Apple: Next iPhone update could break unlocked phones

[SteveW]

Apple: Next iPhone update could break unlocked phones

Posted by Tom Krazit

Apple issued a statement Monday afternoon warning users of unlocked iPhones that the next software update it ships will probably break their phones.

It's not clear how many people have unlocked their iPhone to run on networks other than AT&T's, but there has definitely been some interest among early adopters who want no part of AT&T's network. Most of those folks were always operating under the assumption that Apple might relock their iPhones with future software updates, but were they expecting Apple to actually disable the phone?

"Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed," the company said in a statement issued after the close of the stock market. "Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty."

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SW

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by SteveW

Apple: Next iPhone update could break unlocked phones

Posted by Tom Krazit

Apple issued a statement Monday afternoon warning users of unlocked iPhones that the next software update it ships will probably break their phones.

It's not clear how many people have unlocked their iPhone to run on networks other than AT&T's, but there has definitely been some interest among early adopters who want no part of AT&T's network. Most of those folks were always operating under the assumption that Apple might relock their iPhones with future software updates, but were they expecting Apple to actually disable the phone?

"Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed," the company said in a statement issued after the close of the stock market. "Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty."

More...



SW

Ouch...Apple strikes first! I will just be patient and wait before I consider getting one...

[WumpusVA]

I'm really not surprised to see this.

The more I read, the more I'm glad that I have nothing to do with this iPhone mess...

[walkguru]

Wirelessly posted (Walkguru's: Opera/8.01 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/3.1.8295/1710; en; U; ssr))

Originally Posted by Wumpusva

I'm really not surprised to see this.

The more I read, the more I'm glad that I have nothing to do with this iPhone mess...

i agree its a mess.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by walkguru

Wirelessly posted (Walkguru's: Opera/8.01 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/3.1.8295/1710; en; U; ssr))



i agree its a mess.

So then, don't install the update then... How stupid would you be to update the firmware when it might break the phone? (Or does it update itself?)

-Jay

[dmapr]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

So then, don't install the update then... How stupid would you be to update the firmware when it might break the phone? (Or does it update itself?)

-Jay

Considering this firmware update contains bug fixes, it puts the unlocked iPhones between a rock and a hard place... can you say Total Blender?

[Fire14]

To add to this whole situation check out this news release:

At&t Ruffles Customers to Defend its Iphone Exclusivity

An iPhone owner recently installed software that let the device make calls and surf the Web using T-Mobile's cell phone network, rather than AT&T's.

When he went to have AT&T address a technical issue with the phone, AT&T technicians noticed his carrier switcheroo, declared the phone's warranty voided and ensured the phone could never again be used on AT&T's network.

This account, and similar ones found in Apple fan forums, has exposed how AT&T has begun lashing back at customers that are using unlocking software, and thus challenging AT&T's exclusive arrangement with Apple to sell the iPhone in the USA.

IPod unlocking software, some varieties are now available for free, lets the iPhones use any cell phone network based on a popular cell phone standard, known best by its initials GSM.

AT&T still gets to sell many of these customers an iPhone, but it's no longer guaranteed the revenue from two years worth of AT&T calling plans and wireless Internet access that an AT&T-locked phone owner would be buying.

Unlocked phones, now being sold on eBay and other outlets, also threaten to dampen the numbers of new patrons AT&T expected to attract by offering the Apple's first-ever cell phone.

An AT&T spokesman said he had no comment for this story.

AT&T was expected to do something to crack down, at the very least to send some kind of message, given the growing availability of unlocking software.

AT&T has already taken steps, albeit small ones, to try to curb companies that are distributing unlocking software.

A popular distributor of unlocked phones - its site lists scores of different makes and models available - said he never released iPhone unlocking software because an AT&T lawyer contacted the company, before the software's release, to argue against its dispensing.

At&t Ruffles Customers to Defend its Iphone Exclusivity

[MOTOhooligan]

AT&T should have expected people to unlock the iPhones and iPhone users should have expected Apple to counteract their unlocking. I'm sure they had people working on coming up with methods for unlocking the phone and then people working on methods for countering those methods since the iPhone software was finalized. To do otherwise would be negligent on their part.

That said, I think it sucks.

[bobolito]

Yeah, it sucks, because Steve Jobs and Stan Sigman have to protect their Millions $$$.

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by bobolito

Yeah, it sucks, because Steve Jobs and Stan Sigman have to protect their Millions $$$.

Don't you mean BILLIONS $$$?

[Fire14]

Apple attacks modified iPhones via software update

Apple Inc.’s latest software update for the iPhone apparently is turning unlocked devices into bricks, according to media reports and Internet blogs today.

iPhone owners with unmodified devices also are reporting that the software update is eliminating contact information, photos and music.

Unlocking a device for personal use is legal, while unlocking for profit apparently is not. Some iPhone owners have unlocked their phone to obtain service on T-Mobile USA Inc., rather than pay for service plans from AT&T Mobility, which has an exclusive contract with Apple. Unlockers also have been shipping unlocked devices to Europe in anticipation of iPhone launches in the United Kingdom, Germany and France on Nov. 9.

Apple had issued a public statement—no word on how or whether it contacted iPhone owners directly—earlier this week warning that the use of unlocking procedures on the device might render it “permanently inoperable,” or that its own software update would disable modified devices. Device warranties would not be honored if the device is modified, according to Apple’s Monday warning.

What had appeared to be a friendly reminder about warranties and the potential perils of unlocking the device apparently masked a warning that Apple would destroy modified devices.

Unlocking procedures for the iPhone have proliferated on the Internet since last month and have even been spotted on offer by at least one T-Mobile USA reseller in Newport Beach, Calif. T-Mobile was unable to respond to a request for comment.

According to brand expert Alan Siegel, of New York-based Siegel+Gale, Apple was justified in letting iPhone owners know that their warranties would not be honored if they modified the phone. But, Siegel said, any attempt to legally pursue or otherwise punish individuals for unlocking their devices likely would tarnish Apple’s image and damage its hold on its core customer base.

Apple attacks modified iPhones via software update - RCR Wireless News

[Fire14]

iPhone hackers restore some functions after Apple bricking

Comedian Bill Murray, in an early Saturday Night Live skit, posed as a Spanish-language game-show host with the tagline: “Who is muy macho?” He would offer two studly Hollywood actors for contestants to choose from.

Murray should reprise his skit with new contestants:

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., and hackers who’ve decided to wrest away control of their iPhones from the vendor and its exclusive partner AT&T Mobility.

The latest: Now hackers apparently spent the weekend—this is where the phrase “get a life!” would be justly applied—restoring some functionality to their bricks. Bill Murray’s contest is not yet over.

Apple warned last week that modifications to iPhones—such as unlocking them or adding unauthorized applications—might render them brick-like after an Apple software update. Days later, reports flashed across Web sites that unlocked phones indeed were “bricked” by the update, which also wiped out unauthorized applications. Some reports indicated problems with iPhones that had not been modified.

Apple’s spokesperson, Jennifer Bowcock, last week advised brick owners to buy another of the $400 devices.

The ongoing story may well represent the beginning of a new thread in convergence. The intersection of personal, portable telecommunications and computing—particularly with a high-profile device such as the iPhone—naturally attracts the hacker, focused on liberating devices from whatever parties attempt to control them.

Hackers’ success or the degree to which Apple will pursue the matter—and the manner in which it attempts to quash hacking—has effectively highlighted issues related to locking and unlocking devices. Using unduly harsh tactics against individuals to stop unlocking or hacking also has the potential to tarnish Apple’s brand luster, according to brand expert Alan Siegel of Siegel+Gale.

The issue also stretches to the federal level, where questions of locked devices have spurred lawmakers to reconsider the commonly used practice.

iPhone hackers restore some functions after Apple bricking - RCR Wireless News