Apple tells iPhone hackers to shove it

Post by **longview** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:42 pm

BBC News wrote:An Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.

Earlier this week Apple said a planned update would leave the device "permanently inoperable".

Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers and to run a host of unsupported programs.

There are also reports of the update causing issues with unaltered iPhones.

On Monday Apple issued a statement in which it said many of the unauthorised iPhone unlocking programs caused "irreparable damage" to the device's software.

The company said this would "likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed".

That warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update.

Apple iPhone warning proves true
I kind of hoped this would be beneath Apple, but apparently not.

For those who don't know, the US of Awesomeness has the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is that not the most sinister name since the PATRIOT Act?), which prevents hacking hardware and firmware.
This is mostly a direct result of the objectionable way the lobbying firms and senators operate.
Anyway, this bill has a few exceptions, one being that hacking cell-phone firmware to change your operator is legal.
A convenient loop-hole is that there are NO laws againt disabling hacked devices.

So yeah, Apple goes out and screws everyone who wanted to change their desktop-shortcuts or not pay 40 bucks a month to AT&T.

Post by **Andy** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:52 pm

Lmfao, the iPhone won't sell if they do this. Then who's the laughing stock? Apple should get their act together. Hackers will only find a way around the "block" anyway.

Post by **Vista Ultimate R2** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:58 pm

Just so it's clear, most of the stuff about "permanently inoperable" is scare tactics from Apple as opposed to Apple - the firmware update just reinstalls a lot of the OS with a new version where the hacks are patched, and so once updated the phone will once again be locked to AT&T and unable to run apps other than those shipped with it by Apple. I think you can also revert the firmware back to the previous version if you don't have an AT&T contract and so the phone is now useless to you (as opposed to "bricked") if you upgraded by mistake, and the update is also optional.

Not letting you run apps beyond what comes with it does seem ridiculous though, very typical Apple there. They should have made a proper Newton successor, even nowadays there's hundreds of apps you can run on your Newton despite them not having been made for years, and as such it can be a pretty useful device still.

Post by **compact-mac** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:33 pm

Another reason why this Sony Ericcson v600i remains in my pocket.

Post by **Bradley Miller** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:40 pm

Exactly like Sony. Oh, shure kit the Problems with updates .... Has anybody here really legal PSP Games ?

Post by **4tified** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 5:28 pm

Apple disappoints me...makes Microsoft look so much better based on the way their handling things....that's just sad.

Post by **Vista Ultimate R2** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 5:44 pm

4tified wrote:makes Microsoft look so much better based on the way their handling things

There was one thing that came into my head immediately upon seeing the first unboxing pictures of the iPhone:

Post by **___** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:18 am

why do people want to hack them anyway? aren't there cheaper and better products? the only people i can really see wanting these are the people that just want to show off

Post by **Doctor Mindvipe** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:11 am

Nokia FTW

Post by **ppc_digger** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:16 pm

Bricking hacked iPhones is not something Apple would do by itself (they never stopped people from installing Linux on iPods), it's something their contract with AT&T would force them to do. Apple, by itself, doesn't care which provider you use, as long as you buy an iPhone and buy songs and videos from the iTunes store. It's AT&T that cares about unlocking.

Post by **stitch** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:19 pm

ppc_digger wrote:Bricking hacked iPhones is not something Apple would do by itself (they never stopped people from installing Linux on iPods), it's something their contract with AT&T would force them to do. Apple, by itself, doesn't care which provider you use, as long as you buy an iPhone and buy songs and videos from the iTunes store. It's AT&T that cares about unlocking.

Yeah, AT&T want's their profits in their pockets, not T-Mobile's.

When you buy a phone directly from a company, or a 3rd party, you own it. If you do that free phone w/ 2 year contract things, you DON'T own the phone until your contract is up. That's how they pay for the cost of the phone.

Post by **compact-mac** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:58 am

Zimmy wrote:
ppc_digger wrote:Bricking hacked iPhones is not something Apple would do by itself (they never stopped people from installing Linux on iPods), it's something their contract with AT&T would force them to do. Apple, by itself, doesn't care which provider you use, as long as you buy an iPhone and buy songs and videos from the iTunes store. It's AT&T that cares about unlocking.
Yeah, AT&T want's their profits in their pockets, not T-Mobile's.

When you buy a phone directly from a company, or a 3rd party, you own it. If you do that free phone w/ 2 year contract things, you DON'T own the phone until your contract is up. That's how they pay for the cost of the phone.

Thats why I use Pay As You Go, like I topup whenever i want.

Post by **stitch** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:11 pm

Compact-mac wrote:
Zimmy wrote:
ppc_digger wrote:Bricking hacked iPhones is not something Apple would do by itself (they never stopped people from installing Linux on iPods), it's something their contract with AT&T would force them to do. Apple, by itself, doesn't care which provider you use, as long as you buy an iPhone and buy songs and videos from the iTunes store. It's AT&T that cares about unlocking.
Yeah, AT&T want's their profits in their pockets, not T-Mobile's.

When you buy a phone directly from a company, or a 3rd party, you own it. If you do that free phone w/ 2 year contract things, you DON'T own the phone until your contract is up. That's how they pay for the cost of the phone.
Thats why I use Pay As You Go, like I topup whenever i want.

I can't stand pay as you go, it's just too expensive for the amount of calls I make.

Post by **compact-mac** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:18 pm

Zimmy wrote:
Compact-mac wrote:
Zimmy wrote:
ppc_digger wrote:Bricking hacked iPhones is not something Apple would do by itself (they never stopped people from installing Linux on iPods), it's something their contract with AT&T would force them to do. Apple, by itself, doesn't care which provider you use, as long as you buy an iPhone and buy songs and videos from the iTunes store. It's AT&T that cares about unlocking.
Yeah, AT&T want's their profits in their pockets, not T-Mobile's.

When you buy a phone directly from a company, or a 3rd party, you own it. If you do that free phone w/ 2 year contract things, you DON'T own the phone until your contract is up. That's how they pay for the cost of the phone.
Thats why I use Pay As You Go, like I topup whenever i want.
I can't stand pay as you go, it's just too expensive for the amount of calls I make.

I dont use my phone a lot, so thats why i guess.