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How to Unlock Your iPhone for Free

by Tom Conlon on September 12, 2007 at 02:22 PM

How to Unlock Your iPhone for FreeSo much for AT&T's exclusive on the iPhone. After just 74 days on the market and more than a million units sold, the iPhone can now be used on any SIM-card based cellular network, which for the U.S., basically means T-Mobile.

Since the day the iPhone was launched, hackers have been hard at work trying to break the handset free of its AT&T imprisonment. First, some hardware hacks appeared which required cracking open the iPhone and messing around with its innards. Then there was the kid who figured out an easier way, but sold his secret to a cell phone company in exchange for a new car. Most recently, a piece of software appeared on the Web called iPhoneSIMFree, which promised to unlock the iPhone for use with other carriers, only it cost you $99 (If you haven't seen this Engadget video of iPhoneSIMFree in action, watch it now).

A group of hackers paid for iPhoneSIMFree and got a look under the hood, and before long they engineered an alternative solution, dubbed iUnlock, which they are now giving away to the masses. The program is available on Gizmodo, but we must warn you that the unlocking process is still a bit techie. And remember, it more than likely voids your iPhone's warranty, so tread lightly.

For now, Apple isn't doing much to prevent people from using the hack. In a recent interview with PC Magazine, the company's vice president of Hardware Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, said that Apple is taking a neutral stance on homemade iPhone applications, meaning the company doesn't support them, but also won't purposely impede their development.

That said, there's a big difference between a program that lets you play old Nintendo games on your iPhone and a program that effectively slaughters the undisclosed, but no doubt costly deal that was brokered to give AT&T exclusive rights to the phone.

From Engadget and Gizmodo

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Tags: hack, iphone, unlock

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