[PCWorld]

Post your comments for How to Unlock your iPhone 3G here

[gafisher]

Well, that ought to pump up the market for stolen iPhones.

[Slimspady]

No more than it already was.

[mynamesafad]

Anyone know if verizon works on this?

[Adama]

I could be wrong, but, isn't this an illegal subject to be discussing at PCWorld?

[gafisher]

It's one of those "grey areas." It's legal to discuss phone hacks, borderline to actually do them. When someone buys an iPhone (legally) they enter into a contract with AT&T in which they agree to a number of things. If they subsequently unlock their iPhone to circumvent a provision of the contract they open themselves to legal action by AT&T, which has a whole stable full of lawyers just waiting for the chance. On the other hand, if someone is, for example, travelling to an area where AT&T service is unavailable, unlocking the phone makes it possible to use it temporarily with other carriers, including some pre-paids. If doing so doesn't breach the AT&T contract then it's not a problem. All of that assumes it's your iPhone.

However, someone who uses this information to unlock a stolen iPhone, to sell it or for whatever reason, might give the people who showed him how to do it a chance to see the justice system "up close and personal" if he's caught.

[blague]

My situation is somewhat particular, though I'm not really that concerned about the legal standing of unlocking my iPhone: I have an AT&T account in the US, but will be spending part of the year in Croatia, which announced on November 7 the arrival of the iPhone to its T-Mobile network.
I'd like to open a mobile-phone account with T-Mobile in Croatia (I'm currently using a pay-as-you-go cheapie) and it seems to me that it would make sense to unlock the device I have so I can switch carries when I travel.
I asked at the T-Mobile store -not that I expected them to know much- and all they told me was to make sure the device was unlocked before I signed up...
I wonder whether talking to Apple would yield an exception.

Cheers,
BK

[fblazosky]

No.Both Verizon and Sprint are CDMA technology. GSM world is only technology using SIM cards, allowing use of unlocked mobile devices. In US T-mobile and AT&T are the main carriers using GSM.

[drvsafe]

Well, if someone has an iPhone that is stolen, the best thing to do is to let Apple know and they will block the IMEI from being used by anyone ever again. SP's have a blacklist that they share and if the IMEI shows up on that list and then someone tries to register that phone on another network, if the SP subscribes to that blacklist (and most do) then it will be blocked from being used.

[drvsafe]

I dont believe it is illegal to unlock an iPhone...

[ARock845]

I just wish and hope that they will be able to figure out to unlock the phone and make it compatible with verizon! That would be a nice thing to have so I don't have to pay like 500 for the storm!

[drvsafe]

I don't think there is a way as Verizon is CDMA and iPhones operate on GSM. It's like apples and oranges (parden the pun).
Hey, it stinks that iPhone 3G's don't operate 3G on T-Mobile's 3G network just the same. I mean they function well on the GPRS and EDGE but there is NO WAY an iPhone 3Gwill operate "3G" on t-Mobile's 3G bands. Frequencies are what they are and they cannot be changed. T-Mobile acted too slowly on their bids for frequency usage and got the runt of the litter (in my opinion).

Hey give the Storm a few months and it will be a viable option; it's no iPhone killer by any means, and then again an iPhone does only a portion of what a BB can do with regard to email and synching, etc.

If you could get it all in one packageit would be nice, right? But it's not going to happen anytime soon, in my opinion.

[ARock845]

Yeah, but im sure there has to be a way to get around the fact that one is gsm and the other one is cdma like so app that will allow access. I mean look at everything else that has been done in the world. It may just take a lot of time and effort by those who know how to hack into the phones. I would love the storm, but i dont get a discount till next december, so it may be sometime till i get one.

[drvsafe]

Equipment internally would have to change in order to get a GMS to work on a CDMA network. Keep in mind CDMA phones dont have SIM cards and GSM ones do. there is a reason for that and it cannot change by some sort of software hack. Certain account information is on the SIM that goes into a chip that is hardwired into a CDMA phone and one would be hard pressed to try and work around that.

But we can all dream.

I've played with a Storm, it's not all it's cracked up to be yet, a Curve works great and is super reliable too. I went fro a Curve to an iPhone and have some reservations every no and again. I love my iPhone but to be able to BBM all of my BB using co-workers and/or clients?? I wish I could get my iPhone to do that!!!

[edmay]

Against the law? When did the Feds or States pass a law against unlocking an iPhone? Does anybody really think there is room in prison for iPhone hackers? I can see it now - Hey - what you in for "Murder" - got life. How bout you? Hackin an iPhone - got a nickel. Geez!!!

[gafisher]

Sounds like "Alice's Restaurant" to me.

Maybe a good tag line -- "The Cell Phone Cellmates Recommend." ;)

[TechieXP]

No they don't. Verizon phone don't use SIM..they use CDMA like Sprint does.

[smax013]

drvsafe said:

Equipment internally would have to change in order to get a GMS to work on a CDMA network. Keep in mind CDMA phones dont have SIM cards and GSM ones do. there is a reason for that and it cannot change by some sort of software hack. Certain account information is on the SIM that goes into a chip that is hardwired into a CDMA phone and one would be hard pressed to try and work around that.

Not to mention that CDMA and GSM use two completely different wireless radios that are NOT compatible to my knowledge. To my knowledge, there is no way to get an iPhone to work with Sprint or Verizon (both of which use CDMA) unless/until Apple comes out with a CDMA version of the iPhone (there are rumors that float around every once and a while the Apple will doing an iPhone with Verizon...but they have yet to come true, so take them with a grain of salt).

[TechieXP]

Yep.

What I heard is, Apple original went to Verizon before they went to ATT. But Verizon refused because they couldn't come to terms on the interface. Verizon want to be able to have there own and Apple said the phone needed to have it original UI. ATT was willing to let Apple keep the interface and I think ATT got a bigger piece of the pie too.

The latest deal Apple gets the profits from teh phone sale, while ATT gets the money fro signups. The earlier deal they shared money on both, where ATT also made oney off the phones they sold.