Archive for September, 2007
[Update 1] Just a quick warning to anyone who may have followed my exploits and unlocked their iPhone to work with non-AT&T SIM cards: DO NOT update your unlocked iPhone’s firmware past version 1.0.2 until you’ve confirmed that it’s either safe to do so, or find verified instructions detailing what steps need to be taken to avoid permanent damage to the device.**
You’ve most likely heard Apple’s warning that the next firmware update (rumored to be version 1.1.1), will likely cause permanent damage to any iPhone that has been unlocked. Furthermore, they have stated that any such damage will not be covered under the iPhone’s warranty. OK, before you panic, take a moment and breath. This isn’t such a big deal, and should not have been unexpected. You should have already known the risks that are involved in hacking your iPhone, and been prepared to take the necessary steps to void them, namely not updating your firmware until you know it’s safe to do so.
But hot on the heels of Apple’s statement, the iPhone Dev Team has responded:
Based on download numbers, the iPhone Dev Team believes that, worldwide, several hundred thousand people have unlocked their iPhones. That number continues growing every day. The removal of the lock, a bug, was a major step forward in the iPhone development. It made the iPhone free and useful to anyone, not only to those in certain countries.
Apple now announces that the next firmware update, expected later this week, will possibly break the handset of all of us free users in the World. It speaks of “damage” done to the firmware and “unauthorized access” to our own property, The removal of those firmware problems, which were built in in favor for AT&T, does not cause “damage” as they want to make us believe.
We will provide you with a tool in the next week which will be able to recover your nck counter and seczones and even enables you to restore your phone to a Factory-like state.
In the meantime we advise you not to update your free iPhone with the upcoming firmware. Wait for the next version to be fixed to work properly with your carrier and not break your phone.
So there you have it. Be patient, don’t rush to install the new firmware when it comes out, and keep an eye on this space (or any other useful source of iPhone hacking/unlocking news) for updated information on how to proceed. I recommend against trying any of the premature manual re-lock methods. There’s no need to rush. You have control over when you update your iPhone’s firmware, so there’s no sense rushing to implement a risky hack that may do real permanent damage to your iPhone. An easy solution will come in time, so relax and enjoy your iPhone in the meantime.
Worst case scenario I foresee is you’ll need to re-lock your iPhone, install the new firmware update, then unlock it again using a new version of the unlock tool that will no doubt be released shortly after the new firmware hits the interwebs.
Update 1 - 9/29/2007, 12:55 pm: It is
NOT safe to update your unlocked iPhone to firmware 1.1.1! DON’T DO IT unless you want to end up with an expensive brick. I suggest disabling “Check for updates automatically” in iTunes preferences, and do not click the “Check for Update” button on the iPhone screen in iTunes. I also recommend NOT updating iTunes past version 7.4.2 until we know what it does exactly. If you have to restore your iPhone’s 1.0.2 firmware, disable your network connection first so iTunes can’t check for the update. If iTunes has already downloaded the updated firmware, deleting the 1.1.1 .ipsw files from
~/Library/Application Support/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates (that’s the Library in your home folder, not the one at the top level of your hard drive) should allow you to install the older 1.0.2 version as long as it’s files exist in that directory already. I make no guarantees though, so proceed at your own risk.
September 26th, 2007
The iPhone development community has released iNdependence 1.2.1, an update to the iPhone activation/hacking tool that now enables YouTube functionality on non-AT&T activated iPhones. I’ve tested it and it works beautifully. This program is in my opinion the most important tool for hacking the iPhone using a Mac.
You can download the latest version from the iNdependence project page.
September 15th, 2007
[Update 3] Well, that didn’t take long. Two days after we bought our iPhones, I was able to find an online reseller who was providing the iPhoneSimFree unlock service without any delays. We went with FreeOuriPhones.com, a European reseller who was listed as an iPhoneSimFree authorized reseller. Within minutes of sending off my PayPal payment of $59.99US, including my iPhone’s IMEI number in the PayPal notes, I received an email back with a link to the iPhoneSimFree software and instructions for installing and performing the unlock. The email catered to Windows users, but the reseller was quite helpful when I asked Mac specific questions, responding to my emails within minutes each time.
As stated on many other blogs already, the process requires you to have already jailbreaked (jailbroken?) and activated your iPhone. I recommend using iNdependence version 1.2 (or newer) to accomplish this, as well as updating the firmware of the iPhone to the latest 1.0.2 version. Then you copy the SimFree application to your iPhone’s /Applications folder using whatever method you prefer (iNdependence offers this functionality, but I used SFTP myself), install your new SIM card, run the SimFree app and press the Apple logo that appears on the screen. The actual unlocking process takes 2-3 minutes, and the software keeps you informed of it’s process quite nicely. Once it’s done, it will inform you that your phone was unlocked successfully, but you’ll have to re-activate your new SIM card using iNdependence before you can start using it.
Once you’ve done all of that, you will be able to make and receive calls, send/receive text messages, and even use EDGE internet access, once you’ve entered your carrier’s specific APN server, username and password in the appropriate fields under Settings–>General–>Network–>EDGE. For Rogers, these are:
APN: internet.com
Username: wapuser1
Password: wap
Also note that you may have to upgrade your SIM card, if it’s an older one. Rogers recommended a SIM card version of 8930 2720 4000 or greater. If you have problems, check to see if your SIM is an older one.
So what doesn’t work? Visual voicemail, which is an AT&T specific feature, but you do get standard voicemail notifications, and tapping the voicemail icon on the Phone screen will automatically call your provider’s voicemail number. The YouTube app also doesn’t work, which is a known issue for which there is apparently a workaround. Otherwise, it’s functioning as one would expect, and functioning well. A word of caution to Rogers customers though: Rogers data rates are VERY expensive. These are the rates I was quoted by Rogers on the phone:
Rogers Mobile Internet Data Plans:
$5/month for 5MB combined upload and download, 3¢/KB thereafter
$10/month for 10MB combined upload and download, 3¢/KB thereafter
Rogers MyMail Email Data Plans:
$15/month for 1.5MB combined upload and download, $21/MB prorated thereafter
$25/month for 3MB combined upload and download, $10/MB prorated thereafter
$40/month for 7MB combined upload and download, $6/MB prorated thereafter
$60/month for 25MB combined upload and download, $7/MB prorated thereafter
$100/month for 200MB combined upload and download, $5/MB prorated thereafter
$210/month for 500MB combined upload and download, $5/MB prorated thereafter
To give you an idea of how much data certain features use, I checked the weather for 4 cities using the Weather widget, and updating the Stocks widget for 5 stocks used up 14KB of combined data (5KB upload and 9KB download). Not too bad, then I loaded two web pages, one from a forum post on ehmac.ca, and then the home page of the Art Of Geek blog. The usage jumped to 347KB (29KB upload and 318KB download). I signed up for the $10/10MB Mobile Internet plan, which appear to be the best value, provided you don’t go over your limit in a month since each extra MB will cost you $30. Ouch! Checking and receiving about 40 emails added another couple hundred KB to the usage, most likely because the iPhone has a full mail client which downloads all the new emails rather than just mail headers like some other smart-phones do. It’s clear that Apple intends users to have an unlimited data plan like that offered by AT&T, as they haven’t gifted iPhone with many features to help the user limit data use such as only downloading headers in Mail, or disabling the loading of images on web pages in Safari. So anyone planning on using an iPhone on Rogers in Canada should be conscious about what features they’re using and whether they are connected to EDGE or a free WiFi network.
I was fully aware of these issues when I decided to buy the iPhone, and had it not had WiFi built-in, this would have been a deal-breaker for me. But all this isn’t new to anyone who has an internet enabled smart-phone in Canada. I had the same issues to contend with on my previous mobile phone, a Nokia E61, which also had WiFi. But the iPhone’s larger, higher resolution screen, and far superior desktop-like web browser, email and Google Maps clients make the iPhone a far more useful and capable mobile internet device than the Nokia E61, which was considerably slower and woefully underpowered, occasionally unable to load certain web pages due to lack of memory. In contrast, the iPhone loads full emails with inline images and browses complex web pages very efficiently, even over the Rogers EDGE network.
I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more iPhones roaming the streets of Canadian cities in the weeks to come. The Rogers rep I spoke to on the phone said I was the third person he had spoken to this morning. This is likely to grow since Apple slashed the price by a third and affordable software unlocking becomes widely publicized. In fact, just today, news broke about a free software unlock solution having been released, available here. I knew it was only a matter of time before this would happen, but certainly didn’t expect it just a day or two after the iPhoneSimFree solution was released. Had I known, I could have saved the $64CDN I paid to have my phone unlocked. Thus is the price of early adoption, and it’s a price that I was not only fully prepared to pay, but in my opinion, was worth every penny.
Update 1 - 9/16/2007, 12:01 am: added the $100 and $210 Rogers data plans to the list of plans. Thanks to DataGridDotRedraw for providing the info.
Update 2 - 9/16/2007, 6:33 pm: added the $5 and $10 Rogers “Mobile Internet” plans to the list and updated the article to indicate I’ve signed up for the $10/10MB plan.
Update 3 - 10/4/2007, 11:10 pm: I’ve been
reading on the ehMac forums that Rogers has a $65/1GB data package which was originally intended for PC Card cellular modems but is being offered to iPhone customers. This is the first package that seems somewhat realistic if you want to use the iPhone’s capabilities to it’s fullest. I’m tempted, but just can’t justify spending that much just for mobile data. When added to a voice plan, that would push my monthly cell phone bill over $100. If/when it drops down to below $40, I’ll probably jump all over it.
September 12th, 2007
Last Sunday, my wife and I drove down to Buffalo and bought ourselves iPhones. I chronicled our experience in a previous Art Of Geek blog post if you’re interested in reading about it and my first impressions.
One thing that I’m not looking forward to, is people asking “IS THAT AN iPHONE???” every time I pull it out in public. I seriously don’t want the attention from total strangers (unless they’re really hot girls, then I’ll make an exception). I was waiting for a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and my appointment was delayed, so I thought it was a perfect time to pull out the iPhone and maybe watch an episode of Family Guy. But then I looked up and saw a cop, a businessman and a guy who looked like he worked on either a cruise ship or an airline (his white shirt had those black bars with yellow stripes on them) waiting around me (true story!). I knew if I pulled the iPhone out, it would get the attention of all three of them for sure, and probably even the three women working behind the counter. Chances were pretty good that at least one of them would have the courage to ask me about it.
You see, I didn’t buy the iPhone as a status symbol, or to look cool, or pick up chicks (although it would probably be pretty useful for the latter). I bought it because I want to experience mobile computing nirvana, and I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I have something that makes me feel like I’m living in the future. It’s not about having something that other people don’t have, it’s just about having and enjoying it. If I had bought it for any of those other reasons, I’d probably pull the iPhone out in public on purpose. Because I didn’t buy it for those reasons and am fully aware that it WILL get annoying to have total strangers approach me often and ask about the device in my hands, I’m reluctant to reveal the iPhone in public, at least for the time being. In my mind, I’m worried that if I start to get annoyed by the amount of attention the iPhone attracts, it will diminish my appreciation for the device. Since I’m an early adopter of many gadgets, I’ve felt this way many times before, but never as strongly as for the iPhone. I think it’s because of all the new gadgets I’ve bought before, none has been so widely hyped or had so much consumer awareness. Also, the fact that the iPhone isn’t officially available in Canada means the number of people with the device will remain limited for quite some time.
I definitely envy the Americans. Since the iPhone has been on the market for a couple of months and Apple has sold over 1 million already, Americans can feel comfortable using their iPhone in public without drawing so much attention anymore. In time, the novelty will wear off and iPhone sightings will be common enough in Canada that they won’t draw the attention of everyone within a 10m radius. In the meantime, I’m just going to have to get used to it I guess…
September 11th, 2007
So for some unknown reason, I woke up at 4 am on Sunday morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. As I lay in bed, my mind wandered, as it’s oft to do when it’s bored. I started thinking about the iPhone, and some of the news I had read the week before about a software unlock possibly being released today. I also weighed the pros and cons of buying an iPod touch to keep me satisfied until the iPhone comes to Canada, or at least an inexpensive (and warranty friendly) iPhone unlock method is widely available.
If I were to buy an iPod touch, I’d of course get the 16GB model, which is $399US, which happens to be exactly the same price as the 8GB iPhone. I decided that even if the iPhone couldn’t be unlocked anytime soon, I’d still get everything (and more) that the iPod touch can do, just with less storage capacity. So my logic was that I should just get myself an iPhone, since it’s the same price, and I’ll eventually be able to unlock it to work on the Rogers network here in Canada.
It was then I woke my wife up and pitched the idea of an early morning road trip to the Walden Galleria mall in Buffalo, NY. Being a gadget junkie herself, my wife of course was all for it (yes, I’m a lucky bastard, yes, she has a sister and no, her sister is not available). So by 5:35 am, we were well on our way, equipped with Google maps directions in hand. I had checked Apple’s handy iPhone availability page to confirm that the Walden Galleria store did in fact have them in stock.
By leaving so early, we not only ensured we didn’t hit any traffic, but also that we zipped through the US Customs border checkpoint. Unfortunately, we also ensured we’d have to wait over 3 hours before the mall (and Apple Store) opened for business. So we stopped at a nearby Tim Hortons for a bite, picked up a couple of magazines at Rite-Aid and hung out at the Walden Galleria mall until it opened. Needless to say, we had time to window shop the entire mall, and read our magazines with about 45 minutes to spare. These may have been the longest 45 minutes of my life. On the positive side, we knew it wasn’t in vane, because when we first arrived at the mall at about 7:45 am, an Apple employee was already in the store. We were able to get his attention and he kindly confirmed that they did in fact have 8GB iPhones in stock. A good thing, since I had my Google maps directions to the Syracuse NY Apple Store, and was fully prepared to execute them if necessary. Thankfully I didn’t have to.
Within 10 minutes of the store opening we got up from the uncomfortable mall bench where we were perched to mark our territory in front of the Apple Store entrance, since the beginnings of what would become a small crowd started to form in front of the store. While we waited, we spoke to another couple from our home town of Brampton, Ontario, who coincidentally enough, had the exact same inspiration to take the drive to Buffalo and buy an iPhone as we did. They had somehow managed to call the store and get them to put two iPhones aside for them. As they told me this, I felt a moment of worry since the clerk we had spoken to hadn’t confirmed HOW MANY iPhones they in fact had in stock. Turns out any such worry on my part was unwarranted.
The store opened promptly at 11 am, and we were able to quickly secure two 8GB iPhones from a gentleman named Sean behind the counter, who rang us up in short order. In order to avoid having to make the drive back to Buffalo anytime soon, we opened our iPhones in the store and made sure they turned on and didn’t have any visible issues. My wife’s was fine, but mine unfortunately seemed to be frozen once it booted up, as it was not responding to any inputs. Sean force restarted it, and it locked up again. He did it again, and this time it appeared to be working. I was able to power it off and on again a few times without it locking up again. So we were on our way.
As we pulled out of the parking space, I felt compelled to test my iPhone again. I powered it on, and it promptly froze again. I made the decision to return to the store and ask for a replacement. Sean was courteous and said he would ask a technician about the issue. He returned and said that this was a known issue and that once I updated to the latest firmware, it wouldn’t happen anymore. I told him that since I came so far, I wasn’t willing to take that chance. Sean continued to insist there was nothing wrong and even made reference to me having to pay a restocking fee if I wanted to replace it, but he then quickly offered to speak to a manager without me having to ask to do so.
After about 5 minutes, Sean returned from the back room with a new, unopened iPhone and said he would replace it for me free of charge (as he should!). I promptly opened up the new one, and tested to make sure it was functioning properly. It looked great and Sean rung up a new receipt for me. That’s when I flipped the new unit over and noticed what appeared to be a little scratch on the aluminum casing. This can’t be, I thought, and promptly tried my best to remove what I was hoping was just a smudge of some unidentified goop left over from the assembly line. I tried my thumb. I tried my shirt. I tried using a little spit on my thumb, and even using my thumb nail. My heart sank as I realized it was not coming off. It was one of those little marks that was almost too small to make a fuss about, but nonetheless one that I knew was going to bother me every time I looked at it from now until the end of it’s useful life.
I motioned Sean over and with a very apologetic tone (and my most convincing puppy dog eyes), told him I was going to have to ask for another unit, since this one had a scratch. I was expecting to get a look, or a sigh, or an argument, or that he’d have to have the manager take a look at the ’scratch’. But instead, Sean just said, “No problem”. He then went into the back room for what seemed like maybe 5 minutes (probably to clear it with the manager), before returning to exchange my iPhone for the second time. I thanked him for his handling of the situation and he said it wasn’t a problem, and that my satisfaction was very important to them. We completed the transaction and I inspected the unit and confirmed, with a sigh of relief, that it was both functional and free of visual defects.
With that I returned to the car and we headed home. Not wanting to test our luck any further, we fully declared our purchases to Canada Customs and paid our outstanding taxes, which amounted to 14% PST+GST charged on the after-tax price we paid. For those curious about the total cost, the $399US iPhone was $433.91US after 8.75% NY State sales tax. Assuming a 1.06 exchange rate, that’s about $460CDN, plus another $65CDN in sales tax when we crossed the border back to Canada, for a total cost of $525CDN, or about $13 more than it would have cost us for the 16GB iPod touch at retail.
After some digging on the internet to find the appropriate software and instructions, our iPhones are now activated and hacked to allow the installation of third party apps. We aren’t able to use the devices as a phone yet though, but anticipate there will be affordable, software-based unlocking services available within the next week or two that will allow us to use our Rogers SIM cards with the unit. The only other feature we can’t use is the built-in YouTube viewer, apparently because it requires a working EDGE cell network connection for it’s first connection. iTunes syncs Address Book contacts, iCal calendars, Safari bookmarks, email accounts, music, video and podcasts as expected. I also had no problems browsing the web and sending/receiving email via our home WiFi network.
So how is it? Lets just say that all the positive stuff you may have read about the iPhone is true. It has far and away the most advanced user interface ever implemented in a consumer electronics device, and is an utter joy to use. Surfing the web is fantastic, with web pages rendering identically to the way they do in Safari on the Mac. It is the best damn iPod Apple has ever made and watching videos and podcasts on it’s large screen is a treat. But I have to say, as awesome a product as the iPhone is, it’s made even more awesome with the help of all the unauthorized third party development being done for the device. I have already installed an ebook reader, a terminal shell, an ssh client and server, an AIM IM client, RSS news reader, Minesweeper game and IRC chat client. All of the third party apps I’ve installed have fantastic user interfaces, although some are a little buggy. The best part of it all is all these apps can be easily installed, updated and uninstalled using another unauthorized third party app called AppTap by NullRiver software, which installs an iPhone app called “Installer” that presents you with an up to the minute list of applications that you can install over WiFi. No muss, no fuss. This is a very unique situation where the open source community has been able to deliver a better application deployment, update and uninstall environment than ANY consumer electronics OS vendor has ever done. This is, in fact, the way every open smartphone should handle third party app installation.
Caveats? Sure, there are a few. For instance, there is a possibility that Apple will release a firmware update that locks out third party software hacks and SIM unlocking methods, but I’m confident that Apple is more interested in selling iPhones than blocking their most enthusiastic iPhone fans. The iPhone isn’t perfect either. There are areas where it can see improvement, like in text editing, copy & paste, voice dialling, etc. But those have all been covered before by countless bloggers, and I agree with the majority who say that the iPhone’s shortfalls seem insignificant compared to it’s overall functionality and usability. Besides, Apple has a history of, and has gone on record as saying they plan to improve the iPhone over time via software. Like for the iPod before it, I’m looking forward to every firmware update Apple releases to see how they improve usability and add functionality. In the meantime though, I’m very impressed with what Apple has been able to deliver thus far.
September 10th, 2007