Wow. Good job Apple!

Step 1. Purchase overpriced phone and modify it to work on different networks
Step 2. Update phone
Step 3. Profit (for Apple)

/me smashes his head against his 24"iMac

The cynic in me says that Apple has a solution and the cost will be $100 - coincidentally the same amount Apple was pressured in to refunding to the iphone whiners ;)

Apple != "It Just Works." Updated to "It Just Doesn't Work."

Oh, and didn't I see something about this being illegal? Hopefully those folks with bricked iPhones launch a class action.

Steve Jobs is a Hippocrite.

Jobs helped raise funds to start Apple by selling those blue boxes that would hack ATT.

Apple was started with hacker money.

a: Nobody should have EVER counted on 3rd party apps continuing to work. Apple was VERY VERY VERY VERY clear about it. Anyone who bought an iPhone for 3rd party apps should not be suprised.

b: The iPhone uses a sync model, are the contacts dissapearing from the host computer as well?

The simple fact that Apple entered int the ATT contract was enough for me to not get one. Not like I was going to anyway.

But like the apple of yesteryear, the ability to really modify the products is no longer there,

So it doesnt matter if you get a new SIM card right? Your iPhone still is bricked?

That was Apple's plan all along, to sell you $500 paperweights.

Updated my iphone last night with no issues at all, nothing missing, everything works. However, I haven't loaded any 3rd party apps on my phone.

Opening the phones to other networks is one thing, but I can't see how it's legal for Apple to prevent people from using third-party applications on phones they own.

ha-ha!

Why is it called "bricking"?

Really, this is so stupid. Why should they care how the phone is used once it's been paid for?

The iPhone is sold by Apple and AT&T as being usable only on AT&T's network. Those purchased expecting to use the phone on AT&T's network aren't having problems. It's those that bought the phone, and then went home and modified it are having the problems. World's smallest violin here for those people. Cell phones should be unlocked for use on all networks, and it shouldn't be illegal to unlock or hack a phone either, I agree with that. But unlocking it yourself is a modification, and that voids the warranty. By modifying the iPhone in ways that Apple doesn't expect you to modify it, you change the way the phone is configured in ways Apple can't account for when it designs software fixes or updates. So it's entirely possible that updates, designed for a phone that is supposed to be configured by the manufacture as ABC, will cause problems on phones that have been modified by the consumer as XYZ. If I was Apple, I wouldn't apologize or replace "bricked" iPhones. The nature of the hack is that it is an unpredictable workaround. People that pay to have the unlock done will likely be more offended by this than the guys that actually crafted the unlock in the first place. Those people know it's a thrilling game of chance.

It's called bricking because after you're done, the nice, expensive piece of complex electronics is about as useful as a brick.

@MissPinkKate: They aren't preventing it. You can use and not update all you want, and no one would be the wiser. However, if you are going to use apps right now you're essentially changing the bios, it's not just "software" in the sense that it's being used. Apple's terms clearly state that once you start messing with boot sectors and bios (to use more common terms) that they don't need to cover you under warranty. Any computer manufacturer would do the same.

I'm just curious, does the iPhone force updates or do users need to update the firmware manually?

If it's the latter, then I'm sure most who read this story will probably ignore the update (similar to that which is done with the PSP), that is unless it is like the PSP in the respect that it will cease to operate at full functionality if one does not update its firmware.

I wonder what will happen if all the persons whom own iPhones which were unlocked made the same outcry they did over the $200 price drop.

I'm also curious to know what will happen if that bill which forces cell phones to be unlocked is passed. Only time will tell I guess.

Thanks, Papa Midnight!)

You're quite welcome :)

Seems to my that if you've modded your phone you just shouldn't update it. It seems unlikely Apple would be able to force you to update, and if they could do it automatically, it seems that it could be grounds for some class action privacy suit.

Not that I want to stick up for apple in this but you gotta look at it from their point. The update is not bricking iphones using the outofbox specs. Apple can't go out and get every variation of 3rd party app out there to make sure it works. That is why they issued their message that it may brick after update. I look at it that the people who learned how to unlock the iphone now have to go back to the drawing board and get THEIR software to work with the new Iphone and not the other way around.

The sarcastic "good job, Apple" sort of distorts the circumstances. Apple warned users, and then followed through. If this had come out of the blue, I could understand the sarcasm.

NWEAVER's point (b) in on the money. The purportedly "lost" contacts and files merely need to be resync'd from the host computer. Before we point up the problems people are reporting, we need to appreciate that many users are prone to run to the discussion boards without having tried the simple solution. The real issue is whether people are reporting unfixable problems. I haven't seen any sich problems with unmodified iPhones.

So... you based your review on functions that the device wasn't supposed to have in the first place? Real smart. Reviews should be based on using a device as intended, with a note at the bottom describing possible hacks, but without affecting the review.

That said, this is why I told people who told me "just use ApolloIM" that I'm still waiting to buy one (I need IM, I'm hearing-impaired). I don't want to have vital functionality regularly explode on me. Games, sure, something I need, no.

C'mon, Apple. Every phone these days has instant messaging, why doesn't yours?

@Erik_the_Awful: Isn't preventing users from unlocking illegal since the ruling from the Copyright Office that it is fair use under the DMCA?

Or am I missing something. I know at least one cell phone company (CDMA with Cellular in the name) was pretty much going to ignore it, claiming that they had special software layouts for phones for their networks. Until a technician friend of mine working on a phone saw it turn on with the Verizon Wireless menus - in a non-Verizon market.

Before a TON of misinformation gets thrown out...PLEASE CHECK OUT ENGADGET:

[www.engadget.com]

The fact is that the update is also bricking VIRGIN iPhones that are fresh out of the box.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Because it renders your device as useful as a paperweight.

Apple: Here's this neat new device.

Users: Cool! I want one!

Apple: Just so you know, we don't condone third-party software, and unlocking the device might cause problems down the road that we can't fix with software.

Users: Cool! I want one!

Apple: Here you go! And developers have the oficial line on how to create software for it.

Users: Cool! Lemme see if I can unlock it with this hack!

Apple: We told you not to try that. It messes with the security of the device and it might break later on when we fix security holes.

Users: Whatever! iPhone is teh cool!

Apple: Here's your latest update...if you modified the firmware to unlock your phone, you'll have problems.

Users: WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Not sure where the outrage comes from here. Apple's been warning people for months against modifying the phones. Now that they've applied updates to the phone to fix outstanding security issues (the same method that allows for unlocking could also be used maliciously, and anything that can be used maliciously also threatens ATT's network and other customers) all the folks who thought they knew better than Apple are crying.

But it's popular to bash Apple, so go right ahead.

What I don't understand is why people who had 3rd party apps installed and people who unlocked their iPhones installed the update to begin with. I have a ton of 3rd party apps installed on my iPhone and don't plan to install the update at all because I'd rather continue to use 3rd party apps and create my own custom ringtones than install the update just so I can access itunes via wifi and buy songs.

@enm4r: I understand that Apple won't cover a phone under warranty once people start messing it, but to send out an update that renders them completely useless? Seems to be taking it a step too far.

I guarantee the day will come when they *will* prevent it. All they have to do is make some minor change to the authentication protocols and put that in an update. If you don't update, your phone stops working. If you do update, your phone stops working. Voila.

*Gasp* c a n ' t b r e a t h e

Laughing too hard

ahahahahahhaaaaa

maybe they could sell me an igun so i can shoot myself in my ihead.

apple once again steps on its own dick. who's all for a good old fashioned boycott? nah too many people will become closet apple customers.

@MissPinkKate: Not really. They can't test everything people might do, as that would be prohibitively expensive. They did warn you ahead of time, and yet people tried to update hacked phones. The phones function fine -- if people don't screw them up!

@goodguy812: For what? They sold a product that wasn't advertised to be capable of the things people wanted it to do. They warned that modifying it could potentially cause problems. Whose fault is it but those of everyone who ignored the warnings and said "it won't happen to me"?

"It won't happen to me" gets people killed when they think it's OK to drink and drive, too. People just aren't capable, apparently, of losing the "I'm invincible" attitude ... and then they blame someone else when they fall flat on their faces (or worse).

i heard the ipod touch is going to slash its price in a month. lol.

why people buy a overpriced piece of crap, when their are cheaper alternatives that are more compatible.

windows mobile products (pdas, phones, etc) are far better. they have better 3rd party programs and can open more types of files.

buran dude calm down. besides if you buy something it becomes your right? so if you want to smash it into pieces you should be able to. and if your smart enough to get the f*ck off of at&t's network, excellent! apple is only profiting off of idiots who buy things solely for the name brand.

@Buran Are you seriously comparing people that unlocked their iPhones to people that drink and drive?

The fact is, Apple could have easily released an update that wouldn't brick any phones at all and they didn't. I can understand trying to block people from using the phone on other networks since they have a deal with AT&T, but messing up phones of people who simply installed 3rd party apps or custom ringtones is pretty ridiculous.

i'm going to make an ipod for christians and call it the "igod"

or a doggy cell phone and call it the "ibone"

or and glasses phone called the "eyephone"

or maybe a sex doll called the "imoan"

or one for stoners called the "ipot"

anyone else have a good iidea?

a holiday version could be called the "inog"

one strictly for men called the "guypod"

@ry81984:

STEVE JOBS CRITICIZES HIPPOS.

ugh! i can't see my posts!

i going to make an ipod with optional switch blade and call it the "irob"

maybe i'll make one for all the crybabies who have their phones bricked and call it the "cryphone"

@HeySuburbia: The fact is, Apple could have easily released an update that wouldn't brick any phones at all and they didn't.

And you know this how?

I do agree that this could have been prevented, it would not have been hard to include a check/compare with the values that are overwritten during the hack, and then changing them to default before updating. However, that is not their responsibility. The ideal solution would have been to update and then have a new in box state, but again, they don't have to protect the people who installed 3rd party apps. We can say they chould have, but not that they should have.

@Asterchild: This is all the article says on that point: "and bricking seems to be just as common for a virgin iPhones as for jailbroken ones." There's no further explanation, not even anything anecdotal.

As a software developer, I have to sympathize with Apple. If you have ever tried to push a patch to code that someone other then yourself or your company has written you would understand how difficult a situation like this can be. You simply don't have enough time or resources to fix your code so it works with someone else's code (especially if it is poorly written code). Apple is giving you exactly what they sold you, an iPhone that works with AT&T. Any changes to the code becomes your problem, and it is your problem to fix your code after updates.

I don't think its right that Apple locks the phone, but I don't support people who hack their product and then ask the company to take responsibility for the user's hacks.

at least you were warned, he could had let it be secretly done without warning, its like buying a xbox 360 despite being warned by reliable sources

i hope sony does this for the psp, so all those damn hackers will hafta play fair!

who could blame someone for wanting to use it on other better networks.

its unfair to consumers to dictate what networks you can use.

but then again, if they would have been on sprints network, i would have been one of the first people to get one, so its almost a blessing in disguise.

Yeah, what everyone else said. If you bought an iPhone and chose to hack/unlock it because you didn't want to follow the instructions then you can't really blame Apple. As Buran pointed out, Apple rightfully isn't required to make sure that every third-party application works fine with the iPhone, and it's not realistic to expect them to, especially since they made it clear they wouldn't.

In light of the numerous announcements about possible bricking from the update (and even just from messing around with the firmware), anyone who had this problem had more than fair warning. What a surprise that if I tamper with my expensive toy in a way that the manufacturer specifically tells me not to, it might break.

Anyway, see you all when v2 comes out - I'm glad I waited.