anySIM is here: open source GUI iPhone unlock app

We've seen a couple of early versions of GUI iPhone SIM unlock apps from the open source community, but it looks like the iPhone Dev Team's got its proper release in order. Unfortunately, the app's source code won't be released for a couple days yet, so if you want to see how the Dev Team got from iUnlock (and iUnlock Reloaded) to their "final" anySIM solution, you'll have to wait a little while longer. In the mean time, we've mirrored the tool here on our super-fast server farm. Oh, and don't blame us if it doesn't work or bricks your phone -- especially because we've yet to test this thing.

[DogGunn @ Sep 15th 2007 9:30PM]

It looks really nice! Like the pun:

"Slide to Unlock" :)

[DogGunn @ Sep 15th 2007 10:08PM]

Okay, I was just asked to upload a new version of anySIM.zip to my server.
The one hosted at Engadget is redundant - please check the iPhone Dev Wiki for links, or download here:
http://iphone.doggunn.com/anySIM.zip

[pathum @ Sep 15th 2007 10:08PM]

now if the "slide to unlock" started the process, that would be amazing.

[eddie un @ Sep 18th 2007 1:56PM]

writing this in London with the iPhone I just bought in the states. Running on vodafone perfectly including youtube and all edge data. A huge thanks to the iphone dev team. Everyone - be patient and give it a few tries - it works trust me!

[tinaeric @ Sep 15th 2007 9:31PM]

wow, really fast.

More and more hacks coming out. We're all here happy and enjoying

hackers' hard work.

All I should say is: Thank you and keep going.

[Fernando @ Sep 15th 2007 9:31PM]

screenshot plz

or is that it?

[Dias @ Sep 15th 2007 9:31PM]

I wonder what happens with official firmware update...

[DogGunn @ Sep 15th 2007 9:34PM]

Everyone dies pretty much. :S
All phones will most likely get locked back up.

[PABLO @ Sep 15th 2007 9:37PM]

HEY ANYONE KNOWS IF THIS SOFTWARE WORKS WITH WINDOWS VISTA?

[Charlie Calhoun @ Sep 15th 2007 11:56PM]

NO, I THINK IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK WITH THE APPLE iPHONE. And try not to use caps next time, it's considered yelling.

[Bambino @ Sep 16th 2007 3:26AM]

Sir, I believe you've been pwnd for being SUCHA N00B...

[PABLO @ Sep 16th 2007 11:27AM]

Nerd convention here.... OF course im not yelling, and for thoose who dont have any common sense, i mean if you can unlock the iphone with this software using a windows vista pc.

[Hugh @ Sep 18th 2007 7:37PM]

HE'S YELLING BECAUSE HE'S MAD HE HAS WINDOWS VISTA

LOUD NOISES

[PABLO @ Sep 18th 2007 10:02PM]

Hugh....i fell sorry for you....how old r you? 10?

[nikster @ Sep 19th 2007 5:17AM]

PABLO you even have your user name in all-caps. Stop being such a tool.

[Manny @ Sep 15th 2007 9:41PM]

So much has happened in a week, hasn't it?

[Rob @ Sep 15th 2007 9:42PM]

I'd love to try it. But, Engadget hasn't contacted me about the free iPhone. So, I'd have to just watch for the time being.

[Anando @ Sep 15th 2007 9:45PM]

5/15 stories on engadget frontpage are Apple/iPhone related. Sad.

[Hugh @ Sep 15th 2007 9:53PM]

hey, it's tech news, and just because you don't like it doesn't the millions of others that visit this site don't.

[Manny @ Sep 15th 2007 9:51PM]

What's sad is you wasted time commenting on a topic you don't like. It'll be even sadder if you come back to read my reply.

[LukeA @ Sep 15th 2007 9:51PM]

Stop bitching and read the Apple-free Engadget.

[Jacob @ Sep 15th 2007 9:54PM]

Dude, its the weekend which makes for a relatively slow news period. All the people who complain about Apple stories kill me as they are continually the most commented on articles on the site. Obviously, people are interested and Engadget has a duty to respond to its readership interest.

[rockintom @ Sep 16th 2007 1:04PM]

Er, 5/15? Do you not know any math? Most people would say something like "1/3".

[dj-kenpo @ Sep 15th 2007 9:49PM]

hahaha. gold! I love the slide to unlock. that's gotta burn ol stevo.

[Elisha Adeagbo @ Sep 15th 2007 9:52PM]

wat's the difference between iUnlock and anySIM

[Manny @ Sep 15th 2007 9:56PM]

iUnlock was the original unlock method from the dev team. It required knowledge of working within a command line interface. AnySIM is their GUI to the original unlock method...just simpler to use for non-geek types.

[Elisha Adeagbo @ Sep 15th 2007 9:59PM]

@Manny

thanx

[Ryan Walklin @ Sep 15th 2007 10:50PM]

Thats exactly what it does!

[Stinkfist @ Sep 15th 2007 10:20PM]

Could somebody explain how if I have an unlocked iphone on T-Mobile's network it would be affected by a firmware update. Doesn't the user have to manually update any kind of phone software. Thanks in advance

[nickroz @ Sep 16th 2007 1:39AM]

Yes, you would have to type in your password to authorize the iPhone update in iTunes, unless Apple gets sneaky and 'pulls a Microsoft' by secretly auto-downloading an update and bricking a bunch of hacked phones.

[Scott @ Sep 15th 2007 10:22PM]

Having a strange problem after running anySIM as well as iUnlock Reloaded (1.0.2 / iTunes 7.4.1). The NOR dumping, patching, erasing, and writing all complete, but afterward, I get the message:

Unlocking...
Testing unlock status...
==> Still locked :(
Restarting Commcenter
The Flash succeeded but the unlocked failed

I don't have another SIM to test this with at the moment (will update in the morning), but several things stop working, even after restarting the phone and attempting to re-run the tool.

1) No sound from the external speaker at all. Headphones work fine.
2) Mic does not record sound - tested using VoiceNotes.
3) Cannot enable Bluetooth - the spinner just spins.
4) Airplane mode is funky.

I'm a little bummed, but still very hopeful. Dev team, you're awesome. I'm not asking for help, but if more info might help you track down a few bugs, e-mail me (cscotta; gmail).

To all others - no worries. A restore using iTunes brought everything back to normal, but attempting to unlock the phone again resulted in the same problem.

Almost there! Thanks again, guys!

[Frank @ Sep 15th 2007 10:55PM]

I had the same issue.

[Ryan Walklin @ Sep 15th 2007 10:50PM]

Version 1.0.1 fixes this. Please grab it from the Dev Wiki directly

[Matt @ Sep 17th 2007 2:27PM]

this was a timing error in 1.0,

which they we're able to fix in 1.01

enjoy!

[Joost @ Sep 22nd 2007 10:04PM]

i've download any sim but when i go to the preferences it's says that it is version 1.00
do you know how i can be sure i have version 1.01?

[Michael Lee @ Sep 16th 2007 3:07AM]

I'm testing with a virgin, never unlock attempted iphone that is already activated with ATT. I'll let you guys know how it goes tonight.

I'll be putting in a t-mobile sim card which does not have a unlock pin.

[hovibaby @ Sep 15th 2007 11:40PM]

just tryed ANY SIM UPLOAD.. and it works!!! just slide to unlock ...and it does the rest more info soon..

[George @ Sep 15th 2007 11:50PM]

Hi,

Is there instructions to get this app installed on the iPhone to run? I have no idea how to install the app or what are the steps. How do I bypass the activation screen? Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Many thanks.
G

[toddfx @ Sep 15th 2007 11:12PM]

So if I were to buy an 8GB iPhone can I use this unlock without activating it with AT&T to just use it as a better iPod Touch (+bluetooth +better screen)? Right now my company is exclusively on Sprint for another 6 months or so. After that I can probably talk them into picking up an AT&T plan for me.

[Rant @ Sep 16th 2007 9:20AM]

You could do that before. This tool (and the recent unlocking tools) are to allow you to use a SIM from any GSM provider in the iPhone and have full voice and data functionality with that provider. What you're asking for is to bypass the activation requirement that exists on new iPhones. Out of the box, the iPhone will do nothing until it's activated. Tools exist to fake the activation, which allows you to use Wifi for data.

[JMG @ Sep 15th 2007 11:36PM]

"You cannot open the application 'anySIM' because it is not supported on this system."

What in sam hill is this about?

[Omer Hasan @ Sep 16th 2007 12:16AM]

It's not designed to run on your Mac. You are to SFTP/SSH it onto your iPhone's Application folder and then run it from your iPhone.

[evo @ Sep 16th 2007 12:18AM]

Christ, why can't anyone see fit to include so much as a README file in the zip? What a colossal waste of everyone's time--this file is useless to 98% of the population without at least rudimentary instructions. Considering an app "done" without help for the masses of non-hackers that want to use it is why this and most open source software sucks giant balls--if developers had to explain how it worked, they might actually realize how craptastic their software is.

In the end, all this does is create 1) a firestorm of uninformed but interested people clamoring for help everywhere and annoying everyone, and 2) a secondary economy of shady websites that try to trick people into paying for the unlock because there are otherwise no instructions that the uninformed can follow.

[Kyle P. @ Sep 16th 2007 12:29AM]

@evo:

obviously you don't plan on using a software unlock solution for your iPhone, right? because you are not showing any respect for the open-source developers that not only created their own GUI unlock app, but also provided the tools (example: Jailbreak) for all other 3rd-party/commercial unlocks.

so really, please show some respect for these people. i don't know if you're a developer or not, but either way I would like to see you do the same thing, in the same amount of time, with virtually no pay or compensation.

[Kyle P. @ Sep 16th 2007 12:34AM]

@evo:

oh, and one more thing. if you can't find or follow the instructions they've released, then you probably should'nt unlock your iPhone anyways. granted, there are not many instructions that come with anysim, they are very spread out in correlation to the specific hacks. did you google Springboard? do a little more research, please.

the quality of the app is just fine -- but developers don't have control over the user, so make sure you know what you're doing first, otherwise the only error you'll get is USER__ERROR :)

[me @ Sep 16th 2007 12:39AM]

If someone is incompetent enough not to know how to use this or just plain lazy to search (there is this thing called Google) the net on how to use the file, he has no business unlocking his phone!

The people who developed this SW works for free and has no responsibility to include a tutorial on their releases.

This is a hack and risks are involved. If you don't want to take that risk, don't use it. Go buy yourself a Nokia!

[evo @ Sep 16th 2007 1:34AM]

@Kyle, @me--

Are both of you so ready to blindly counter any criticism that you ignore the obvious problem? I am in fact a developer who earns a living working exclusively on several major open source software initiatives, so my critique is coming from someone who knows what it means to develop software for others.

I give respect where it is due. While it doesn't change my argument, I seriously applaud the fact that there is a GUI version of the unlock and that the developers have tried to make this part of the problem easier. Bravo! There is a hell of a lot of software out there that needs this kind of attention; it took forever for the TiVo hacking community to reach such a point. But, in the end, developers earn respect not for their technology, but in proportion to how much that technology helps people that want to use it. The first barrier you have to cross with any software is making it not just possible, but overwhelmingly likely for people to use it.

The simple, inarguable fact is that your grandma wants to unlock her iPhone. Are you really so blind to suggest that she Google for a bunch of obscure terms like "jailbreak", "springboard", etc. and cobble together some sort of idea of what *might* need to be done to unlock the phone? This is not a tool for developers or even marginally sophisticated readers of Engadget--this is a tool for just about everyone. As such, it should contain at least a pointer back to some documentation, even just the forum. It does not, and that's just dumb.

It's not a matter of people not being able to do the unlock--of course I and many other readers here can search for these things and find out how to do it. But that's not the point. The point is that hundreds of people have already done this, in particular the developers of the software, so why should I have to waste *my* time when they could write it up, or at least just collect a list of pointers, in 10 minutes and distribute it with every copy of the archive? Is it really so hard to just give some direction of what to do? After all, it only helps your software if you tell people how to use it.

If you don't agree that the lack of at least a README is a fundamental discourtesy, that's fine--we can disagree on that point. But don't try to prop up a flimsy counter argument that somehow you are more qualified to have an unlocked phone that others because you are willing to waste your time more freely than others.

[me @ Sep 16th 2007 2:26AM]

You find using this software and any other SW without a readme file a waste of your time? Then don't use it. Why bother with something you don't know how to use? If using Google is a waste of time for some people, this Sw is not for them as it will definitely take more of their time using it than searching Google.

This is a hack. Not just a piece of SW that anybody can and should use.

And about "The simple, inarguable fact is that your grandma wants to unlock her iPhone." thing... My grandma uses WM5. And she's searching the net on how she can upgrade to WM6.

[Shan @ Sep 16th 2007 6:56AM]

At the end of the day - there is nothing wrong with expecting just a few basic instructions. As evo pointed out - even just by a point form. Not everyone is tech savvy, yet the popularity of the iPhone means that many people will want to get one knowing they can unlock it so they can use it with their network.

As someone new coming into this - I would assume that all I need is AnySIM and then I can use the iPhone on any network. Sadly this isnt 100% correct as the phone needs to be "jailbroken" - a first step using other software. It isnt that hard for a simple README file to be written - with just 2 sets of simple instructions - one for MAC users and one for WIndows users. They could also go so far as to attach the jailbreak software from both OSes in the zip using the authors' permission.

The sad part will be that AnySIM will now be uploaded to several places and start getting added to torrent sites etc and most people will download it and think they can just use that to unlock a brand new iPhone, when that is not the case.

[bjs @ Sep 16th 2007 12:25AM]

I was curious. WIll this software allow one to unlock an Iphone and use it as a PDA, withouth ANY activation at all. I see freeware called UNLOCK TOOLKIT allows that but there is no MAC version available. Will this do the same thing (and more)? I already have good cell service (verizon) and just want the advnaced PDA features. Does anyone know the answer to this question. Thank in advance.