Art Of Geek

Inform yourself before updating the firmware on your unlocked iPhone [Update 1]

September 26th, 2007 at 10:15am madgunde

[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.

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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.

Entry Filed under: Apple, Gadgets, Tips, iPhone