“Since Monday, Apple officials have been warning iPhone owners that using unlocking software could cause the phone to become “permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.” But in many cases those warnings went unheeded,” Katie Hafner reports for The New York Times.
“People who had unlocked their phones to use them with another carrier ran the greatest risk of, in techie terms, having them ‘bricked’ — rendered about as useful as a brick. Most of those who committed the lesser transgression of installing programs not authorized by Apple simply had those programs wiped out,” Hafner reports.
“The update has [also] made the iPhone ‘almost impervious to any third-party hacks,’ said Erica Sadun, a technical writer in Denver who has created more than a dozen programs for the iPhone, including the screen-shot program and a popular voice recorder,” Hafner reports.
Hafner reports, “Jennifer Bowcock, an Apple spokeswoman, said that when people went to update their software with their computer through iTunes, a warning appeared on the computer screen, making it clear that any unauthorized modifications to the iPhone software violated the agreement that people entered into when they bought the phone. ‘The inability to use your phone after making unauthorized modifications isn’t covered under the iPhone warranty,’ Ms. Bowcock said.”
Hafner reports, “There were reports online that employees at Apple stores were reviving or replacing some dead iPhones. But Ms. Bowcock did not offer much hope to iPhone owners with problems: ‘If the damage was due to use of an unauthorized software application, voiding their warranty, they should purchase a new iPhone.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: When companies start to support unsupported hacks, we’ll be sure to let Webster’s et al. know, so they can change the definition of “unsupported.”
That said, Apple, if you plan an iPhone SDK or a “Made for iPhone” plan to distribute authorized third-party apps via iTunes Store for the iPhone, right about now would be a good time to announce it:
While I support Apple’s right to do what they’re doing, I think it would be better of them to offer a paid repair service option. If they do have the means to repair the damage (ie: reflash the baseband modem to factory spec), then offer your customers the option to do so for say $150 (more than enough to cover the labor), or offer to replace the iPhone with a refurbished one for say $250, then take the bricked iPhone, refurbish it, and offer that to the next person who comes in with a self-bricked phone.
Sure, they aren’t obligated to do anything, but these people are still Apple’s customers, and treating them like criminals is not a great way to keep customers happy. If Apple did what I’m suggesting, they would accomplish the same thing (deter unlocking), but save face while doing it.
My 2¢.
I don’t know how stupid you have to be to NOT know that this was going to happen.
That being said, the iPhone is a consumer MESS. People should stay away from this phone for any number of reasons not the least of which is that it is effectively NOT your phone after you buy it. You buy it and you think you own it, but you don’t. You make any change to your Apple iPhone that Apple does not approve of and they will destroy it.
At this point a freaking ZUNE is a more Apple like device to own.
Why does everyone what to create 3rd party applications for the iPhone?
Why does everyone what the iPhone open to run on any network?
Why are their companies will to gamble on gray areas of the law?
The iPhone is a cell phone why is any of this even news?
Because the iPhone is a revolutionary cell phone (it’s even more revolutionary then a smart phone). It will be the hottest cell phone on the market for at least the next 3 to 5 years.
My advise is keep whining and keep the iPhone talk hot, Good or Bad. The talk all leads in one direction for iPhone sells and that is up. Why because only about 1% of iPhone buyers will ever hack the iPhone to install third part or unlock it to use it on another carriers network.
All the talk just reinforces the fact to people that the iPhone is the Hottest MUST Have cell phone on the market.
The more people (even when the Apple fans) say that Apple is behaving badly the better sells will be. Keep the I’m not buying an iPhone now!! Rants up too.. Their even better of sells then the general whining.
I want my AAPL to hit $225.00 by July 2008.. so keep on making everything that Apple does a huge deal.
If you don’t like the way Apple is handling the iPhone, then go and buy a n95 and hack that. Seems simple to me…
Just waitin’ for Macinsoft to brick all the “changed” Apple TVs.
“What? You opened it up and replaced the hard drive that we decided you needed? Warrranty voided. Tough Shit, buy another one.” Oh, but Apple learned from the Apple TV hacks and upgraded the hard drive offering.
Hackers, screw Apple. Don’t hack anymore of their equipment. Make them pay someone to develop advancements. They’re on the Microsoft path, help them along.
Sorry but if you buy the phone, IT IS YOURS! It should not be up to anyone to make it stop working regardless of what you have done. And I am sure Apple is not bricking the iPhone by accident.
No one is asking Apple to like it but please let people do what they like with the products they buy and do not interfere. Don’t cover it in warranty, fine but don’t render it useless. When the phone is sold to a customer, it NO LONGER BELONGS TO APPLE. It is the same as coming to your house and taking it from you without a refund.
I think this is an orchestrated FUD program to discredit Apple.
That being said, this reminds me of a two year old being told they will have their hand slapped if they touch the hot stove, they do it anyway (because they don’t LIKE being told what they can do and not do), they either get burned or their hand slapped (or both) and get sent to their room, where they promptly have a tantrum. Boo Hoo! Grow up.
The only difference between a two year old and most adults is the adults think that now they have “growed up” nobody can tell them what to do.
the fact that i actually laughed and relate to the name Macinsoft gives me pause. The “Anti-Apple” backlash has begun. It’s sad that it took microsoft 20 years to get the backlash, but Apple gets barely after they are out of the gate and on the upswing. sad.
Dumbasses
http://www.macinsoft.com
Free publicity I guess.
For those of you who saw the “AT&T;anti-free speech” posting above, it looks to me as if the intent of the clause has been purposely distorted by those with an ax to grind:
“AT&T;may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for CONDUCT that AT&T;believes (a) violates the Acceptable Use Policy; (b) constitutes a violation of any law, regulation or tariff (including, without limitation, copyright and intellectual property laws) or a violation of these TOS, or any applicable policies or guidelines, or (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T;, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.”
This obviously is aimed at CONDUCT (such as spamming) that would reflect on AT&T;’s reputation by associating AT&T;’s name with the objectionable conduct. It is a bit disturbing that taken out of context, clause (c) COULD be used to stifle free speech. However, it would be difficult for AT&T;to enforce that interpretation. As someone above stated, this is obviously a ‘contract of adhesion’ and would quickly be voided by any court if any of a number of sections were challenged.
This is very simple:
1) You were warned,
2) You ignored the warnings, like ignoring the speed limit and getting a speeding ticket–is it the cop’s fault you were caught?
3) Hackers are good for the community, yes, but if you try to hack the system and the hack doesn’t work, you lose the game–DON’T CRY ABOUT IT.
4) The iPhone is not a computing platform, but it is a consumer product. Go hack your BlackBerry, brick it, and ask RIM to replace it. No dice, dude, they’ll laugh in your face. (and so would Nokia, even though they are taking this opportunity to PR against the iPhone).
5) If you want to hack the iPhone, prepare to lose your money on it. Why do people always expect companies to act (read: pay) because they didn’t do things the way people expected it to work (even though they were told otherwise)?
6) Don’t be a typical, whiny American bitch. It makes us continually look bad around the rest of the world. It’s embarrassing.
There are no fucking rules to this and so Apple should go with the flow or risk becomeing a small player…..oh wait. We’re fucked!
I won’t buy an iMac or Macbook if i can’t install software on it, and i won’t buy an iphone if i can’t install software on it. It’s as simple as that. I don’t complain, i just spend my money somewhere else.
@ Ako
That’s fair.
I just want to go on record saying that I love Apple and its products. I’ve been an Apple computer ever since the Apple ][+. I bought the very first 128Kb Mac and now own 4 Macs of various varieties, and I have a 1.1.1 working iPhone. Second, I want to go on record as saying that anyone who hacks any device does so at their own risk, and if you hacked your iPhone and the hacking bricked the phone, that’s your own fault and you’ve voided your warranty and can’t expect warranty repairs. But I think that both sides in the argument here are missing the fundamental point. Apple isn’t just saying to owners of bricked iPhones that they can’t get repairs under the warranty, they are saying that NO NON-WARRANTY REPAIRS ARE AVAILABLE. That’s a completely different kettle of fish. It’s one thing to tell a customer that they’ve voided their warranty and so they have to pay for repairs, and it is an entirely different thing to refuse to let the customer pay to get their out-of-warranty item repaired at all. Yet that is what Apple is doing. They say that the bricked iPhone is “not eligible for technical support” and your only recourse is to get a new phone. While voiding the warranty is certainly within Apple’s right, refusing to let the customer pay to fix it is pretty sleazy. And make no mistake, they can fix it if they want to. The fact is, as shown here, http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/01/a-note-to-both-apple-and-iphone-customers-on-the-v1-1-1-update/
both hacked and unhacked iPhones have been bricked by 1.1.1, and, as shown here: http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/27/apple-geniuses-are-reportedly-unbricking-iphones/
Apple is able to unbrick the phones, it just refuses to do so.
In my opinion, it is pretty unprecedented for a company to flat-out refuse to provide an available out-of-warranty repair to paying customers. But that is what Apple appears to be doing. And if they deliberately bricked the phones (and by that I mean specifically wrote code to brick the phone, not merely ignoring the fact that the code they wrote would brick the phone) and then refuse to let the customer pay to fix it when the fix (a simple restore to factory settings) exists, then I think that they are in for some legal jeopardy as well.
Christ, there are so many mindless Apple fanboys on here it’s staggering. What exactly would Steve Jobs have to do to offend you? Perhaps come round and physically assault your family?
Irrespective of whether you love Apple or not, we should all resist this kind of restrictive practice.
What are we talking about here ultimately? Users daring to unlock devices they own and the manufacturer effectively breaking the product because they’ve decided they don’t like it.
Wouldn’t a more reasonable attitude by Apple to be to have reset the phone to it’s original settings and lock out the 3rd party apps? Sony have done exactly that with their PSP.
I’ve no idea about the legality of this act in the US but speaking to a corporate lawyer friend of mine this is sort of act will be illegal under EU law when the iPhone comes to Europe.
In Europe most products like the iPhone as part of a service contract e.g. 18 months with O2. You buy an iPhone under contract, unlock it and then Apple brick the product so you end up tied into a contract paying for a phone you can’t use because the manufacturer has broken it.
Whatever…..
“In Europe most products like the iPhone as part of a service contract e.g. 18 months with O2. You buy an iPhone under contract, unlock it and then Apple brick the product so you end up tied into a contract paying for a phone you can’t use because the manufacturer has broken it.”
Wanna try again? I think you dropped something, like crucial words that would have make your post readable.
@Luke Skywalker
“They have a special secret court in place for such actions, yet the simply didn’t use it. Why?”
FISA was authored in 1978 and was not structured to deal with quantity, portability, and disposability of modern cell phones. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has stated, when asked about the Executive decision to work outside of FISA, that it takes 200 hours to assemble a FISA warrant on a single telephone number. “We’re going backwards,” he said. “We couldn’t keep up.”
Common sense backs up this assertion. Yes, I choose to believe the people that were attempting to get a handle of the threat during a crisis situation. I applaud the proactive actions taken. I choose to believe that these were good people trying to do what they could to prevent another attack. You are certainly free to think otherwise.
I’m with Apple on this, just wait until they really get a handle on this product, it’s still so fresh. btw, isn’t it true that the iphone only gets ‘bricked’ if you try to unlock it, but not if you simply add 3rd party apps?
Salvation for the locked phone…
http://limitededitioniphone.com/bricked-iphone-after-firmware-111-steps-to-fix/
If you unlocked your iPhone, you’re still iPhucked. Well, kinda…read the article.
Amen Spark
Apple stance on third party apps is very Microsoftish.
I agree with Apple. You screw around, you get burned. Enjoy your iBricks!
Rainer Brockerhoff:
“…Consider now the iPhone. Its entire system (OS X 1.x) is built into firmware, mostly in a compressed state. This is expanded and run by the main ARM processor, obeying a built-in boot ROM. Supposedly, there are at least two more processors, taking care of network communications and of the cellular radio; each of these has its own boot ROM, and the radio processor has separate flash memory to hold state information regarding the SIM card, cellular system activation and so forth. One of these processors no doubt controls the USB interface to allow the main processor’s flash memory to be reloaded externally. Furthermore, every SIM card also has flash memory on it, containing the IMSI number, network identity, encryption keys and so forth, bringing one more source of complexity to the process.
“In other words, you have a complex system of at least 3 processors interacting, each one with a boot ROM, two with flash memory containing state information…”
Much more at: http://brockerhoff.net/bb/viewtopic.php?p=2191#2191