Unlocking iPhone discussion

hisham samawihisham samawi
Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
I know this is the million dollar question alot of people are wondering this week. I live abroad so the only way I can get my hands on an iphone before 2008 is if someone figures out to unlock it.



I was wondering what the more tech savy people out there thought of the chances of this happening. I know nobody will know until it is released but is it possible for apple to make it impossible to unlock? Is it only a matter of time before someone figures it out?



I don't really understand the internal mechanisms of locking a sim card to a carrier and all that. Would be interested to hear a bit about how apple can lock the phone and how people would go about trying to unlock it



thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    lupalupa Posts: 202member
    I'm none too knowledgeable on the subject either, but you might find a problem with features, specifically voice mail. I believe as part of the deal at&t had to do work on their end for some of the iphone's voicemail features.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    proximityproximity Posts: 2member
    SIM Lock

    First of, we don't know that it's locked.



    Second. To our (great) advantage, it is a lot easier to modify a unix based operating system than any other cellphone operating system out there. This is actually so much easier Apple should do something to protect it. But I actually doubt they can. Take for example the Apple TV. Users have even enabled SSH, remote desktop, installed 3party codecs and so on.



    Third. The connector cable isn't just for file transfer. - A few phone manufacturers like Nokia and Sony Ericsson lets users update the phones operating system via software from their respective websites.



    Apple will undoubtedly use Os X integrated softwareupdate. This application is easy to monitor. You can even extract the .pkg files with contains the updates.



    The questions is now just: What files in the iPhones Os X-kernel determines if it's locked or not.



    Buying with intention to breach



    There is nothing illegal about buying a contract phone, even with the intention to pay the 175$ early-breach-fee. You don't need to pretend like you're buying an iPhone with the intent to use AT&T. It's your phone, do whatever you like with it, but don't void your warranty. If it's warrantvoid to edit it's internal software - I don't know until I see it's licence agreement.



    (Sidenote: In scandinavia (where I live), terms of agreement must be presentet the the buyer before purchase, so it's slightly easier for us to claim our warranty.)



    Voicemail

    I can't imagine that the operating system is depending on the AT&T network just to function. I don't know this, but my guess is that the iPhone will work nicely without a AT&T SIMcard if it's unlocked, but the voicemail function is directly dependent of the AT&T network. No big deal, just use your regualar voicemail



    Do you have any more tech questions, know yourself out
  • Reply 3 of 6
    hisham samawihisham samawi Posts: 39member
    Thanks for the replies... very interesting stuff. In the country I live in, people don't use voicemail anyways so that is the least of my concerns right now.



    Is it safe to assume that if the iphone is unlockable that anyone getting one will have to pay for the 175 cancellation fee? Do you think this fee is just insurance for AT&T so that if it does get unlocked that they at least get something out of every iphone sold?
  • Reply 4 of 6
    project2501project2501 Posts: 433member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hisham Samawi View Post


    Thanks for the replies... very interesting stuff. In the country I live in, people don't use voicemail anyways so that is the least of my concerns right now.



    Is it safe to assume that if the iphone is unlockable that anyone getting one will have to pay for the 175 cancellation fee? Do you think this fee is just insurance for AT&T so that if it does get unlocked that they at least get something out of every iphone sold?



    Well AT&T aren't compensating for the iPhone price, so in my mind they aren't allowed to be compensated for the iPhone sale either. In other words, No it's not an insurance, it's just pure greed!!
  • Reply 5 of 6
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Project2501 View Post


    Well AT&T aren't compensating for the iPhone price, so in my mind they aren't allowed to be compensated for the iPhone sale either. In other words, No it's not an insurance, it's just pure greed!!



    But if you never activate the iPhone through iTunes, then you never agree to the ATT contract. Remember, you're just buying the iPhone at the store, you don't sign any agreements until you plug it into your computer and 'sign' a contract with ATT through iTunes. So how could they charge you the $175 ETF if you never agree to it?
  • Reply 6 of 6
    cpt kcpt k Posts: 33member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PBG4 Dude View Post


    But if you never activate the iPhone through iTunes, then you never agree to the ATT contract. Remember, you're just buying the iPhone at the store, you don't sign any agreements until you plug it into your computer and 'sign' a contract with ATT through iTunes. So how could they charge you the $175 ETF if you never agree to it?



    Phone will not work at ALL (even as iPod) until authorised thru iTunes. Watch video demo and notice that it displays Phone Number of device - which means this number must be associated with ATT.



    I for one wish there was easy way around this. But will bite the bullet come Friday.
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