iPhone 3G unlocker released on schedule

As promised, the intrepid iPhone Dev Team released its iPhone 3G unlocking utility, yellowsn0w, on the first of this year. Unfortunately, it's not a fully blessed 1.0 release, but instead beta version 0.9.4, and reports are emerging that it's performing like ... well ... a beta. On Yellowsn0w.net, for example, posters report …

[Anonymous Coward]

Friendless wonders

Oh for christ's sake... these joyless nerds really need to get a life. If someone made a product that donated to charity every time you used it, they'd dedicate their worthless lives to cracking it and giving it some retarded, non-word title like "pwncharity" or something equally vapid, sad and pathetic. It's a phone. Get over it. There's a big world out there with lots of interesting things in it but you wastes of oxygen spend it twatting around trying to crack a phone? For fuck's sake...

Grow up you feeble, laughable little twits, and one day you may even get to talk to a real human girl.

[Steve]

Wastes of oxygen?

Good diatribe, all except for that. It doesn't read well. I prefer 'oxygen thieves'.

[Stephen]

@ac

it's funny you claim others are wasting their time, with an extremely insulting and ignorant comment on a news site... at least their contribution to the net is useful... fucking twat.

@ el reg

cowards...

[Craig McLean]

Results are varied

Worked fine here (using Orange contract 3G SIM), BUT there are a lot of people having issues with this patch (including no ability to make calls, and PIN-enabled SIMs don't work yet apparently). If you're relying on this working, remember the word "BETA" is in there, and stay away for now.

Oh and @Anon poster of comment #1, your repeat prescription is overdue - put down the keyboard and go pick up your meds.

[Pavlovs well trained dog]

tried it worked fine...

oh. wait - no I didn't - all the iPhones sold in South Africa are *already* unlocked.

tee-hee.

(save up and buy one when you come to that 2010 soccer thingumy that's causing road and building mayhem everywhere.)

(PS - El Reg: where is the Smug Bastard/Useless Dweeb icon?)

[jake]

I know, don't feed the trolls.

"these joyless nerds really need to get a life."

"one day you may even get to talk to a real human girl."

Says the troll posting to ElReg ... after work, on a Friday night.

[Graham Lockley]

Big chunk of troll fodder (with fries) served up

@(cowardly)AC

Look at all the friendless wonders getting up early every morning to go running/swimming etc. in the hope that they may win a race........

Now get a dictionary and look up the word 'challenge'

Getting a glimmer yet ?

[Jamie Kitson]

tried it didn't work...

despite "fiddling". Also caused calls to drop, but at least it uninstalled ok.

[ben edwards]

re: Friendless wonders

Guess who's position at the 2010 Macworld expo got cancelled due to iphone crackers. :)

[Dan]

@Very Impressive

If you can't depend on non-blessed software working on the iPhone as whenever update time comes around you run the risk of it not working, and most other manufacturers have caught up with the iPhone's user interface, why not just buy a more open system if you want to have freedom to run whatever software you want on it?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a phone OK?

Just a phone.

You make calls.

You receive calls.

You can get a working device to do this for $5 or less.

Oh, but you don't get the eye candy and the 'apps' like Fart-o-Tron 2.12

[Anonymous Coward]

@AC

you don't happen to be the O2 iPhone product manager do you?

The reason why someone might want to unlock it is not because of the phone, it's because they would like to choose which network operator they are with. And seeing as O2 are a bunch of self congratulatory ego wanks (I should know, I used to work for them) I would expect that anyone might want to switch networks, particularly if they want to roam and not pay the extortionate data roaming fees that can be clocked up by using many of the super dooper i-phone apps.

Engage brain before commenting next time.

cock.

[Anonymous Coward]

Rant

Although his rant goes possibly a little far as yes I can see the fun in a "challenge" but why anyone buys a phone that doesn't do what they want it to do in the first place and needs to hack it is beyond me. Don't like it? DON'T BUY ONE. There, problem solved.

Isn't it more than slightly sad to say that you are quite happy to cough up the £340 for PAYG or agreeing to the contract for 18 months only to then go through the hassle of hacking it and signing up for yet another contract with another operator?? Its a phone, a very nice one and I love mine but its not THAT good!!

Also perhaps the hackers could put their skills and intelligence to some better use?? If I had the kind of skills these guys have I'd be coining it in at one of the major firms not spending my nights doing it for free!!!

[Paulds11]

What for???

I have to ask.. I did crack my first Iphone before 3G for access to the apps.. but these days the app store has come a long way and the apps have gone through a process that at least ensures a modicum of operation in most cases. So let me ask.. am I missing something or has apple actually done a fairly good job of cutting this cracking hacking of the iPhone at the pass?

Why exactly would I now want to crack this device? to change icons? to load it with apps I couldnt find equivalent replacements for in the app store? will it wipe my bottom after a trip to the loo?

I think the whole premise of trying to hack my phone for the saving perhaps of what a few quid I would easily spend in one drinking session is a ridiculous argument, the only valid reason is simply to change network but lets face it.. you can go to Ebay and buy a n already unlocked NEW 3G from sellers now where the unit is sourced from countries that dont allow Network locking to specific manufacturers...

The whole premise is thus a geekish one..enjoyable perhaps but for me I value my time better and I dont want the hassle of having to constantly reboot and /or return the device back to factory settings ... its like watching paint dry. make your calls, play your games and get location based service and surf.... PS all this effort and yet no one has written an app to allow CUT N PASTE on the device.. now that would be time well spent

[Scott Mckenzie]

So good of everyone to judge

People want unlocked iPhones, why does everyone need to judge them? If you don't, fine, don't unlock one.

There are many reasons to do it, for me it was that work pay for my phone, we have a contract with Orange and you can't get the iPhone on Orange. I can't stand the Touch HTC versions (or many phones running Windows Mobile to be honest after the past 3-4 years experience with them) so i got an iPhone and unlocked it.

Now I'll be able to get a 3G one and unlock that too if i want... but until there is a decent turn by turn Sat Nav app for it, i won't bother.

[The Mysterious Panda]

@ AC/Troll

It always suprises me the number of people that will slam the 'joyless nerds', while still enjoying all the technology built on lifetimes of work by... err... 'joyless nerds' who honed their skills by 'twatting around'. Gosh, that Marie Curie, all that twatting round with 'radium-isolation' - and even worse, she was a foreigner! And even even worse, she was a woman! And even even even worse, she supported 'open source'! And even even even even worse, she was still a woman! So bad it made the list twice! You must be apoplectic by now...

I take it that they cease to be joyless nerds when their goal is something you consider worthwhile? I'll climb that mountain/trek to the pole, because it's a challenge = 'national hero'. I'll hack that phone, because it's a challenge = 'joyless nerd'? Interesting point of view though not one I'd like to keep through life.

[DT]

Buying locked down hardware rewards the manufacturer for doing so.

...was an often heard argument during discusions of Securom cursed products. I guess Apple is lucky that all those people bitching about the unfair lock-down haven't all got a way of obtaining an identical, cracked version for free. (cough torrents)

I wonder if anyone who would normally take a stand against unfair UAE on moral grounds, has buckled and actually purchase one of these things for just this reason? It would make an interesting VIM diagram, I-phone owners in one circle, Securom rantaholics in the other. Given such a diagram looks like a pair of buttocks, the unfortunate present at the intersection would clearly be an arsehole. That isn't the sound of gas escaping but in fact is the noise a warranty makes as it evapourates.

[Anonymous Coward]

O2

Can you buy a Blackberry Storm on O2?? Or perhaps Orange?? Eh no, so why is it that O2 are evil for locking an exclusive phone?

If you want to slam O2 for anything then fine, perhaps slam their hopeless 3G coverage but don't start on the exclusive phone locking nonsense as EVERY network does it.

again... don't like O2, don't buy an O2 phone which the iPhone is.... its a phone folks, you can live without it, honest!!

[sleepy]

It's been fascinating . . .

Apple aren't simply wicked or greedy for locking up the iPhone, it was necessary to break the power of the carrier cartels and deliver some semblance of a neutral mobile broadband service at a bearable price to properly open up mobile internet and location sensitive revenue opportunities. Apple played the carriers and the hackers perfectly with the bait (expensive, revenue sharing, deliberately hackable, limited distribution original iPhone) and switch (low user price second gen with up-front carrier subsidy, bullet proof firmware when Apple wants, and worldwide distribution).

The point is, the so called "mistakes" and "greed" have been an essential part of Apple bootstrapping itself rapidly, safely, and profitably into a highly competitive market. Like Microsoft's condoning PC software piracy until competition withered, but far more subtle and in an established market. I doubt Apple knew in detail how the game would play out, but the carriers, the Apple fans, and the hackers played their essential parts perfectly. Without exploiting all three, iPhone would not be where it is today. It's been a joy to watch over the past 2 years, and showed up the other players as relative simpletons.

[Daniel B.]

Want an unrestricted phone? Buy one that already is like that!

Basically, that. Kudos to the jailbreaking teams, but really, by buying an iPhone you are already *rewarding* Apple for its stupid lockdown policies. A touchscreen phone isn't a basic necessity, FFS! If you don't like the iPhone restrictiveness, you can always buy an HTC. Or that weird LG variant. Or the BB Storm.

Me? I'll stick with my Curve, and I might go for the BB Bold when my contract ends, if only for the 3G coverage.

I have a similar stance with game consoles: My PS3 allows me to install Linux (or any other compatible OS) without any restrictions (ok, the RSX hardware isn't available. So what?) and requires no hacking. As for games, they are no longer region-locked! Compare to the XBox360, which is basically a PC with a nice graphics card and TV output instead of DVI output.