertain whether AT&T was sending a warning shot or directly threatening legal action. The logistics of different continents as well as it being a weekend factors into how the situation develops.
Until an assessment is made of the potential of legal action, Uniquephones is unable to release the unlocking software for sale. The company spokesperson also said that the company would also be evaluating what to eventually do with the software should they be legally denied the right to sell it. A substantial delay caused by any legal action would render the unlocking software a less valuable commodity as well as creating unforeseen security issues for the company
The solution has now been released by uniquephones!interesting to see what happens after this...
Lets us look at the facts.
They were the first to **claim** they'd have an unlock tool.
They announced their solution was finally working the same day someone else gave engadget proof that they had a working version.
They announced the availability of it the day after some kid got nationwide press coverage showing his (hardware) unlock.
They suddenly claim attorneys contact them, despite no other unlockers making similar claims (even though others are in the US and these jokers are UK based)
I'm sorry to say it, but the evidence points towards vaporware or just plain lies.
Are you kidding me? You're making such a hype of something that's been done long before the 17 kid did it and now this company. If you can read Russian you can find at least a couple step-by-step manuals and lists of equipment (primarily, sim reader/coder) for unlocking iPhone. And it's been our like the first week after release of iPhone. As always, America is behind.
You can do it at your home in about 1 hour. http://www.iphones.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=44
No one's gonna sue you if you do it at home. There's a bunch of info about how to unlock your iPhone. So it's not hard for the company to claim they have unlock tools - they actually are available.
This will never see the light of day, as I said yesterday on this site.
They should have GPLed it and released it. Once they decided to sell it, it died.
Mark my words, you will never see this software available for sale. And you probably won't see it free, either, unless it's a totally independent implementation coming from somebody else. The developer of this had their chance at having some fame and a very nice resume bullet, but got greedy and blew it.
"They were the first to **claim** they'd have an unlock tool."- Do your research, the guy John McLaughlin was one of the first people EVER to launch an unlocking company years ago, he was in demand for interviews when the iPhone was released to see if he would approach unlocking it, and obviously he has!!!!
"They announced their solution was finally working the same day someone else gave engadget proof that they had a working version."- as soon as one business has the solution, its leaked almost immediatly, Unique Phones are playing it the media well so as to not attract Apples attention and be the most liable for law suits if they were first to release. think about it...
"They announced the availability of it the day after some kid got nationwide press coverage showing his (hardware) unlock."-- again, read before!!!
"They suddenly claim attorneys contact them, despite no other unlockers making similar claims (even though others are in the US and these jokers are UK based)"- AT&T have had many run ins with unique phones/ 'these jokers', first with them advertising at the launch of iPhone that theyd be the first to unlock it, and its now FACT that they were contacted by a lawyer...DO YOUR RESEARCH
.....and their a world wide company, the owner is Uk based.
They should just leak this crack to the world already and stop fantasizing about making a profit. Face it, this phone WILL eventually be officially available on all major carriers because that's how Apple can get the most mileage out of it. So, forget the profit scheme, your little trick is only going to be good for a short time so release it now while people actually care, get the credit/glory and be happy.
AT&T in the end would absolutely lose any lawsuit brought forth regarding this. But from their point of view, it's easy to control anyone who releases this hack, because they would spend a billion dollars suing you because it has the potential to directly affect their revenue stream. Apple on the other hand would secretly most likely be happy because they could start selling more units. However I don't think the average consumer is going to hack an iPhone in this manner, but they would probably buy an unlocked one if they cared enough to go on ebay. No doubt this hack will make it out, and in fact there are already ways to do this with a turbo-sim.
That said WHAT I DO, with my iPhone, when it's NOT on AT&T's network, they can kiss my ass. If I want to modify my personal property in ANY way I see fit, I damn will.
My own theory with absolutely no supporting evidence:
Apple secretly supported the unlocking software (why wouldn't they? They'll sell more phones). AT&T is afraid of losing their only competitive advantage so they're pulling these kinds of kinda-sorta-not really legal moves to delay the inevitable.
Someone hacked the hackers. Lawyers do not make phone calls in this situation. (I'm a lawyer - take my word for it.)
A real law firm would send a letter, by fax if it's a rush, with the original sent by FedEx or other courier, signature on delivery. Only a joker would make a midnight call offering 'friendly advice'!
What's fishy here is that this is the first thing McLaughlin's lawyers would have told him, which would have left him free to proceed. Could it be that he got cold feet, and needed an excuse for doing a bit of legal research?
Hey, i managed to get an unlocked iphone from ebay one for rogers canada and one for t-mobile usa and they both work like a charm! Couldn't be happier, i got it from here if anyone's interested:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330166804466