Unlocking

A newly discovered Apple patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office outlines a new method for iPhone users to determine carrier rankings.

The filing, submitted in April of last year, and discovered by Apple Insider this week, would allow iPhone owners to search for competing carriers and service plans directly on their phones. In 2010, Apple was rumored to be working on an embedded SIM iPhone service that would allow users to shop for a plan on their device, instead of dealing directly with the carriers. This angered European carriers who threatened to cut subsidies if Apple went ahead with their plan.

Apple is now offering unlocked iPhone 4 models in the Apple Store. "Unlocked" means you can use AT&T or T-Mobile's network in the US without having to sign a two--year contract with either carrier. Unlocked doesn't mean "jailbroken," you still have to buy apps and receive software updates through Apple via iTunes. Another catch is that the unlocked iPhone doesn't support T-Mobile 3G download speeds and won’t operate on Verizon or Sprint at all.

To be clear, the iPhone will "work" on the T-Mobile network, meaning it can be used. However, you'll be stuck on the slower EDGE network, which most individuals will find practically unbearable. When given the option of a brand-new Android smartphone on T-Mobile's 3G and 4G network, you'd be hard pressed to find a compelling reason to use an unlocked iPhone on EDGE, regardless of how much we all love the iPhone.

iPhone Dev-Team has packaged the jailbreak solution released by Chronic Dev Team along with some extra features into Pwnage Tool 4.2. This latest incarnation of Pwnage Tool provides an untethered jailbreak on Mac OS X for all recent iOS devices running firmware 4.2.1 and the Verizon iPhone running 4.2.6.

One key advantage of using the Pwnage Tool will appeal to unlockers, as these individuals can safely restore to a custom 4.2.1 IPSW while keeping their current baseband and unlock. Two problems that were reported with the GreenPois0n jailbreak have also been fixed, including iBooks not opening as well as Wi-Fi issues on the Apple TV 2.

A new utility has been developed by iH8Sn0w for users interested in figuring out whether they can jailbreak or unlock their iPhone or iPod Touch. F0recast will check your device using the USB connection and examine the baseband and bootloader versions.

Jailbreaking and downgrading have become more complex as different versions of hardware and software are constantly released by Apple. F0recast will tell you if your iPhone is unlockable, if you can downgrade your software, and if your specific model requires a tethered jailbreak.

Here we go again. With Apple's release of iPhone OS 3.1 the iPhone Dev-Team has been busy getting jailbreak and unlock solutions ready. The first of these software packages is Pwnage Tool 3.1 for Mac OS X.

The current version is available directly from the iPhone Dev-Team and supports the first generation iPhone and the iPhone 3G. The Dev-Team is still working on software for Windows and the iPhone 3GS.