Apple’s software update makes ‘unlocked’ iPhones freeze

Apple Incorporated has issued a software update that creates problems for iPhones which have been modified to work with a cellular carrier other than
AT&T Incorporated and disables at least some unofficial programs installed on other iPhone handsets.

Apple had already warned that the iPhone update – which adds access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and fixes some security flaws – could permanently disable phones running programs that “unlock” phones from its exclusive partner’s network.

Several gadget-enthusiast websites, including Gizmodo and Engadget, as well as online postings from hacker communities have reported that, depending on which unlocking program was used, certain modified phones no longer worked after they installed the software update. In some cases, the phones worked, but only with the original SIM card that ties the phone to AT&T.

Some websites also reported that “uncondoned” third-party applications on the iPhones became disabled after the update.

Some hackers had termed Apple’s warning as “a scare tactic.” Despite the company’s history of playing cat-and-mouse games with hackers in the past, Apple’s officials insisted that they were “not proactively” trying to make hacked iPhones useless.

It was not clear how many iPhone owners had “unlocked” their phones, but the programs – including several that can be downloaded for free – appeared to be particularly popular with European consumers.

Apple is not selling the iPhone or initiating the service in Europe until November 2007, so the “unlocking” software allowed Europeans who bought iPhones in the United States to use the devices, each costing $399.

Apple has announced that installing the latest iPhone update is optional.

Ever since the iPhone hit the market in June 2007, tech-savvy owners of the phone have been busy messing with its insides, figuring out how to add unauthorized software and even “unlock” it for use on networks other than AT&T’s.

However, the internet was filled with complaints on September 28, 2007, from people who had installed the latest iPhone software update, only to see all the little programs they had been adding to their iPhones disappear. Still worse, in some cases, the phones froze entirely.

These were the users who had ignored the warning from Apple that “iPhone owners using unlocking software could cause the phone to become permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.”