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Can an unlocked iPhone unlock be disabled/relocked by Apple

C

chall5

macrumors regular
Original poster
I'm seeing a lot of unlocked iPhones available in the UK.

My question is can Apple detect an unlocked iPhone when its plugged in to iTunes and disable/re-lock it via a software update ?
 
Software updates do not run without your consent, so the "stealth" factor shouldn't be an issue. But, future firmware updates could very well disable whatever hack was used to unlock your iPhone and, thus, relock it.

So once you unlock an iPhone, you won't be able to run firmware updates, at least not without first waiting to see if the hackers can keep up.

I'm very tempted to buy and unlock an iPhone from the US -- it seems like much better value than an iPod touch -- but I want to wait for the hackers to figure out how to unlock the 1.1.1 firmware update.
 
chall5 said:
I'm seeing a lot of unlocked iPhones available in the UK.

My question is can Apple detect an unlocked iPhone when its plugged in to iTunes and disable/re-lock it via a software update ?
Click to expand...

Any updates will be done via iTunes. My phone has been updated from 1 to 1.0.1 then 1.0.2 and the unlock has been affected as much as i have had to reunlock the phone as it does a factory restore.

The deal would be when firmware 1.1.1 goes live via iTunes wait a few days to see the unlock reports . If it can still be unlocked then upgrade away and the reunlock.

Once you get the hang of the process it is about 15 minutes start to finish.
 
LCaller said:
Any updates will be done via iTunes. My phone has been updated from 1 to 1.0.1 then 1.0.2 and the unlock has been affected as much as i have had to reunlock the phone as it does a factory restore.

The deal would be when firmware 1.1.1 goes live via iTunes wait a few days to see the unlock reports . If it can still be unlocked then upgrade away and the reunlock.

Once you get the hang of the process it is about 15 minutes start to finish.
Click to expand...

I think the question refers to the SIM unlock, not the application unlock.
 
Krevnik said:
I think the question refers to the SIM unlock, not the application unlock.
Click to expand...

That is SIM unlock.

When it has done a firmware upgrade it relocks the phone. However the current unlock programs still unlock 1.0.2 but as no one has got their hands on 1.1.1 i can't vouch for that ( and i'll be waiting while before i upgrade ).
 
LCaller said:
That is SIM unlock.

When it has done a firmware upgrade it relocks the phone. However the current unlock programs still unlock 1.0.2 but as no one has got their hands on 1.1.1 i can't vouch for that ( and i'll be waiting while before i upgrade ).
Click to expand...

So doing a software restore after running iUnlock or the like will re-lock it? Ouch.
 
i guess the way to think about it is like any restore, it'll over write the file that is there and in these cases its hacked files allowing different sims. I do see this getting very boring but i figure sooner or later i will stop chasing the firmware upgrades when i have the functions i want.
 
chall5 said:
maybe this answers my question

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...e-unlocks-may-result-in-expensive-bricks.html

I'd like an iPhone the legit way on Nov 9th but TCO of £900 minimum is just too dear
Click to expand...

Actually, if you read the discussion you'll realise that if Apple chose to pursue this course of action, the best outcome they could hope for would be a massive (and I do mean massive) wave of negative publicity. If things went badly it could result in fairly serious and expensive lawsuits.
 
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