It’s no surprise that a plethora of hacks have been released for Apple’s initially “locked” iPhone. But most of these hacks and unlocks are not user-friendly by any means, with many of them involving opening up the iPhone and plugging in a soldering iron.
Users who attempted these hacks and succeeded aren’t in the clear yet. Apple warns that iPhone owners who have unlocked their handsets so they could use carriers other than AT&T may end up with a phone that doesn’t work after the company’s next software update.
Since the iPhone debuted in June, hackers have posted a number of methods online to make it possible to use the iPhone on cellular networks other than AT&T, which is the exclusive official carrier for the iPhone in the US.
Apple executives say they have discovered that many of those unauthorized unlocking programs cause some software damage to iPhones. Now, a software update that Apple has just issued to add features such as accessibility to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, may end up making the touch-screen cell phone completely inoperable if it has been hacked.
But the update is not a deliberate thwart against unauthorized hacks, Apple says. It’s just an “unfortunate consequence.”
“This has nothing to do with proactively disabling a phone that is unlocked or hacked,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that some of these programs have caused damage to the iPhone software, but Apple cannot be responsible for those consequences.” Schiller said he doesn’t know how many iPhones are operating on different carriers.
The programs – including several that can be downloaded for free and at least one that costs $25 – appear to be particularly popular with consumers in Europe. Many Europeans have bought iPhones in the US, but Apple will not be selling them or providing service for them in Europe until November.
John McLaughlin of Uniquephones.com in Northern Ireland has developed unlocking software, but his company hasn’t sold or distributed it. He called Apple’s warning “something of a scare tactic.” Anyone who has already unlocked their phone could get it back in working condition, he said.
“We have reviewed the source code of a number of these applications and to the best of our knowledge any changes made to the software can easily be reversed,” McLaughlin said in an e-mail to UK-based PC Retail. “After unlocking the iPhone, minimal effort is required to get it in to its previously locked state.”
As with any Apple product, hacking into the iPhone voids its warranty, Apple said.
Apple recently hit its one-million mark in iPhone sales. It should also be noted that LG’s Chocolate phone, one of the first marketed on the basis of its music-playing abilities, sold 3.4 million units in the first year of its release, averaging to 850,000 sales per quarter.