Technology news and Jobs arrow VIRTUALISATION arrow Update may turn unlocked iPhones into iBricks
Update may turn unlocked iPhones into iBricks E-mail
by Stephen Withers   
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Apple has warned that an pending software update for the iPhone may 'brick' the device if it has been unlocked, but those behind unlocking software question Apple's claim.

In a statement issued on Monday, Apple officials said "Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed."

The company warned that such problems would not be covered by the iPhone's warranty, and that an update delivering new features including support for the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store would be released later this week.

A statement from the iPhone Dev Team, the group responsible for the free software used to carry out the unlocking, has been published by The Unofficial Apple Weblog. The team asserted that "The removal of those firmware problems [ie, the AT&T lock], which were built in in favor for AT&T, does not cause 'damage' as they want to make us believe."

The Team expects to release a tool that will restore iPhones "to a Factory-like state" in the next week, and said "In the meantime we advise you not to update your free iPhone with the upcoming firmware. Wait for the next version to be fixed to work properly with your carrier and not break your phone."

The statement was published in a story carrying Erica Sadun's byline. Sadun developed a GUI for some of the tools used in the unlocking process. She also developed software that allows (some) Mac OS X widgets to run on an iPhone.

The usual justification for network locking is that it allows the carrier to recoup the cost of subsidising handset prices. However, Apple has insisted that the iPhone is sold without subsidy, and receives a percentage of network revenue associated with iPhone use.

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