iPhoneSIMfree's end-user solution tested, it works!

So last Friday we got two things from iPhoneSIMfree: the demo version of their software SIM unlock solution, and the promise that it would be available for purchase today. We can't confirm that anyone's actually received their iPhone unlock orders, but we did get to test the release version of the software unlock today -- the very same thing people all over will be paying to unlock their devices with -- and, not surprisingly, it works like a charm. In other words, while we can't vouch for any of the vendors selling the software, we can vouch for the software itself working exactly as advertised. We've got the full unlock on video, which we'll be posting shortly.

[bOOtJ @ Sep 10th 2007 1:02PM]

saounds great!

[paloooz @ Sep 10th 2007 1:03PM]

What? No "video after the break" ???

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

"We've got the full unlock on video, which we'll be posting shortly."

[paloooz @ Sep 10th 2007 3:23PM]

Congratulations. You quoted the summary. Further proving that they worded it differently.

[itachiniko @ Sep 10th 2007 1:07PM]

YAY! It's finally time to buy an iphone! Now if only there was a DIY battery replacement kit that won't cause your phone to blow up...

[Sean @ Sep 10th 2007 1:05PM]

Do you hear this, Apple?

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 10th 2007 1:18PM]

How are Apple going to get away with this when they release in Europe later this month, aren't their laws against locking phones in this way? They're already in trouble for illegally blocking users from buying in different EU countries.

[Christopher Lloyd @ Sep 10th 2007 1:07PM]

The way I see it is that alot of people will be using this software. I think it's great that they test it to avoid many people being scammed

[Midas360 @ Sep 10th 2007 1:10PM]

Apple will end this relatively quickly. Don't waste your money folks.

[paul34 @ Sep 10th 2007 1:20PM]

[conspiracy theory]

Or it could be a ploy by Apple black ops so that many more people can buy the iPhone while they still continue to officially honor their contractual obligations with ATT

[/conspiracy theory]

[Midas360 @ Sep 10th 2007 1:28PM]

Well... You never know. Steve's capable of doing pretty much anything regardless.

[Steve @ Sep 10th 2007 2:01PM]

Why is everyone so concerned about Apple retaliating? In the unlocking scheme of things, Apple stands to lose up to 10% of carrier revenue vs. AT&T's 90%. If anyone is sweating bullets right now, it's AT&T.

There are several non-hardware methods (i.e. simple database comparisons) AT&T can employ to put a hurting on those current AT&T customers who unlock the iPhone to avoid the 2yr contract. And for the other 6 users who unlock it to use on TMobile, well they'll probably just chalk that up as a loss.

As for the global market, the introduction of the iPod Touch and the lack of 3G kills the "must have unlocked iPhone" urge for a lot.

[nikster @ Sep 10th 2007 9:21PM]

I don't think AT&T will be sweating at all over this - are customers going to switch from their shitty network to the arguably even more shitty T-Mobile network? No.

Apple might be concerned because it will prevent them from giving exclusive rights to European providers. It would be a big deal in the EU because there are many different providers and they all run on GSM networks, unlike the U.S.

Then again, Apple might go the tried-and-tested route of scrapping exclusivity alltogether and providing just the normal subsidized-phone discounts just like anyone else. Witness the recent price cuts for AT&T subsidized phones.

That way we'd be able to buy unlocked @ full price or locked and subsidized like we can with any other phone. And more importantly all the issues and legalities of that concept have long been figured out and there'll be no surprised. I think Apple just made a mistake by not offering an unlocked version (for more $$$$ of course) and I hope Apple realizes this now and lets us customers who are more than happy to pay for an iPhone but can't use the AT&T exclusivity actually buy the things.

I have said it before too, exclusive / subsidized phones don't even exist in Asia, at least not where I am, so Apple would have to forego a very significant number of potential customers. It doesn't make any sense.

[dagamer34 @ Sep 10th 2007 11:12PM]

There are people outside of the US that would like to use the iPhone too. That's the real point of an iPhone unlock, not just for T-Mobile use. Such is the beauty of GSM.

[jacob langfelder @ Sep 10th 2007 1:09PM]

and this is newsworthy because?????

this is worse than the play by play of the apple news conference....at least there were products for purchase at the end of that drawn out report.

[Harkonian @ Sep 10th 2007 1:10PM]

I don't really understand the draw of using the iPhone on another network. Visual voicemail, one of the best pieces of iPhone goodness, won't work. Also, has it been confirmed that EDGE will work on other carriers?

[Ellianth @ Sep 10th 2007 1:20PM]

What's so great about visual voicemail?

[Harkonian @ Sep 10th 2007 1:39PM]

I'm not sure why the low ranking when I was simply pointing out what I assumed to be the flaws of using the iPhone with another carrier? I'm not particularly fond of AT&T, but I honestly don't see the point of using the unlock. Maybe if you live in another country and the only choice is a slightly crippled iPhone vs no iPhone at all...

Ellianth: For business users Visual voicemail is a huge asset. I probably get 20+ voicemails a day and being able to pick which ones I want to hear rather than wading through all of them to get to the last 3 is a great time saver. Not to mention being able to save and replay the important ones without having to worry about them getting auto-deleted after 30 days.

[lolec @ Sep 10th 2007 2:02PM]

Im shure people outside US prefer using their phone as a phone than visual voicemail ... but thats just the rest of the world

[Kricket @ Sep 10th 2007 2:08PM]

edge has been confirmed to work on tmobile's network - i dont see why it wouldnt work on others

as far as i know - the only things that wont work "out of the box" are visual voicemail and youtube (although, there are fixes for the youtube button not working)

[Ellianth @ Sep 10th 2007 2:34PM]

Hmm... I don't have visual voicemail with my carrier. But I can do all all the stuff that visual voicemail offers. Only difference is it's not some application on my phone, it's just calling my mail box. For example, I can skip messages, get info on who left the message, fast forward, rewind, save, delete, jump back a couple seconds, etc. I learned all this when I pushed the help button when I first got my cell phone.

Anyway i'm glad you like your phone. I just wanted to know what all the fuss was about with visual voicemail. And with 20+ messages a day you're very popular. I wish my 'friends' would call me :p.

[dannylu88 @ Sep 10th 2007 3:04PM]

Cause ATT sucks ass around where I live and tmobile is alot cheaper

[nikster @ Sep 10th 2007 9:27PM]

To get your answer, I suggest you take a vacation. Outside the USA - you know, that thing called the "rest of the world".

[HOLLAND @ Sep 10th 2007 1:11PM]

Now i can start thinking about buying an unlocked iPhone from the US and use my own SIM-card
(I live in Holland)

Would be the first one on my school! YEA!

[jilie @ Sep 10th 2007 2:50PM]

wow, be proud!

[FrankTheCrank @ Sep 10th 2007 1:14PM]

I used the Social Security number hack to go month to month just for this reason.

Picked up an iPhone 4GB for $299 on 9/6. What a steal. This thing is AWESOME.

[Morder @ Sep 10th 2007 1:20PM]

Please elaborate :)

[BlackCoffeeNoSugar @ Sep 10th 2007 1:38PM]

You still have to buy a new phone for that price with AT&T plus subscription, though.

[FrankTheCrank @ Sep 10th 2007 1:52PM]

When you go to activate your phone, the prompts will ask you for your personal info, this is the part when you subscribe to AT&T. Well, if you slap in a social security number of 999-99-9999, the setup forgoes signing you to a 2 year agreement and will offer you another plan, GoPhone, which is month to month. Just remember though, the initial GoPhone monthly plan is $29.99 + $19.99 and this is non refundable. So you just use ditch the plan and use up the month.

I initially wanted a Touch, but the Touch is missing the camera, speaker, microphone, bluetooth and email.

[Travar @ Sep 10th 2007 1:14PM]

iUnlock... I iLike.

[Kai Cherry @ Sep 10th 2007 1:16PM]

Ryan, does this last past a restore? IE if after the unlock, you restore the firmware, what happens? If it re-locks the phone, can you run this thing again?

[iphonefaggot @ Sep 11th 2007 2:39AM]

I do not think Apple can re-lock your device, the SIM unlock code is unique to the IMEI number, which is the phones unique serial number. Unless Apple/AT&T want to send an update to every unlocked device that writes a new IMEI to the hardware, it probably isn't possible, and even then, how do they know which devices are unlocked? My two cents, feel free to prove me wrong.

[EnergyBlue @ Sep 10th 2007 1:16PM]

this is grear , now i can use it in mexico

[MrWhite @ Sep 10th 2007 1:47PM]

"I don't really understand the draw of using the iPhone on another network. Visual voicemail, one of the best pieces of iPhone goodness, won't work."

I totally agree, having used the iPhone since the day of the price drop, I haven't had a problem with recieving or sending calls, the Edge network is slightly faster than Dial-up, so it's not that bad and the visual voice-mail is One of the main reason I got the iPhone, so that I don't have to hear the stupid automated system repeat itself several times before hearing my messages and I can choose whom I want to listen to instead of being made to go through the whole list.

[Shaka @ Sep 10th 2007 1:18PM]

Hackers, get them!

[me @ Sep 10th 2007 1:22PM]

wheres the torrent already?

[ScOObyDoo @ Sep 10th 2007 1:22PM]

Someone is going to make a LOT of money off this.

[800hightech @ Sep 10th 2007 9:03PM]

I hope Apple don't end this soon, it's sure to make the iPhone more appealing to a wider market so should be a wise business move, it makes for a better future if everything starts to open up a little. Great Job!

[Geoff Thompson @ Sep 10th 2007 1:27PM]

edge works fine once you setup apn as far as upgrading past 1.02 for now 1.03 wont add that much except itunes ringtones and itunes wireless store, i dont buy from itunes now so why would i start.

[willy @ Sep 10th 2007 1:31PM]

To anybody who has actually done this, does it work with Tracfone?

[John Laur @ Sep 10th 2007 1:45PM]

Important question:

Let's say I have an AT&T plan with unlimited data and text messages that I am plenty happy with. Now let's say that I would like an iPhone but don't want to swith to pay-as-you-go and don't want another two years of lock-in. What do I give up by unlocking an iPhone and using it on AT&T's network anyway? $100 is cheaper than breaking a 2yr contract.

[Achal Aggarwal @ Sep 10th 2007 1:34PM]

i want one too... let it come out... plz add the video guys...

[Kevin Harter @ Sep 10th 2007 1:37PM]

***SMACK*** NO, it doesn't work with TRAC-FONE!!! ......geez.......

[Des @ Sep 10th 2007 1:35PM]

@Alan Partridge - in Europe they can legally lock them all they want _but_ they have to unlock the phone after a certain spend.

[Juaquin @ Sep 10th 2007 1:34PM]

So if you unlock it, can you get 2.5G internet and all of the other features to work on another provider?

[Darnell @ Sep 10th 2007 1:36PM]

What really needs to be addressed is how effective will it be once Apple releases an update.

[ranova @ Sep 10th 2007 1:40PM]

apple would be slight retards if they worked out a fix to reverse unlocks. more carrier-free iphones = more money for apple. all they have to say to at&t is "we cant reverse it"

[Dane Omazic @ Sep 10th 2007 1:58PM]

Does this work with companies that us CDMA newtwork or only on GSM networkds

[Manuel Anaya @ Sep 10th 2007 2:04PM]

Only on GSM networks, no CDMA or other technologies. If it was CDMA i think it will be easier to unlock.

[Callum @ Sep 10th 2007 2:13PM]

only GSM, the iPhone is currently not available to CDMA Sims- as GSM / CDMA is an issue of hardware, not software. can't be cracked. sorry.