James Middleton

July 20, 2007

2 Min Read
iPhone hacked already

In an unsurprising turn of events, a bunch of hackers working via IRC, released a tool earlier this week that allows iPhone owners to use their device with a AT&T prepaid account. This means iPhoners do not have to sign up for a two year contract with the carrier.

Use of the iASign tool is not for the faint hearted though. Users will need to be comfortable tinkering with the command line and replacing files on their device.

There’s also the problem that some of the iPhone’s carrier provided features, such as Visual Voicemail, do not work properly. You will also find that the prepay data rates are very expensive making wifi web surfing the only viable option.

Meanwhile, a UK iPhone owner has caused a furore with claims that he has got his device running happily on the Vodafone UK network.

Apparently he bought an iPhone and AT&T prepaid SIM on eBay and activated the device using the iASign.

Then here’s the clever bit – he put the AT&T SIM in an XDA device, which is only available on the O2 network, and took it to a Vodafone store. He asked technicians at the store to change the USIM number on his Vodafone contract to that of the AT&T prepaid card.

This effectively resulted in his UK Vodafone number being shifted to the AT&T SIM, so when the AT&T SIM was reinserted into the iPhone, the iPhone verified it as an AT&T card, although the phone can now make calls on the Vodafone network.

Again, carrier specific apps like Visual Voicemail won’t work, but the phone makes calls and sends SMS messages. No word on whether web browsing works over cellular.

However, the claim has caused a rift in the tech community. Many are congratulating the UK iPhoner, known only as AJ, for being the first to carry out such a feat, while just as many others are claiming it a technical impossibility.

About the Author(s)

James Middleton

James Middleton is managing editor of telecoms.com | Follow him @telecomsjames

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