Apple keeps their word - hacked iPhone voids warranty

Utilizing the technological equivalent of taking your ball and going home – or lobbying a nuke from orbit, Apple has decided to void the warranty of any iPhone which has been unlocked away from it’s Cingular exclusivity. Even though the effort may be to protect it’s alliance with Cingular, the move comes at a bad time when reports are that both iPhone and iPod Touch screens are experiencing lackluster performance due to faulty LCD screens which seem to have appeared after the now infamous price reduction.

Using the pretext that installing 3rd party apps voids the warranty of the iPhone, Apple will categorically refure service on any iPhone that has been unlocked and used on another phone service. Cupertino has even gone so far as to create a blacklist of phones that it perceives having been unlocked.

In addition, reports are that Apple is considering “bricking” any unlocked iPhone with an upcoming firmware/software update. An easy way around this for hacked iPhone owners is to reset the phone back to factory settings before bringing the phone in for service and to stay aware of the update timing so you can restore it before the update is initiated.

Otherwise, hacking iPhone owners may end up with one expensive paper weight.

Source: Ars Technica

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3 Comments on “Apple keeps their word - hacked iPhone voids warranty”

Neagle Says:

Gee Apple, how very Microsoft of you! I guess even “Apples” eventually start to rot and stink.

Klappstuhl Says:

Apple never was on the good site either. They are just as greedy, their move with blocking “Hackers” just proves it again.

Besides, at least Microsoft users don’t brag about their OS, we know to keep our mouths shut. Mac users on the other hand won’t refuse to treat “Apple” like some kind of religion. I just hate it when those Apple Fanboys shove their “better” lifestyle down everybody else’s throats.

YES, APPLE DROPPED THE HAMMER, BUT WAS IT NECESSARY? » Coolest Gadgets Says:

[...] We all saw it coming. In what amounts to using the “nuclear option,” Steve Jobs made good on his on threat to brick any iPhone that has been unlocked and used outside of the AT&T service. Cupertino claims that unlocking your iPhone can cause it irreparable damage – and not the update that has probably created thousands of $700 paperweights. But is that really the case? The Giz certainly doesn’t think so. According to their investigation – including some choice words from Apple Development technicians – there were a myriad of ways to relock unlocked phones – even as easy as simply resetting certain values in the phone in the same manner that the hacker’s Sim programs have been setting them to open it up. [...]

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