The iPhone Dev-Team works in mysterious ways, but it also works in quick ways. Granted, the iPhone 3G’s initial unlock took way longer than anyone would’ve liked, but when reports started surfacing that it wasn’t working particularly well after the first beta release earlier in the week, they appear to have worked doubletime to get a better version into circulation. The release is now up to v0.9.4 — still beta — but if you tried the first cut and struggled, we’d suggest giving the new version a whirl.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

iPhone 3G unlock revised, now with less beta originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_3G_unlock_arrives_at_last’; So, it didn’t quite land before midnight as some had hoped, but we’re sure you were partying too hard to notice. The Dev-Team just launched its long-awaited iPhone 3G unlock, dubbed “yellowsn0w,” and while they’re still working out a few kinks (terming this release a 0.9 beta release), reports are already pouring in of successful unlocks. It’s also been confirmed that this release will work with the iPhone’s latest v2.2 firmware, and in fact requires that the phone be updated to v2.2 to run at all — much to the chagrin of folks who’ve held off on that update at the Dev-Team’s behest, we’re sure, but hopefully all will soon be forgotten in the new year… already freer than the last! Hit up the read link for download instructions and caveats.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3G unlock arrives at last, time to eat some yellowsn0w originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever since the Dev-Team kinda sorta promised that they would have a neatly packaged iPhone 3G unlock ready for release by the year’s end, we’ve all been waiting on pins and needles, counting down the moments until freedom was in hand yet again. Now, a cryptic message on the crew’s blog has been followed up with a not-at-all secretive image (shown above), which shows that whatever magic they’ve got going on will work with the latest (v2.2) iPhone 3G firmware. According to a related writeup at yellowsn0w, we’re clearly told that the unlock tool will be made available by midnight PST at the latest, though we’re hoping those guys have their AM / PM mixed up — otherwise, you might be waiting until noontime tomorrow. At any rate, now you’ve more than a day off and black eyed peas to look forward to tomorrow, right?

Via yellowsn0w and MobileCrunch]

Filed under: Cellphones

Dev-Team teases v2.2-compatible iPhone 3G unlock for the New Year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t unlock ours for a few days yet, so why don’t we sit back, relax, and watch the boys and girls at the Dev-Team shoehorn their iPhone 3G onto T-Mobile while we wait? Follow the break for all the nail-biting action!

Continue reading iPhone 3G unlock demoed on video

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

iPhone 3G unlock demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

If you can’t get your goods into China via the front door, there’s always the back. Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong. The 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about US$694) or HK$6,200 (about $797) for the 16 gigger. Already available since July 11th with a local Hutchinson Telecommunications contract, this is the first time that Apple has sold its device unlocked in Hong Kong:

“iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.”

Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese, the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only — not that the gray market cares about T&Cs. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena, perhaps in direct response to having its WiFi and the imperialistic 3G gutted from handsets sold under Apple’s rumored China Mobile deal.

[Via PC World, thanks Twins N]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/DevTeam_releases_PwnageTool_and_QuickPwn_2_1′; With firmware 2.1 now out for the iPhone and iPod touch we bring you the inevitable PwnageTool and QuickPwn response. Apparently, the DevTeam took offense to a previous posting where we questioned the relevancy of continued jailbreaks in the age of the AppStore and official, worldwide iPhone distribution.

So, we’ll put it to you dear reader: as much as we respect these guys for their gen-1 iPhone unlocking and pre-AppStore era work, is PwnageTool and the ability to jailbreak your phone still as important as it was?

View Poll

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Filed under: Cellphones

While the DevTeam rightly asserts that Apple can’t undo the bug exploited by PwnageTool via firmware update alone, it’s still subject to the whims of iTunes connectivity. In fact, iTunes 8 seems to detect jailbroken devices jailbreaking attempts and then stomps its feet and refuses to play nice. While the DevTeam says that fixes are in the works, the growing list of useful applications in the AppStore coupled with the global retail availability of the iPhone (and lack of a 3G unlock) makes PwnageTool less and less relevant with each passing day.

Update: The problem seems to occur when you try to restore to an iPwned ipsw from a non-iPwned device. Syncing to an already Pwned device works fine.

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Uh-oh, it look like it’s not just the underground unlockers who’re having problems with the iPhone 2.0.1 update’s revisions to the 3G’s baseband — Vodafone customers who’ve paid to have their handsets unlocked are starting to report failures to connect to iTunes followed by the appearance of an “0xE8000001″ error code. There are also reports from a handful of other carriers, but Voda’s selling Steve’s baby in 10 countries, so most of the complaints are from its customers. Other than that, there are some isolated reports of brickage, but we’ve mostly heard good things about 2.0.1, and our iPhones are definitely feeling a little better — how about you?

[Via TUAW]

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’ve already seen the iPhone 3G got unlocked to function on any carrier (and you can already buy unlocked versions in several countries), but we haven’t seen a locked handset get unlocked via software only, and the folks at gsmphone-unlocking have the first video we’ve seen of Steve’s newest baby doing the SIM swap dance without any adapters. Yep, there it is, going from Rogers to Fido. Sadly, the video is more of a shameless ploy for publicity than actually useful information, and until we’re told otherwise, we’re just going to assume that they’ve just gotten hold of an early copy of the Dev Team’s unlocking tool — which should be free to the public sometime soon. So, you know: video after the break, but feel free to ignore the obnoxious phone numbers and URLs.

Continue reading iPhone 3G SIM unlock demoed on video, zero details given

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Feeling a little left out after yesterday’s Mac-based Pwnage Tool festivities, Windows users? Fret not, because the ever-vigilant, ever-studious hacking community has managed to come up with a series of steps to get you back on your feet again with a fully pwned first-gen handset. The whole shebang isn’t necessarily for the most casual jailbreakers — let’s just say it isn’t quite as straightforward as the Mac procedure yet — but it’ll allegedly get you going if you’re starting with an iPhone running 1.1.4 (there are additional steps if you jumped the gun on 2.0, you impatient son of a gun, you — think of it as penance). As always, exercise extreme caution, understand that this could cause your iPhone to spontaneously combust into a useless pile of metal, plastic, and ash, and let us know how it goes in comments.

[Thanks, Z-]

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iPhone unlocking is a little more cash-intensive now that Apple and AT&T are all contract-happy with the 3G, but it looks like would-be unlockers will have a little more time to save up those pennies — the erstwhile hackers on the iPhone Dev Team say that while a forthcoming version of the sadly-named Pwnage tool will activate and jailbreak the iPhone 3G, unlocking is taking a little longer than expected, and they don’t want to release the code until it’s exactly right. The tool still unlocks first-gen iPhones running 2.0 and allows jailbreak apps to co-exist with the App Store, so if you’re desperate to unlock right away, we’d say a first-gen unit is your best bet.

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Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone unlocking is a little more cash-intensive now that Apple and AT&T are all contract-happy with the 3G, but it looks like would-be unlockers will have a little more time to save up those pennies — the erstwhile hackers on the iPhone Dev Team say that while a forthcoming version of the sadly-named Pwnage tool will activate and jailbreak the iPhone 3G, unlocking is taking a little longer than expected, and they don’t want to release the code until it’s exactly right. The tool still unlocks first-gen iPhones running 2.0 and allows jailbreak apps to co-exist with the App Store, so if you’re desperate to unlock right away, we’d say a first-gen unit is your best bet.

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Filed under: Cellphones

MetroPCS may not have the largest wireless footprint in the States, but they did take a jab at the larger two CDMA carriers by announcing their intention to take on any Verizon and Sprint customers ready to jump ship — as well as any “compatible” devices they may want to bring along with them. Sprint already supposedly does this (although we’ve still yet to hear of it actually really happening), but the specifics of MetroPCS’s MetroFlash seem equally unclear. It doesn’t sound like they’ll reprogram just any CDMA device that walks through their doors, though, just the ones they’ve had a chance to test on their network. Definitely kills the buzz (and the number of devices that can be ported), but a little open is still kind of better than totally closed, right?

[Via Seattle P-I]

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Filed under: Cellphones

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Screen_Grab_Woz_hacks_Kathy_Griffin_s_iPhone_on_TV’; Steve Wozniak is much more than a throbbing brain with a tie. He knows that the quickest way to a girl’s heart is to jailbreak her iPhone… on TV. As he tells Ms. Griffin, “You know, some people would criticize you for not having hacked your iPhone.” Certainly not you, Mr. Apple Co-founder? Watch it all go down after the break.

[Thanks, Karim S.]

Continue reading Screen Grab: Woz hacks Kathy Griffin’s iPhone… on TV

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Filed under: Cellphones

Although the iPhone Dev Team totally punked us on April Fool’s Day, they were still nice enough to give us an early hands-on (in person!) with a pre-release version of their new Pwnage tool. Pwnage lets you load in any firmware you want, including patched firmwares not signed by Apple — which could lead to everything from custom software distributions to totally new OSs ported over (like, say, Android or Linux). We did what most people are probably going to do, however: we took a brand new 8GB iPhone, unlocked it, and upgraded to the 2.0 firmware, while keeping it active on T-Mobile. It’s not exactly a one-click process, but it’s not all that hard either — although we kind of cheated and had Dev Team members talking us through it. Peep the vid after the break, and check the read links in few hours to get your hands on Windows and Mac versions of the tool.

P.S. -Apologies for the blurry video for the first couple minutes, we didn’t notice that our camera had gotten knocked out of macro mode. You’re not missing much, trust us. Oh, and the only cuts are during loading bars and when we accidentally flashed a phone number and the iPhone’s serial number — we figured you didn’t really want 20 minutes of listening to people sniffle during progress bars.

Read - iphone-dev.org (Pwnage tool creators)
Read - The iPhone Project (hosting the Pwnage tool)

Continue reading Video: The iPhone Dev Team’s Pwnage tool in action

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Those crafty kids on the iPhone Dev Team have already hacked the 2.0 firmware, but now they’re getting ready to release the oh-so-creatively-named PWNED tool, which takes iPhone hacking to the next level by patching the bootloader to let you load any firmware image you want — even images not signed by Apple. That means custom patched firmware can now be loaded directly from iTunes, which simplifies the jailbreaking / unlocking process tremendously, and also means that a patched version of the 2.0 firmware is coming soon. We’re putting the tool through its paces right now and we’ll have a hands-on with it (and the Dev Team’s patched 2.0 firmware) as soon as we get it all working, but check out some highlights after the break, and hit the read link for more info.

Continue reading Video of the iPhone Pwned project in action

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Filed under: Cellphones

We know, we’re flat on our backs from being blown away here, but Apple confirmed to us in a post-keynote Q&A session that SIM unlock software will not be allowed in the iPhone App Store. You know what that means? The Jailbreak community lives to crack another day.

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Mr. GEOrge HOTz did it again. He just loosed a world of hurt on AT&T with a software unlock for 1.1.3 iPhones. That’s right, the software is said to work on any fresh from the Apple store, shrink-wrapped iPhone sporting the latest 1.1.3 firmware and 4.6 bootloader. Something the AnySim unlock can’t do. GeoHot’s instructions (and smack talk) posted after the break. We haven’t tested yet so as always, take care.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable

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Filed under: Cellphones

Today’s iPhone unlocking / jailbreaking update comes by way of Zibree, who, as you may have heard, announced a new version of AnySIM that unlocks v1.1.3 phones with the baseband 4.03_13_g; be warned, though, bootloader 4.6 won’t work, only 3.9. If none of this makes sense to you, we envy the blissful, pain-free life you’re not whittling away tracking this stuff.

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Filed under: Cellphones

While it likely won’t come as much of a surprise to those reading this, it seems that Apple’s recently released iPhone sales numbers and AT&T’s customer number don’t exactly match up, leading those ever so insightful analysts to conclude that many of the phones are being sold with the sole intention of being unlocked. What is somewhat surprising, however, is exactly how many phones that might be. As MacWorld reports, Apple says it sold 3.7 million iPhones in 2007, while AT&T says it signed up about two million or so iPhone customers during the same time period. While those aforementioned analysts point out that Apple’s numbers were boosted by 300,000-400,000 sales in Europe, and likely a few sold over the holidays that were yet to be activated, that still leaves over a million iPhones running free out there. If you do the math, that seems to suggest that roughly one in three iPhones sold are being unlocked although, obviously, we’re not about to get a confirmation on that number from anyone.

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