teggy

Is it legitimate for the owner of the cell phone to unlock his/her phone? Can the service provider, provide the unlocking code if you wanted it since you own the device?

WiseGuy

Two years ago when I was visiting Pakistan I called ATT and told them I wanted to use my phone during my visit so they they sent me the unlock code. So, I guess it is legitimate.

Lucid Chaotic

In the U.S., network operators will provide unlocking instructions upon request.

maroush

I think it may depend where you are... i'm assuming you're a yank? If i recall correctly, unlocking your phone became legal in the US in 2006, so you're well within your rights to do so

teggy

right, and do the same rules apply to iphone too?

teggy

Has anyone used the Rebel Sim unlocker for iphone 3G?

Any other reliable service/purchase that can be used to unlock iphone 3G?

Gizzy

Usually it is after the first year or purchse. In Holland they send the unlock code automatically. Though in Belgium all new phones are free of a simlock.

maroush

Well, in short, it is legal, providing that you're only doing it for your personal benefit. If that's what you intend to do, go right ahead.

Just be aware of the risks (DMCA legislation), and keep in mind that you've probably voided your warranty, and that Apple might stop supporting your phone......

teggy

Tried Gevey Plus2 sim unlock, and it didn't work.

Still waiting on Rebel sim Unlock, i hope it works with that.

Otherwise there's a third soft unlock option too..

Nalaik Phaanda

maroush, can you explain what's DMCA and how it's related to iPhone? Thanks


Teggy, never heard of gevey or rebel, but heard a lot about refsn0w/ultrasn0w and pwnagetool

Try at your own risk. I know you will google these now

maroush

Nalaik Phaanda, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is a copyright law in the US.

The most important thing to remember is that unlocking your iphone is legal, so long as it's for personal use.

Further info (ucan.org):

"Basic American copyright law protects the software code, or firmware that runs the Iphone and locks it to AT&T's network. Additional protections exist from the always controversial Digital Millenium Copyright Act (let's just say that if a laws appeared on celebrity gossip sites, the DMCA would be front and center most days). The DMCA offers additional protection to rights holders by restricting users of copyrighted material from circumventing technological protection measures intended to restrict access to the copyrighted material. This includes accessing content even for legitimate, fair uses of content. However, in November of 2006, the Copyright Office approved 6 exceptions to the DMCA "anti-circumvention" restrictions.

While there is nuance to discuss, and attorneys will appear on both sides, one of these exceptions clearly included provisioins allowing consumers to unlock their cellphones "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."

"For the sole purpose" is the key phrase here. It indicates that you, for your personal need to use your iphone on a communication network other than AT&T's, can circumvent protections AT&T has embedded into its phone. On the other hand, you will not likely see a bunch of unlocked phones on Ebay in a few days, since circumventing technological protection measures in order to make them available for sale would not be viewed as for the "sole purpose of lawfully connecting..."

teggy

Yeah, that's the third option i was referring to.

There are a few youtube videos explaining how to do that too, but i rather do it via a Sim. But if i have to, that might be the last resort.

Rebel and Gevey are two of the most commonly referred to unlock sims. It's basically a paperthin sim circuit, you place that in the tray first, then your sim card on top of it, insert sim tray in the phone, power on and it should now work on the sim card (any sim card).

Lets see if it actually works.... Had no luck with Gevey Plus2 so far...

Sheeda Pistol

Let me present you two questions and answers.

Q: is it illegal to unlock your iphone?
A: No

Q: Is it legal to unlock your phone?
A: Yes

Are these answering the same question? Yes and/or No. Leave it for the lawyers and Copyright Office to work out the tiny details.


i can do better google than you

Know Your Rights: Is it illegal to unlock my iPhone?



Is it illegal to unlock my iPhone?

No!

Really?

Well, no, but...

I knew it.

Look, there are a lot of legal issues surrounding unlocking, but the most applicable law in the US is everyone's favorite piece of legislation, the DMCA. Just like any other piece of code, the iPhone's firmware is protected by the Copyright Act, and circumventing the access controls in place to get at that code is a violation of the DMCA. However, the Copyright Office issued six exemptions to the DMCA last year, one of which allows consumers to unlock their cellphones "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network."

That's great! What's the "but?"

There are a lot of "buts," actually. For example, it's most likely not legal to unlock iPhones and sell them on eBay, because your "sole purpose" wouldn't be to connect to a cell network -- it would be to profit from the sale of unlocked phones. TracFone has been suing resellers that unlock its phones and getting settlements, even though this exemption exists. So you might want to put those dreams of being the exclusive iPhone supplier to the Saudi royal family to bed -- for now.

Well, that's not so bad.

There's more. Just because Apple and AT&T can't sue you for violating the DMCA, there's nothing saying they can't sue you under some other law. Remember, all the ruling says is that cellphone firmware isn't protected under the DMCA when you unlock to lawfully connect to a wireless network. That's a pretty narrow rule, and it's most certainly not the same as a rule saying it's legal to unlock your cellphone.

Wow, lame.

Still more. Under the DMCA, the Copyright Office is allowed to make these exemptions, but they only last for three years. Since the unlocking rule was published in November of last year, that means it'll expire in November of 2009. Of course, we'll probably be on the third generation of the iPhone by then, but it still doesn't bode well for that unlocking business you were about to start.

Wait, I thought you said this was legal?

Well, the truth of the matter is that unlocking your iPhone probably isn't going to get you in any trouble, as long you're only doing it for your personal benefit. If that's what you intend to do, go right ahead. Just be aware of the risks, and keep in mind that you've probably hosed your warranty, and that Apple might well stop supporting your phone.

teggy

The verdict is:

Rebel unlock turbo sim worked like a charm. Cost: $11.99 (Using it right now, and have seen no faults/defects in functions of the phone either)

Also tried Gevey Turbo Plus2 unlock sim, but it didn't work at all. The phone failed to recognize simcard (as would be the case with a locked iphone).

Sheeda Pistol

i still prefer soft hack

maroush

Just make sure you keep that IPhone for personal use now, Teg... we wouldn't want you getting into trouble now

Aisha Dubaiwali

Yeh tats what they use here in dubai too to unlock iphone. The turbo chip.

teggy

Absolutely ma'am

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Update: I keep dropping signal (goes to searching/No Sim), but it picks up again within a minute. A minor inconvenience, but...whateva i guess.

PaRtyGuyz

just read an interesting article on unlocking IPhone 3GS. I hope it works,

"George Hortz posts about Purple Sn0w on his blog along with the instructions and advantages. Purple Sn0w is a light-weight and soft unlock as explained by George

It’s a soft unlock for your 3GS that I’d actually use day to day. It’s not a daemon that takes any resources, and it doesn’t add a task to your baseband. It’s very close to a true unlock. All it does is patch three files, CommCenter, lockdownd, and your wildcard activation plist(which you need, activate w at&t sim first, no hacktivation support yet). That’s it, no other files are installed.

George also provides us with 6 simple steps to hackify the phone. Make sure to back-up before you proceed.

1. Be sure to have legit activated 3GS.
2. Disable 3G if you don’t have it.
3. Add apt.geohot.com to Cydia.
4. Install com.geohot.purplesn0w.
5. Watch for success output in Cydia.
6. Reboot, and enjoy your unlocked iPhone.

Please support George by visiting his blog and by following him on twitter. I am sure he has a lot more updates coming our way."

Unlock I Phone 3G S With Purple Sn0w | Apple | TechBlog