Hacked iPhones Confirmed As Bricking With Latest Update

mhollis writes "Field experience has confirmed that if you have a hacked iPhone, it will become an iBrick if you use Software Update to install the latest update on your iPhone. The BBC reports: '[Apple's] warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update. Apple requires iPhone owners to take out a lengthy contract with AT&T in the United States but there are a number of programs on the net that unlock the device for use with other networks.' The only 'solution' is to unhack your iPhone."

Comments

Remember MusicMatch? Just wait.

[Fished]

Remember when the first generation of Windows-ready iPod's came out, which came with MusicMatch Jukebox? Steve extolled it's virtues ... only to release iTunes for Windows a year or so later. My guess is that Apple will eventually become a carrier, but just weren't ready to dive into that business Quite Yet. Just give it time, they'll stab AT&T in the back.

Re:Apple hates freedom

[djh101010]

You hack YOUR phone, and Apple says you can't do that. That's why this has a MS feel to it.
Um, no, you hack your phone, and a re-install of the upgraded OS reverts it to an un-hacked state. Nothing surprising, evil, or permission-ish about it.

Apple doesn't care if you want to play Tetris on your iPhone. They _do_ have to pretend to care that you want to go with a carrier other than who they have a contract with (AT&T). So if you did something to change who you go through as a carrier, and since Apple didn't write the hack, they don't promise how it'll act going forward.

What else could they do? They have to keep their business partners happy for legal reasons, and how in the world could they support a third-party hack they didn't write? I don't think it's reasonable to think that they should have to do a full regression testing of every version of every unlocking hack out there. In fact, I'd prefer they don't. I'd rather they spend their time working on features for the mainstream, and let those who unlock their phone do so with the understanding that they unlock hack may not work after you upgrade the software.

Re:*NOT* bricked!

[venicebeach]

Please people, let's quit talking like newbies. If you drop your iPhone in the toilet, or if you microwave it, it will become bricked. If you simply fudge it up, to the point where it needs to be restored, it is not bricked. Especially if all the other functions on it function. I know that there are a lot of Apple haters out here, but we don't need to be confusing tech term

You're missing the point. These phones *are* actually bricked. If you get the invalid SIM card error you can't restore the phone and replacing the original SIM doesn't clear things up. It reverts to the state its in before it is activated -- you cannot access any of the functions: ipod, wifi, etc. -- you can't get past the splash screen.

They can tell and you're iScrewed

[MacDork]

A bricked iPhone can be returned for a full switch... Correct me if I am wrong, but its not like they can tell the phone has been "unlocked", as I have not opened this phone in any way, and as such have not voided any warrenty on the hardware.

If you check the comments here, you see one particular comment of interest:

Check you IMEI number on the back against the one on the activation svreen (behind the "i"). If you see 004999010640000 on screen you are screwed (for now).

You see, they can tell,

This is the problem. THe free sim unlock changed everyone's IMEI to 004999010640000 - so they are now checking the IMEI to when it was first activated to the SIM to ensure a match, and if you look on the back of your box, you'll notice your original IMEI #.

Which means: You're iScrewed if you update... and I TOLD YOU SO. A month ago, long before any announcement by Apple... Steve said no unlocking. Even though he's wrong this time, he's stubbornly sticking to his guns like always. Maybe you'd like to buy a real smartphone when you get that bad taste out of your mouth. For God's sake, whatever you do, don't say, "Thank you sir may I have another."

Re:fucking apple fanboys

[Goldberg's Pants]

I have always despised the iPod. Massively overpriced etc... However, with the iPod Touch, bloody Steve Jobs has finally made me want an iPod. (I have absolutely no use for an iPhone). But I have no delusions of being able to run third party apps or whatever on it. I want it for what it does out of the box. Anything else down the line is an added bonus.

As for the iPhone... The early adopters got burned with the price drop. And now the people who hacked their phones can't do what they want to do with their precious toy. I'm sorry, but I find that quite amusing. I realise this will be an unpopular opinion, but Apple is a business like any other. If they want to cripple third party apps for now, that's entirely their choice and, sadly, their right. Anyone who harbors the delusion that when they buy a device they actually own it and can do what they want has clearly not been paying attention to any technology of the last 5-10 years.

It's not like Apple didn't warn folk this was coming, which is a hell of a lot more than other companies have done.

Re:Non-hacked too.

[GPL Apostate]

Incompetence. Apple hasn't done anything really clever technically in a long, long time. They rely on 'creative design,' attractive appearances, and heavy heavy marketing.

They weren't even able to turn MacOS into a modern pre-emptive multitasking OS. They ended up having to buy in a third party OS from NeXT, after spending many millions in failed attempts.

One of the most difficult things to engineer into a portable device is a robust battery compartment that can use commercial off-the-shelf _standard_ batteries. It's a lazy cop-out to seal the batteries into a product. I know, because I worked for years at a medical device manufacturer where we struggled with a design to let the customer use a simple off-the-shelf 9v battery. It's an EXPENSIVE and difficult undertaking. Again, Apple really isn't competent enough to design a robust battery compartment. My Newton, which is fine in other regards, has a botched battery compartment.