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Geofries · Mar 27, 2008, 10:40 AM

Forgive the redundant topic, but I will be to the point.

Within the next 16 months, the lady and I will be switching to AT&T. She needs a new phone NOW, but has said "I don't want to spend $400 on something I can't carry over to AT&T".

My main concern is the ability to be able to use the unlocked iPhone with AT&T (is relocking possible, because we don't need it to remain unlocked)

I assume there are downsides to unlocking, such as the possibility to not be able to apply future updates? This does not matter. As long as she can text, and call, she's good.

So, your thoughts?

MacosNerd · Mar 27, 2008, 11:07 AM

Who's your current provider and is it compatible to the iphone. For instance, if you currently have verizon wireless then getting an unlocked iphone will do you no good since verizon wireless uses a different network then AT&T

Why not get an el cheapo phone now and worry about the iphone when your contract ends next year

Geofries · Mar 27, 2008, 11:18 AM

We have T-mobile now. A cheap phone is no good. We send thousands of text messages a month, and she needs a phone condusive to texting, ie a phone with a keyboard. Going back to a regular phone isn't an option, considering she'll be using the phone for the next year at least.

MacosNerd · Mar 27, 2008, 01:01 PM

Personally I'm not a fan of unlocking the phone or jail breaking it as it may lead to problems down the road. People do it and have great success but the risk for me is too high.

The other option is to break the contract, if you or your wife is really anxious for the iphone then pay the fee and move over to AT&T

I mean if you're going to be spending $$ for new iphones, what's another hundred or so.

CorpITGuy · Mar 27, 2008, 01:16 PM

I tend to agree with the last poster re: cancellation of your T-Mobile contract. If you think the AT&T service is good for you and you're willing to drop another $800 on a pair of iPhones, what's another hundred or two? You might be able to cost-justify it over the life of the phone contract (2-years) if you're paying for one of the higher priced data plans on T-Mobile or if your minute package will be cheaper on AT&T. In the beginning there is price; in the end there is cost.

Geofries · Mar 27, 2008, 01:43 PM

Let me not pretend at all like we have ample money, we do not. We currently can't afford 2 new iphones, in addition to two seperate $275 cancellation fees. That's why we must wait the contract out. But together we could get one iphone now, and another in another year or so.

bearcatrp · Mar 27, 2008, 02:37 PM

To my understanding, (correct me if I am wrong), but an unlocked iPhone works on Tmobile network. Go here for more info.. All things iPod, iPhone, iTunes and beyond | iLounge .

Tomchu · Mar 27, 2008, 03:22 PM

An unlocked iPhone will work on *any* GSM network in the world. AT&T, T-Mobile, Fido/Rogers (Canada), O2, whatever ... it'll work with all of them.

Jailbreaking and unlocking are perfectly safe and reversible, and the only downside to unlocking (not jailbreaking) is that you usually can't update to the newest firmware the day it comes out. You'll have to wait a few days for the dev teams to put together an unlocker for the latest baseband.

Then again, if your wife plans to switch to AT&T, then she can simply do a "Restore" in iTunes, which will put fresh (and factory-locked) firmware on the phone. An AT&T SIM card will work just fine in a locked iPhone -- since that's what they're locked to.

CorpITGuy · Mar 27, 2008, 03:52 PM

Let me tell you from experience: if you cannot afford to replace it the afternoon your wife drops her iPhone in the toilet, you can't afford an iPhone.

The inherent problem is that once you've HAD an iPhone, what are you gonna use, a freakin' RAZR?!?

Geofries · Mar 27, 2008, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by CorpITGuy

Let me tell you from experience: if you cannot afford to replace it the afternoon your wife drops her iPhone in the toilet, you can't afford an iPhone.

The inherent problem is that once you've HAD an iPhone, what are you gonna use, a freakin' RAZR?!?

Lol shame on your wife.

CorpITGuy · Mar 27, 2008, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by Geofries

Lol shame on your wife.

Shame on ME.

I was using that as an example from that person's blog... but in reality, it was I, not my wife, that dropped an iPhone in the toilet. I was raging ill and not all there... the iPhone slipped off the sink and into the porcelain throne...

Geofries · Mar 28, 2008, 08:55 AM

Thanks for all the responses. Can anyone provide a link to a site that will guide me through unlocking the iphone? I don't want to jail break it, just unlock it.

And are the latest iphones able to be unlocked with no problem?

Ozmodiar · Mar 28, 2008, 01:48 PM

iClarified - iPhone - How to Unlock 1.1.4 and Downgrade to 3.9-fakeblank iPhone Bootloader (Mac)

Unfortunately it's not possible to unlock the phone with software without first jailbreaking it. The above link is the easiest way to go about this, and takes about five minutes to accomplish.

One thing to note: Unlocking the iPhone with the above method will downgrade your bootloader to an unofficial version developed by people outside of Apple. This is perfectly safe, but you should know that if something goes wrong with your iPhone you're ineligible for service/maintenance (unless you know someone at an Apple store who will help you out). Even if you activate the phone through official channels when you switch to AT&T, your phone is still not covered under warranty because of the downgraded bootloader.

There is currently no way to revert the bootloader back to its original state on a Mac, although there are tools that exist to do the job with Windows.

Tomchu · Mar 28, 2008, 03:12 PM

I doubt that any Apple store employee would be able to figure out that you have the 3.9FB boot loader instead of the original 4.6 on your iPhone.

The only important thing to do before bringing your iPhone in for service is to do a restore to the latest firmware in iTunes -- this will restore everything to factory defaults, except for the boot loader. Unless the employee himself jailbreaks the phone and installs something like HWInfo, there will be no other easy way to tell which boot loader is on the phone. :-P

MacosNerd · Mar 28, 2008, 03:20 PM

By the same token Apple, could be instructing their employees on what to look for on unlocked iphones so they would be able to figure it out.

I'm not saying that its the case but apple had been taking a hard view of unlocked/jail broken iphones so its not out out scope to consider that they'd advise their people on how to spot it, and then reject doing any work on them.

CorpITGuy · Mar 28, 2008, 03:57 PM

Does Jailbreaking the iPhone replace the bootloader?

zanyterp · 06:39 PM

it looks like the jail break would only open the phone to other applications. But I'm not sure as I haven't made that plunge. especially when the early jail breaks were possible through safari only...but I'm not sure and am concerned to try for myself

Tomchu · Mar 29, 2008, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by CorpITGuy

Does Jailbreaking the iPhone replace the bootloader?

No.

Ozmodiar · Mar 29, 2008, 02:06 AM

It's true that Apple store employees might not be able to tell if your phone has a downgraded bootloader, but in the long run it doesn't matter as phones that aren't activated through official channels to work on official carriers aren't even eligible for service. Maybe in the year or so before the OP switches to AT&T an easy way to completely virginize the phone will emerge.