You'd Need to Be Crazy to Unlock An


Iphone in The UK Right now...

20th November, 2007 AI (anno iphone)

I planned to unlock my iPhone the day I got it; it seemed like a no-brainer. I refused to be a victim of the The O2 / Apple conspiracy, designed to screw UK iPhone users for every penny possible. I had a great contract with Virgin and I wasn't going to give it up for visual voicemail...

Then I actually got my hands on the iPhone. Ahhhhhhhh...

I called one of the companies who claimed to be able to unlock it (IphoneUnlock UK). I wanted them to convince me, reassure me, sell it to me. They couldn't. They didn't.

On the contrary, they assured me they could not unlock it. No way. I asked them 3 times, surprised and puzzled, but they were adamant. The updated software on the UK iPhone had thwarted them, just as I predicted it would months ago (see my article below).

And that's when it happened. I was transformed. I saw the light. All of a sudden £35 a month seemed like a small price to pay -- visual voicemail, free wifi access just about everywhere, and unlimited data downloading. A nice bundle.

On top of all that, I wouldn't have to do anything to hurt and corrupt the beautiful little perfect thing. Done deal.

The new me swung into action. Within seconds I had my iPhone hooked up and iTunes open. For the first time in my life it felt good typing in my credit card details. Activation took about an hour...

Goodbye, cruel world, I'm leaving you today
Goodbye. Goodbye Goodbye...

Unlocking iPhones UK

At the time of writing (18/09/07), unlocking iPhones has only recently become possible. The process of unlocking using software alone has been widely confirmed and is not disputed. However, most of the emphasis on unlocking iPhones has been given to US iPhone owners and their specific burden of being tied into mobile contracts with AT&T.

click for proof that an iPhone can be unlocked using software only

The company that has emerged as the front-runner in the race to unlock the iPhone is iPhoneSimFree but end-users will have to buy the unlock through third (fourth?) party vendors. There are vendors currently targeting the UK market and they appear confident enough about unlocking UK iPhones using the very same software and implementation, but the iPhone has not yet been released here and so it remains to be seen if the iPhoneSimFree software unlock will perform as expected for UK iPhone users.

We will just have to wait and see, but it is clear that the unlocking procedure for iPhones is complex -- more complex than it is for other mobile phones -- and you really have to question how much can be taken for granted here. Another ominous factor, given that the unlock is software generated, concerns the potential for Apple to introduce an unlock defying software upgrade. Again, we will have to wait and see.

The smart money right now should be doing exactly that, waiting and seeing. It is obvious that Apple will have learned about the unlock software and will respond in a self-interested way -- they are not the sort of company to sit and watch their product, profits, and brand being undermined. This we know.

Just look at this extract from a UK based company offering the unlock to UK iPhone owners. This is from their FAQ's page;

2. Is it resistant to updates?

While we have taken all possible measures to ensure that the phone will remain unlocked, we can only guarantee the current released versions of updates (up to and including 1.0.2). With any of these versions, even if the phone is fully restored, the phone will remain unlocked. If an update is required, we will offer it for free IF we are able to provide it.
http://www.iphoneunlockuk.com/faq.php

This hardly inspires much confidence. In the last sentence there they used the word "If" three times...

We also know that the UK iPhone will have a different configuration to the US model. Otherwise, why would they prolong its launch here? The software that comes with the iPhone would, by necessity, have to be tailored specifically for the UK market (maps, address and telephone protocols, etc), not to mention the fact that its performance as a mobile phone is being tied to the O2 network and that also demands even more complex changes to the iPhone software configuration.

On the basis of all that, you would be taking a huge gamble if you were expecting the iPhoneSimFree unlock to perform without any problems on a UK iPhone right now. Not that that is a possibility, because, as we know, there is no such thing as a UK iPhone right now -- they will not be available until November 9th, 2007.

The good news is that by December, when most of the smart money will take the plunge, the unlock issue will probably be resolved for UK users, just in time for Christmas. Apple's ability to thwart the unlock with software updates can also be quite easily countered -- just don't upgrade your iPhone software after you have unlocked it! Better still, wait and see how others get on before upgrading your software.

I wish I had a more inspirational message than wait and see. By the time I write my next installment here on the issue of unlocking the iPhone for UK users, I probably will. You'll just have to wait and see.