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Carrier unlock for iPhone 4 released

The iPhone Dev Team on Wednesday released the latest hack that allows a jailbroken iPhone 4 to be unlocked and used on any wireless carrier.

The unlock solution is called "ultrasn0w," and works with the latest version of Apple's smartphone, as well as iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

But to use it requires an iPhone that's been jailbroken. The same group released a jailbreak program for the iPhone 4 over the weekend by exploiting a security hole in the mobile version of the Safari browser. That jailbreak brought attention to the fact that navigating to a … Read more

On Call: Go ahead and jailbreak, it's legal now

On Monday, the U.S Copyright Office ruled that jailbreaking an iPhone or other mobile device will no longer violate federal copyright law. Some iPhone owners no doubt cheered the news, and I join them in supporting the decision.

"Jailbreak" entered the wireless lexicon soon after the iPhone first went on sale in 2007. Though some CNET readers have asked me if jailbreaking is the same as unlocking a handset, it's actually a different process. When you jailbreak an iPhone, you remove the Apple-imposed restrictions that prevent you from loading applications not sold through the iTunes App Store. Unlocking, on the other hand, only removes the restrictions that tie your iPhone to AT&T. So on the same phone, you can perform just one action or, if you prefer, both.

I welcome the decision because I've always advocated for giving customers as many choices as possible. Yes, I understand that jailbreaking carriers some risks--you void your warranty and you could wind up with a bricked phone if you're not careful--but those risks, rather than breaking the law, should be the only consequences that consumers should face. … Read more

Dev-Team inching closer to carrier unlock for iPhone 4

According to a recent tweet from Dev-Team member MuscleNerd, the carrier unlock solution is a step closer to completion for iPhone 4. The latest version of the carrier unlock requires Dev-Team to rewrite the entire baseband-unlocking code from scratch.… Read more

Dev-Team inching closer to carrier unlock for iPhone 4

According to a recent tweet from Dev-Team member MuscleNerd, the carrier unlock solution is a step closer to completion for iPhone 4. The latest version of the carrier unlock requires Dev-Team to rewrite the entire baseband-unlocking code from scratch.

As part of Apple's redesign for the fourth-generation iOS device, iPhone 4 has a completely new baseband. The previous three generations of iPhone all shared the same baseband, explaining the relative speed of success after the original iPhone baseband was first unlocked (dubbed ultrasn0w).

MuscleNerd's tweet reads: "Next step is to keep the task backgrounded like we did … Read more

Apple to sell unlocked iPhone 4 in Canada

All right, this really isn't fair. Though you've never liked it, iPhone users in the United States have accepted that your counterparts in other countries can use Apple's handset on multiple carriers and (better yet) get an unlocked device. When those countries are far away--say across an ocean--it's not so bad, but when you have to see it right next door then it's really tough to watch.

I speak, of course, of our Canadian friends who will join customers in the United Kingdom in having the opportunity to buy the iPhone 4 completely unlocked and … Read more