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Apple Refusing Service on Hacked iPhones?
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Note: Onstar != Ford, Onstar = GM.
Gosh, wow. A lot of you are WAAAAY off something here.
As to legality of unlocking, engadget actually had their lawyer right about this; http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
(summary, unlocking your own phone for personal use is legal)
As far as warranty, research the Magnuson Moss act. (In short, modifying anything does not void your warranty, except for those things you modified.)
Now, in practice this all gets a little convoluted. If you modify the firmware on your radio and unlock the phone then the screen goes out should you be covered?
-yes.
But what is it's the radio that goes out? Well, radio firmware is rewritable. And if the unlocking procedure changes the settings in the firmware to the correct unlocked settings, (opposed to adding code to to by-pass the locking code of the firmware.)
-Theoretically, you should be covered.
However, in practice you would mostly be denied repair. The other thing that comes into play is, businesses sometimes look at the cost of replacement vs your cost of suing over it. It would me a lot more to higher a lawyer then just buying another one.
As to legality of unlocking, engadget actually had their lawyer right about this; http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-unlock-my-iphone/
(summary, unlocking your own phone for personal use is legal)
As far as warranty, research the Magnuson Moss act. (In short, modifying anything does not void your warranty, except for those things you modified.)
Now, in practice this all gets a little convoluted. If you modify the firmware on your radio and unlock the phone then the screen goes out should you be covered?
-yes.
But what is it's the radio that goes out? Well, radio firmware is rewritable. And if the unlocking procedure changes the settings in the firmware to the correct unlocked settings, (opposed to adding code to to by-pass the locking code of the firmware.)
-Theoretically, you should be covered.
However, in practice you would mostly be denied repair. The other thing that comes into play is, businesses sometimes look at the cost of replacement vs your cost of suing over it. It would me a lot more to higher a lawyer then just buying another one.
Kudos to Apple. They are a business and they are here to make money. If they make some people pissed off, oh well, that's business! Again, kudos to Apple!
we did get a decent rebate...
And this is why I will never own an iPhone. Its one thing if you are hacking the hardware. This? This is just retarded.
I really hope this is only if people hack their iphone for service.
NOT... if they use a hack to add extra programs ie pimping out your iphone with Apptap.
that apple limits people to web safari type apps is unacceptable. they need to have a certification program to allow developers access to create programs for the iphone.
If you need to know how to hack your iphone, easily and keep it easy... goto
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/iphone/p...rs-who-arent-fanboys-300854.php?autoplay=true
NOT... if they use a hack to add extra programs ie pimping out your iphone with Apptap.
that apple limits people to web safari type apps is unacceptable. they need to have a certification program to allow developers access to create programs for the iphone.
If you need to know how to hack your iphone, easily and keep it easy... goto
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/iphone/p...rs-who-arent-fanboys-300854.php?autoplay=true
Doomed to failure? You must be joking. Apple is nothing like Microsoft. Sure, they both want to make money, but Microsoft licenses its crap to anyone and everyone, thus resulting in an inconsistent (at best) and often problematic user experience. Apple's approach is single source. You get everything from them - and, therefore, it just works.
I've been an Apple customer for 25 years and I'm very happy with their strategy. I never feel like I'm missing out on anything. I'm never wasting a weekend troubleshooting, nor am I dealing with incompatibilities and inconsistencies. If you don't like Apple's approach, buy from someone else. It's that simple. I'm sick and tired of other people (ie: consumer groups) thinking they know what is best for me. I have a choice: Apple or anyone else out there making phones, PCs, portable media players, etc. I willingly choose Apple's closed system because it's the BEST one.
Look at the Microsoft anti-trust trial. What did it accomplish? NOTHING. Why is Apple growing and prospering? Not because the government intervened and forced M$ to play nice. Nope. It's because Apple is delivering better products. That's the key to competition. Lawsuits and government intervention should be absolute last resorts.
Just wondering why you buy Apple products? I don't blame Apple for not supporting a product if someone has altered it. If you don't like the business model for this product or others, don't buy them. Seems hypocritical that you would....makes no sense. I'm wondering if PDE is bitter because he hacked his phone, or possibly constipation.
And it makes them better products. With better user experiences.
Nahhh couldn't be because they want to make the best products in the world. And to do so means controling the whole widget..
Nahhhhh....Must be because APPLE is EVUL!! EVULLLLL!!!
You have the choice of not buying them. Run linux on something.. I'm surrrreee it will be the same experience.
/snark
First off the Radio is a part that is easily replaceable and not connected other than by power. If while servicing the radio they noticed that you put the wrong power connection in for your your power sunroof and that caused wrong power to go to radio, they most likely would have handed you a bill for the service or told you "thats tough but we will not fix it".
What people seem to be failing to understand is that the iPhone is not designed for people to modify it. Unlike a car or a computer, there is no official parts for it. You can buy a new hard drive for your mac book pro and as long as you don't muck up the installation it won't void the warranty because technically the hardware is designed to handle a specific type of drive so any drive of X type should work. Now if that part causes a problem then no Apple won't cover the part or what it broke. But if you send it in because your processor is messed up and in testing there is nothing showing the hard drive had anything to do with it Apple will happily fix it for you. The iPhone is not designed to be used with different software. So if you use different software it does not matter what the problem is, you were using the phone for however long in a manner other than what it was intended to be used as.
People may very well feel that the modified software does not have anything to do with the screen but at this point noone knows the long term effect on the hardware of the iPhone by running software thats not supposed to be on it. So whether you modify it to go on another network, or to use programs that are not written for it, you are using the phone in a manner not outlined in its usage guide. As such Apple is well within their rights to say take a hike when it comes to asking them to fix it. They do not have to spend the money examining the product to determine if its malfunction is due to wrong software. We are not talking about using a different piece of hardware in place of the original we are talking about directly modifying an existing component. And when it comes to a proprietary device its a lot different than simply using a different brand of device. Apple didn't design S-ATA hard drives they simply use them in the computer. Thats why using a different brand of S-ATA hard drive doesn't automatically void the warranty because the system is designed to handle what you did.
And for those that keep bragging about how they got something fixed that they modified. First off you are the exception to the rule and got very lucky. You should just be happy you got it covered and stop bragging like that somehow entitles you to future support. Apple may not be taking the Sony approach and making new patches every two weeks to try and break the hacks, but that doesn't mean they are going to eat the bill for your messing around with it. I like having my PSP hacked which is why I did it. But if something goes wrong with it, I know I am going to have to go buy a new one. Thats the risk I took when I decided to hack the device. And if I have to go buy a new one, I will probably hack that one too because thats the way I like the product. Thats not the companies problem though. Its my choice to use it that way and my responsibility if anything goes wrong. I didn't have to buy the PSP when it didn't do what I wanted it to and the company is not responsible to make it do everything I want. Apple does not have to allow third party software devs to make software. Maybe some day down the road they will but for now I know the limitation of the device and if I want a fully warranty covered item I will have to accept those limitations or find another product that does what I want.
Things aren't black and white, you know. And, besides, the choices are limited. I've been a happy mac owner since 1992 and I've been through Apple's ups and downs, often doubting their choices but always feeling that I prefer Apple to the competion - not hardware wise, but in terms of software. Recently, as in the last few years, Apple has been very successful and, as it becomes increasingly successful, it is becoming more and more like the companies it always criticised. The fact that it partnered with ATT, Starbucks and Pepsi says a lot.
So, I love my mac, OS X and what it allows me to do with little complication and with elegance that is unrivalled. I deal with the poor quality control of its hardware because the software is good when the hardware allows it (which it is doing now in my case). The iphone is a really nice phone, but it also has many limitations. It has lots of potential to be the greatest multi-function phone/music/video thing around, but there's no way I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on roaming fees because I can't put a local sim in it - nor can I ask of my friends abroad to call a U.S. number each time they want to reach me. I will also not bring another phone for my travels because that would be defeating the purpose of the device. So, I'm perfectly happy to have set it free with an innocent unlock. IF, the iphone develops a HARDWARE problem (screen stops working, no RF signal, battery doesn't charge or whatever), I'll restore it and if the problem is still there I think Apple should fix it under warranty. Period. I'm an ATT customer with a sim card from the old ATT before it became Cingular. I have a GREAT family plan and one that ATT will not match today. If they would allow me to have the plan I have today and simply add the data plan for the iphone, I'd go with that. BUT I'd still unlock it when I travel.
What I criticise apple for is locking things down like this when everybody (outside the US, that is) is travelling all over the place, moving between countries etc. Even those who sign up for a two-year contract might need to move, or travel to an area where ATT roaming doesn't work well (a lot of places!) - what about them? I don't mind if Apple makes a closed system - and I know that this is the reason I like their products generally - but I don't like the way they are greedily undermining their customers' convenience and choice with regard to the iphone. SIM locking has nothing to do with keeping the Iphone operating system's integrity.
I'm not bitter at all, except that I feel that the people who are criticising those who have other needs and thus unlocking the phone are full of it. My bowel movement is also perfectly fine.
Don't know how trustworthy this source is, but :
http://www.informationweek.com/soft...510JT4QSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=202100187
http://www.informationweek.com/soft...510JT4QSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=202100187
I have to agree. I am a Apple fan and user, but I would like to use the product that I paid quite a bit of money for, in any manner that I see fit. I do find it troubling that you can buy any other SIM based phone and use it on any network you choose, but NOT THE IPHONE. I am not saying that Apple is wrong, I am just saying " Why can't I use T-Mobile in the USA if other parts of the world are going to have T-Mobile?" Now, I know we are all entitled to each others opinions (haha), so go ahead and grill me, but I still agree with the quote. However I do not think that they are as doomed as people think.
Oh, and one last thing " Apple, if you are reading this; can we please have the ability to put a couple of 8800GTX video cards in our Mac Pros. Thank you Apple."
Because T-Mobile didn't agree to allow Apple to put services on their network to allow functionality like visual voicemail, and instead of trying to field all the complaints about why this feature wasn't available to one person when it worked on their friends iPhone (who happened to use AT&T), they decided to go with a carrier who was open to working with them.
ZDNet's Apple Core blog notes that if you've hacked your iPhone, you may want to restore to defaults before bringing it into an Apple Store for service.
A colleague of O'Grady's was initially refused service for his iPhone due to a combination of 3rd party applications and an unlocked iPhone (on T-Mobile).
Article Link
im glad