By now you’re all fully schooled in the black art of jailbreaking and unlocking your new iPhone, right? Did you know that the whole dirty business can be done via iTunes in just “seconds?” The catch: it requires a €999 (about $1,480) unlocked iPhone sold ( at least temporarily) by T-Mobile Germany. Interestingly enough, there isn’t any physical difference between a locked and unlocked iPhone, it’s Apple working all the unlocking magic over the network with a bit of help from iTunes. According to first reports from MacNotes.de, the IMEI number is recorded at the point of sale and sent to Apple. After 24 hours, the iPhone can be unlocked by iTunes in a procedure taking just seconds. The firmware remains unchanged at 1.1.2. This news potentially opens up the iPhone to further unlocking schemes although it already sounds very similar to the approach favored by iPhoneSimFree clan, don’t you think?

engadget.com

As you recall, when Apple rolled out firmware version 1.1.1 for their iPhone, people with “modified” handsets got a series of unpleasant surprises. Thankfully, the iPhone/Touch Dev Team have apparently worked their way through the tangled mess. They say that because it’s still quite experimental, they’re not quite ready to release it to the public, but the team is claiming that they’ve broken through iPhone firmware version 1.1.1.

On a side note, the team has noticed that “1.1.1 references both com.apple.mobile.radio and com.apple.mobile.nike.” Something new in the works? In any case, the “jailbreak method is nowhere near ready for prime time. So please be patient.”

mobilemag.com

Well would you look at that, instructions are now available for downgrading your iPhone from 1.1.1 to 1.0.2. It won’t downgrade your baseband, meaning so far you can’t re-unlock an iPhone that’s been 1.1.1-ified, but it’s still 1.0.2 in all its third-party application glory. The iPhone Dev Team folks are working on a way to downgrade the new firmware to let people unlock their phones again, but for now AT&T users sitting pretty, and non-AT&T folks can at least do the WiFi thing. There’s a video tutorial after the break.

Read - iPhone Dev Wiki instructions
Read - Hackint0sh thread where the magic happened

engadgetmobile.com

According to the BBC an Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.

“Earlier this week Apple issued a statement in which it said many of the unauthorised iPhone unlocking programs caused “irreparable damage” to the device’s software.

Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers and to run a host of unsupported programs.

The company said this would “likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed”.

That warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update. ”

Here’s a quick rundown of new features in the iPhone v1.1.1 update:

• iTunes Wi-Fi music store
• Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
• Home button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
• Space bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
• Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
• Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
• Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
• Support for TV Out
• Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
• New passcode lock time intervals
• Adjustable alert volume

Again, if you’ve unlocked your iPhone for use on non-AT&T networks, DO NOT UPDATE. It will brick your iPhone.

textually.org

So imagine my surprise when I walk out of the Apple Store and I see a T-Mobile Authorized Reseller in Kiosk form sporting this sign every so boldly near the realm of Apple: “We unlock iPhones!”

This was at the Fashion Island Apple Store in Newport Beach, CA (Apple Link) and if you’ve ever ventured there you’ll know that in addition to the regular brick and mortar stores, there’s a lot of kiosks in the open areas that resemble covered wagons on the oregon trail more than anything that generates money. I walked by the T-Mobile authorized reseller and noticed this little gem above but I didn’t get a chance to ask what method this dude was using. Also accessories were available, nothing special though.

iphonematters.com

Apple’s just released a statement saying the unlock process coupled with a future iPhone update may make your phones a useless brick.

Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone’s software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (www.itunes.com), later this week. Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.

In this blog: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=882 i found this info: 

I received the following email from a colleague:

Speaking of hacks, Today I went into an Apple store with a less than two week old iPhone that had the green tint camera problem.

Because it had been “hacked” with some 3rd party apps and was running T-Mobile they refused to service it, said the warranty was voided and “blacklisted” the phone against future service, or return!

Only after asking for the manager and having several conversations with her, did they finally allow me to return it, but charged me a 10% restocking fee…

Pretty Scary! Didn’t Steve and Woz get their start in college by selling a device that would “hack” pay phones and give people free long distance?

So while he eventually got Apple to return the iPhone (after paying the restocking fee, that is), the lesson here is to do a restore of your iPhone and re-install the factory AT&T SIM before bringing into an Apple Store for service. That’s the beauty of software-only hacks, after all!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=882

Wake the kids, phone the neighbors, the graphical version (we think it has a GUI, it’s unclear at the moment) of the iPhone unlocking software is now out, official, automatic (or as much as it can be) and free. Developed by the iPhoneDev team, the new software makes opening up your iPhone to any GSM carrier simple as pie. According to the Dev Team, “This new version needs only be copied over to the phone and executed, it’s full automatic. No more needs for fls or extract bin files out of the nordump. It should also cut the time down to max. 3-5 minutes.”

We’ll bring you more just as soon as we get hands-on with the new wares and as long as Apple doesn’t drop the hammer with a new iPhone firmware release. We know it’s coming, and chances are it will wreak havoc with the unlock.

Download

engadget.com

The free software iPhone unlock—the only one that counts— has been finally achieved and it has been independently tested. Everyone can now unlock their iPhones for free. The unlock was not achieved by GeoHot, who was credited with the first hardware unlocks.

[UPDATE 11:01 PM EDT: The iPhone Dev Team Giz permission to host a mirror of the original file and the source code, as their servers are getting hammered.]

[UPDATED 7:43PM EST]

Gizmodo’s software mirror: Download iUnlock here (this is the only original iUnlock file.)

Gizmodo’s source code mirror: Download iUnlock Source here

Full tutorial coming soon

Details are thin at the moment, but the free unlock appears to have been achieved by the usual suspects according to some of their claims on IRC channels. Apparently some hackers are exploiting the same buffer bug that the iPhone Sim Free people used to achieve their unlocks, but it is their own independent and free unlock. Keep checking back for updates after the jump. And remember, no Death Star exploding until it gets fully confirmed. [Last update 6:49PM EST]

[Updated 6:35PM EDT]
So far, we know that GeoHot, of the hardware unlock fame, is claiming in IRC channels that he has unlocked the iPhone using the same method as iPhone Sim Free.

[Updated 6:47PM EDT]
At this time, GeoHot hasn’t made public any details yet. Meanwhile, hackers from the iPhone Dev Team kept testing the way that Gray suggested. Be aware that it’s still not clear if GeoHot’s claims are true or not. Unless his claims are independently tested by the community, and the unlock proven to be his work —which hasn’t been proved either— the Death Star won’t explode.

[Updated 6:49PM EDT]
While all this is happening, another Dev Team group is currently testing another unlock software right now, which is also “similar to IPSF but works with patching a fls, not some strange bootloader code.”

[Updated 7:10PM EDT - EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE]
The unlock has been achieved, but not by GeoHot. Meanwhile, the true iPhone Dev Team hackers were able to put it together, which is going to be available in Deadbeef shortly, according to them.

Update 8:10PM EDT
File is now available. See above.

[Final update 11:01PM EDT]
This has been fun. I’m still writing the tutorial for the unlock (it’s coming, we just want to make it really easy for everyone) but I wanted to share the particular moment when the Giz witnessed how they tried the patch for the first time and succeeded. We were “watching” the events in real time:

1:05 AM ok i think we got it wait 10 min for vertify ok? me: ok

unlocking as we speak lets see

1:10 AM

man free unlock

me: YEAH!

wait for another vertification and we are set

The Giz has been following the unlocking effort for a very long time now. They hacked into it, activated it, created the tools to develop third-party apps and all the unlocks, including this one.

Now that the search for the unlock is over, they will keep working on more developments for the iPhone and future Apple devices, things like the iPod touch. That’s why they are still asking for donations. If you think their work is worth it, they tell us you can send money to this PayPal address:

iphone.devteam@googlemail.com (yes, it’s googlemail.com, not gmail.com)

IMPORTANT: as the subject of the transfer, don’t mention the word “hack” or “hacking” as PayPal is very sensitive about these things. Use iPhone Development Team Donation as the subject so it can be clearly identified.

The names of the authors, all from the iPhone Dev Team, are (in alphabetical order): Daeken, Darkmen, guest184, gray, iZsh, pytey, roxfan, Sam, uns, Zappaz, Zf, plus Nightwatch for his iPhone toolchain.

gizmodo.com