Apple: Jailbreaking May Still Void iPhone Warranty

[pixelcruncher]

Well, while the phone is under warranty you're still under an agreement with AT&T, so you really can't legally jailbreak anyway since you signed an agreement.

The point is that after you have paid Apple, and ended your contract with AT&T, your phone is yours to use as you please. You are not breaking copyright law by modding it and repurposing what is otherwise nothing more than an iPod Touch. Hopefully what this ruling does is ensure that there are years of life left in devices that are abandoned by Apple and the iOS yet embraced by the modding community. If the modding community can make my old iPhone more useful then damn right they should be allowed to do it without fear of legal retribution. I'm excited to see what they can do with it now that they can openly collaborate.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Apple has jumped the magical shark. Stay tuned.

 

[i.mac]

"The federal government says jailbreaking's a-ok? Well it'll void your warranty! So there!"

lol. Apple needs to shut up for a couple months and release some new products, because their PR is not doing themselves any favors lately.

that is a mouthful, not sure that any body cares...

folks like yourself think of yourselves very highly I am sure. I can tell that you have never created any thing that has been stolen from you.

 

[*LTD*]

Of course it'll void your warranty. This should be obvious.

 

[i.mac]

about the quote i read
"Apple's goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone "

i have iphone 3g and when i upgrade to IOS4 I HAVE NOT THIS GREAT EXPERIENCE, SLOW DOWN. BUT I STILL LOVE MAC

PLEASE SOLVE THE PROBLEM WITH SPEED IN IPHONE 3G

sir/madam...

you seem to be, at the very least, uncomfortable with the technology in your hands. Your documented (see your message above) capacity to understand limits in techno-gadgets seems to suggest that you need a simple phone, not a smart phone, certainly not an iphone.

the answer to your quest has been given: iphone 4

 

[pika2000]

Again... DON'T BUY THE PRODUCT...
Companies do this all the time: Exclusiveness.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen products that I've wanted yet it came with a catch of having to sign up with One and ONLY one particular company and no other company and I just passed it buy: That's just how it is. You have an option to go with the Exclusivity or just pass on it.

How come you don't see people complaining that their exclusive X-box games aren't playing on their Sony Playstation 3 units?

Asking for 360 games to be playable on PS3 is akin to asking iPhone apps to be usable on Android phones. Different thing. Do you want to buy an Xbox 360/PS3 where you can only use Comcast to connect to XBL/PSN?

I don't mind iPhone being exclusive to AT&T. But why does it have to be provider locked? Like I said, do you want to buy a Mac that is not usable outside the US, even though you probably won't go outside the US?

 

[pika2000]

The Walled Garden is a reflection of SJ's personality.

Dictator and Tirant.

Guess what, all Android phones in the US, sans the no-longer-available-Nexus One (RIP), are provider locked. Oh, and you will void your warranty if you rooted your Android phone. Yet I don't see anybody complaining. Using your logic, then Google is as walled garden/dictator/tyrant as Jobs.

 

[alchemistmuffin]

If you gonna jailbreak, make sure it's out of warranty.

If you bought a 2 year iPhone AppleCare warranty, I wouldn't recommend it. While most Apple store employees don't mind servicing jailbroken device, some don't do it at all.

And don't try to unjailbreak the phone if you need service, because it's worthless effort. Some Apple store have forensic tools analyze if the device has been modified before, during the service of the device. (I know this, because my friend works at Apple Store, and he gave me a tour during his lunch break, and yes, his supervisor said yes, as long I don't take pictures)

 

[marksman]

I Told you all it was irrelevant.

 

[impulse462]

The features we want? How many people who JB are doing it for themes and multitasking? There may be a few here and there, but I'd say 90% of people who jailbreak their devices do it to steal from the developers.

You honestly know nothing about the jailbreaking community if you say 90% of people who jailbreak pirate apps.

Again, go do some research before you start stating useless statistics that you can't back up.

 

[mosx]

If you gonna jailbreak, make sure it's out of warranty.

If you bought a 2 year iPhone AppleCare warranty, I wouldn't recommend it. While most Apple store employees don't mind servicing jailbroken device, some don't do it at all.

And don't try to unjailbreak the phone if you need service, because it's worthless effort. Some Apple store have forensic tools analyze if the device has been modified before, during the service of the device. (I know this, because my friend works at Apple Store, and he gave me a tour during his lunch break, and yes, his supervisor said yes, as long I don't take pictures)

That's a load of crap. If you do a DFU restore theres no way they can tell if the device has been jailbroken.

If Apple starts denying hardware service based in jailbreaking, a legal activity, they're going to get hit with a ton of lawsuits. Especially here in California.

 

[pika2000]

You honestly know nothing about the jailbreaking community if you say 90% of people who jailbreak pirate apps.

Again, go do some research before you start stating useless statistics that you can't back up.

Shouldn't you offer the same statistics too then, proving him/her otherwise?

 

[pixelcruncher]

I Told you all it was irrelevant.

Then why did Apple fight it every step of the way?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/13/apple_dcma_response/

"In their 27-page filing (PDF) with the Copyright Office, Apple argues against the anti-jailbreaking exemption "because it will destroy the technological protection of Apple's key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone, resulting in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects, adverse effects on the functioning of the device, and breach of contract."

Sounds like Apple takes it pretty seriously. Wonder why they didn't just allow it in the first place if it mattered so little? Maybe their lawyers were bored with nothing else to do.

Truth is Apple doesn't want anyone repurposing old phones, they want you to buy new ones.

 

[agbot]

That's a load of crap. If you do a DFU restore theres no way they can tell if the device has been jailbroken.

If Apple starts denying hardware service based in jailbreaking, a legal activity, they're going to get hit with a ton of lawsuits. Especially here in California.

You can jailbreak, it's not illegal. You can also drop your phone in a toilet, it's not illegal. In fact, there is probably an infinite list of things you can legally do with the hardware that you purchased and own. There is also a list of things Apple can require that you abide by if you want them to fix it for free under warranty.

 

[impulse462]

Shouldn't you offer the same statistics too then, proving him/her otherwise?

I don't have exact statistics, and I don't want to just make some up, but I can say that the MAJORITY of jailbreak users jailbreak their iOS devices to be able to add content that apple does not approve.

Does this include pirated apps? of course it does, but that doesn't mean that every person who jailbreaks pirates apps.

Whenever you install a source that has pirated apps, Cydia issues a warning that says the source contains pirated apps, and it strongly asks you to pay developers for their work.

 

[SpaceJello]

Then why did Apple fight it every step of the way?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/13/apple_dcma_response/

"In their 27-page filing (PDF) with the Copyright Office, Apple argues against the anti-jailbreaking exemption "because it will destroy the technological protection of Apple's key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone, resulting in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects, adverse effects on the functioning of the device, and breach of contract."

Sounds like Apple takes it pretty seriously. Wonder why they didn't just allow it in the first place if it mattered so little? Maybe their lawyers were bored with nothing else to do.

Truth is Apple doesn't want anyone repurposing old phones, they want you to buy new ones.

I am not sure if it is because Apple doesn't want anyone to repurpose old phones but jailbreaking is a form of "reverse engineering" that requires cracking and hacking on any code Apple or any other company create. By doing so, trade secrets could be expose.

This may not matter to the average user but I am sure Google had the iOS and iPhone in their labs ripped to shreds for any information.

 

[suss2it]

The features we want? How many people who JB are doing it for themes and multitasking? There may be a few here and there, but I'd say 90% of people who jailbreak their devices do it to steal from the developers.

Lol at you making up statistics to attempt to prove a point.

 

[sndcj1]

There is a difference between hardware modification and software modification.

You're right, but nothing stops a software mod from screwing up the hardware. Take, for instance, modding firmware on a wifi router. You can turn the power of the transmitter "up to 11", but at the cost of additional heat and shorter life of the product. Just because you can make the processor run at 100% with background apps going nonstop, I'm pretty sure the phone was not designed for that. Extra heat, shorter life, now it's a hardware problem? As was stated, the only ruling that the government made was that jailbreaking did not violate DCMA, nothing more. Since no one has gotten sued for that to my knowledge, it's pretty much status quo. The hacker market, while quite vocal on forums, is not a substancial portion of the user base, and does not create enough problems for apple to worry too much about them. The lack of calls about how to send an email through the webs probably makes up for any hacked issues they run into. To top that off, most people understand the risks associated with jailbreaking their phone, and don't run to apple with problems, they solve them themselves, or ask the community. I've yet to see a modding site NOT state that if you make changes to your device they will not be held liable for any damage you may do to your device. From Redmondpie's instructions for sn0wbreeze "Disclaimer: This guide is for testing & educational purposes only. Follow it on your own risk. I’m not responsible for any loss of important data or malfunctioning of your iPhone". Apple has roughly the same line. They are not responsible for damage you may do to your device.

 

[tigajr]

Great news! Finally owned property being treated as such.
Of course, Mr. Stevo, "it's a cat-and-mouse game", guess you're the mouse now.

 

[agbot]

There is a difference between hardware modification and software modification.

Speaking as a software geek from a company that makes products with a somewhat similar bill of materials as an iPhone (cell, wifi, gyro, compass, accelerometer), you can do a whole lot of damage with "software". Sure, someone could load some random app that works fine and does no damage. However, software alone could reprogram/reconfigure firmware and effectively brick several components (without a trip back to the factory) if someone is either determined to do so or is simply stupid about things. We won't be trying to figure out who's at fault with some 200 page warranty booklet that says "You can run an app that does X, but if it does Y and breaks Z or reconfigures A and causes B to C, then proceed to subsection 394-7 as long as you didn't run anything that changed whoosey-whatsit to blankity-blank." We'll instead keep it to "If you run unauthorized software on it and something breaks, we're not fixing it for free."

 

[whatever]

I agree with Apple

I agree with Apple 100%. If someone wants to hack their iPhone, go for it.

Just don't expect Apple to support you or replace it when you screw it up.

I did jailbreak both my iPhone and Apple TV and I have to admit, when it got reverted back to it's original state with an update I didn't bother doing it again.

Basically what you doing when you hack these devices is going from a finally tuned instrument and messing it up.

Sure it's fun, but it never works as good as it did before it was done.

Just my opinion.

 

[Don Kosak]

The features we want? How many people who JB are doing it for themes and multitasking? There may be a few here and there, but I'd say 90% of people who jailbreak their devices do it to steal from the developers.

That has been my concern about this debate -- but as others have pointed out, there doesn't appear to be any research on the real statistics.

I meet with a lot of iPhone developers, who point me at "app download" sites with counters of downloads. Sometimes the counters claim thousands of downloads... (Perhaps the counters are rigged? Who knows.) Developers are pretty frustrated by the whole thing, especially if their App Store sales are low.

Yeah, there are the standard arguments about: "you're getting free marketing", "you priced the app wrong", "people want to try before you buy", or, "the pirate wouldn't have ever paid anyway". I don't really want to go there. I want real data.

Has anyone done a study on "Jail broken" iOS devices? It would be interesting to see just how many people are jail breaking, and how many are doing it for piracy.

 

[TheOneAndOnly BiGMaC]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.21.10 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/7B405)

This isn't news. Nor should it be a surprise. If you violate your car's warranty by modifying it you pay the price if it doesn't work properly. However, I'm sure it willget as big as previous non-issues in the news. The Wall Stret Journal says:http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/26/technology/AP-US-TEC-Digital-Copyright.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[pixelcruncher]

I am not sure if it is because Apple doesn't want anyone to repurpose old phones but jailbreaking is a form of "reverse engineering" that requires cracking and hacking on any code Apple or any other company create. By doing so, trade secrets could be expose.

This may not matter to the average user but I am sure Google had the iOS and iPhone in their labs ripped to shreds for any information.

The exemption was requested for the END-USER. That's an iPhone owner. Stealing trade secrets has, and always will be, illegal. Apple argued that the iPhone owner should not be allowed to mod their phone. The only people Apple was arguing shouldn't be allowed to mod their phones were the iPhone owners themselves.

 

[Castiel]

There is a difference between hardware modification and software modification.

There's a difference when your software modification affects your hardware...