“A band of independent programmers says it has ‘unlocked’ the latest generation of Apple Inc.’s iPhones so the devices can be used on unauthorized wireless networks, in a move that could threaten Apple’s carrier partners,” Yukari Iwatani Kane reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“A group called the iPhone Dev Team released a free piece of software called ‘yellowsn0w’ that unlocks the iPhone 3G. The software lets users reprogram the phones so they can work on any wireless network based on the same technical standard,” Kane reports.
“An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the iPhone Dev Team’s work, only saying that Apple doesn’t support unlocked iPhones in the U.S. Apple offers such phones in Germany and Hong Kong “where government regulation requires it” but they usually come at a steep price,” Kane reports. “Software programmers have been trying to unlock the iPhone 3G since it came out last July.”
Full article here.
Don’t eat the yellowsnow
But can hacked iPhones surf the web through their carrier over 3G?
How may nerds in the 10s of millions of iPHone owners actually care?
Not me!
“How may nerds in the 10s of millions of iPHone owners actually care?”
Probably all those iPhone owners under the age of 20 who are PC or ex PC users who are used to getting pirated software and there are lots of em.
@dude
of course you will be able to
I think it is a great think when engineers can think outside the box and make iPhone 3G available to all of us. I am moving to the the UK from the US and I need a software unlock to make my transfer complete. Apple is too tight.
Congratulations.
Not something I plan on using, but seriously, they did some awesome work.
Have fun!
~
3G on ATT only, edge on t-mobile… the only reason to do this is for travel abroad or principle. I’m following closely as now it works with latest iPhone os and latest firmware.
Wake me when they get an iPhone running on Sprint’s CDMA network.
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Wrong! No officially unlocked iPhones in Germany!
iPhone Dev Team reminds me of the kids I knew in the 60s who put “blue-printed’ Corvette engines into Chevy IIs and took then to street corner where they could impress everyone by revving the engine and squealing tires. Some raced and others competed in shows. Very few of these guys got manufacturer’s support for their efforts, Cars of this sort are now far too expensive for the average kid, but PCs and even iPhones are cheap by comparison.
For some this is a valuable step to personal and professional growth, for others a challenge or simple rebellion. Often their efforts lead to a product that is useful for a few, but rarely the majority. Still a couple of these kids in the 70s changed the world with their efforts and gave iPhone Dev Team something to do with their talents and spare time today.
The more things change; the more they remain the same.
Did anyone notice that the image on the linked page is of a First-Gen iPod Touch?
Why can’t we be satisfied? Apple sells a terrific device, AT&T;accepted the contract because Verizon was too dumb. Now, like Verizon everyone wants to be “greedy” and get something for free!
That seems to be our nations TOP downfall.
This is the culmination of months if hard work. Good job guys/gals.
Is you have yet to jailbreak your phone, you should do it. You can actually get more from your phone (video recording, for example) and personalize it as well. Also, you can activate emoji, the Japanese character icons which are useful and fun, but not available anywhere but Japan.
So, it looks like the iPhone Dev Team are Frank Zappa fans.
Personally, “Sheik Yerbouti” is my fave.
I am an avid mac user and have been for years. But the amazing iPhone has some limitations. Like 9 pages of icons, come on, we need folders to organize games, info, entertainment, etc. and that is available with the hack. Or we all like to customize our desktop’s screen, well why not our iPhone’s? I would even pay for that. Neon and black color scheme are so old now. MMS, and Video recording and many more are available NOW with iPhone Dev-Team’s help. I can’t thank them enough. Try it, you can always reverse it if you don’t like it. I was amazed and won’t go back.
I wondered what The Fonz was doing these days!
@Mike, are you kidding? The history of mankind revolves around people not being satisfied with what they have.
Conquerers (Roman Empire, petty warlords) and rebels (US Founding Fathers, Civil Rights movement, etc) are the easiest example, but so are car enthusiasts, inventors and tinkerers.
I don’t have an iPhone (can’t justify paying almost $100/mo to Robbers… er, Rogers… in Canada to get the same service AT&T;users pay $60 for), but I applaud the efforts of the “iPhone Dev Team.” Progress is not made by the satisfied.
To be honest I think it is great.
Got nothing to do with kids in garages trying to fix something that doesn’t need fixing. I for example am a very loyal network user on contract, and I plan to stay that way. But in Europe it is quite easy to travel to the next country. On any other mobile you can just put a local pay-as-you-go SIM in to avoid roaming charges. Not so with the iPhone. Even other exclusives can usually be unlocked after a certain period of time, or for a nominal fee.
unlocking the iPhone enables people travelling a lot to use local SIM cards, rather than paying the mobile companies extortionate abroad charges.
great info
The Batman,
That’s about the only reason anyone would want to unlock. The point is, unlocking in order to use on, say, T-Mobile in the US is quite pointless, since you’ll still be stuck with the original AT&T contract which you had to sign before you got to take your iPhone home. In other words, you can unlock it, but you’ll have to continue to pay at least $70 per month to AT&T until two years are out. So, feel free to put a T-Mobile SIM card in and pay that T-Mobile bill on top of the AT&T one.