1.1.2 iPhones now unlocked... 3 days too late

Teenager George Hotz, aka GeoHot, the original iPhone unlocker is back. In a post to his personal blog he states that he has successfully unlocked a 1.1.2 firmware and bootloader 4.6 iPhone. Better yet, he posts the not-for-dummies version of the instructions to downgrade the bootloader to version 3.9 in preparation for running AnySim. We haven't tried this ourselves so remember, as GeoHot himself states, this hardware method "could brick your iPhone." You haven't upgraded to 1.1.3 already have you? If so, you're stuck with AT&T.

Update: We're now hearing that a software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 iPhones is right around the corner. So don't crack that case just yet kids.

[Thanks, fantastico]

[sam @ Jan 18th 2008 8:19AM]

please add HARDWARE unlock to the title, it is misleading. This will void your warranty and is obviously possible to brick your iphone.

Also they have managed to Hardware unlock 1.1.3 phones but they havent managed to jailbreak those yet.

Software unlock for 1.1.2 is expected within a few days as they have the secpack for 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 now which was the main barrier.

[jrflesch @ Jan 18th 2008 9:07AM]

this may be ignorant but what is the difference between "software" unlocking the iphone and jailbreaking it?

[Mark @ Jan 18th 2008 9:21AM]

unlocking it means getting it to work on other carriers, jailbreaking it mean opening it up to allow access to the filesystem so you can add your own apps etc

[Saint @ Jan 18th 2008 9:34AM]

This may help

http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgzw9xs_3fnj5mq

[jrflesch @ Jan 18th 2008 9:47AM]

ok, so i know all that already. I guess i am confused by the hardware/software thing. So let me ask a different question. What is the difference between hardware and software unlocking?

[Mark @ Jan 18th 2008 9:54AM]

the method used to perform the unlock, a hardware unlock requires you to crack open the case and do some fiddling, whereas a software unlock only requires you to run a program

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Jan 20th 2008 10:58AM]

Geo?

Try ta_mobile and IMTH


Get the facts right dammit.

[shanoboy @ Jan 18th 2008 8:32AM]

I wish a company would step up and start making good mobile devices that are unlocked out of the box and not associated with any carrier.

Does a company such as this already exist?

[Lorne @ Jan 18th 2008 8:33AM]

Nokia

[Normund @ Jan 18th 2008 8:38AM]

actually it's not based on company, but your country. in Europe (specifically Latvia for example) all phones can be purchased unlocked, and even if you buy a locked one - the company can unlock it free of charge (you still have to stay on the contract for ~24 months).

[shanoboy @ Jan 18th 2008 8:38AM]

@ Lorne
Seriously? I've never seen a Nokia mobile phone or handheld device for sell, free of carrier contracts and unlocked right out of the box (I'm in North America by the way).

Am I missing something? Enlighten me!

[JamBob @ Jan 18th 2008 9:40AM]

Nokia sell direct from their US website and at their flagship stores. The phones are totally unlocked and unbranded. The downside is you pay a premium for them.

[joule @ Jan 18th 2008 11:26AM]

Most HTC phones come unlocked from factory and at sites like mobile planet.

[neil @ Jan 18th 2008 4:21PM]

2nd the nokia comment.. great phones, great features.. usually ugly.

sony ericsson phones come unlocked from the website and many other places.. phones are pretty decent, not as feature packed (usually) as the nokia's but look alot better..

also, AT&T will unlock a phone for you after your contract expires or you end it.. or so I have heard. never tried it.

[Kurian @ Jan 18th 2008 8:44AM]

There are no locked phones in India.
Considering how people abscond their billing etc and keep switching carriers, on one would buy a locked phone even if it was sold here.

[nikster @ Jan 18th 2008 11:49PM]

Same in Thailand, and many other countries. Pre paid SIM cards are prevalent and dirt-cheap, its a much better deal than post-paid, so the whole iPhone lock-in model doesn't work here.

SE Asia, India, some European countries... China? Seems like Apple is locking out a few Bn people from buying its hardware.

[Dave @ Jan 18th 2008 8:56AM]

Actually, the timing is perfect. I just bought at Week 42 iPhone only to find that it shipped with 1.1.2. This post just made my day.

[Antonis @ Jan 18th 2008 9:19AM]

the i phone i bought 2days ago is Week 42 and 1.1.2. I jealbreak it to use any o2 sim card. but do u know if u can do more? unlock it for any sim?

[john @ Jan 19th 2008 3:12PM]

Hey Dave,

If you bought an iPhone from before week 45, you will have the old, unlockable bootloader, even if you have 1.1.2 firmware. You can follow the regular 1.1.1 unlock guide and have your phone working in 20 minutes.

Here's a guide I've used for 8 iPhones ---> http://iphone.unlock.no. scroll down to "How to jailbreak, activate and unlock iPhone with 1.1.1" and follow those instructions.

[pscs @ Jan 18th 2008 9:16AM]

finally some good news :) for the people who got their iphones in late october/november they had 1.1.2 stuck until now...

[ED @ Jan 18th 2008 9:17AM]

I posted something similar at here:

http://digg.com/apple/Too_fast_to_kick_Apple_s_Ass_iPhone_1_1_3_hardware_unlocked

[Ricardo @ Jan 18th 2008 9:30AM]

This lock thing is just one of the too many reasons not to buy an iPhone.

[sunny @ Jan 18th 2008 10:39AM]

I live in dubai and the iphone firmware 1.1.2 was already unlocked here almost a week or two ago .This process is called as turbo sim in which they add an extra chip along with the sim card to unlock the phone.


Another surprising fact is that the iphones with the firmware 1.1.3 were already available in the dubai's grey market 3 days before the apple keynote but they were locked!!!

[OXCiD3 @ Jan 18th 2008 10:47AM]

a week or two ago?

turbosims have been available for months.

Bring on the Software unlock we have been promised for monthns ;) And Kudos to the Dev Team who found the Harware unlock.

[KushielsScion007 @ Jan 18th 2008 10:48AM]

@ Ricardo

I completely agree with you. I really do want an iPhone. But I ONLY want it on Verizon's network since Sprint is HORRIBLE. AT&T may be a good carrier/service but I think Verizon has a bigger network right?

Plus Verizon gives discounts to employees of certain companies. Apparently Apple or AT&T won't do that if you buy the iPhone thru them.

[Teetdogs @ Jan 18th 2008 10:59AM]

Hate to break it to ya but you wont be able to use an iphone on verizons network since they use CDMA not GSM.

[KushielsScion007 @ Jan 18th 2008 11:03AM]

No problem man...thanks for warning me!

So is there any news regarding a NEW version of the iPhone? Or are there just rumors? Also if there is a new version is it going to be the same size (which I would like) and have the extras everyone says the first one should have had?

And last question (sorry) what other companies use GSM?

[moo083 @ Jan 18th 2008 11:43AM]

New iPhone some time this year. People guess June or so it will come out with 3G and other features. It will most likely be the same physical size and will likely have other new features besides 3G.

T-Mobile is the only other big GSM provider in the States.

[shvdv @ Jan 18th 2008 12:28PM]

Why not buy a iPhone in France. I bought one a few weeks ago, a official SIM-unlocked version by Apple... Works perfect, just upgraded with 1.1.3 and runs smoothly like a German car. So why take the risk of damaging your iPhone with a hardware hack... for 649 EURO you are solving all the upgrade issues.

[skv @ Jan 18th 2008 12:59PM]

Why would I pay double the cost considering the fact the Apple might not even provide warranty for the french unlocked phone in my country? Jailbreaking and unlocking has been pretty easy until now. It needs a little effort and you have to be careful not to upgrade to new firmware before it`s jailbroken. Paying 20-30% more for an unlocked iPhone with the warranty valid in my country might have been interesting. But no way I m going to pay double. (instead I`ll buy one more and gift it to my wife. Yay)

[j.d.ripper @ Jan 18th 2008 12:57PM]

> Why not buy a iPhone in France

Because it costs 649 EUR (950 USD)

That's a lot of dosh !!!

[Shai @ Jan 18th 2008 2:31PM]

Keep an eye out 11246unlock.com for the software unlock. Winner gets $1000!!!

[Rory Miller @ Jan 18th 2008 3:32PM]

The new itunes crashed mine and about 100 other people's ipods.... apple is doing nothing but deleting our posts on their dissussion board.

You can read more (including their emails to me) at
www.americandust.wordpress.org

[shvdv @ Jan 18th 2008 4:08PM]

Why not buy a iPhone in France. I bought one a few weeks ago, a official SIM-unlocked version by Apple... Works perfect, just upgraded with 1.1.3 and runs smoothly like a German car. So why take the risk of damaging your iPhone with a hardware hack... for 649 EURO you are solving all the upgrade issues.

[rdinarko @ Jan 18th 2008 5:14PM]

hi
i bougth i iphone on ebay from a guy on america but the iphone is locked to at&T and its not activated,and its 1.1.2 firewire..
can u please help me how to activat and unlock?
thanks

[Ireland @ Jan 18th 2008 5:41PM]

And why is this better than "Next2SIM" turbosim?

[Nubaeus @ Jan 19th 2008 12:32AM]

George Hotz, definition of dingleberry.

[Switch @ Jan 19th 2008 9:42AM]

At least my country is cool.
SIM-locked phones are illegal here (Belgium)

[USGOVMT. @ Jan 20th 2008 3:20AM]

For some reason I think that Apple, eventually, will start to sell unlocked iPhones. After all, Apple promised AT&T 5 months of exclusivity, and they already started selling them in France, Germany, and UK.

((OH AND BY THE WAY;
THEY UNLOCKED THE IPHONE WITH THE 4.6 BOOTLOADER? ------ DAMN STRAIGHT.

[thaitanium @ Jan 21st 2008 6:03PM]

not 5 months for iphones in USA... expect Att to be Apple's partner for a while down the road.

[Corvillus @ Jan 21st 2008 9:44PM]

5 months? Try 5 years.

[JJ @ Jan 21st 2008 1:44PM]

Does anyone know when the software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 might bereleased; any word on whether it'll be this week? JJ

[LeoLeo @ Jan 27th 2008 5:14PM]

Up to now, everybody told me, it's not possible to upgrade a 1.1.2. ipHone, used with NextSIM-Card, to firmware 1.1.3. without taking the risk to brick it. Now, you can find unlocked 1.1.3. iPhones, upgraded from 1.1.2., running with NextSIM. Can anybody tell me where to find more information about the procedure how to do that?! Thanks a lot

[Sun @ Jan 29th 2008 3:14AM]

Hi,
I have got 1.1.2 otb with v4.6 bootloader (04.02.13_G). I am about to use jailbreak procedure to downgrade it to 1.1.1 and then upgrade to 1.1.2 to enable itunes functionality. I want to know when software unlock is available at a later date, would I be required to restore my phone to v4.6 bootloader again? Also, could anyone tell the simple procedure as the one I got is complicated.Sun

[Mark Osta @ Jan 29th 2008 7:28AM]

Please send me the software unlock for 1.1.2 when it released on [e-mail]

thanks

[catherine doogle @ Jan 31st 2008 5:05PM]

Is it true that when you jailbreak your iPhone you can then download software to make the phone waterproof? Why didn't Apple just make it waterproof to begin with?