Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, OS, Software, iPhone
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]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mitch said 11:23AM on 7-16-2007
1. What kind of lame story is this - a firm claims to be closing in. It would be news if they claimed to have unlocked the iphone but is it news that they are trying??
2. Unique phones is a scam of a company. I had to dispute their charge on my credit card because they didn't deliver an unlock code for a RAZR. This company has abysmal customer service and is downright untruthful when dealing with customers. Deal with these scam artists at your own risk!!!!
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Gus Jenkins said 11:40AM on 7-16-2007
..."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."
Good luck with the $50. If this app is actually created, there will be a torrent file created within a couple of hours.
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camron said 11:54AM on 7-16-2007
http://www.phonenews.com/content/view/1638/9/
doesn't this say we can unlock the iPhone legally, if we can find a way to do so?
I'm not sure AT&T or Apple can do much, if this reads how I read it, when the iPhone firmware is hacked to unlock it.
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Benjamin said 11:56AM on 7-16-2007
I must say I don't understand everyone's gripes about the AT&T exclusivity. Sure, AT&T sucks, like all carriers, but because it's such a sweet deal for them, Apple was able to force them to bend over backwards for them, for features such as visual voice mail which really make the iPhone shine. Not having exclusivity would have meant an uphill battle for Apple. In two years the AT$T contract will be over and Apple will have enough traction in the marketplace to be able to set its own rules. As a new entrant, it had to make concessions.
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Chris P. said 12:06PM on 7-16-2007
The author got this story from the #iphone-dev, #iphone IRC channels. The problem is that David Chartier did not get the full story.
iPhoneUnlocking.com ended up coming into the IRC channel talking about his unlocking efforts for the iPhone, basically stating was mentioned in the article. He even mentioned a POC video coming soon on his website.
But the truth is that DVD Jon, Jon Lech Johansen, has not made any mention of already unlocking the iPhone (and he's a regular on the IRC channel). Moreover, when people asked "iPhoneUnlocking" for some glimmer of proof of what he had done, he became defensive.
Truth be told: anything that iPhoneUnlocking says needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Whatever discovery he makes, its stolen from the IRC channel and from other Reverse Engineering Dev's. That is why the Dev's have been so quite about their progress - they don't want leeches like iPhoneUnlocking from taking the credit for other people's achievements.
Why the author wrote about iPhoneUnlocking shocks me b/c I've found David's articles to be generally balanced and well-thought out. I guess everyone makes mistakes, even at TUAW.com
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The Usher said 12:12PM on 7-16-2007
Then what happens when the first firmware revision adds some functionality, fixes some bugs, and sews up this hole? It's just not going to be feasible.
I wonder how visual voicemail would act on another carrier.
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AJ Vaynerchuk said 12:27PM on 7-16-2007
Should be interesting to see if this company will really be able to pull this off. Also interesting is the fact that they will charge $50. Can they get away with that, or will Apple or AT&T sue them?
-----------------------------------------
AJ Vaynerchuk
Check out my iPhone link blog (optimized for viewing on your iPhone): http://www.ajvaynerchuk.com/iphone
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Joseph said 12:48PM on 7-16-2007
#4: The problem is this contract BS. The phone isn't subsidized, but AT&T still locks you down for two years. That's the reason I'm upset.
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minimalist said 1:33PM on 7-16-2007
Then what happens when the first firmware revision adds some functionality, fixes some bugs, and sews up this hole? It's just not going to be feasible.
Exactly. Hacking a product you own to use it as you please may not be illegal, but you are own your own from then on… no security or firmware updates, no bug fixes, eventually not being able to use new features of iTunes without upgrading. Rememeber a few years ago when Real kept releasing new versions of Harmony to make iPods work with their music store and Apple kept patching the hole with each new firmware update? Most consumers don’t want to deal with all that mess so I don’t foresee hacking the iPhone for use on other carriers will ever move out of the sphere of tech hobbyist.
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Dave Wood said 1:48PM on 7-16-2007
The only reason I want an unlocked phone is because at present, in Canada, we can't purchase iPhone at all. If Rogers starts selling the phone before an unlock app is available, I'll gladly buy it from them and they can have my cash, otherwise, whoever unlocks it will get a bonus donation from me.
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dianelab said 2:00PM on 7-16-2007
I really don't understand what's happening in the U.S. I'm living in europe and I've bought diferent phones and moved to different carriers without any problems, why should phones wich use same protocols should be tied to a carrier it would be like ok i'm buying a mac so I have to subscribe to aol or i'm buying a dell an then i have to subscribe to another provider... Is that legal ? why didn't apple just sell a phone ? especially when the u.s. comm7nication fare are so cheap (data unlimited and cost nothing... i wish to see that here when i have to pay 20euro for 2 hours of communications/month with such a tricky way of counting the hours that you always end up with a bigger bill). So basically american customers should invoke the antitrust laws and be able to use other carriers since it's basically gsm/gpsrs/edge/wifi protocols wich doesn't belong nor to at&t neither to apple.
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Brian Ellez said 2:25PM on 7-16-2007
"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."
This is total b.s. Once I buy it, it's mine not Apple's and I can throw it in the sea or give it to a hobo or WHATEVER I want with it.
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Xavier C. said 2:51PM on 7-16-2007
It's a shame Apple could lock its iPhone with AT&T.
In France, such a behaviour could be taken as "unfair competition" (don't know the british/american english term), as customers can't use their newly acquired product the way they want to.
And what if they had locked the AirPort Extreme to a specific ISP, huh? At least, I wouldn't be sending this thanks to my iMac...
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Kurt said 3:36PM on 7-16-2007
The iPhone absolutely needs to be unlocked for use with another carrier and to install 3rd party apps, or it will not be taked very seriously.
Kind of like this Apple product:
http://www.staggeron.org/universe.html#Apple_iSuck
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portorikan said 4:18PM on 7-16-2007
I say we just need to free the iphone and call it a day.
http://freetheiphone.org/
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Dalava said 4:54PM on 7-16-2007
The whole locking business is such a load of BS. Assume that the locking is in place because the carrier wants to recoup the subsidy, but everyone of the them already has measure in place to punish you financially if you leave them before your contract ends.
I like Apple products and have bought many of their products over the years. But locking the iPhone locked with AT&T for 5 years is starting to turn me against a company I so want to like. Making consumer unfriendly decisions will ultimately come back to bite you. Sony is the cautionary take.
As for the comments, what kind of logic and Apple/AT&T apologist crap is this:
"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."
I tell you how AT&T and Apple are being compensated on this: shared revenue on the huge markup on the iPhones they sell. When you see the big earning jump at the Apple annual report, you will know. As far as the so-called changes AT&T had to make to their network, oh, please, they should have done these years and years ago.
Greed, greed, and greed. I am so p-ed off at Apple in this locked iPhone.
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Mike said 5:32PM on 7-16-2007
Anyone who says that Apple or AT&T get to decide which carrier you use is completely WRONG. Let me use a different metaphor. When you drive a car off of the lot do you allow the dealership or the car manufacturer tell you if you are allowed to make it a bio-diesel or not?
The day you bought the device is the day they handed the keys over to you. Yes, they can make a firmware update to stop you from using an unlocked phone but then again the hack groups can also make inhibitors to stop the iphone from updating and allowing you to use the same function. And if it's already been cracked once... don't you think it can be cracked again?
It's frustrating that there are too many people who don't know what they are talking about... well, talking.
Beyond that, Uniquephones is a scam. How many engineers do you think they have working around the world? Go join, irc.osx86.hu #iphone-dev . How many hackers do you think are working on unlocking it and doing it opensource and free? Uniquephones did NOT create jailbreak or iphoneinterface which are two key components to getting everyone one step closer to unlocked phones.
These people are scam artists and just touting garbage.
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snookie said 5:38PM on 7-16-2007
Check out the very bottom of this website. It's looks like it's only for windows though.
http://www.dvdtoiphone.net/download.html
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Andy said 5:57PM on 7-16-2007
Is it just me, or is there going to be a bit of an issue with this locking business in the UK? IIRC, it's an Ofcom requirement that phones not be permanently locked to one network as this prevents users from moving their hardware from one network to another. However, whether this only applies outside of the contract period, I have no idea.
I'm pretty sure that if you are with, say, Orange in the UK and you decided to move to move to Vodafone, Orange are obliged to remotely unlock your handset so that you can make that move without incurring additional cost to yourself - if the handset belongs wholly to you (ie. you don't still owe Orange anything for it).
I'm fully prepared to be shot down, but I'm fairly sure I'm right... :o/
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Reg Muffet said 9:34PM on 7-16-2007
I wish Apple had followed through on the rumor that the ApplePhoneShow spread back in May/June that an additional SKU would be sold:
An unlocked iPhone for $999.
The extra $400 could compensate Apple (and AT&T) for lost 2 year contract revenue.
Most US residents would still choose the AT&T plans because they'd get the phone cheaper and would need a voice/data plan anyway, but for those who wanted choice they could pay the extra.
And no-US residents wouldn't be currently a deep shade of blue holding their breath for an unlocking solution!
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