iPhone 4 Unlocking Tool Now Available

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

arn, stop posting stories about the jailbreak community, or at least keep it off Page One. It's flamebait that serves no purpose. Jailbreakers don't get their info here and we all know how Apple feels. End of story. Move along. Bye bye!

Everything posted here is flamebait.

And some of us are quite happy to see jailbreak news here.

As they say, if you don't like the story, don't read it.

 

[Le Big Mac]

I've heard from multiple places that AT&T can't unlock the iPhone because Apple has refused to give them the codes or whatever it is Apple uses to enforce the lock. AT&T has no problem whatsoever unlocking any of their other phones. This is all on Apple.

Not necessarily. First off, AT&T is pretty grudging about unlocking, although true, they just won't for iPhone. But that could still be AT&T driven--they provide a very large subsidy for iPhones and realize unlocked versions are not as readily available, so they may have more reason to do it.

Well. That's not how I read it. First. The EFF asked for renewal of the ruling on behalf of its clients, being: The Wireless Alliance, ReCellular and Flipswap. All three used handset stores, and commercial entities. And they asked for it because the digital lock made it harder, if not impossible for them to sell recycled handsets... without risking DMCA related lawsuits. And this is what The Copyright Office had to say about it:

"The DMCA shouldn't be used to interfere with recyclers who want to extend the useful life of a handset."

And that also clears the sky for commercial unlockers, who may do the work for you, because not being able to do the unlocking yourself... shouldn't prevent you from unlocking your phone.

Now have a look at this:

"The Copyright Office agrees with EFF that the DMCA shouldn't be used as a barrier to prevent people who purchase phones from keeping those phones when they change carriers."

Note the "when they change carriers" in it. That to me sounds [suspiciously] like you first have to fulfill your contract [for a subsidized phone]. As in you used AT&T [as provider] and want to switch to another provider, while keeping your handset... but after you fulfilled your contract with AT&T. Which to me sounds reasonable.

I might be wrong, but this is how I read it.

I'm not sure we're saying different things. The "commercial" exception to the ruling was aimed at resellers who buy loads of phones and then sell them unlocked, but new. The cell industry didn't like that. On resale of phones, privately or commercially, there's no DMCA bar to unlocking.

As for fulfilling a contract, I don't think the copyright office has anything to say about that. If you bought your iPhone, unlocked tomorrow, and used on tmobile, I'm pretty sure you could use the copyright office as a defense. But not to any contract action A&T might have.

 

[Master Chief]

I'm not sure we're saying different things. The "commercial" exception to the ruling was aimed at resellers who buy loads of phones and then sell them unlocked, but new. The cell industry didn't like that.

Clear.

On resale of phones, privately or commercially, there's no DMCA bar to unlocking.

I agree.

As for fulfilling a contract, I don't think the copyright office has anything to say about that.

Of course not

If you bought your iPhone, unlocked tomorrow, and used on tmobile, I'm pretty sure you could use the copyright office as a defense. But not to any contract action A&T might have.

This is where we see things a little different, though I am not claiming to be right, or to know everything. Surely not.

And yes. The latter would indeed be a 'breach of contract'. Again. To my best knowledge.

 

[camomac]

How about the need to use italics? Or the inability to understand what egotism is?

Put the filter back between the brain and keyboard.

HA HA...
that's funny

 

[JaSuS]

you do have a choice...don't buy the iphone if you don't like the rules associated with it

if you buy a new mustang for the looks but want a camero engine for the power of it why do you automatically think you deserve it just because you want it?

if you have a problem with apples rules don't buy an apple phone chose a company or OS that will allow you to do what you want.

or better yet leave the forum

 

[MacKeeperFanMod]

Carrier unlocks sound appealing, but they are circumventing a contract that you entered into willingly with your provider and Apple when you bought the phone. Some countries, like Canada, offer a choice of carriers (although each carrier pushes its own contracts, which are good for some and bad for others). Other countries, like the US, don't offer any such choice. But the people now unlocking their carrier settings are generally doing so in violation of a contract that, almost universally, allowed them to get a phone for far less money down (and possibly less money over the life of the contract) than they otherwise would have had to pay to Apple, the manufacturer, in order to get the phone.

 

[NJuul]

Carrier unlocks sound appealing, but they are circumventing a contract that you entered into willingly with your provider and Apple when you bought the phone. Some countries, like Canada, offer a choice of carriers (although each carrier pushes its own contracts, which are good for some and bad for others). Other countries, like the US, don't offer any such choice. But the people now unlocking their carrier settings are generally doing so in violation of a contract that, almost universally, allowed them to get a phone for far less money down (and possibly less money over the life of the contract) than they otherwise would have had to pay to Apple, the manufacturer, in order to get the phone.

Just because you unlocked your phone it doesn't mean you can just stop paying AT&T their 100$ a month. And as long as you keep paying, you are not in breach of contract. And by the way, the total cost of a subsidized iPhone in the US is much higher than in most other countries (who would have thought that a monopoly leads to higher prices ). I'll be paying a total of just below $1000 over 6 months for a 32gb version, and can then change carrier or just go to much lower monthly prices, in the order of 10-30$, depending on usage. US mobile prices are insane.

 

[kntgsp]

Just because you unlocked your phone it doesn't mean you can just stop paying AT&T their 100$ a month. And as long as you keep paying, you are not in breach of contract. And by the way, the total cost of a subsidized iPhone in the US is much higher than in most other countries (who would have thought that a monopoly leads to higher prices ). I'll be paying a total of just below $1000 over 6 months for a 32gb version, and can then change carrier or just go to much lower monthly prices, in the order of 10-30$, depending on usage. US mobile prices are insane.

Absolutely. I can walk across the border into Switzerland and get a carrier-free iPhone4 32GB for the equivalent of $860. I can then come back and use it on the German Vodafone network without any problems whatsoever since everything here is GSM. Hell, if you don't live close enough to Switzerland or another carrier agnostic iPhone country, you can buy them unlocked on eBay (Germany is still Carrier locked with T-Mobile like the U.S. is with AT&T).

And my Vodafone monthly is much, much less than any AT&T plans. I pay much less a month for 5GB of data, and don't have a carrier locked phone so I can sell the phone to upgrade whenever I want. In the end it costs less because my monthly isn't "subsidizing" the device two times over and I can sell it whenever I want to avoid it depreciating into worthlessness after 2 years. Plus we don't get data capped, we get data throttled. So once we hit our 1, 2, or 5GB limits, we simply get throttled down until the next billing cycle, instead of instantly charged for an additional 200MB. I've had iPhone plans in the U.S. and Europe and far, faaaaar prefer the data throttling plans over here to data capping ones that try to charge you even more the second you go 1KB over your monthly. The throttling isn't really noticeable with emails and apps that pull smaller amounts of data, it's mostly just in place to soft-cap the morons who stream YouTube over their phone's 3G network 8 hours a day.

The iPhone 3GS is carrier agnostic here now, and can be purchased from any carrier. We can only hope that the iPhone4 is the last T-Mobile exclusive in Germany. T-Mobile's prices are laughable, as is their service.

 

[realph]

This couldn't come at a better time... I'm going international in a WEEK!!!! YAY

I second that. I'm on my way to the States in a month, I was wondering how I'd get around this problem.

 

[Rizvi1]

Jailbreaking/Unlocking 101 question

From what I'm reading, it seems the unlock is available for current firmware. does this mean I have freedom to look on craigslist and grab any still-locked iPhone 3gs I want? I've been wanting to do this for a while but had been confused because at the time I was looking into it, there were too many things to watch out for (fw needed to be a certain version, baseband another, etc)

 

[pika2000]

It's the cost of a subsidized phone market.

In Singapore, subsidized and free iPhones are unlocked out of the box. Unlocked != no subsidy. You have been brainwashed by the wireless carriers to think that you have to accept provider-locking to get subsidy. The wireless carriers already lock you into a contract to be subsidized. There's no reason for the device to be provider-locked.

 

[pika2000]

you do have a choice...don't buy the iphone if you don't like the rules associated with it

if you buy a new mustang for the looks but want a camero engine for the power of it why do you automatically think you deserve it just because you want it?

if you have a problem with apples rules don't buy an apple phone chose a company or OS that will allow you to do what you want.

False analogy. I'm not asking to switch the A4 with an intel Atom processor. It's as if you have a Mustang, and you are locked to Chevron gas. Let me ask you this. Will you be willing to buy a Mac locked into 1 ISP?

 

[pika2000]

I've heard from multiple places that AT&T can't unlock the iPhone because Apple has refused to give them the codes or whatever it is Apple uses to enforce the lock. AT&T has no problem whatsoever unlocking any of their other phones. This is all on Apple.

Nope. It's AT&T's FUD to shift the blame. Obviously Apple has no issue with unlocked iPhones as they are selling them officially unlocked in countries like Hong Kong and Canada. Trying to get an unlock code from AT&T on the other hand, for non-iPhone phones, is close to impossible unless you got lucky begging to the right person. AT&T probably has a clause in the contract with Apple, that if Apple ever sell an unlocked iPhone in the US, Steve Jobs has to give his liver to de la Vega.

 

[pika2000]

Actually, it's Apple that is doing this, not AT&T. If you buy an iphone from the apple store without a contract, you pay full price. You have absolutely no relationship to AT&T. And yet Apple still does not provide the unlock code.

If Apple is into provider locking, then why are they selling unlocked iPhones in other countries? Obviously Apple has no problem with unlocked phones. AT&T does, and I bet there's a clause in the contract with Apple that prohibits Apple from selling unlocked iPhones in the US.

By the way, no Android phones in the US are sold unlocked either (RIP Nexus One), yet I don't see anybody harping on HTC/Motorola.

 

[pika2000]

Once the iPhone moves to multiple carriers, I think that Apple will do away with the "no unlock" nonsense. To still refuse to unlock a phone when there are multiple carriers to choose from would be a PR disaster for Apple.

Samsung Galaxy S is available on all US carriers, yet every single one of them is provider-locked to the respective carriers. I don't see Samsung getting any bad PR. In fact, people are praising the Galaxy S highly. Mind boggling.

 

[pika2000]

Device locking by manufacturers and wireless carriers should be ILLEGAL by law.

There you go.

 

[tivoboy]

couple things

If Apple is into provider locking, then why are they selling unlocked iPhones in other countries? Obviously Apple has no problem with unlocked phones. AT&T does, and I bet there's a clause in the contract with Apple that prohibits Apple from selling unlocked iPhones in the US.

By the way, no Android phones in the US are sold unlocked either (RIP Nexus One), yet I don't see anybody harping on HTC/Motorola.

I think I may have posted this above. I think the key in the USA at least, is AT&T they want the lock, since they PAY apple 400$ per phone, they want that money back in the form of contract revenue. While apple CAN do it, provide unlocked phones or unlocks, I think their deal/contract with AT&T says, no unlocked unless people pay the full boat for the phone. In countries like France and others, where phones MUST be unlocked to the user, apple simply complies/provides it as such. I think in the next few years we might get there in the USA, but of course devices are going to end up costing the user much more.

 

[pika2000]

I think in the next few years we might get there in the USA, but of course devices are going to end up costing the user much more.

No, I don't think we will ever get there in the US. Apple tried to break the mold with iOS, taking away the control of the phone's OS from the carriers. But Google came along with Android, and gave control back to the carriers.

 

[mingoglia]

Just because you unlocked your phone it doesn't mean you can just stop paying AT&T their 100$ a month. And as long as you keep paying, you are not in breach of contract. And by the way, the total cost of a subsidized iPhone in the US is much higher than in most other countries (who would have thought that a monopoly leads to higher prices ). I'll be paying a total of just below $1000 over 6 months for a 32gb version, and can then change carrier or just go to much lower monthly prices, in the order of 10-30$, depending on usage. US mobile prices are insane.

ding ding ding. We have a winner! About a year and a half ago I bought a Blackberry Bold (that I still use) subsidized from AT&T. I called them a few days later and had them unlock it. They did it no questions asked. I told them I travel to Europe on occasion. They didn't think twice about unlocking it even though I just entered into a 2 year contract. I've *heard* the only phone they won't do this for is the iPhone but I don't have any first hand experience. My comment is mainly to point out that ATT doesn't seem opposed to it for other phones which is why their relationship with Apple is *different*... so obviously their contracts are different. Now if the non unlocking is a result of AT&T or Apple is anyone's call.

Mike