HD video: iPhone unlocked on camera from start to finish

Ok, here it is, the first time on camera you've seen a real iPhone software SIM unlocked from start to finish (and not done with the demo app iPhoneSIMfree sent out last week). The last iPhoneSIMfree unlock video we had only showed of the end result of a successful iPhone unlock, which took place off-camera. This time we're doing the entire process, which we confirmed earlier this morning, on video. For quick reference, here are the steps we took on camera:

1. Started with AT&T SIM inserted
2. Inserted T-Mobile SIM, showed that it produces invalid SIM error (expected behavior for a locked iPhone)
   
3. Connected to iPhone over SSH
4. Transferred iPhoneSIMfree unlock app over SCP
5. Restarted SpringBoard (iPhone default application launcher)
6. Ran iPhoneSIMfree app
7. When complete, iPhone shows that T-Mobile SIM no longer produces invalid SIM error, instead asks for activation (expected behavior for an iPhone that has a valid SIM, but is not yet activated)
   
• Prep for re-activation off camera using iAsign (phone is now unlocked, but still activated with AT&T)
8. Back on camera: activate iPhone with T-Mobile SIM using iAsign
9. Make test call to another phone
10. Activate iPhone once more with AT&T SIM using iAsign

Granted, we don't expect end-users to take all these steps when unlocking their iPhone -- we just went a little overboard here so everyone can see the release software is functional, and unlocks iPhones as advertised. Embedded player after the break.

[MP4] Download in 720p HD (187MB)
[MP4] Download in wide VGA (61MB)
[AVI] Download in 720p HD (187MB)
[AVI] Download in wide VGA (61MB)

[Satish @ Sep 10th 2007 2:52PM]

Thanks a ton.

[AmazingRobie @ Sep 10th 2007 4:02PM]

Does anyone know if the iPhone has video out capabilities to where it could be hooked up to a television set to play videos. Also, is it possible to do something like voice-over-ip with a free internet connection on an iPhone?

[Avi Flax @ Sep 10th 2007 4:34PM]

AmazingRobie: Yes, Apple sells TV-out cables; not currently.

[Derry Quinn @ Sep 10th 2007 4:37PM]

I' not sure how this sort of thing works in the US but if you have activated your iPhone, you've bought an AT&T Package, right? So if you put a T-Mobile sim in you still have to pay the AT&T plan, don't you? So is this just for people who want a network with more coverage or what?

Sorry, I'm rish so I don't know how american networks (or carriers, whatever you call them) work. Or for people abroad.

[Zach @ Sep 11th 2007 12:02AM]

Derry the idea here is that you can pay the ETF to AT&T (early termination fee) then unlock your iphone and go to town.

Or you can find another used iphone and then activate it with Tmobile so your never paying AT&T cause they suck in the United States

[Scott @ Sep 11th 2007 4:24PM]

No, the idea is that you can buy a new iPhone, unlock it and fake activate it, pop in your *current* T-Mobile sim, and avoid Ma Bell and her 2 year contract entirely.

[GyroJoe @ Sep 10th 2007 2:56PM]

Does YouTube work on the T-Mobile activation?

[Dave @ Sep 10th 2007 2:56PM]

now how do they plan to sell this? if i wanted to buy the program how would i?

[zatblast @ Sep 10th 2007 3:06PM]

if you had been following the story they are not selling to the general public persay but to suppliers who turn around and activate for you the individual the bulk supplies were about 30$ for each activation ((well the suppliers bought at 30)) in australia someones selling those at 50$ each and in the US 100$ each, all in the usd of course... so go find a legit reseller

[Dave @ Sep 10th 2007 3:34PM]

yeah i knew that, but i was wondering where to go to find a reseller. but hopefully the software will end up on the internet somewhere and i can just dl it :-D

[Kricket @ Sep 10th 2007 4:20PM]

if you go to iphonesimfree's site - they have a section that lists the 4 dealers who they are currently working with

[Hexxeh @ Sep 10th 2007 3:00PM]

Now give me a packet log of the session where you unlock the phone and a copy of the .app please. =]

[Corey @ Sep 10th 2007 3:03PM]

thats cool and all...but surprisingly T-Mobile is worse than AT&T in my area....and Verizon of course doesnt use sims....sooo AT&T for me anyways.

[007baf @ Sep 10th 2007 3:06PM]

So, if I understand this correctly, I could use this service to unlock my iPhone for say another trip to Iraq, Germany, Kuwait, anywhere they use GSM and buy a pre-paid SIM over there, and when I get back home, put it back to AT&T mode? That would be practical. There's no advantage to using T-Mobile here, unless there is no AT&T coverage or something. But do I get the fundamentals?

[dustin @ Sep 10th 2007 3:07PM]

ok great it works. Figured it would. Now lets release this bad boy and see how quick Apple updates and makes this not work anymore. If they fix it fast after an update I am all in. Hell I went and bought an iphone weeks ago when they said the software would be released in 24hours. But that came and went. So I returned the phone until the finally start selling this and not just to resellers. Come let's get on with it. My itouch will be here before I can get an iphone unlocked.

[Bobo @ Sep 10th 2007 3:07PM]

One firmware update later... phone is bricked.
(and no crying allowed this time)

[Ellianth @ Sep 10th 2007 4:15PM]

What do you think bricked means?

[ranova @ Sep 10th 2007 5:09PM]

first, i HIGHLY doubt, and can probably gauruntee, that apple will not even attempt to reverse unlocks and AT&T cant do shit about it. More carrier-free iphones = more money for apple. think about it. It was also rumored that the iphone development team helped IPSF create their software.

Secondly, only a slight few less smart people will actually update the day of until people give the OK that the update is working. You DONT have to update your iphone...

[Nirmal @ Sep 10th 2007 3:10PM]

Do you have activate the iPhone with AT&T first or can I buy the iPhone from the Apple store and use the iPhoneSIMfree app on it straight out of the box?

[Kenban @ Sep 10th 2007 3:13PM]

You can do it out of the box to a point. The phone has to have a fake activation but there are tools to do that already. So it is possible to do this without ever touching the AT&T network.

[irus @ Sep 10th 2007 3:39PM]

can you point out how to bypass AT.T activation straight from the box, any links would be greatly appreciated. - thanks

[irus @ Sep 10th 2007 3:39PM]

can some one point out, how can I bypass activation from AT.T, straight from out box, any links will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch.

[Nirmal @ Sep 10th 2007 3:47PM]

It would be nice to have everything in one package instead of grabbing one thing from here and another from there. Basically open the box, plug it into the computer, send the app to the iphone and run it. DONE.

haha... who am I kidding... this is just a hack.

[Mike Jenkins @ Sep 10th 2007 3:13PM]

Cool. Still doesn't make me want an iPhone.

[Xavier Gill @ Sep 10th 2007 3:17PM]

Engadget uses Dell eh?...

[Nigel @ Sep 10th 2007 3:17PM]

has anyone notice that AT&T does not have the iphone on there site anymore

[Kai @ Sep 10th 2007 3:27PM]

yes it does. its still there. just checked.

[Boynamedsue @ Sep 10th 2007 3:18PM]

I almost got a cheapie 4 gig one last week to play with.

I'll just wait till belkin comes out with a mic attachment for the ipod touch, or better yet, a wimax iphone.

[LearnToShootVideo @ Sep 10th 2007 3:21PM]

Hi, I'm a super annoying troll with nothing better to do than nitpick stuff on the internet. Feel free to say hi to me at [e-mail]

[Scott @ Sep 10th 2007 3:31PM]

Dear god, we all know the different sim software would be released eventually and would work, its just a demonstration.

The production value may not be up to par, but I don't think they were planning on winning an Oscar.

[UnnDunn @ Sep 10th 2007 3:36PM]

Oh please, you act like Engadget is out to screw you over by "proving" a hack they know to be bogus.

If it were the iPhoneSIMfree team producing the video themselves, you'd have cause to be skeptical, but I highly doubt Ryan Block would knowingly lie about the validity of the hack on Engadget.

[rp @ Sep 10th 2007 3:38PM]

Well, engadget is a fairly reputable source (barring occasional mistakes of sorts...) so I don't think it's really a huge deal that you don't see the phone the whole time, that you can't see the cords all the time, it fades to black, etc etc. The point of the video is to show that yes, it works.
The problem with OTHER people doing a crappy video is that they aren't one of the, if not the, most read and highly respected gadget blogs. I highly doubt engadget wants to put out a hoax video just to make fanbois squirm for 15 minutes.

[Scott @ Sep 10th 2007 3:39PM]

Apparently, he learned his lesson.

[Steve @ Sep 10th 2007 3:56PM]

Simmer down mr-high-and-mighty. It was a demonstration of the app working.

[Otsego_Undead @ Sep 10th 2007 3:27PM]

So if you go overseas to get say a prepaid sim from orange or something, you gotta tote your mac with you to activate that sim via SSH iAsign?

[B @ Sep 10th 2007 3:28PM]

This is Fantastic..and i am really considering importing an iPhone Now but i just want to make sure that this Unlock Can go through the next firmware update...

and i got a 2 newbie question i'd like to know the answers of hehehe...

1- What's SSH & SCP and where do i find them on windows and is this method the way everyone transfer all the Apps to the iPhone with ?

2- Is iAsign the name of the SIM Activation method on iTunes ?

[John Doe @ Sep 10th 2007 3:37PM]

Ok, I'll answer your questions (at least 1)
SSH and SCP are like telnet, but secure. They let you communicate between two computers (or phones) securely. SSH lets you control a computer remotely, and SCP lets you transfer files. They don't come with windows, but you can use PuTTY and WinSCP (google them).
As to your second question, i believe iAsign is the method for telling your phone it is activated without actually activating it.

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Sep 10th 2007 3:30PM]

When you say reactivating on iAsign, does that mean that I have to "fake" iTunes activation? Because I do not use iAsign, I use Independance or even better, iphonetool

[FrankTheCrank @ Sep 10th 2007 3:30PM]

I would love to use those $100 card from Cigular and just load the phone with it.

But I don't believe that the iPhone is compatible with that service.

[Kai @ Sep 10th 2007 3:34PM]

your wrong. it is.

[UnnDunn @ Sep 10th 2007 3:49PM]

You don't even have to do the unlock if you want to use at&t (Cingular) GoPhone service. Just do the iTunes activation as normal, but give them a bogus Social Security number like 999-99-9999 or something. It will let you sign up for GoPhone prepaid instead.

[Paul @ Sep 12th 2007 9:39PM]

I've been using "Pay as You Go" (a/k/a the Go Phone) since 9/11. First it was AT&T, then Cingular, then back to AT&T. I very seldom use my cell, so this plan is great for me. I pay $25 every 3 months, and un-used minutes are rolled over. Reading UnnDunn's reply to your post leads me to believe I can use my current SIMM? How do I transfer my minutes over, or do I just switch SIMMS?

[J. Evans Turner @ Sep 10th 2007 3:35PM]

Can already hear that oh-too-familiar GSM interference being amplified by the Dell SoundBar...a problem I've had with my Cingular/AT&T RAZR that I never had with my Sprint CDMA phones.

[Ant @ Sep 10th 2007 3:39PM]

ha yeah i kept checking my phone thinking i had a call coming in XD


good video endgadget!

[J. Evans Turner @ Sep 10th 2007 3:36PM]

Eh, no sound bar...but whatever. It's interfering with the camcorder's audio.

[Hexxeh @ Sep 10th 2007 3:40PM]

You know slipping me a copy of the .app file, since it's useless without the licensing on their servers *cough* would be much appreciated.

hexxeh AT hexxeh DOT net

[Kim @ Sep 10th 2007 3:37PM]

NICE!

[FireFox @ Sep 10th 2007 3:38PM]

This is great! I wonder when apple is going to rush in that firmware upgrade that makes this impossible. OR This is Apple ! They make it and make more money out of it.

[CJ @ Sep 10th 2007 3:46PM]

Does anyone have a walkthrough for the installation process of all the SSH commands needed?

[John @ Sep 10th 2007 3:48PM]

1 please