Unlock iPhone: How to unlock your iPhone. Can this be done? Yes, you can unlock your iPhone and use it on another network other than AT&T. This method first became public in August 2007. Both PC Magazine and MacWorld have published instructions on how to unlock your iPhone. Be sure that you are running the iPhone firmware that is 1.0.2 or earlier, do not upgrade your phone to 1.1.1 or later as this will relock your phone. Here is how to unlock your iPhone.

Step one – be sure you have your iPhone; the data cable and a great connection to WiFi access. Before you begin, cancel the iTunes helper that is running in the background on your PC or Mac. For the PC, bring up the task manager and in the process tab find the iTunes helper and click end process or kill process. On the Mac, go to the activity monitor and select the iTunes helper, then click on the Quit Process button.

Step two – go to the website www.widgx.org/completeunlockpack2.rar and download the file, then unzip it to your PC or Mac desktop. Also, download and unzip to your desktop, www.widgx.or/iphonefirm1.0.2.zip. Once you have these files unzipped and available on your desktop, you are ready to begin unlocking your iPhone.

Step three – get iTunes version 7.4.12 from filehippo.com. Install this on your computer. When we start the unlock process you may get a message to upgrade  iTunes, ignore this message; do not upgrade.

Step four – if you are not unlocking your iPhone new and out of the box, then backup all of your content; music, videos, photos, applications, everything to your Mac or PC. If you leave it on the iPhone and do not back it up, you will lose all of your content forever.

Step five – put your iPhone into restore mode. To do this press and hold the following 2 buttons at the same time – the sleep/wake button and the home button. Continue holding these two buttons at the same time until you see a yellow warning triangle, then let go. Ignore all other icons and wait for the triangle. Ignore the Apple logo, which may appear several times. Once the triangle appears, let go of the buttons.

Step six – be sure that you have the firmware version 1.0.2 on your desktop. Then launch iTunes, you will see a message that iTunes detected your iPhone in restore mode. Press the shift key then press restore. This is very important that you press and hold the shift key before you click on restore. You will then get a message asking you what firmware you want to restore to. Choose 1.0.2 by double clicking on it. Then wait. This will take a little bit of time, your iPhone will go through several different cycles as it installs the firmware, leave everything finish and do not touch your computer or phone until this step completes. When this step completes, close iTunes.

Step seven – Open the folder that you downloaded earlier. Look for the AppTapp installer. Launch the AppTapp installer. When prompted for the firmware version choose version 1.0.2. Then click

install. This will take some time as the program will be downloading and installing files to your computer. Make sure no other programs are running at this time. Your iPhone will cycle through a few times, let everything go. When it is done click on OK. The install bar may not go all the way to the end, but when your iPhone goes back to the world screen and the black screen closes on your computer, you are done.

Step eight – Go to the folders that you downloaded earlier, and look in the backup folder for a file that says point and click here for activation. Then click on the file that says CLICK HERE. A message will ask you if you are ready, just hit any key to continue. Once this is done, turn the phone off, then on again. Now you are ready to insert the SIM of your choice into your iPhone.

Step nine -Turn off your phone. Using a paper clip, unfold it. Then insert it into the hole located next to the headphone jack. This opens up the SIM holder. Remove and replace the SIM with whatever SIM you prefer. Turn on your iPhone and that’s it. This is how to unlock your iPhone.

Unlock iPhone: We have all heard about unlocking your iPhone so that you can use a different SIM in it. This may be a good idea in certain situations. Many people want to unlock their iPhone to get around using AT&T as their cell phone service provider. Others just want to use the iPhone for internet and music capabilities and they do not want to use it as a phone at all. They hack the firmware so that they do not have to activate the phone on any network in order to use it. Here is the question before us. Unlocking your iPhone, is it a good idea?

If you are looking to unlock your iPhone to use it on another network such as T-Mobile then you are breaking the law. It is illegal and in violation of Apple’s agreement with AT&T to use it on another network. Apple receives royalties from AT&T for every iPhone that is connected to their network. Apple loses money on every hacked iPhone. Many feel that it is ok to hack the iPhone’s firmware so that it can be used on another network. It is the author’s standpoint that this ethically wrong. Whether you agree with AT&T and Apple’s agreement or not is up to you. If you do not agree with it then do not use the iPhone as a cell phone. In this case, I do not agree with the hacking of the firmware.

On the other hand if you do not want the high expense of AT&T’s iPhone service and you are looking to use the iPhone for its music and internet capabilities then hacking into the firmware so that you do not have to activate the AT&T cell phone service is OK. You should be able to buy the iPhone and use it for the music, video and internet capabilities without having to connect to AT&T’s cell phone network. You can use places that offer free WiFi to access the internet via your iPhone. The iPod does not give you internet capabilities. Therefore, if you want to have internet, combined with awesome content then you really do need an iPhone and you should not have to purchase expensive cell phone service in order to enjoy the reason most people buy an iPhone in the first place. Unlocking your iPhone, is it a good idea? In this case, yes it is.

Then there is a third reason to hack into the firmware. This is really in a grey area as it uses the full capabilities of the iPhone, including using it as a phone. You can add Skype VOIP service for about $10 a month and then you have a WiFi phone. If you are using the iPhone in this way and do not want to use AT&T’s cell phone service you are still going to have to hack into the firmware so that you do not activate the phone with AT&T. Is this in violation of the AT&T, Apple agreement? No, it is not. That agreement is for AT&T to provide exclusive cell phone service for the iPhone. The VOIP service is not cell phone service. Therefore, if you are not using another cell phone service provider for your iPhone you are not violating any agreement. This is one way to get around the exclusive contract with AT&T and still be able to send and receive calls. The only drawback is that you need to be in an area where you can pickup a WiFi signal in order to use your Skype VOIP service.

Unlocking your iPhone, is it a good idea? It depends on your views. On one hand there are legal and ethical issues with hacking into the firmware in general. However, your intent on why you are doing this also comes into play. Apple and AT&T have an exclusive agreement as far as cell phone service goes. Apple does not recommend the use of any other SIM card other than the one that came with your phone but it does not specifically prohibit it either. If you bought the iPhone to use for content and internet only or even if you plan to use it as an expensive Skype VOIP phone, that is your business and you should be able to do this without signing up for expensive cell phone service you do not need. Unlocking your iPhone, is it a good idea? Perhaps.