“Don’t say you weren’t warned. After cautioning customers earlier this week that unlocked iPhones may be disabled when installing future Apple software updates, the company on Thursday made good on its warning,” Jim Dalrymple reports for Macworld.
“Two iPhones in the Macworld offices that had the SIM hacks applied to them were disabled after installing iPhone Update 1.1.1,” Dalrymple reports.
According to Dalrymple, users “could not navigate through the iPhone’s menu” and “the ‘Slide for Emergency’ slider is the only thing available after installing the update. This allows customers to make emergency calls only.”
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “NeverFade” for the heads up.]
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss thats the way apple should be…making sure they are loyal to their partners.
first comment
Why would anyone install the update after being warned?
ROFL!
You idiots were warned!
Wlecome to iBrick guys.
Hows it feel throwing $300 down the toilet?
MacWorld article is very terse. I don’t have an iPhone, but it seems to me that the phone is looking for an AT&T;SIMM. The article doesn’t say whether they attempted to start up the device with the original AT&T;SIMM. It might be possible that the phone was showing the error message after seeing a non-AT&T;SIMM card and refusing to go any further.
Even if it’s not the case, this was a risk people were bound to take when updating the phone after unlocking it.
According to other reports, it seems that those with phones hacked with third-party apps were just restored to the original state, without any third-party apps. This implies that the user will just have to re-hack it and re-install third party apps.
Let’s give it a day or two to find out what’s happening with the unlock issue.
Just like microsoft its loyal to their partners… upppppss! i forgot that Microsoft betrayed each of its partners…
Even if the hacked iphones havent got the new updated installed there will be a time in the future whereby you HAVE to have the latest update to use iTunes.
That has happened with the ipod many times when iTunes has a major update.
So theres no avoiding it im affraid, if you are one of the idiots who have hacked your iphone then welcome to never being able to update your iphone software because you are in fear of it breaking your hacked brick.
If Apple does a major update to iTunes you aint gonna be able to use your iphone anyway if its hacked.
GJ Apple – legimate iphone users have nothing to worry about.
@Predrag:
in the comments, an owner of one of the “bricked” iPhones confirmed he was using the original AT&T;SIMM card.
Apple is the new Microsoft… I’m a longtime user and Mac-Buyer, but there are a few strange things going on. Don’t let Apple jerk you around!!
HA HA HA!
“Apple is the new Microsoft… I’m a longtime user and Mac-Buyer, but there are a few strange things going on. Don’t let Apple jerk you around!!”
yeah!
i mean you bought something that requires a contract, and promises new software by updates, and then you were warned about hacking it, and then again, and then warned about updates, but you did it again anyway…
how DARE Apple not make a special patch for you just because you are dumber than a clod of dirt!
down with elitist Mac snobs! down with people who expect you to be able to understand basic logic or have language skills! cavemen need iPhones too!
I am amused by the negative reactions to Apple protecting its partnership with AT&T;. People bought an iPhone KNOWING this was the deal, and now act like Apple is the new Microsoft because it won’t let THEM do what THEY want with a phone THEY knew was with AT&T;. Classic. Just classic. When the hell did Mac users become so GOD DAMN whiney? Are these Windows converts? If so, go the hell back, would you?
Thank You Uncle Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL
let the class-action lawsuits begin.
It’s not possible at the moment to just re-hack a locked iPhone. As I understand it, the first step of the hack was to put the 1.0.2 firmware and then the unlocking process begins. If you now restore to factory settings you will get firmware 1.1.1 and no unlock exists for that firmware yet. So bottomline, freeze any update to your phone till further notice. Also just don;t update iTunes either (though getting older windows versions of iTunes is not difficult)
> Apple is the new Microsoft
Nonsense. This is Apple being like it has always been. It’s not any different than Apple actively preventing Mac OS X from working on generic Intel PCs. If you want to use Mac OS X, you have to buy a Mac. If you want to use an iPhone, you have to use it with AT&T;service. If you don’t want to buy a Mac, use Windows or Linux. If you don’t want AT&T;service, get another mobile phone.
If Apple did nothing to stop unlocking of iPhones now, it would be too late. And it would probably be in violation of its contract with AT&T;. Also, if Apple did not enforce exclusivity now, it would not be able to command the current huge advantage in negotiating terms with its international iPhone service partners.
In fact, this is an example of Apple being the antithesis of Microsoft. If it was Microsoft, this situation would not have occurred, because Microsoft would have licensed the iPhone UI technology to every taker. Microsoft does not care about user experience. Apple maintains strict control of user experience. As technology becomes more complex, that control is exactly WHY Macs, iPods, and iPhones have been so successful lately.
I actually had a very scary moment with an _unhacked_ iPhone: plugged it in, said update, and it threw an error on the update, which bricked the phone. Fortunately after a few reset attempts (during which I got more and more freaked out), it finally went on and did the update. It’s restoring the files to the phone now.
Whew!
I agree with Tyk… The deal was very clear upfront and you cannot blame Apple. I’m not used to whiney Apple users and I’m also wondering if all the noise is coming from Windows/iPhone user or recent converts.
I’m with Tyk. The terms of the iPhone MORE than clearly stated the requirement of an AT&T;account activation. As soon as I read from initial installers of this update that it triggered a re-activation with AT&T;I knew the hacked iPhones were in trouble.
Tinker at your own risk people.
Hmm. I actually think Apple doesn’t really care about people unlocking their phones.. Sure, they don’t want to support any bad software, but I think they really don’t mind if people hack their phones. I believe that’s why they ‘warned’ everyone days ahead of time that their update might break some of the hacked phones.. They do at least have to pretend they’re being supportive of their partnership with AT&T;, but in the end, I think they were basically telling people to unhack their phones before they update them.. Then you can hack them again.
Yup, you guys and gals were warned.
So don’t come in complain to me because your hacked iPhone won’t work.
You guys do know what the word “brick” in reference to electronic devices means right?
Because it doesn’t seem like many of you do. Like, at all.
When a device is “bricked”, Apple or otherwise. That device is dead, done for, no longer usable. Not amount of hacking or fiddling or tweaking or updating or flashing or restoring or re-imaging or anything will bring it to life. Nothing. It is useless, essentially it is has died. And useless as a…….you guessed it – brick!
Now I admit I haven’t read every forum, or webpage, or blog post since Apple released today’s update, but of the ones I have read (which includes a 19 page forum thread over at MacRumors) no one had had their iPhone “bricked” due to this update. In other words Apple did not intentionally kill anyone’s iPhone because they “hacked” or “modded” their iPhone.
Are phones that were unlocked before the update no longer unlocked after the update was applied? Yes
Are people who were happily running unauthorized 3rd party apps before the update no longer running unauthorized 3rd party apps after the update? Yes, in fact I am one of them (I was well aware I would be giving up installer.app once I updated, and did so with no hesitation).
Are either of these two groups of people (of which I am a part) in possession of $600 (or less depending on model and when you bought) “bricks”? Nope. We all have fully functioning iPhones in terms of Apple prescribed use. No bricks. I no longer have Tap Tap Revolution on my iPhone but it still works. No bricks here. And people who had an unlocked iPhone, still have a fully functioning iPhone (that is once they pop in an approved AT&T;SIM and activate an account with the same). No bricks there either.
So do everyone a favor, stop sounding like the idiot commenters on sites like Engadget. Learn exactly what they mean before you start throwing out terms you read on some other techie website. K?
It’s not hard to do, I am sure you can all handle it.
Oh and throwing an “i” in front of any word you can think of is neither witty nor an acceptable excuse to haphazardly apply random terms to things that they don’t belong to.
@Brian
I think Apple is less caring about 3rd party software hacks, but as ken1w stated, Apple has obligations to AT&T;to maintain their exclusivity.
I’m not whining, I am here in Mexico , and need an unlocked iPhone (or want to keep one real bad). I know the deal, I will not update the software, until the simfree guys figure out what to do. I guess will have to relock, up date then simm free again. Yes , its a hassle, but I get tired of hearing people in the States, preaching , if you don’t want ATT, don’t buy one,
I am sure the VAST majority of us “dumber than a clod of dirt!” iPhone unlockers, do not have access to ATT, or an iPhone option in our Country any time soon, like our friends in Canada, \
so f**K off
If we choose to do what we can to have access to the iPhone, we should be admired as diehard Apple fanatics who will risk $400.00 for it, (hell, I spend that in a Saturday night)
and I guess I am wrong in having someone buy Leopard for me in the States, instead of waiting till it gets here in 2008, and by the way, you don’t like glossy screen’s??, come on down , all we have are the old matte iMacs, even the 17″ one, for $1,600usd
@I wonder
Those who had UNLOCKED their iPhones from AT&T;have, after the update, had their iPhones go to an emergency state where all they can do is use the phone to dial 911. It’s unclear if they can re-activate if they use an AT&T;SIM card, but we’ll know soon enough.
Those who have HACKED but not UNLOCKED their iPhones have, as you said, just lost the added apps and changes.
My guess is that most of the hostile whineys are probably newcomers from the Linux/Open source world. Most of them walk around with just that mindset.
Everyone needs to remember that Apple gets a chunk of EVERY iPhone service contract from AT&T;…. THAT is why they don’t want you jumping ship with “their” iPhone. That was the deal breaker for Verizon.
So, in essence you are stealing from Apple… at least in Apple’s eyes.
The Dude abides.