Comments on: Unlocking the iPhone 3G - or maybe not

An application with the seasonal but rather unappetizing name of Yellowsn0w has some folks tinkering away, though not always happily.

[MCOjerry]

When will this stop? Just use the damn thing on AT&T and get over it.

[Hep Cat]

Agreed. I'll take Zappa's advice and "watch out" for that Yellowsn0w.

[turbocomppro]

errrr... not everyone lives in the US ya know... there's is this thing call "the rest of the world."

[MCOjerry]

errr...then there's a service provider in that country Mr. Rest of the world. If you live somewhere where there's no provider, then don't buy the phone.

[Lerianis]

MCOjerry, phones are pretty much unibody once they are unlocked. They will work on ANYONE's network, at least for the phone functions.

[dreidogg]

Your Stupid. A person can do whatever they want with a device they "PAID" for idiot.

[nixermac]

Which world do you live in dude? Many people using AT&T need to travel outside of US too. Have you seen the "sell your soul and pay me" roaming rates AT&T (or any other) offers? I can save a ton by switching my SIM when abroad.

Although US is a free country the people do not enjoy freedom. Corporations tie the people down with biased contracts and force the people (users) into using a product within a limited parameter. This is nothing less than living under dictatorship. Good that the Corporate America does not rule the country (directly) otherwise even the 1st amendment would be under a contract.

[Angsuman-Chakraborty]

There wouldn't be such craze if only Apple provided unlocked version in the first place.

[johnqh]

There are - Hongkong and Italy version are unlocked. You are free to buy them at about $700 each in those countries.

AT&T was supposed to offer unlocked version for about $700, but they haven't delivered on the promise.

[MacStuff]

The John that claims that AT&T was 'supposed to provide an unlocked version." Please provide your cite from AT&T on this. AT&T has always stated that they will not unlock the iPhone.

AT&T pays a subsidy for the iPhone so it is their right to expect you to pay for monthly service in order to make back the money they spent allowing you to get the phone for far less than retail.

If you don't like the price, either buy another phone or pay full retail and buy the phone outside of the US. Of course in the US you only have 2 choices of providers for a GSM phone anyway. AT&T or T-Mobile. And T-Mobile doesn't offer a 3G network.

[Lerianis]

Excuse me, but just because Apple pays a subsidy for the iPhone (they actually DON'T), they should not be allowed to force you to use the phone on their service.
PERIOD, DONE WITH, OVER.... they should not be allowed to do that. The FCC needs to get off their damned ***** and make it ILLEGAL for phones to be locked to a certain provider.

[pjhenry1216]

@MacStuff: A lot of people *DID* pay full retail price. If you weren't eligible for an upgrade and were already on AT&T, you couldn't purchase the iPhone at a cheaper price. Plus, even if they did purchase it at a discounted price, folks should still be able to do what they want with it AFTER their service plan is up.

[Goodbye Helicopter]

who cares?
most phones are stuck with a provider anyway.
but seriously, who cares?

[ULTxx]

Got mine to unlock in 2 minutes. Easier than starting up a computer, seriously... maybe some people just don't know how to follow instructions... LoL!

[turbocomppro]

If you read the dev teams comments, not working can be caused by the SIM card and/or provider. So even if people follow everything to the letter, it still may not work. The dev team is using us as guinea pigs and that's not nice.

[nixermac]

@turbocomppro - the dev team is not using you as a guinea pig. They are very clear on the release being beta. The choice is yours. Moreover I would not mind testing for them for they are doing a great job providing the solution for free.

[bsharkey]

tired of the iPod fanboys complaining they can't get an unlocked phone, or get this beta to work right (good chance of user error in some cases, though there are probably plenty of factors beyond many end-users' control). alas, they knew there was no guarantee of being able to unlock it when they signed on for 2 years and took the damn phone. first it was "I waited in line for days to get one the day it came out, with the understanding the price could change anytime, and now I can't get a price adjustment??", then, "what, no free upgrade to a 3G version??", and now this whining.

an unlocked Android will shortly be freely available without any goofy unreliable hacks if anyone would have simply waited 6 months to a year instead of becoming mated to the iPhone (first 2G, and now 3G), for 2 years. but no. they. had. to. have. one. NOW.

and with it being 3G, and AT&T constantly touting the fastest 3G network, your stupid contractual obligation, basically a personal problem, is becoming a lot less of an issue anyway.

[MacStuff]

Unfortunately the Android is a crappy phone.

[pjhenry1216]

@MacStuff: The Android isn't a crappy OS. I'm to assume from your login that you're so obsessed with Mac that you needed to have it in your name. Obviously you're going to overlook anything advantageous about a competitor and overlook any flaws in your manufacturer of choice.

[nixermac]

Yes I am Mac FanBoy. And Android is a substandard OS developed by Google just so that they could compete with another substandard OS (WinMo).

who cares? people in other countries. And if you want to take your phone overseas and just buy a cheap SIM card to use, and it will work just fine in an unlocked phone. While being locked, u're stuck with at&t and nothing else

[bsharkey]

"who cares? people in other countries. And if you want to take your phone overseas and just buy a cheap SIM card to use, and it will work just fine in an unlocked phone. While being locked, u're stuck with at&t and nothing else "


why do people keep saying "people in other countries need it". they sell iPhones in other countries which are either a) not locked down to AT&T, which doesn't have a presence in that country, or b) not locked down at all, either for the same price or a bit more. so if you're buying the iPhone in another country, you're not in the same situation, and therefore you're comparing apples to oranges (no pun intended). thus, non-issue as it relates to this discussion of iPhone sales in the U.S.

I understand the issue of travelling abroad. but people knew that when they bought it and signed the contract. there was little assurance nor guarantee of being able to unlock it to use another provider outside North America.

I understand wanting to be able to unlock your phone when the 2 years is up, and that's a valid concern...but again, people knew there was no procedure to do this when they bought one. but it does become somewhat relevant if people are still using it at that point.

the difficulty of getting it to work will vary by network carrier/country for various number of reasons. I have gotten it to work in Vietnam VN Mobifone, and it requires several reinserts of the SIM card, but doesn't work properly just by turning on the phone, which is pretty annoying right now.

[AJ Pants]

Forget dealing with all this crap. Ditching my jailbroken iPhone and buying a legit 3G prepaid was the best thing I ever did.

[Lerianis]

Most expensive, yes. Definitely not 'best'.

[david.sharp]

What everyone seems to forget is that the Dev team are not doing this for any commercial gain, it's all for the fun and challenge, nothing more!

Furthermore they also make it extremely clear that it is 100% at your own risk, it's experimental / beta and if you want to try, then have fun, if your unsure, then don't play!

Also, it is 100% removable, it's simply a code injection at boot, i.e a non UI program scripted to run at boot, simply do a iPhone restore within iTunes, and the phone is box fresh.

I think people simply need to accept the Dev team and the unlock are people who have gracious enough to share the fruits of their labour of love playing with the deeper aspects of the iPhone at a level most people will never even understand, I mean the number of people who can't even follow the basic and clear instructions about how to properly run the script!!!

Moral: if you play with fire expect to get burnt occasionally, and don't complain if you lit the match.

[Grem135]

Well said David. It just amazes me how peeps want stuff free and perfect no matter how many warnings there are to the contrary, But then if they want to sell me thier "bricked" Iphone 'cuase they are not smart enough to fix it I can be contacted at Thegrem................................... er never mind. T-mobile's G1 android is doing great many more useful apps then iphones pitiful app store...

[sting7k]

I don't really see the point of unlocking the iPhone 3G in the US, Tmobile is far worse than AT&T and they have even less 3G coverage. Who else are these people trying to use their iPhone with?

[D3vildog699]

Tmobile is way cheaper than at&t... and i have yet to have an issue with them. I have also been across several different states

[codynews]

What a shock that a program called "yellowsn0w" wouldn't work. Are the dev's a few 10 year olds? Seriously, I try not to judge a book by its cover but the name (and use of '0' for 'o') should tell you something.

I have an iphone and there is no way I'd put that crap on it.

[sparrowhyperion]

First off... Anyone who spends more than $60 for a phone is missing a few screws... Second, I don't know what the big fanfare over the Iphone is about. I have seen them, they just aren't that world shattering. I spend $20 a minimum of every three months for my service at Virgin Mobile. It's pay as you go. It offers email, text messaging and some simple and very reliable phones which do not cost more than my PC. I tell ya. It's people who are actually buying these things which are allowing phone companies to gouge people for them. In these hard economic times, people who buy these overpriced gizmos must have more money than brains. I think the Iphone crowd needs to get their priorities straight and when they buy this overpriced junk, they should just remember all of those people living in cardboard boxes and homeless shelters that could eat for a year on what they wasted on a phone... No one NEEDS an IPHONE!

[pjhenry1216]

No one needs a lot of things. People can survive without computers, internet connections, and ANY sort of mobile phone. Don't give me crap about, "ooo, i need it for work." You don't *need* that specific job. Anything you have that other people don't is something that, by definition, you don't *need*. So don't try to be all high and mighty by drawing an arbitrary line and saying anything more than what you purchase is unneeded. There are a hell of a lot of things you've purchased that you don't need that could be used to feed people.

[sanjayb]

Here in Canada you can't get a NEW cell phone for $60.

[bsharkey]

"Here in Canada you can't get a NEW cell phone for $60. "

I don't know how that's totally correct, in U.S. you can buy a basic prepaid phone for $15-25 no rebate required. obviously it's not being subsidized (price lowered at retail) to get someone to sign a long-term contract, since there's no contract!! and... they work in Canada. so based on that "impossibility", I'd either say people have to step across the border and buy one, or perhaps shop around up there til they find one?

even my $89.99 prepaid phone with QWERTY keyboard, 1.3MP camera, etc I've seen for as low as $35.00 on sale at Best Buy, which was after I got it. again, no rebate required.

[bsharkey]

"Here in Canada you can't get a NEW cell phone for $60. "

I don't know how that's totally correct, in U.S. you can buy a basic prepaid phone for $15-25 no rebate required. obviously it's not being subsidized (price lowered at retail) to get someone to sign a long-term contract, since there's no contract!! and... they work in Canada. so based on that "impossibility", I'd either say people have to step across the border and buy one, or perhaps shop around up there til they find one?

even my $89.99 prepaid phone with QWERTY keyboard, 1.3MP camera, etc I've seen for as low as $35.00 on sale at Best Buy, which was after I got it. again, no rebate required.

[bsharkey]

"Don't give me crap about, "ooo, i need it for work." You don't *need* that specific job. Anything you have that other people don't is something that, by definition, you don't *need*. "


I get their point if they're a salesperson, i.e. independent contractor, and would rather opt for iPhone over Palm Treo or Blackberry, or similar smart phones like Verizon Q (which is what I used to have at work).

but aside from those positions, if you "need" that exact phone for your job, and are a salary employee there is a high probability your work would pay for you to have that exact phone!! otherwise you're lying through your teeth, and could get away with a less trendy /. pricy phone that does basically the same thing.

[murbo]

@everyone: ok, next time you leave the country and be forced to pay a few grand on roaming charges to at&t, or if you are not from usa any other gsm operator in the world, come back here and apologize the devs of this application who are working hard to unlock iphone 3g so we can just switch the sim card in it with a cheaper prepaid service in the country we are visiting. if you don't even have a passport, and didn't leave the town you were born in, shut the hell up.

[davidsmi]

Before installing software check out the blog "The application is version 0.9 0.9.1 0.9.4 This is considered beta software, you use it at your own risk. You know the score."

When you look at comments you'll see lots of people with it working, and several with issues.

Enjoy - but don't wine if it doesn't work!

[jinx101a]

The fact is, if you use the iPhone you're stuck with whatever Apple shoves down your throat and you risk having your phone bricked if you don't play by their rules. There just as bad if not worse than Microsoft in this respect. I can't believe people put up with their crap and don't demand change from them to be more user friendly. That's why Android will eventually take over the mobile market.

[avfnx]

If not picking up signal put the phone in air plane mode...it might tell you after invalid SIM so put back and on and off it...it start searching and after a few try it will work...that what worked for me yesterday.

[AJ Pants]

Sure, my prepaid iPhone was well over $500, but I also get free, unlimited 3G data with my carrier. . Not a bad deal at all.

[blusky08]

OKAY--DO THE MATH:
If you are in the U.S., you have to pay approx. $40/mo. just for basic phone service with ANY carrier. The ONLY "xtra charge" with AT&T is for internet-$30/mo. That's $720 over the course of 2 years, plus the cost of the iPhone (currently $199). Total: approximately $920 for device+data service over the 2 year contract. Whereas, you'd pay around $700 for an already unlocked device by itself, plus a basic service plan, plus data usage.

Even if you manage to get the phone cheap, you've still got the basic monthly phone rate plus major data usage. So, you might save $15/mo. for all the headache.

Seems like the contract is the logical way to go.

That said, there is an unsavory corporate culture in the U.S. that is using exclusivity to force consumers into extremely limiting contracts--leaving them zero choices if they want the product/service.

[IPHONEMAN18]

if you woke up this morning and had no service on the 3g apple Iphone and it is unlocked, it is because of yellowsn0w, delete that as soon as you can.Be sure not to re-download and thing that has to do with yellowsn0w it is a bugged program. so reboot your iphone and unlock again

[sassiebrat]

what happens to the warranty if you unlock the 3G?

[voyager529]

You can't get warranty service unless you re-lock it. Just do a vanilla flavored restore on the phone and you're golden.

Joey