Activating/Jailbreaking/Unlocking the iPhone 1.1.2 OTB - State-of-the-Art

Disclaimer: Use of any information available on this and future related posts is at your own risk, you are 100% responsible for what you do or don't do with it, including any Apple's copyright violation or infringement. For an applicable detailed disclaimer about iPhone hacking, please check this! All the information published in this series of posts has been provided by my friend Esteban J., also known as Steve J.

This series of posts is about how to activate the iPhone version 1.1.2 OTB (Out of The Box) without requiring a 2-year AT&T service agreement. It also provides an update of the current iPhone hacking scene on January 1st, 2008, plus a detailed step-by-step guide to complete the iPhone activation and jailbreak process.

My friend Esteban got an iPhone recently, and because he lives outside the US, he cannot (or don't want to) use the associated AT&T service and rate plans. By default, if you do not activate an AT&T account, the iPhone is just a brick, or iBrick :) The first step required after unpacking the device is to connect it to your laptop, and follow the Apple/AT&T iPhone activation process using iTunes. If you do not provide your contact details (including credit card info), and get (or migrate to) an AT&T contract, you cannot activate the iPhone and access any of its functionality.

The iPhone is a pretty impressive small device running OS X. Basically, it's like an iPod Touch (iPod + WiFi) with GSM/EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities, plus a 2.0 megapixels camera; an all-in-one device, where the main drawbacks are the lack of a built-in GPS and 3G support (a very common technology in mobile networks all over Europe). Apart from the technical specs, the main differentiator is the user interface (the "Touch":) ).

This and future related posts try to provide a simplified guide to hack the last version of the iPhone, and try to summarize and clarify the huge amount of information available out there related with the topic, specially given the differences between the various iPhone versions, mainly 1.0.2, 1.1.1 & 1.1.2. It's not cutting-edge information, as there are tons of iPhone hacking resources, such as the Hackint0sh Forums, iPhone unlock, hackthatphone, iphone-hacks, modmyifone or winandmac.com. It just pretends to be an easy to follow guide, informative update, all seasoned with some home-made technical security research. What makes iPhone hacking pretty interesting, is that the main hack is just based on executing code inside the device after exploiting a well-known vulnerability in one of its components, the Safari web browser.

My friend's end goal is to be able to activate a US iPhone in Europe, including all its capabilities. At the end of December, this is the iPhone hacking state-of-the-art:

• The current and latest iPhone version (factory, or OTB) is 1.1.2.
• The associated modem firmware version is 04.02.13_G.
  
• If the device serial number starts with XX745... or above, it means it has been released on week 45 or above, and the bootloader version is 4.6.
  

This device (commonly referred as 1.1.2 OTB) is the one currently available on stores and presents strong hacking limitations at this point in time. The end-result of this guide will be an unlocked or free iPhone, without phone capabilities, that is, something like an iPod Touch, plus Bluetooth and camera. The reason is that the current bootloader has not been hacked through software yet (although several smart people are actively working on it). The previous bootloader version, 3.9, was hacked and allows you to take advantage of the phone capabilities using a SIM from any telecom mobile operator. Unfortunately, the hack doesn't work yet with the 4.6 bootloader.

At this point, the only option to get a fully working 1.1.2 OTB iPhone is to follow this (or a similar) guide, plus getting a hardware-based hacking SIM, such as TurboSIM (around $40). Although there are (or were) multiple iPhone activation methods without an AT&T account, the one presented in this guide (or series of posts) is the easier one and it works with the current iPhone version.

Before starting with the detailed process, let's clarify a few terms:

• Downgrade is the process that involves going from a major firmware version to a minor version, such as from the current default 1.1.2 version to 1.1.1. Upgrade is just the opposite.
  
• Activation is the process required to enable the iPhone, in this guide, bypassing the standard AT&T activation to get access to (almost) all the functions in the iPhone.
• Jailbreak is the process that provides you the ability to install third party applications on the iPhone.
• Unlock is typically used to refer to the process required to unlock or free the iPhone's SIM module, so that the iPhone can be used with any SIM card (instead of the AT&T default SIM).
  

At this point, you are ready to jump to the first step of the step-by-step guide to activate and jailbreak an iPhone's 1.1.2 OTB.

On a personal note, and not being a lawyer, Apple is clearly fighting hard to keep its exclusiveness and prestige, although I think that once you pay for the device in an Apple Store, the device belongs to you, that is, you're the owner... so, you can play with it!

Some Apple iPhone facts:

• It seems that about a month ago, Apple limited the number of units that can be acquired in the US per person, from 5 to 2.
• Esteban couldn't pay the iPhone by cash. He needed to use a credit card so that Apple can track the number of units he buys (see previous bullet).
• Recently (end of 2007) the iPhone has officially reached some European countries, like UK, Germany or France.
  
• Esteban didn't sign up any contract when he bought the iPhone, although he religiously paid its price in an Apple Retail Store.
• Esteban was not notified during the buying process about all the details of the iPhone and AT&T service agreement, and the constraints not only for the phone capabilities, but for the device as a whole.
• Esteban was allowed to buy the iPhone although he does not live in the US, as his credit card and passport reflected during the payment process.
  
• Finally, iPhone version 1.1.3 is going to be released soon, and as usual, it seems it will affect the current activation, jailbreaking and unlocking hacks.
  

It seems we do not learn from the past! The best offer is that combining a great product and a brilliant commercial strategy. Demanding customers today ask for flexible, open, customizable, and "hackable" products, and if you do not believe me, ask Microsoft or Linksys/Cisco. In my modest opinion, if Apple wants to attract a population other than Apple's staunch admirers, they should reconsider the iPhone go-to-market strategy. On the other hand, if they want to avoid this type of hacks, they could simply not sell the device without an associated service contract, as it is the case in Europe for several cell phones (unless you pay more for the device).
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¡Happy New Year 2008 to all our readers!