Wired talked to lawyers about the implications of Apple dumping the warranty on unlocked iPhones as it pertains to the Magnuson Moss act, and came out with some unfortunate news. It’s likely that Apple is within their rights to deny warranty claims to bricked iPhones if they were unlocked, as the onus is on the consumer to prove that Apple intentionally bricked iPhones. We wouldn’t be able to figure that out without an inside source or a court order.
September 2007: Monthly Archive
Well, the first major update is out. It brings some cosmetic changes to the iPhone, and fixes a few glaring issues. The ability to purchase tracks on iTunes is great, and I can see iTunes going a long way with this. For example, if Apple could get radio stations to have some sort of standardized ‘now playing’ list in exchange for money or shared revenue or something, perhaps one could buy a song that one heard on the radio and liked. That would be a much more dramatic tie-in than say, Starbucks.
The other major niggle fixed by this update is the ability to set different alert sounds for text messages, and linked alert sounds to the overal ringer volume. In other words, incoming text messages and calendar alerts now have a chance of actually grabbing my attention. Apple added ‘chime’, ‘glass’, ‘horn’, ‘bell’, and ‘electronic’. Needless to say, I’d rather be able to buy a ringtone and assign it; there’s got to be some sound effect CDs in their iTunes Music section, or maybe some gong sound at the beginning of a song or something, but the selection of alert sounds and ability to change their volume is a welcome change. You know, like someone pulling a splinter out of your arm. I’d like to go on record to state that this update is also better than a poke in the eye.
Still, there are things I was hoping for in the update that aren’t here yet. There’s still no To-Do functionality, still no Stereo Bluetooth, still no OBEX Bluetooth. There’s no Notes sync, no SDK or Widgets support (unless Apple’s hiding it for a later surprise). Apple still has a long way to go with their iPhone software, and if this update is an indication, there will be many many months before me and pure bliss.
In all though, I wouldn’t change the scores I gave to the iPhone when I first reviewed it. As a quick recap, I gave it 7/10 if you’re coming from the smartphone world, 9/10 if you’re coming from the featurephone world. The lack of ringtones and alert messages were major flaws, to be sure. But the lack of installable applications, games, To-Do lists, editable office documents (Notes still doesn’t cut it; who can write anything major in Marker Felt?), Stereo Bluetooth, ObEx, USB Mass Storage, eBook reader, cut and paste, Exchange, no multiple recipient SMS, no AIM or other instant messaging, no video record, no wireless sync….
I have two iPhones, one that I’ve been keeping “clean and pristine,” and that’s the iPhone that I use most of the time. I do have another iPhone though, that I have done all manner of hacking and installing apps and the like. If, like me, you have an iPhone that you’d rather keep on version 1.0.2, it’s easy to select older versions of the firmware when you restore the iPhone:
- On a mac, hold down the “option” key while clicking on the “restore” button. Then you can select the firmware file you want, just look for the file named iPhone1,11.0.21C28_Restore.ipsw, it should be in your home folder under Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Update.
- On a Windows PC, hold down the “shift” key while clicking on the “restore” button. Then select the firmware version you want — you should be able to find it if you’ve restored 1.0.2 before by searching for all files and folders and looking for *restore.ipsw
Along with the official changes of yesterday’s update, there are some unofficial changes that aren’t good enough to make a bullet point on Apple’s list. Which is weird, because some of these are huge.
- You can now select different alerts for incoming messages:
Settings -> Sounds -> New Text Message -> choice of:
Tri-Tone (default), Chime, Glass, Horn, Bell, Electronic - International keys are available by holding down the letter key.
- The iPhone mail application supports MP3 and .wav Attachments
- includes the closed captioning abilities promised
- enables a debug console for MobileSafari for web developers to find errors on their pages:
Settings -> Safari -> Developer -> Debug Console [on/off] - breaks every 3rd party jailbreak — the iPhoneDevWiki team will have to reverse-engineer the iPhone all over again
- since the iPhone can’t be jailbroken, there is no way to get 3rd party ringtones on the iPhone.
And just for the sake of posterity, after the break there’s a readable version of Apple’s list of official changes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Well well well. Look who’s firmware update is spreading mass murder among unboxed iPhones. Reports are coming in from everywhere, and everyone but my Aunt Helen, that FW 1.1.1 is bricking factory fresh iPhones upon updating. So, even customers with iPhones that still have that new car smell are in the same sack of onions that we naughty unlockers are stuck in. Hmm. I’m going out on a limb and say that Apple rolled this update out a bit prematurely.
Apple support forums are filling up with angry posts from frustrated new iPhone owners pleading for help to revive their now otherwise paperweighted phones. And numerous readers have sent me stories about having to return their “new” iPhone thanks installing the update. Ruh Roh!
[Clarification] I want to clarify that my colorful use of the term “Brick” is used in general terms of otherwise fudging your iPhone. While I have read more than one or two cases of iPhones being rendered completely inaccessible, the problems resulting from the firmware update does no permanent damage to your iPhone…just renders it immobilized until help arrives.
figure 1:Apple’s 1.1.1 update is out, and it clocks in at 152.3 MB
Apple released their long-promised 1.1.1 update to the iPhone, and it looks like the update is “all clear” for anyone that has not hacked their iPhone. They also posted another training video to go with the update, starring the same fellow from Apple’s earlier training videos (see here, here, and a creepy but funny mashup here).
I received an email from Wireless Imports in which they advise unlockers wait to apply the update:
We have just received confirmation that it is NOT safe for anyone to update their iPhones software at this time. If you do upgrade the software you will have your phone relocked back to AT&T and there is nothing currently we will be able to do to assist in re-unlocking your phone.
At this time we do not know if you will be able to use your AT&T sim card with the phone even though it is locked back to AT&T.
Again we ask that you DO NOT upgrade to the new software under any circumstance.
We will send you another email when we have more information on this matter.
If you unlocked via AnySIM or the terminal unlock methods, it’s probably also not a good idea to update the iPhone. If you’ve unlocked your iPhone, it is probably best to wait to apply this update.
Unsurprisingly, if you’ve hacked your iPhone, Apple has broken 3rd party applications and re-locks iPhones that were previously unlocked. Applications that were installed on the iPhone remain on the iPhone, although there isn’t a way to launch those applications until hackers jailbreak the iPhone again.
Unfortunately, Apple’s language in the patch update indicates their willingness to dump the warranty on anyone that’s unlocked their iPhone and thereby saw it bricked with this update. If you hack your iPhone in the future, you will want to get used to waiting a few days or more past an update to see how the update could affect you. Let someone else be the hero.
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Just because my iPhone is on life support for an indefinite period doesn’t mean you guys have to suffer. The show must go on, and on it goes. I hope you enjoy this week’s edition, because I sure can’t. But, hey it’s Friday anyway.
So dock your iPhone, download these lovely wallpapers, and…enjoy. Get them after the break.
I don’t know who shares the most blame in this triad of technical blunders; Apple for it’s strong arm tactics…iPhone Dev Team for their malfunctioning anySIM unlock app…Or myself for ever engaging in this exercise. A pragmatist would say I am solely to blame, but I am anything but pragmatic.
Nope, I blame the aforementioned parties for this debacle. I was merely innocent bystander. Right? crickets chirping in the background
Hold my calls for the rest of the day; I’ll be laying under my desk in a fetal position. After reading early successful reports of unlocked iPhones updating without issue, I assumed the coast was clear. Assumed being the operative word. Upon downloading today’s firmware update, which weighs in at a whopping 153MB by the way, iPhone fails to recognize my SIM card…and is now effectively rendered useless. Ahahahaha!!!! maniacal laugh
Doing a bit of sleuthing I discovered the potential root of this problem. The IMEI number displayed onscreen does not match that found on the back of my iPhone. So apparently whatever issue is to blame it has to do with baseband settings reconfigured by anySIM. Ok, iPhone Dev Team. I’m counting on you jokers to work out a solution.
Until then, I’ll be waiting at the bedside of my crippled iPhone with a box of tissues. sniff sniff. Let it be known that I went through with this update in the name of research. See the sacrifices I make for you guys?
Oh the humanity. Here I am docking my iPhone, when suddenly this box appears in iTunes, beckoning me to install some new firmware update, just released. But can I install this update? No. And why? Because his Jobsness has seen fit to brick my iPhone should I install said update. GRRRRR!!!!!!
As salt for the wound, my iPhone is in only a “semi-unlocked” state, not fully unlocked…thanks to anySIM. I have to wait for iPhone Dev Team to roll out a reversal procedure to bring my kinda sorta unlocked iPhone back to factory spec. So, for those of you whom haven’t violated your end user license agreements, feel free to download and enjoy the update goodness. Speaking of which I have nary a clue what this update contains until I visit the FAQ.
Dock your iPhone and download 1.1.1 now. While I sit here with my thumb up my….
I will try it out "
