iPhone users calling for class action lawsuit over firmware v1.1.1
By Ryan Block 
posted October 1st 2007 4:14AM
posted October 1st 2007 4:14AM
Angry with Apple over the absolute lockdown of the iPhone? You're not alone. Angry enough to start a lawsuit over it? You're probably in a far smaller group entirely, which now includes a number of rabble-rousers on Apple's forums, whose comment threads were killed shortly after beginning discussions of calling for a class action suit against Apple. (Really though, what'd they expect?) There's no question that users want some retribution for the sorry, sometimes even bricked state the iPhone's now in, but big talk is infinitely smaller than even minor action, so until some brave (or publicity hungry) individuals step up to the plate to test legality of disabling hacked features on personal electronics, it sounds like we'll all just have to be content with our $100 refunds or reduced-price purchases until this thing works itself out.
idiots!
I've been using a Mac for 2.5 years and I'm hooked. A fanboy? Well, maybe. However, anyone who bought an iPhone who is upset with the storage should have known what they were getting. To say Apple SHOULD have provided insertable memory is a good observation, but they chose not to and you should have known when you bought it. If you are upset that Apple is taking steps to prevent you from hacking your device, then you are out of touch with reality. They have every right to protect their products. If you don't like it, then don't buy it. Unreal....
i don't own an iPhone.
Well, I think we can agree on one thing. The iPhone IS a piece of crap if you compare it to most other phones out there... Yes, the inteface is sooooo smooth and oh, it's shiny, but come on, really!
As it has already been pointed out, unlocking a phone is mandatory in the EU at the request of the owner. No hacking needed.
I can certainly see a time where an individual will take Apple to court in the EU for bricking their entirely legal unlocked phone. And to the Apple fanbois who bleat about the T&C forbidding unlocking their iPhone let me just say that T&C are not laws. In fact, T&C have to abide by the host countries laws otherwise the T&C themselves are illegal. In the EU Apple cannot take the T&C into a court room and use it as a defence as the Judge will point them in the direction of EU mandatory legislation expressly allowing consumers to unlock their mobile phones. Apple will then find themselves in court for trying to strong arm consumers into illegal T&C.
Despite all the fanbois protests you do not have be a hacker to have an unlocked mobile in the EU, this is something that Apple should have been aware of before it brought its product to market. Apple is not above the law and will soon discover this little gem itself.
Also because it is mandatory to unlock a phone in the EU, you would be getting authorisation from both the network provider and the manufacturer to do so. Apple cannot then go ahead and brick or relock those legally unlocked phones in ANY update.
finally one working brain.. couldn't say it better!
i'm european too. anyway, i don't really know if united states has this same rule in the telecommunication free market.
Well said.
Apple should have sold iPhones sim-free from the start, like Nokia, HTC and every other phone manufacturer on the planet.
Oh i hope this class action lawsuit happens and it wins. I really would like some precedent set that protects the consumer against all this b.s. locking down of phones and controlled platforms, to ensure artificial revenue streams.
I would be interested in those stats as well (how many people did unlock).
I for one did. Why? Because in the area where I live there is no AT&T coverage.
I have to drive app. 15 minutes to get into an area with coverage.
I tried AT&T for 2 weeks - it just does not work ...
So do we need to talk to Apple for locking their phone (like others do as well)?
Or should we beat the crap out of AT&T for discriminating in the way they "mapped" their coverage?
These people knew exactly what would happen. Apple even told them basically what happened. But yet they still updated there phone. Guess who's fault that is?
Its there own fault, live with it. There really wasen't a point to unlocking it in the US. Its not like t-mobiles network is faster. And on ATT you got a cheaper data rate. its there own fault and now they have to live with there mistake and shut the fuck up.
So all iphone users should "shut the f*%k up" because there is not much point in unlocking it in the US?
I would like to remind you the the US is not the only country on earth and there are many reasons including (as posted many times before) the fact that it is your right in many other countries.
I hate the way that Apple fanboys attack anyone who dares criticise the mighty Apple!
I hate the way Apple fans are always getting criticized all the time for liking their products and / or defending Apple. I can't think of a group of people that get more flak for liking a product than those of Apple fans.
@hank,
The problem isn't that people like Apple products, but that some very vocal Apple "fans" become evangelical, intolerant fanatics. If you like the consumer product you bought, great. But, don't belittle or put down another's preference in electronics.
It's the smug "I'm better than you because I bought a different brand" attitude that turn people against Apple users. I own a mac and several iPods. However, I keep both eyes open and recognize the flaws in the Apple products and acknowlege when the competition does something better. Apple is not loyal to you, just to their stock value.
I'd like to know why the ringer from the iPhone commercials wasn't actually included on the iPhone.
Out of curiosity, would that constitute false advertising?
My problem is not Apple, its AT&T.
How large conglomerates can not fix roaming is nothing short of a crime. My last roaming charge was over 3K, and that was with trying to be conservative in the phones use. I'm sure they are laughing all the way to the bank. As an American user, this problem dwarfs all of the others by a factor of 10.
Apple should have allowed full downgrade restore to previous 1.0.2 to both the OS and the Baseband. They planned well with intension to lock it. Now that's good for a lawsuit. I don't care what they say, if i don't like your upgrade just do a full downgrade restore to previous release as it was released & my purchase firmware. I was planning to buy Mac this Christmas, but not for now. Earlier before iPhone Apple controlled marketing & its technology as % of customers was low globally. Now apple has more than 1 Million new iPhone customer which will build enough negative publicity to kill its market on all other products. Steve just don't think you will win all the time.
Apple fraud marketing of $200 reduced and $100 store credit(put that back in his overpriced products) clear that proved he cheated his customer by overpricing and he knew lawsuits will follow.
My negative publicity (will expose the gimmicks) will go on which will hurt Apple Business this holidays
Why does everyone keep calling it $100 refund!?? All apple did was give everyone $100 gift card so that they could go spend it at the apple store AGAIN! Ridiculous.
Call it anything you like, but the $100 gift card is more than ANY other company has EVER given me when the price of their product dropped.
That, plus the $100 I got back from AMEX, made me happy.
Imaginary quote from the unwashed masses:
“Waaah, I paid $600/$400 for an iPhone and then voided my warranty by modifying it’s software/hardware. Then when I updated it to the 1.1.1 update and it told me it could brick my devices, I did it anyway so now I am going to sue!”
Come on, does this really make any sense? Apple said what the device can do and sold it as that. The iPhone excels in all the areas that is does do (in my opinion), but of course is far from perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect mobile device, and the iPhone is a brand new mobile platform. Please consider all this and then think about giving Apple and the developers time to make the iPhone an even better product.
- Kiteless
Oh how I love the smell of dumb ass in the morning. Advise from the Geek Squad over at my local Best Buy. Got a pretty early start considering you guys were up till 3 in the morning trying to repel hostile Covenant forces from Mombasa. Time to step up to the plate, entrepreneurs of the future. Make your revolutionary device, you know, the bestest gadget the planet will ever know, at a price that anyone can afford. The one that makes the cellular companies line up at your door to give you anything you want. The gadget that will appeal to everyone with a pulse, and be open and free to all. I’m waiting! No? Maybe after Halo 4...
bitch bitch bitch.
First of all, everyone should be grateful the iphone is running "OSX" and not some lame ass at&t OS. This is the very first cellphone from apple and the last thing they need right now is everyone installing randoms apps that could ruin the iphone experience. All you dumb ass's out there wanting to sue need to get over the fact that you do not understand contracts and the reasoning behind apple decision to lock out third party apps. If you just wait a while, i am 100% sure apple with enable third party apps sometime in the future.
I am right there with you, but I disagree that Apple will ever allow 3rd party apps, and not any time soon. The same thing was said about apple coming out with something like a 2 button mouse. Stevie made the mighty mouse, but it is still really 1 button. No, I see the iPhone as we know it, locked down solid for a long long time to come. If we ever did see 3rd party apps I would imagine that they would only be sold through iTunes and there would be a lengthy certification process.
One of the biggest rules in hacking something and voiding the warranty is to NEVER update until it has been CONFIRMED to not change any of the features you hacked a product for.
As for myself, I am waiting for the new update to get hacked and then I will update my phone. I don't want/need the stupid iTunes store anyway, got plenty of music as it is and I'd rather own the physical CD.
dont have an iphone, not an apple fan but i really dont understand how ppl can complain about their phones being locked and all this stuff. you know what u were getting when u bought it and they said it was an AT&T Exclusive product. so shouldn't apple do whatever they need to do to keep that exclusiveness?
I think the bricking is a mute issue. If Apple deliberately re-locked an unlocked phone, that would be sabotage correct? If so, isn't that a criminal offense?
Any thoughts?
Isn't it obvious you can't upgrade hacked devices? All Apple needs to do is give this warning to people. Or don't people who hacked their iphones already know this?
I'd sue Apple for not having the iPhone forever display a picture of a brick wall before bricking itself.
Most of you don't even get the issue. For example jeremy with the bmw comment. The analogy actually goes like this. You add a supercharger to your car(voiding your warranty), bring it in for service, and the mechanics destroy your car. This is what apple's doing amounts to. The real issue is if they had malicious intent (actually looking to see if the phone is unlocked or has 3rd party apps then bricking it) or not (bricking is just side-effect of firmware). This is issue at hand, not whether your warranty is void or not.
Wait wait wait, let's get things straight here:
Apple didn't brick the phone, YOU did.
Now that we've got that settled....
Should Apple open their phone? There's a debatable question. Proceed.
Okay, the BMW comment is the largest amount of bull ever.
If you modified the built in software, Apple released the update to modify and update the software that THEY created, from when it left the factory, not custom made for your iPhone. The second you opened your iPhone, you voided the warranty.
If you bought a XBOX360 and opened it up and the modified the Dashboard, then Microsoft releases an update and your 360 stops working, are they at fault because you wanted to change it, not had to change it, you WANTED to change it. People who unlocked their iPhones WANTED to do it. They made the decision and those who did, whether or not they knew they were voiding their warranty, did it.
Apple made it widely known WELL BEFORE the update, at least 2 weeks to a month before, that using this update would potentially brick your phone, if you were dumb enough to know this and STILL upgrade, that again is your fault. So quit your cryin and either A) Go out and buy a new one or B) Don't get a new one and just get another phone
Hey bud!
I totally agree with you. You definelty need to take apple to court after what they did. Apple and AT&T should have been smart about the iphone but now like me tons of us are having all kinds of problems with the iphone how they screwed us over. I guess "Verizon" was really smart. Infact Apple came to Verizon 1st with the iphone offer but they turned it down because Apple wanted way to much from them. Now AT&T will be paying the price. I am so glad I got my Iphone Unlocked and use it for T-mobile which they only start $39.99 a month for there service unlike the iphone are charging close to $60 a month. I use to be a apple lover now i am hating anything to do with apple or at&t.
Everyone should stop their whining about breaking their iphones. It's commonsense that sophisticated technology and software require extensive testing to get to market. Whys should Apple be responsible for testing all this 3rd party crap? Why isn't anyone suing the 3rd party software makers? If you take it upon yourself to use unsupported software or hacks on this expensive device then you are doing so at your on risk! Get over it!
ignorant people suck,you bought knowing what it had and complain about it .whos the idiot.stop your whinning .and i hope they brick your phone if you hacked it .
First off, if people break their TOS when they hack their phone, these lawsuits have ZERO ground to stand on. It's Apple's product and nobody is forcing anyone to buy it. They can do whatever the hell they want to with it.
Secondly, on the storage argument. I have a 1GB card in my phone and its my primary music player. I get by alright. Sure more would be nice, but you don't need to buy it if you don't think it's enough storage.
The iPhone, Apple, AT&T lawsuits and claim will eventually wind down and either disappear, or mold into one "all encompassing" class action.
I suggest http://www.classactionlawsuitnews.com, where you can create a case portfolio, to receive automatic email updates and alerts, to ensure you get any cash settlements (if you're an iPhone owner) that will transpire in the future.