Items tagged with unlock
Apple has the U.S. Government breathing down its neck with regards to unlocking an iPhone 5S tied to a San Bernardino terrorist. In that particular case, the FBI is playing off themes of national security and threats of terrorism to win the support of the American public in its fight against Apple. However, Apple today scored an early victory against the FBI in a lower-profile New York case that similarly revolves around forcing the company to crack into an iPhone that is passcode-locked. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled that the FBI’s use of the 1789 All Writs Act (AWA) was a vast overreach by the government, and one that is likely unconstitutional. In the 50-page ruling, Orenstein...
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It seems as though everyone has an opinion on Apple’s decision not to comply with the FBI’s request to unlock the iPhone 5c used by terrorists in December’s San Bernardino mass shooting. The noise surrounding the topic became louder when U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered Apple to offer “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI in unlocking device. The noise became deafening when Apple CEO Tim Cook fired back this morning, charging that the U.S. Government was overreaching. Never one to miss an opportunity to make his opinion known for all to hear, Donald Trump has spoken up on Apple’s decision to put up a blockade against the U.S. Government. In an interview this morning for Fox News’...
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Carrier lock-in has long been the bane (well, a bane) of the mobile user’s life. Being unable to switch between carriers at will because of lengthy contracts and the need to buy a new phone and throw the old, now-useless one in a ditch somewhere* even though it’s a perfectly fine piece of hardware when you opt for a different provider is frustrating and expensive. The Obama administration is pushing for change in this regard. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has filed a petition with the FCC that would require any wireless service provider to unlock a mobile device upon request so that the device’s owner could use it with a different provider...
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Tired of having to buy a loaner phone for international use? If you're an AT&T iPhone user, and you have been for an extended period of time, you're in luck starting today. Along with the Lumia 900 going on sale today, AT&T is also making a major policy change. They're now unlocking iPhones for those customers who have one out-of-contract. In other words, iPhone units which currently only operate with an AT&T micro-SIM card can be unlocked in order to work with micro-SIM cards from around the world. Many nations sell iPhones this way already, but not America: these phones are locked to the carrier in which they're sold under. It's a move that'll surely help out traveling iPhone users,...
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Been holding out for an unlocked iPhone 4S in the States? It's here! Apple recently started selling completely unlocked iPhone 4S handsets on their Web site, giving those who managed to cling tight to their funds a chance to buy an iPhone 4S off-contract and with no carrier lock involved. If you aren't familiar with unlocked phones, the unlocked iPhone 4S is a GSM handset that has no software or hardware ties to AT&T (the only GSM carrier in America to offer the phone). In other words, you pay a full, unsubsidized price for the phone, and then you can use any Micro-SIM worldwide, without having to pay AT&T's roaming rates. If you're interested, the phone can be ordered from the Via link...
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Today Intel is announcing two new mainstream processor offerings, targeted squarely and overclocking enthusiasts, that feature unlocked multipliers. The new Core i7-875K and Core i5-655K are virtually identical to the standard Core i7-870 and i5-650 from a technical standpoint, but with the right motherboard, users of these new K-series chips will be able to alter their multipliers to increase frequencies, without having to run any other part of the system out of spec... Intel Core i7-875K and i5-655K Unlocked Processors...
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Once upon a time, not very long ago in fact, Intel vehemently frowned upon overclocking. There were even times leading up to new processor and chipset releases when it was rumored that Intel would bring an end to overclocking altogether. Thankfully, the rumors of overclocking's death were greatly exaggerated and we enthusiasts continue to practice its black magic to this very day. Intel's distaste for overclocking has obviously dwindled over the last few years, however. Whereas before, all of the company's processors were locked and its motherboards lacked overclocking options. Now, Extreme Edition processors have unlocked multipliers and Intel motherboards have extensive overclocking tools...
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The iPhone isn't cheap, and it's really not cheap when you factor in the two year ATT Wireless contract that is a non-negotiable part of your purchase. That could change. The US House of Representatives is holding a hearing today regarding legislation that would require carriers to allow you to bring your device to their plans without penalty. The bill would require wireless carriers to offer consumers the ability to purchase subsidy-free wireless equipment without a long-term service plan at a price no higher than comparable plans offered with subsidized equipment. The bill would also require carriers to prorate early termination fees to ensure that the carrier recovers the cost...
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You'll recall that just yesterday Vodafone managed to get an injunction against T-Mobile, charging that T-Mobile violated German law by selling the iPhone with a SIM lock and two-year contract. Well, be careful what you wish for.T-Mobile said on Wednesday it will offer the iPhone without a T-Mobile contract for 999 euros ($1,478) at its shops.It will also allow those customers who bought an iPhone since November 19 to unlock the device free of charge so it can be used with other SIM cards. However, that will not enable customers to make use of all the functions that the music-playing and Web-browsing device offers.$1,478? Software unlockers, don't go anywhere, as it appears we still need...
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Call it "Hot Coffee" take two, for Take Two games. You may recall the "Hot Coffee" mod that exposed, er. sexual content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas? This isn't quite as successful, but some of the AO content that was hidden rather than removed from Manhunt 2 has been unlocked.In "Manhunt 2," the player takes the role of a man who escapes from an insane asylum and goes on a killing spree.Take-Two edited parts of the game, including blurring some of the most gruesome killing scenes, to get the less restrictive rating.Hackers defeated that blurring on the version of the game for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable. The game is also available for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii...
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Software unlocking of the iPhone has become the "deal of the day" with paid and unpaid solutions. Apple has an answer for that, and you may not like it. Apple issued a statement Monday afternoon warning users of unlocked iPhones that the next software update it ships will probably break their phones. It's not clear how many people have unlocked their iPhone to run on networks other than AT&T's, but there has definitely been some interest among early adopters who want no part of AT&T's network. Most of those folks were always operating under the assumption that Apple might relock their iPhones with future software updates, but were they expecting...
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It looks like the days (literally, just days) of having to pay almost $100 for an iPhone unlocking program are over...more or less. We don't recommend or suggest that you try any hack due to the possibility of damaging your product and, according to some reports, the risk of bodily harm. That said, it is certainly understandable why some people might want to give the iPhone a try. For those intrepid souls, please read on:“Our friends at TUAW pointed out that the iPhone Dev Team has struck gold for everyone who wants an iPhone but not an AT&T contract. Yes, that's right: the team has released anySIM, a free, completely GUI app for unlocking your iPhone. As of this writing, you can download...
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Software unlocking of the iPhone has been a source of threats from AT&T. However, there is an exemption in the DMCA that allows software unlocking of phones - the question has been what will happen if that's tested against a commercial product. In this case, an open source, free product, there's no recourse, except for a ROM change that stops this, of course.The first, non-GUI version was released last night; a beta GUI version has been released. If you want to try the manual version, that’s linked at the same site. Kudos to the iPhone Dev Team and all involved on this. This was (and still is) a lot of work.How soon will the 1.03 version of iPhone software be released, hmm?...
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A little later than many had hoped, one of the two software unlocking solutions for the iPhone has gone on sale. You may recall that the other retailer, Uniquephones.com, was threatened by AT&T when they first announced their intention to sell their product. The one U.S. dealer handling iPhoneSIMFree's unlock -- which lets iPhone owners swap out SIM cards so that the device can make calls on cellular networks other than AT&T's -- listed the hack for US$99. According to a sales representative who answered the phone at New York-based Wireless Imports, the reseller is waiting on iPhoneSIMFree to deliver the licenses. Preorders taken Monday are supposed be filled within 48 hours....
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You may recall that the UniquePhones software unlocking solution has been delayed by a threat by AT&T. Meanwhile, iPhoneSIMFree has been pretty quiet. Yesterday, however, they released a FAQ which not only gives additional information about their unlocking solution, but also gives hope for a release — soon. 1. Would all the same features still work? Yes. Except for Visual Voice mail (which is an exclusive AT&T feature), all features currently available on locked phones will be available on unlocked phones. * 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...
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Citing a post from Hackintosh, the iPhone Atlas is starting to uncover the dark side of iPhone unlocking, namely the allegedly explosive nature of some of the devices.Here's an tidbit from the original post, spelling errors and all: “We were so happy, all the software part was done, so we started opening the iphone. The antenna cover was a bit tricky but eventually it came off. Then we started to open the metal cover (after taking out the 3 screws) and PUFF, up it went in smoke, I think my collegue must have touched something. It literally went up in black smoke. I was so hot that when I tried to pick it up I burnt my fingers. So, this is for sure the most difficult part of the whole process....
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How much is an unlocked iPhone worth? Apparently the value is about equal to that of a new Nissan 350z and a few unlocked 8GB iPhones. That’s $30,000 or more.The purchaser of the unlocked iPhone is CertiCell, a mobile phone repair company in Louisville, Ky. In the wake of recent AT&T threats to litigate against people and/or organizations assisting in unlocking phones en masse, CertiCell has elected not to take commercial advantage of their new unlocking technique at this time.The owner of the iPhone, and leader of a ring of hackers who put in more than 500 hours to crack it, is high school student George Hotz from Glen Rock, N.J. When he returns to school in September, he’ll probably...
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Yesterday we told you about the software unlocking of the iPhone performed by two different companies. One of them, Uniquephones.com, was to go live with its solution today on its www.iphoneunlocking.com site. However, after a threatening call from an AT&T lawyer, they have delayed the release. The man informed McLaughlin that if he posted the unlock code, he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property (IP).McLaughlin is concerned that fighting a lawsuit with AT&T or Apple would sink his small company, which does a modestly successful business unlocking wireless handsets in the U.K. and Europe. "It really annoys me," he...
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Earlier today we reported on the hardware unlocking of the iPhone. But that's ALREADY so over, as the group that operates iPhoneSIMfree.com has created a way to do it in software - and they say it will resists upgrades and restores. The group has not published the details of their unlocking procedure because they plan to sell the service beginning next week. The event comes almost two full months after the iPhone's widely-publicized release by Apple and AT&T. And, like most cell phones sold through carriers in the US, the iPhone comes from the store locked to AT&T. New purchasers are required to either commit to a 2-year contract with AT&T in order to use it, or go with AT&T's...
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This is, unfortunately, a hardware unlock, which means you have to break out the soldering iron, and break INTO your iPhone - but it can be done. Yesterday, when we first noted this story, this enterprising teen posted the step-by-step instructions to his blog, live-blogging as he completed the unlocking of a brand new iPhone. George Hotz, 17, confirmed Friday that he had unlocked an iPhone and was using it on T-Mobile's network, the only major U.S. carrier apart from AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone's cellular technology. The hack, which Hotz posted Thursday to his blog, is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software. It takes about two hours...
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Microsoft has just publicly stated that the company will be offering a software upgrade later this year that will "unlock" the ability to output game and movie content at 1080p. The whole topic of 1080p and how necessary it would be for this generation of consoles has been an interesting topic the last year or two. As many will remember, Microsoft initially dismissed 1080p and downplayed the Playstation 3's full support of the resolution. However as we can see within an old E3 report by Anand, Microsoft and ATI have always had the ability to support 1080p with the XBox 360 hardware. In fact, the Xenos GPU within the XBox 360 can actually support 1080p (1920x1080) with 4x AA...
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HKEPC has uncovered an interesting discovery with the launch of NVIDIA's latest Forceware 91.47 drivers. Apparently, the latest drivers have unlocked Transparency Anti-Aliasing within the GeForce6 family of GPU's. Originally noted as an exclusive feature of the GeForce7 family of GPU's, the team at HKEPC have found Transparency Anti-Aliasing as a functional option for the GeForce 6800 GS, GeForce 6600 GT, and even the GeForce 6200TC. Although the presence of this feature won't likely force anyone to choose a GeForce6 GPU over a new GeForce7 GPU, it certainly is a nice free gift for those who have already purchased a GeForce6 GPU....
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