Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I assume to everyone. It technically already was legal in Canada to unlock your phones and I think all phones had to be unlockable. This means Apple can't deny our phones if they find it was jailbroken at one point or another! (Hopefully)

It would only apply to areas where the U.S. courts have jurisdiction, i.e. the United States and her territories.
 
I bet Apple will stil break the jailbreaks with each update.... Or Apple will some how one day make it where you can't hack the OS

By then, there will be enough features in the OS that jailbreaking will not be needed.

I assume to everyone. It technically already was legal in Canada to unlock your phones and I think all phones had to be unlockable. This means Apple can't deny our phones if they find it was jailbroken at one point or another! (Hopefully)

The iPhone is already unlocked for Canada. We can use any carrier we want. Bell, Rogers, Telus, Fido... etc. CANADA IS BETTER THAN AT&T!
 
IF TRUE this is more noteworthy than allowing jailbreaking.

Indeed, that's pretty significant. Also, Apple has been trying to make jailbreaking illegal since day one. This appears to remove the grey area and not in Apple's favor. And it's about damn time for both.
 
I just wish Apple allowed root access to the OS so I could save my text messages to my computer without having to jailbreak the device. Or allow applications to do things like quick toggle wifi or tethering. Or update system preferences so that it supports multitasking and I dont have to push 5 buttons to get to the tethering/wifi toggle pages.
 
Wait... this is the same government that doesn't allow you to circumvent digital copyright protection schema under 17 USC 12 (a.k.a. DMCA)?

So jailbreaking Apple's stuff is ok. Jailbreaking the recording and motion picture industry's stuff not ok.

Got it. Clear as mud.



P.S. I'm not endorsing piracy. I'm against piracy. I just find the contradiction a bit baffling.

Jailbreaking doesnt not mean piracy, it means putting unapproved apps on your iPhone.

Just because you -can- pirate, doesnt mean it's legal. What about apps you wrote yourself, or apps that didnt get approved by the app store? Those are the apps you are able to install when you jailbreak.

You can install pirated programs on your computer. If windows tried to only let you install applications they approved on your PC, then you would be allowed to circumvent that security measure legally. It doesnt mean that once you circumvent it you are allowed to install pirated applications.

If the movie industry had something installed on all DVD players and computers around the world that didnt let you watch burned DVDs, you would be allowed to circumvent that. That doesnt mean you'll be allowed to watch pirated movies you downloaded.

Piracy is illegal. Installing things you own on devices you own is not. Apple shouldn't have control of the apps you want on your iPhone. Windows doesnt have control of the programs/videos you have on your computer.
 
Sweet!

I think it's great that this happened but the jailbreak system needs to step it's game up because every iPod touch and iPhone I have jailbroken runs slower sometimes crashes and freezes up more often than I would like.
 
Say hello to viruses and malware.

Thanks Government. I will keep my money, I will keep my un-jailbroken phone, you can keep the change.

:confused: Many people already jailbreak their phones, so this doesn't change anything. People who jailbreak will be taking the same risks after this rule change as they were taking before this rule change. As long as you don't jailbreak your phone, this rule change will have no affect on you either.
 
I don't see how this changes anything. Jailbreaking was never really not allowed by the government anyway. Apple can still write their warranties the way they want. Just because you can legally use a product the way you want doesn't mean it wont void the warranty.
 
Makes good sense. This SHOULD be legal.

If you do a change to your device that is permanent, then of course Apple won’t support you, but as long as you revert back to original state, Apple wouldn’t even know so it wouldn’t be a factor. Jailbreaking might prevent you getting support with software issues like crashing, but if the radio dies or something, that should still be covered. Just like if you change the hard drive in your user-serviceable Mac. Break something and you’re out of luck! But it doesn’t stop you from being covered under warranty for problems that are not related to what you changed.

It's always been legal. Jailbreaking your phone isn't a crime.

And, with iOS4, Apple DOES know when you've jailbroken, even after reverting back to the normal iOS. As has been stated, they don't have to support jailbreaking.
 
U.S. Government are idiots, enough said. No other Governments ever going to follow them. Who would think that breaking security is a good idea...

Apple puts the security on devices for a very good reason. Others may think it is good to jailbreak, but they do not realise why Apple try to prevent it.

Also, if you broke your iPhone from jail-breaking it and try to get it repaired at a store. They probably would say that they cannot repair it due to the fact they are not trained to repair jail-broken iPhones and it is not part of their service. So Apple could easily make a way around it.
 
:confused: Many people already jailbreak their phones, so this doesn't change anything. People who jailbreak will be taking the same risks after this rule change as they were taking before this rule change. As long as you don't jailbreak your phone, this rule change will have no affect on you either.

It's not the same. People who were scared to jailbreak their phones because they will void their warranty or because they thought they were breaking the law now will know that jailbreaking isn't breaking the law or their warranty.
 
Everybody thinks jailbreaking means free apps. That is so last century. Please... stop... :mad:
 
It makes sense to say that everyone who purchases one of these devices should be allowed to jailbreak if they so desire. But once they do that Apple/or whatever other company should not be responsible or required to maintain any further warranty on anything that results from said jailbreaking.

Apple will fight this in the courts for sure. AppStore developers will also have a vested interest in the potential litigation as they financially impacted as well.
 
Say hello to viruses and malware.

Thanks Government. I will keep my money, I will keep my un-jailbroken phone, you can keep the change.

Nah, say hello to FREEDOM and CHOICE. Sure, this may open you up to viruses and malware, I doubt it thought, but freedom comes with these risk.

Wow, I'm ecstatic. A huge hole was just ripped into the Jobs rampart surrounding his walled garden. I'm sure he is beside himself. :)
 
I'm glad the government got involved. It's about time they did something useful.

while i personally approve of jailbreaking, it's pretty scary the government can tell a company what to allow/disallow on their own products.

if jailbreaking is that important to you...buy a different phone. in a free country the government shouldn't be telling people how to live or how to operate their businesses.
 
U.S. Government are idiots, enough said. No other Governments ever going to follow them. Who would think that breaking security is a good idea...

Apple puts the security on devices for a very good reason. Others may think it is good to jailbreak, but they do not realise why Apple try to prevent it.

Also, if you broke your iPhone from jail-breaking it and try to get it repaired at a store. They probably would say that they cannot repair it due to the fact they are not trained to repair jail-broken iPhones and it is not part of their service. So Apple could easily make a way around it.

my friend, most of us here looking for UNLOCK!

we do not care about jailbreaking.

right now jailbreaking is illegal (so that you can unlock it) now it is legal

and people can sell software to jailbreak/unlock and support it! -> that is the big change from this rule.

if i understood everything correctly.
 
Be careful for what you wish

On the surface, this might sound good. But think again. If you are an Apple stockholder, you have every right to be incensed. Consider:

1. This is direct government interference of a business. The Obama administration is the most anti-business administration in US history. It undermines Apple's ability to determine its own destiny. If you are Adobe, you must be thrilled, because now, you can undercut iOS and slide Flash into the phone. You can undercut Apple and steal revenues from the company. That hurts earnings. As a stockholder, I am furious about that.

2. Speaking of Flash, if you live in Minnesota or Alaska, you will love having Flash on your iPhone. No longer will you need a gasoline-fueled handwarmer; all you will need is flash to get your iPhone glowing red hot. Battery life? Who cares?

3. Attack vectors: while you hobbyists might drool over being able to mod your phone to oblivion, you also open up your iPhone, and the network to which it is attached, to all kinds of nifty viri and phishing scams. Your stupidity puts me at risk. Yes, I know this comment will be greeted with a fusillade of flying phlegm and bile in response. But a principal reason why Apple built such a walled garden is to protect you from your own foolishness.

Please show me the error in my ways. Please demonstrate clearly why jailbreaking my iPhone will transform my life into a completely new realm. My hunch is that your explanations will be trivial at best. But go ahead. Waste your energy with your geeky replies. Don't worry though - I won't return to this article anyway to read what you have to say. But knock yourselves out. The general public won't either care nor will they have a clue about what is of passionate interest to all 12 of you.
 
Wow... I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

While I'm all for people being able to use devices they've purchased in whatever way they choose, Apple has some good reasons for their so called "walled garden".

Will this government sanctioning of jailbreaking make it more mainstream? And make piracy more mainstream? And make those devices more of a target for viruses/malware? :confused::eek:

No, jailbreaking won’t ever be mainstream. It offers very little benefit and a lot of hassle. It’s a fringe option that 99% of the public (despite the impression you get on a techie niche like MR) will never have any interest in.

As for piracy, that’s the main benefit, and it’s a shame—but this clarification won’t foster piracy because pirates don’t care what’s legal anyway.

As for malware... sure, maybe—additional security flaws could potentially be introduced by jailbreaking. But that’s the least of the problems. People who embark on jailbreaking are prepared to research the issues, keep on top of them as they change, and solve them as they arise.

Apple’s “walled garden” is VERY beneficial to users. It makes their products far better and more functional (and is far less “walled” than people like to claim). However, if people want to strike out on their own and install some other software, I support that. (Just not piracy; not taking the creative work of developers without paying them.)
 
I bet Apple will stil break the jailbreaks with each update.... Or Apple will some how one day make it where you can't hack the OS

Nothing is unhackable. It doesn't matter how smart Apple's Engineers are because there are always someone out there smarter.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.