Quantcast

iPhone is finally cracked. BYOSC (bring your own SIM card).

Silver

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
I played with an iphone this week. It's nicer than I expected, and as a multimedia toy for a college student, it's great. Business use? Not so good. I wouldn't trade it for a Blackberry straight across.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
So ATT lawyers have stepped in to stem the release of the software to unloack the phone. This should be interesting, as technically it isn't illegal to unlock the phone you paid for...
 
SPINTECK

SPINTECK

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2005
1,370
0
abc
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/08/24/iphone.unlocked.ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- A teenager in New Jersey has broken the lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&T's wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones.


The New Jersey teen collaborated online with four other people to develop the unlocking process.

George Hotz, 17, confirmed Friday that he had unlocked an iPhone and was using it on T-Mobile's network, the only major U.S. carrier apart from San Antonio-based AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone's cellular technology.

While the possibility of switching from AT&T to T-Mobile may not be a major development for U.S. consumers, it opens up the iPhone for use on the networks of overseas carriers.

"That's the big thing," said Hotz, in a phone interview from his home in Glen Rock.

The phone, which combines an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod, is sold only in the U.S.

AT&T Inc. spokesman Mark Siegel said the company had no comment, and referred questions to Apple. A call to Apple was not immediately returned. Hotz said the companies had not been in touch with him.

The hack, which Hotz posted Thursday on his blog, is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software. It takes about two hours to perform. Since the details are public, it seems likely that a small industry may spring up to buy U.S. iPhones, unlock them and send them overseas.

"That's exactly, like, what I don't want," Hotz said. "I don't want people making money off this."

He said he wished he could make the instructions simpler, so users could modify the phones themselves.

"But that's the simplest I could make them," Hotz said.

The modification leaves the iPhone's many functions, including a built-in camera and the ability to access Wi-Fi networks, intact. The only thing that won't work is the "visual voicemail" feature, which shows voice messages as if they were incoming e-mail.

Hotz collaborated online with four other people, two of them in Russia, to develop the unlocking process.

"Then there are two guys who I think are somewhere U.S.-side," Hotz said. He knows them only by their online handles. E-mail to a friend




I like how the kid wants the change to be free- those techno freedom fighters are vey cool in my opinion. Like that dutch kid who first cracked the DVD codes.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,162
1,261
NC
Transcend said:
So ATT lawyers have stepped in to stem the release of the software to unloack the phone. This should be interesting, as technically it isn't illegal to unlock the phone you paid for...
Click to expand...
Actually, that's not necessarily true. The DMCA states that it's illegal to modify software in a manner that circumvents deliberate restrictions placed on it by the programmers.
 
B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
binary visions said:
Actually, that's not necessarily true. The DMCA states that it's illegal to modify software in a manner that circumvents deliberate restrictions placed on it by the programmers.
Click to expand...
The Librarian of Congress decided on an exception to the DMCA that allows you to unlock a phone. It's perfectly legal.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
blue said:
The Librarian of Congress decided on an exception to the DMCA that allows you to unlock a phone. It's perfectly legal.
Click to expand...
Yup, exactly. They ruled that the system locks were too restricive to end users who paid good money for their phones, and it was deemed leagal to do. In fact, ATT will unlock any phone FOR you, after the 2 year contract is up (except for the iphone). You can waltz into your carrier and demand they unlock your phone, and they have to do it. No idea how ATT is getting away with refusing to do the iphone though.

Every three years, the Copyright Office develops a list of approved exemptions to the DMCA's anti-circumvention protections. This is the third time through the process, and the government has approved the largest number of exemptions to date—though they're still incredibly narrow.

Exemptions are allowed for 1) the educational library of a university's media studies department, in order to watch film clips in class; 2) using computer software that requires the original disks or hardware in order to run; 3) dongle-protected computer programs, if the the dongle no longer functions and a replacement cannot be found; 4) protected e-books, in order to use screen-reader software; 5) cell phone firmware that ties a phone to a specific wireless network; and 6) DRM software included on audio CDs, but only when such software creates security vulnerabilities on personal computers.

The provision likely to be of most interest to consumers is the one allowing cell phones to be unlocked and used on other networks. The Copyright Office allowed this exception because the software that prohibits users from accessing their phone's firmware has little to do with copyright and much to do with a business model.
Click to expand...
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,721
8,733
Transcend said:
Yup, exactly. They ruled that the system locks were too restricive to end users who paid good money for their phones, and it was deemed leagal to do. In fact, ATT will unlock any phone FOR you, after the 2 year contract is up (except for the iphone). You can waltz into your carrier and demand they unlock your phone, and they have to do it. No idea how ATT is getting away with refusing to do the iphone though.
Click to expand...
uh, because no one has had an iPhone for more than 3 months, let alone 2 years?
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Toshi said:
uh, because no one has had an iPhone for more than 3 months, let alone 2 years?
Click to expand...
No no, forget the time frame. The ATT fine print says that they will unlock any phone after it's 2 year contract EXCEPT the Iphone. It is actually excluded, in writing, from being unlocked after the 2 year plan is up.

From a recent USA today interview/article:

AT&T will unlock phones for customers once they have fulfilled their contracts, which typically run one to two years. One big exception: Apple's iPhone, distributed exclusively in the USA by AT&T. "That's different," says AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel.
Click to expand...
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,721
8,733
huh, that's sleazy. i'll crack mine when the time comes. for now i'm happy enough with the voice/data plan, and with the jesusphone itself, of course
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,721
8,733
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
There is currently 4 software cracks ready to go. One of them to be sold, and 1 will be open source. The for sale one is being blocked by ATT (and rightfully so), the open source one will be out sometime next week apparently? The only thing not available is the visual voicemail (obviously). Besides that you are good to go.

I'll pick one up when i can tether it to my laptop, when i can record video, when i can send MMS messages and when Canada's data rates don't completely suck balls.
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Dec 8, 2004
9,452
3,178
I'm dude playing dude pretending to b another dude
Hey I dont mind Att and I love my Iphone. Got it day 1 and been lovin t ever since. I have the stereo atachment on my pioneer in the suburban and jam songs all day as well as I sat in the ER 6 weeks ago for 2 hours so I watched shark week and the beacon blog. Had to take my daughter out the other day to do some signs and she watched yootube on the drive and while we were there. I went to frys to get all the stuff to build a OC'd graphics machine and she watched yootube there also. This in turn keeps her (8yrs old) from complaining to mom about the frys electronics trip and keeps me out of hot water.
Iphone= priceless. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom