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Sprint Nextel agrees to start unlocking phones
An under-the-radar class action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel is winding its way towards a settlement this week, and it contains a pretty huge concession by Sprint: the company will unlock phones for both current and former customers, and will begin training its customer service reps on how to connect non-Sprint phones to its network. The settlement was tentatively approved by a California judge on October 2, but hasn't had a final approval hearing yet, according to Sprint -- but it's still a huge win for US consumers, who haven't been able to buy mainstream unlocked phones from any of the major carriers. Of course, since Sprint's network is CDMA, unlocked phones will only work on other CDMA carriers like Verizon -- and there's no guarantees those companies will be happy about it -- but at this point we'll take whatever we can get.
iPhone Dev Team announces free unlock
For all of you who have been holding off on paying iPhone SIM Free $60-$100, good news. The iPhone Dev Team has announced AnySIM 1.1. According to the announcement by netkas, the software has been tested with both 1.0.2 and 1.1.1. AnySIM offers a free unlocking solution for iPhone users and apparently, if I'm reading this correctly, does NOT fix baseband problems from earlier releases. This is meant for "virgin" locked phones only. Download your copy here. Be aware that as AnySIM works, it switches off your WiFi until you reboot. Also, this is NOT intended for phones that will be updated. Do not unlock 1.0.2 and then update to 1.1.1. Updating a locked 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 will relock your iPhone. The team is testing a 1.1.1 restore on 1.1.1 unlocks right now. Remember guys: although the software here has been tested to make sure it avoids corruption--it does not hurt NVRAM/seczone--it is very new and has not had a lot of field testing yet. Caveat hackteur.The team is now working on finishing the iPhone revirginizer that will safely revert your iPhone to its shipped (locked) state. You like? Buy the guys a beer or something. Nazdrovyeh!Update: The team says if you get a "failed to unlock" on 1.0.2, you're still probably unlocked. Reboot and give it a try.Update 2: Mirror here.Update 3: Instructions have shown up here.
Analyst: 10 percent of September iPhone sales were unlocked, resold
Unlocked iPhones continue to be a hot commodity around the world -- carrier locking and limited regional availability will tend to do that to a popular handset, don't cha' know -- but it still might come as some surprise just how hot we're talking about here. Analysts at Piper Jaffray report that folks buying the per-customer limit of 5 iPhones were a common sight in twelve hours of research it undertook during September, suggesting that as many as 10 percent of all new iPhones sold during the month went on to become unlocked and resold. Of course, with the possibility (if not likelihood) that future firmware updates will continue to temporarily brick, relock, or otherwise cripple unlocked devices in the field, the street value of these things likely fluctuates by the minute. You know what they say: buy low, sell high.
The eye of Apple is watching, issuing takedowns
It's beginning to look as though Apple's kinda-sorta "hands off" approach to iPhone hackers turns a bit more "hands on" when it comes to the iPod touch. According to reports, a hacker named "Martyn" had gotten a broken touch, which he was planning to dump the NAND data from so that efforts to create 3rd party applications for the device could be sped up. Apparently, while uploading the data to a private folder on his site, his ISP showed up on the scene and killed the transfer... all at the request of Apple, who (rightfully so) let them know that sharing the code was a copyright infringement. Of course, the interesting news here is that Apple seems to be very actively monitoring channels where all this warranty-voiding software manipulation is being planned and discussed. So next time you're going to reverse engineer one of its products -- keep it quiet.
Apple not looking to 'proactively disable' unlocked iPhones
Shortly after Apple released a brief statement yesterday regarding iPhone modifications and their impacts on warranties, the firm's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing has stepped up to clarify a few issues. In a recent interview, Phil Schiller was quoted as saying that the upcoming software update "has nothing to do with proactively disabling a phone that is unlocked or hacked." Furthermore, he added that it was "unfortunate that some programs have caused damage to the iPhone software," but he noted that "Apple could not be responsible for... those consequences." All in all, it doesn't sound like Apple is changing its stance, but it seems safe to say that Cupertino won't be listening to any crying should subsequent updates render your hacked iPhone useless.[Via AppleInsider]
Japanese Windows users unable to unlock the iPod touch
Are you a Japanese Windows user? Did you just buy an iPod touch? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you may find yourself in a boiling rage in a matter of moments. Apparently, you are unable to unlock your new WiFi-device / media player if you're using Japanese Windows -- the player just remains in the holding pattern of a "connect to PC" prompt when you hook it up to your computer. According to reports, Apple Japan has yet to issue a statement or updates to solve the problem, which is causing a number of Japanese buyers to take matters into their own hands. Word on the street is that lines have been forming outside of Apple stores, where new buyers are taking their useless touches to be brought magically to life by the in-store Macs. First the screen problems and now this? Come on Apple -- get it together.Update: The crack team at Engadget Japan has learned from Apple that an update coming later this week will fix the problem, though they have yet to make an official announcement. Also, it sounds like other foreign Windows users may be experiencing similar problems. If you're having trouble -- let us know.[Via Impress]
Some dudes offer iPhone unlocking service outside AT&T store
It didn't take El Jobso and the Cupertino team long to hit the millionth iPhone mark, and with bigger hopes for the holiday season, Apple will need to keep up its game. Two friends who decided to aid Apple's effort, have taken matters into their own hands and are offering free iPhone unlocking service outside their local AT&T store. With no word on how long AT&T will allow these shenanigans to continue, leave us a comment if you know these two!
Apple's locked iPhones the subject of new class-action suit
The Apple class-action party continues folks, this time featuring a disgruntled New York State customer named Herbert H. Kliegerman, who claims that the Cupertino giant failed to adequately disclose information pertaining to the "locked" nature of the iPhone and the roaming charges which might be incurred if a user was to take the device overseas. According to the 9-page suit, which was filed Monday in a New York Supreme Court, Kliegerman traveled to Mexico a few weeks after purchasing the phone, where he proceeded to check e-mails and make calls, blissfully unaware (or so the suit tells us) that AT&T would be charging international roaming fees for the usage. Apparently, when Mr. Kliegerman received his bill, he was shocked to discover $2,000 in the aforementioned fees. The suit argues that if he had been allowed to unlock the phone and use a foreign SIM card, the costs could have been avoided. As a result, Mr. Kliegerman is seeking a judgement which bars Apple from selling locked iPhones, plus an order for the company to offer unlock codes to all current owners. Perhaps Mr. Kliegerman should call these dudes.
Unlocking iPhone from AT&T gets easier, still a pain
So you say writing SIMs all by your lonesome isn't part of your daily routine, but you're still interested in freeing the iPhone from AT&T's surly bonds? Yeah, we can't blame you -- we're pretty much in the same boat -- so we're glad to see that an ever-so-slightly easier unlocking trick has bubbled out of the hive mind just a week after the original. This new hackery involves a specialized SIM card called a "Turbo SIM" manufactured by the Czech Republic's BLADOX. The idea behind the Turbo SIM is that you can add... well, stuff to the Turbo SIM, sandwich it between your regular SIM and your phone, and the loaded material then becomes available to the handset; traditionally, that "stuff" is value-add software like customized SMS directories, security, logging, and the like. In this case, though, the chip is used to pass through the original AT&T SIM's identifying information to the phone while preserving the calling capability of the Carrier X SIM of your choosing. Of course, a €59 (about $81) Turbo SIM has to be ordered from afar to get this accomplished, the phone has to be jailbreaked, and a handful of files need to be downloaded, edited, and executed, so this still isn't for the faint of heart. As always, buyer beware, and find a nice stack of paper that needs weightin' in case everything goes south in a hurry.[Via iPhone World]
Is an iPhone unlocking app on the way?
According to Computerworld in Singapore, a UK-based company claims to be closing in on an unlocking application for the iPhone, allowing the device to be used on other GSM mobile phone networks such as T-Mobile in the US and many others around the world (alternatively, you can go the contract-free, Wi-Fi iPod route that Erica found). The UK company is Uniquephones and their founder, John McLaughlin, says they have "engineers working around the clock in several countries" to break the system Apple has in place for locking down the iPhone to AT&T. As far as McLaughlin's team knows, there is at least a two step process to activating an iPhone. Engineers have already been able to circumvent the SIM activation process so another carrier's card can be used, but their attempts to meddle with the iPhone's firmware so it can work on another carrier have failed so far. Surprisingly, DVD John, the Norweigan hacker responsible for cracking the CSS encryption scheme on DVDs, claims to have ventured beyond this barrier, only to return with the bad news that the device can't be used as a phone when activating with anything but an AT&T account.The Computerworld article cites another side of this coin, however: even if McLaughlin's team is successful, their site and anyone else's could easily be susceptible to legal action from Apple, forcing a take-down of the code and forever binding the iPhone to the carriers Apple choses to partner with. Only time will tell, but I honestly wouldn't blame Apple or AT&T for stopping iPhone unlocking apps in their tracks. While I'm just as unhappy about carrier lock-in as the next guy who would prefer to roam the wireless seas in any direction he choses, Apple and AT&T have still put a tremendous amount of collaborative effort into developing the iPhone (let's not forget the alterations AT&T had to make to their network and software for features like Visual Voicemail), and outside of all the new contract signups, we really aren't sure how else AT&T is getting compensated from this deal. The iPhone is still Apple's product, and they chose to bind it to AT&T's network (for now), and as much as I hate to say it, these companies get to decide how their products are used.Nevertheless, the race to unlock the iPhone should be an interesting one. Should McLaughlin's team succeed and are able to package an unlocking app for sale, he plans to charge $50 for each slice of the iPhone unlocking pie.[via MacDailyNews]
The comprehensive guide to pwn1ng your T-Mobile SDA
If your SDA is feeling a little long in the tooth, don't throw cash out the window on a new device -- give 'er a makeover! Besides overclocking the 195MHz OMAP to a more palatable 240MHz, we have here some tips on unlocking the phone yourself (at no cost) and throwing Skype on there for some do-it-yourself dual mode action. Like the article says, proceed at your own warranty-voiding risk, but honestly, what red-blooded Faraday or Wizard owner hasn't putzed around with ROM images at this point?[Via Hackaday]
O2 makes reviving locked phones a little easier
If you've ever found yourself facing a locked phone asking for its PUK code, you know that you're kinda in a bind when that happens. Typically you need to call your carrier, wait the standard 3.44 minutes for a rep to answer, provide some identifying information so they know you're who you say you are, and you get your code. Phone thieves, rejoice: O2 is now offering PUK codes through its website to anyone providing little more than a phone number. Granted, very few people actually lock their SIMs down with a PIN and PUK, but for those that do on O2, your safety margin just got a little smaller.[Via textually.org]
